Megan O’Connor 🍁
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meganoconnorart.ca
Megan O’Connor 🍁
@meganoconnorart.ca
1.6K followers 770 following 830 posts
I draw wildlife with coloured pencils using my own photos and observations as a reference (unless otherwise stated). Toronto, Canada.

https://meganoconnorart.ca
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meganoconnorart.ca
I finished this drawing today: a hermit thrush. It’s one of my favourite local birds: they are a bit shy and sound like flutes in the trees. #Birds #SciArt
Coloured pencil drawing of a small brown and white bird with dark spots on the chest, perched on the branch of a conifer.
December 15, 2025 at 6:19 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
I love this!
artbyemilytull.bsky.social Emily Tull ASGFA @artbyemilytull.bsky.social · 14d
Day 13 of #ArtAdventCalendar
"Murmuration 2"
Starling hand embroidery thread painting artwork.
www.emilytull.co.uk/store/p23/st...
#birds #embroidery #WildlifeArt
A square peach fabric base. In the background are six black flying starling silhouettes. On top are 12 hand embroidered line drawings of flying starlings. On top of those are 6 hand embroidered parts of flying starlings in detail.
December 14, 2025 at 8:00 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
I was hoping to see an owl this morning but instead I found this little swamp sparrow — not uncommon in Toronto in general, but more so mid-winter. I met, accidentally, some people who were doing a bird count, so was able to show them where to find it — my tiny contribution to science 😏
Small brown and grey bird with a rusty brown cap, perched on a stalk of dead grass with snow in the background.
December 14, 2025 at 4:52 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
I prefer to draw in natural light but today the heavy grey sky is making it tough! Hermit thrushes may look “brown and spotty” from a distance, but there are many subtle shades, and I don’t want to miss that.
#Birds #SciArt
Unfinished coloured pencil drawing of a small brown bird with a rusty tail perched on the branch of a conifer that has lost much of its bark.
December 10, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Reposted by Megan O’Connor 🍁
mattwatsonpnwbskys.bsky.social
Yes.

Also, I love this cartoon.
brenttoderian.bsky.social Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · Nov 26
For decades, sustainable & responsible cities haven’t just been possible — they’ve been common sense, logical, ridiculously obvious! And yet we’ve failed to act. A better future through better cities is STILL possible with real leadership at every level. #ActionStartsHere @mayors4climate.bsky.social
Famous cartoon of a Climate Summit with the presentation of all the benefits of climate action, and someone asking “what if it’s a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing?”
December 1, 2025 at 9:06 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
I’ve just made the switch from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice. So far so good :)
libreoffice.bsky.social LibreOffice @libreoffice.bsky.social · Nov 14
There's lots of talk about "digital sovereignty" – but what does that exactly mean? Well, avoiding vendor lock-in and economic dependency for starters. Learn how the Open Document Format (ODF) helps here: blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2025/11...
December 1, 2025 at 2:17 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
“The Visitor”. I want the title to be ambiguous. Whenever I see coyotes in the ravine I feel an invisible membrane of territory.

Coloured pencil on cotton paper. #SciArt
Coloured pencil drawing of the upper body of a healthy coyote looking directly at the viewer, with snowy woods in the background.
November 30, 2025 at 7:12 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
The little snow flurry outside my window is adding realism to my current work in progress :) I photographed this coyote last winter and am finally attempting her portrait. #SciArt
Unfinished coloured pencil drawing of a grey and rust-coloured canid against a background of snowy woods. The face is towards the viewer.
November 27, 2025 at 8:39 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
I’m looking forward to this!
stevebrusatte.bsky.social Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · Nov 21
🚨🦜🐧Cover reveal! Thrilled to show off the cover of my upcoming book: The Story of Birds!

Coming April 28. The whole history of birds, from their dinosaur origins to colossal extinct penguins & terror birds, to the 10,000+ species today. From @marinerbooks.bsky.social

Preorder 👇
November 24, 2025 at 12:40 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
I began this drawing as a simple sketch to test some paper (a new batch of Fabriano Artistico 300lb). The red crest was such a treat to draw after using so many greys! I see and/or hear red-bellied woodpeckers almost every day, but it never gets boring :)

I’m happy with the paper. #SciArt #Birds
Coloured pencil drawing of a small black and white bird with a red crest perched on an old snow-covered electricity pole, with a grey sky behind.
November 23, 2025 at 7:07 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
I saw my first sandhill crane today — in fact, I saw over 50 of them, but not before hearing the most uncanny, stirring sound. Sadly, they were too high to photograph well, but it was a thrill nonetheless and not what I expect to encounter in a Toronto ravine :) #birds
Photograph of 9 large birds with long necks flying overhead in a white sky.
November 17, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by Megan O’Connor 🍁
alisonfisk.bsky.social
Delightful detail from the Roman “unswept floor” mosaic by Heraclitus, showing a mouse nibbling a walnut.

Superb use of darker tiles for subtle shadow effect!

2nd century AD. Vatican Museums www.museivaticani.va/content/muse...

#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
The image shows detail from a floor mosaic of a brown mouse on a pale background facing left with its nose close to half a walnut in its shell. The mouse has a long thin tail stretched out behind. The mosaicist has used a mix of lighter and darker brown tiles for the mouse’s body to hint at fur. The walnut is created with warmer light and dark brown tiles. Slightly darker background tiles have been used beneath the mouse and walnut to create subtle shadows
November 10, 2025 at 1:07 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
Ever since seeing this tree full of cedar waxwings (this morning, in a Toronto ravine) I’ve had Burl Ives singing “The Lollipop Tree” stuck in my head!
Ten brown and yellow birds sitting in a tree without leaves against a snowy background.
November 10, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Reposted by Megan O’Connor 🍁
davidrvetter.bsky.social
With COP30 underway, Climate Action Against Disinformation releases a report showing how both Big Carbon and Big Tech are sabotaging climate action worldwide. Cites examples of legislation that has been effective in limiting the harms of disinformation.
caadcoalition.bsky.social CAAD_Coalition @caadcoalition.bsky.social · Nov 10
🚨 Our new report, Deny, Deceive, Delay: Demystified, is out now. 🚨

The report explores how Big Carbon and Big Tech use disinformation to sabotage climate action and why, despite 89% of people worldwide demanding stronger action, progress gets derailed.
buff.ly
November 10, 2025 at 12:11 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
Work in progress: a red-tailed hawk in coloured pencil. I spent ages shuffling paper cut-out leaves to decide on the composition, but won’t know if it worked until the end. Right now it’s at the “might work” stage :) #birds #SciArt
A graphite pencil sketch of a large bird on a branch surrounded by leaves. An unfinished coloured pencil drawing of a large brown, white, and rust-coloured bird perched on a branch surrounded by yellow maple leaves.
November 9, 2025 at 9:53 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
I still get excited about the first snowfall of the year — only now I run outside with a camera instead of a toboggan. I found some chatty juncos this morning :)

#birds #wildlifephotography
A snowy background and a small grey and white bird perched on a snow-covered plant.
November 9, 2025 at 4:31 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
“Maybe if I pretend to be asleep she’ll go away.”

Eastern screech owl, 700 mm, close crop.

#Birds #WildlifePhotography
Small grey and brown owl sitting in a tree. The owl’s eyes are mostly shut, but not entirely.
November 7, 2025 at 3:10 AM
meganoconnorart.ca
“Before the Storm”. Coloured pencil and oil pastel on watercolour paper. While I didn’t want to pet this hyena, or get any closer, he did intrigue me, and the artist in me was captivated by the textures of fur and muzzle. #SciArt
Coloured pencil drawing of the profile of an orange and tan mammal with dark spots and a dark muzzle, stretching out his neck and pricking his ears forward.
November 1, 2025 at 5:50 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The nature extinction crisis is mirrored by one in our own bodies. Both have huge implications for health
Modern life is waging a war against ecosystems around us and inside us. Keeping our own microbes healthy is another reason to demand action to preserve the natural world
www.theguardian.com
October 31, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Reposted by Megan O’Connor 🍁
brenttoderian.bsky.social
“Recent studies show that between 80% — 89% of the world’s population wants to see climate action. Many would even contribute 1% of their income to make that happen, even tho people vastly underestimate their peers’ desire for change. Members of this “silent majority” come from all walks of life…”’
‘I worry about the future of my daughter’: the ‘silent majority’ who care about the climate crisis
Readers who are part of the 80-89% of the population who want to see climate action tell us their ideas on how to make their voices heard
www.theguardian.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:32 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
Progress is slow, but I want to make individual hairs stand out (not all of them!) because this hyena’s energy seemed to live in his fur. #SciArt #Drawing
Unfinished colour pencil drawing of the profile of an orange and dark-spotted mammal with a dark muzzle and forward-pricking ears.
October 30, 2025 at 5:41 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
I’m trying a new (to me) combination of coloured pencil and oil pastel for this spotted hyena — because I want a heavy, stormy background. I hadn’t been planning to draw a hyena, but this one at the zoo caught at my imagination with his intense energy! #wildlifeart
Unfinished drawing of the profile of an orange and brown mammal with a closed mouth and ears pricking forward. The background is a dark, mottled grey.
October 27, 2025 at 9:08 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
Posting an old drawing (almost a year old!) because it’s International Snow Leopard Day.

I drew this based on photos I took at the Toronto Zoo of the snow leopard cubs; am hoping to see them again soon!
Coloured pencil drawing of a large white and brown-spotted mammal in the cat family. Only the face and shoulders appear from behind a wire fence.
October 23, 2025 at 5:49 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
Feeling seen.

Red-tailed Hawk. Photo taken by me today in a Toronto ravine. #Birds
Photograph of a red-tailed hawk looking toward the camera. The bird is large, brown and white, with a rust-coloured tail and yellow talons, standing on a branch in the woods.
October 22, 2025 at 5:29 PM
meganoconnorart.ca
“Written in Stone”. Coloured pencil on cotton paper. This is the third and last of my “Time Flies” series of drawings based on statues and birds I saw in Oxford, England last spring. #Birds
Coloured pencil drawing of a stone statue of a man holding an open book with a blue, black, and white bird perched on his arm.
October 20, 2025 at 7:42 PM