Sarah Swanson
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sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
Sarah Swanson
@sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
950 followers 150 following 550 posts
Author of Best Little Book of Birds: the Oregon Coast and Best Little Book of Birds: Cascades and Columbia Gorge🦉
she/her
#birding #embroidery #oregon
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Reposted by Sarah Swanson
jeffvandermeer.bsky.social
Your moment of calm: kestrel on a fence post. Out at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge with @sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
November 28, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Reposted by Sarah Swanson
jeffvandermeer.bsky.social
Two sandhill cranes, seen on an expedition with @sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
November 28, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Reposted by Sarah Swanson
jeffvandermeer.bsky.social
From Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge today, with @sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
blue heron sandhill crane red tailed hawk in silhouette
November 28, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Reposted by Sarah Swanson
jeffvandermeer.bsky.social
Happy Holidays! Every day until Christmas, I'll use this thread to rec a book to help you with your gift list. Let's start with THE TWENTY DAYS OF TURIN by Giorgio De Maria, translated by Ramon Glazov, and republished with a foreword by moi. Buy from your fav indie. (Alt text = more detail.) 1/?
Cover of Twenty Days of Turin, with text in white showing foreword by Jeff VanderMeer, author Giorgio De Maria, Translated by Ramon Glazov centered down the middle over black and white art Satan Sowing the Tare by Felicien Victor Joseph Rops, a Belgian artist of the late 1800s. Description of the novel: In the spare wing of a church-run sanatorium, some zealous youths create "the Library," a space where lonely citizens can read one another’s personal diaries and connect with like-minded souls in "dialogues across the ether." But when their scribblings devolve into the ugliest confessions of the macabre, the Library’s users learn too late that a malicious force has consumed their privacy and their sanity. As the city of Turin suffers a twenty-day "phenomenon of collective psychosis" culminating in nightly massacres that hundreds of witnesses cannot explain, the Library is shut down and erased from history. That is, until a lonely salaryman decides to investigate these mysterious events, which the citizenry of Turin fear to mention. Inevitably drawn into the city’s occult netherworld, he unearths the stuff of modern nightmares: what’s shared can never be unshared. An allegory inspired by the grisly neo-fascist campaigns of its day, The Twenty Days of Turin has enjoyed a fervent cult following in Italy for forty years. Now, in a fretful new age of "lone-wolf" terrorism fueled by social media, we can find uncanny resonances in Giorgio De Maria’s vision of mass fear: a mute, palpitating dread that seeps into every moment of daily existence. With its stunning anticipation of the Internet―and the apocalyptic repercussions of oversharing―this bleak, prescient story is more disturbingly pertinent than ever.
November 26, 2025 at 4:51 PM
sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
It worked!
sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social Sarah Swanson @sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social · 16d
Let’s go birding!
A meme with blond lady in sunglasses talking to an iced latte. She says “you better fix my entire life.” the words “clay-colored sparrow” are superimposed on the latte.
November 15, 2025 at 11:30 PM
sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
Let’s go birding!
A meme with blond lady in sunglasses talking to an iced latte. She says “you better fix my entire life.” the words “clay-colored sparrow” are superimposed on the latte.
November 15, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Reposted by Sarah Swanson
sallyfisherprice.bsky.social
She is ready for adoption! www.multcopets.org/adoptable/37...
Details of a cattle dog available for adoption at the multnomah county animal shelter. They call her Maris. I never called her that.
November 15, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Reposted by Sarah Swanson
sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
My two favorite fungi from a rainy forest walk: fluted bird’s nest fungus and honey mushrooms. November in Oregon is wonderful!
Tiny cup-shaped fungi surrounded by green moss. Three yellow mushrooms with a frill on their stems, amidst moss, ferns and dead leaves.
November 14, 2025 at 4:31 AM
sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
My two favorite fungi from a rainy forest walk: fluted bird’s nest fungus and honey mushrooms. November in Oregon is wonderful!
Tiny cup-shaped fungi surrounded by green moss. Three yellow mushrooms with a frill on their stems, amidst moss, ferns and dead leaves.
November 14, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Reposted by Sarah Swanson
aba.org
If birds were actually government drones, then there wouldn't have been any birds during the shutdown.

It's over.
November 13, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by Sarah Swanson
sallyfisherprice.bsky.social
A 40 pound cattle dog I know is going up for adoption on the Multnomah County Animal Services website. This is a once in a lifetime dog and anyone who adopts her will be very lucky.
1.5 year old ACD likes to snuggle. Blue dog, blue blanky, blue couch. A woman and a cattle dog - the dog is all snuggled up like a little baby. Don't be fooled, she has typical ACD traits and will test your patience. She is also a sweet love. A cattle dog and her blue sock in the throws of combat. Blue dog. Blue sock. Blue blanky. In case your thinking of adoption, this one hasn't been taught very many good manners yet. Shes super smart, though, and can learn anything. Cattle dog in repose. Out of frame, woman whose sternum is being crushed by cattle dog who doesnt know or care about personal space.
November 13, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Reposted by Sarah Swanson
birdallianceoregon.bsky.social
With Give!Guide’s Big Beach Day, you can help protect coastal birds and other wildlife and get a chance to experience them firsthand. Donate $10 or more to Bird Alliance of Oregon today, November 13 (between 12 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. PST) to enter to win: giveguide.org/nonprofits/bird-alliance
Photo of Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area with the words "Give today and you could win a relaxing coastal get-away! / Photo by Stefan Serena
November 13, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by Sarah Swanson
birdallianceoregon.bsky.social
Celebrate Give!Guide’s Big Garden Day with a gift and get the chance to win up to $750 towards your garden! Donate $10 or more to Bird Alliance of Oregon today, November 11 (between 12 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. PST) to enter to win both prizes: giveguide.org/nonprofits/b...
Cedar Waxwing eating berry with the words "Give today and you could win big from Portland Nursery and Backyard Bird Shop!" Photo by Mick Thompson
November 11, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Reposted by Sarah Swanson
greybriar.art
If you see this, post your bird art 🐦

#birds
A painting of an albatross chick with a very famous mum. A drawing of a shrike among thorns in front of a stormy sky. A kingfisher on a log in a misty creek holding a wedding ring in its beak. The head of a black-browed albatross that seems to be coming back to life. It is holding a drop of water in its beak.
November 11, 2025 at 2:18 AM
sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
I was delighted to be part of the judging panel for this art that will raise money for wildlife across Oregon!
myodfw.bsky.social Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife @myodfw.bsky.social · 26d
Winning artwork selected for ODFW’s annual Stamp Art Contests - myodfw.com/news/winning...
Habitat Conservation Stamp winner: Brown pelican by Ryan Kniss. Upland Game Bird: Ring-necked Pheasant by Ryan Kniss of Johnstown, PA Waterfowl Stamp winner: Blue-winged teal by Richard Clifton.
November 7, 2025 at 5:01 AM
Reposted by Sarah Swanson
sallyfisherprice.bsky.social
Portland OR friends, would you consider fostering a dog? The need is urgent. www.multcopets.org/foster
November 5, 2025 at 2:52 PM
sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
It’s true, I swear! Not just hoarding the peanut butter cups.
A handwritten sign on the front gate of a yard reads “Our dog hates Halloween. Sorry!” A poorly drawn frowning jack-o’-lantern completes the sign.
November 1, 2025 at 3:21 AM
sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
Lighthouse selfies?! Oregonians, this is our moment!
jeffvandermeer.bsky.social Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · Oct 26
SOUTHERN REACH READERS and weirdlings in general, here's a call for lighthouse photo submissions if you want a chance to be in the forthcoming Area X: The Southern Reach Files book. Starts Nov. 1, ends Jan 21. PLEASE read thoroughly. Questions, weirdos?

www.jeffvandermeer.com/lighthouseph...
An epic and mind-blowing expansion of the Area X story by way of a hidden metal box full of secret images and documents purporting to be the last report of the Central agent Karen Hargraves. Spanning the 30 years of Southern Reach expeditions, reaching into the past and the future, this full-color book will satisfy Area X completists while adding to the narrative begun with the first four novels, to Michael Sand at Abrams, in an exclusive submission, by Joseph Veltre at Gersh Agency and attorney Alex Kohner (world).
October 26, 2025 at 9:19 PM
sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
@powells.bsky.social is fully stocked with my books, including the out-of-print Must-see Birds of the PNW! I’m excited to be here for @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social’s book event.
An assortment of books on a wooden shelf by Sarah Swanson. There are six copies of one that is green with orange letters reading: Cascade Range.
October 25, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Reposted by Sarah Swanson
birdallianceoregon.bsky.social
Show up for Portland’s Parks and wildlife by voting yes on the Portland Parks Levy! Without the Levy Portland Parks & Rec will lose nearly half its budget, forcing closures and eliminating programs. Let’s show how much we love our parks by voting yes! birdallianceoregon.org/take-action/...
YES on 26-260, Portlanders for Parks
Bird Alliance of Oregon urges your YES on 26-260, the Portland Parks Levy which will be in front of Portland Voters this November. The Levy will ensure that the City of Portland is able to maintain an...
birdallianceoregon.org
October 22, 2025 at 6:24 PM
sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
Congrats! I thoroughly enjoyed Absolution and look forward to completing my SR collection and reading the new intro. 🐊 🐇
jeffvandermeer.bsky.social Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · Oct 21
Today's the pub day for the trade paperback of the fourth Southern Reach novel, Abaolution. A NYT bestseller and LA Times book prize finalist, Ab is my wildest novel yet. Read more in this NYT interview (free article) www.nytimes.com/2024/10/20/b...
Jeff VanderMeer Writes His Strangest Novel Yet (Published 2024)
www.nytimes.com
October 21, 2025 at 8:31 PM
sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
I love finding my friends’ books at independent bookstores! I hit the jackpot at Paulina Springs Books in Sisters, OR today.
@jeffvandermeer.bsky.social
@rheisman.bsky.social
@kingfisherjourney.bsky.social
@timberpress.bsky.social
Congrats to my friend Tom Myers on his newly released “Birds of the Pacific Northwest For Kids”! A blue book with a Steller’s Jay on the front sits on a shelf next to a pink book with a trillium on it. Jeff VanderMeer’s “Absolution” is out in paperback with some wonderful cover art! A black book with a trippy alligator and other distorted shapes. I strongly recommend my good friend Rebecca’s book, “Flight Paths”, about the fascinating history of the study of bird migration! The cover features a flock of birds against the sky. Marina Richie’s book “Halcyon Journey” is a wonderful read. The cover features a Belted Kingfisher, the subject of the book.
October 20, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Reposted by Sarah Swanson
kingfisherjourney.bsky.social
No kings only kingfishers, kinglets, and kingbirds!
Rally in Bend, Oregon, drew thousands ….
#nokingsday #birders
October 19, 2025 at 2:57 AM
sarahlovesbirds.bsky.social
Barking for our rights! #NoKings
A smallish brown dog growls at encroaching authoritarianism. Behind her, a sign in bold black letters on a blue background reads “RISE UP! SPEAK UP!”
October 18, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by Sarah Swanson
hlkfotos.com
Holy shit guys.
October 18, 2025 at 6:15 PM