Tim O'Connell
@tinosaurs.bsky.social
wildlife; birds; landscapes; 322 ppm; dad vibes; science; critical thinking; woke = compliment; views mine; don't care if you call them "seagulls".
Assoc. Prof. in NREM, OKState.
Past-President, Wilson Ornithological Society
https://timoconnell.wordpress.
Assoc. Prof. in NREM, OKState.
Past-President, Wilson Ornithological Society
https://timoconnell.wordpress.
Pinned
Tim O'Connell
@tinosaurs.bsky.social
· Oct 21
New here? Follow me for...
#wildlife #birds #landscapes #DadVibes #science #CriticalThinking #Nellie #Magic #NativePlants #ecology #conservation #academia #mentoring #ornithology
Woke is a compliment; I don't care if you call them "seagulls".
#wildlife #birds #landscapes #DadVibes #science #CriticalThinking #Nellie #Magic #NativePlants #ecology #conservation #academia #mentoring #ornithology
Woke is a compliment; I don't care if you call them "seagulls".
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
Pourouma cecropiifolia (📷: michel_cortest CCBYNC4) has leaves like those of its cousin Cecropia, but the fruits are very different. The fruits don’t coalesce to form multiple fruits. This species is from the Neotropics. #Urticaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱
February 18, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Pourouma cecropiifolia (📷: michel_cortest CCBYNC4) has leaves like those of its cousin Cecropia, but the fruits are very different. The fruits don’t coalesce to form multiple fruits. This species is from the Neotropics. #Urticaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱
Here's another example: "likes" outnumber "reposts" by 3:1.
We The People... are the algorithm here at #BlueSky. We've got to normalize reposting over merely liking, or this place is never going to level-up to something like #ScienceTwitter once was.
#Repost
#Repost=Like
#WeAreTheAlgorithm
We The People... are the algorithm here at #BlueSky. We've got to normalize reposting over merely liking, or this place is never going to level-up to something like #ScienceTwitter once was.
#Repost
#Repost=Like
#WeAreTheAlgorithm
Essential reading for conservation scientists & ecologists (in fact anyone doing science across borders!) 🌍🧪https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.70227?af=R
Remote-control science is an internet-enabled form of "parachute" science
FWIW, I see a lot of this in AI and macroecology research
Remote-control science is an internet-enabled form of "parachute" science
FWIW, I see a lot of this in AI and macroecology research
Remote‐Control Science in Ecology: A Hidden Face of Scientific Neocolonialism
We introduce the concept of “remote-control science” as a modern form of scientific neocolonialism in ecology, where researchers, preferably from the Global North, control projects in the Global Sout...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 18, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Here's another example: "likes" outnumber "reposts" by 3:1.
We The People... are the algorithm here at #BlueSky. We've got to normalize reposting over merely liking, or this place is never going to level-up to something like #ScienceTwitter once was.
#Repost
#Repost=Like
#WeAreTheAlgorithm
We The People... are the algorithm here at #BlueSky. We've got to normalize reposting over merely liking, or this place is never going to level-up to something like #ScienceTwitter once was.
#Repost
#Repost=Like
#WeAreTheAlgorithm
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
Killer tortoises! I showed this in my island biology lecture yesterday and it shocked the students 😱 Here's the paper describing the behaviour: www.cell.com/current-biol... 🧪🌏
February 18, 2026 at 12:57 PM
Killer tortoises! I showed this in my island biology lecture yesterday and it shocked the students 😱 Here's the paper describing the behaviour: www.cell.com/current-biol... 🧪🌏
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
The FDA has reversed course and told Moderna it would review its application for a new flu vaccine. 🧪 🛟
A good reminder to KEEP THE PRESSURE ON.
www.cnbc.com/2026/02/18/u...
A good reminder to KEEP THE PRESSURE ON.
www.cnbc.com/2026/02/18/u...
U.S. FDA reverses course, will review Moderna's modified flu vaccine application
Moderna said on Wednesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has agreed to review its influenza vaccine application, reversing an earlier decision.
www.cnbc.com
February 18, 2026 at 1:16 PM
The FDA has reversed course and told Moderna it would review its application for a new flu vaccine. 🧪 🛟
A good reminder to KEEP THE PRESSURE ON.
www.cnbc.com/2026/02/18/u...
A good reminder to KEEP THE PRESSURE ON.
www.cnbc.com/2026/02/18/u...
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
These birds eat poop, but only sometimes. Why?
Poop-eating, or coprophagy, is super common in the animal world, but it's not well understood in birds.
Researchers in Germany documented 1422 "excretion events" in alpine choughs (a member of the crow family) & found major seasonal differences
🧪
Poop-eating, or coprophagy, is super common in the animal world, but it's not well understood in birds.
Researchers in Germany documented 1422 "excretion events" in alpine choughs (a member of the crow family) & found major seasonal differences
🧪
February 17, 2026 at 8:21 PM
These birds eat poop, but only sometimes. Why?
Poop-eating, or coprophagy, is super common in the animal world, but it's not well understood in birds.
Researchers in Germany documented 1422 "excretion events" in alpine choughs (a member of the crow family) & found major seasonal differences
🧪
Poop-eating, or coprophagy, is super common in the animal world, but it's not well understood in birds.
Researchers in Germany documented 1422 "excretion events" in alpine choughs (a member of the crow family) & found major seasonal differences
🧪
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
What a lovely data visualization to remind me that spring is around the corner (ish): 🧪 🪶 searchingforbirds.visualcinnamon.com (h/t @unamandita.bsky.social)
Searching for Birds
An interactive story about the birds that capture our curiosity, told through data, visuals and illustrations
searchingforbirds.visualcinnamon.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:22 PM
What a lovely data visualization to remind me that spring is around the corner (ish): 🧪 🪶 searchingforbirds.visualcinnamon.com (h/t @unamandita.bsky.social)
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
Really enjoyed this @joshgondelman.bsky.social essay, no surprise! playboy.substack.com/p/love-can-l...
Love Can Look Like Anything, Even Marriage
Comedian and writer Josh Gondelman on choosing a "structurally vanilla" life.
playboy.substack.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Really enjoyed this @joshgondelman.bsky.social essay, no surprise! playboy.substack.com/p/love-can-l...
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
Ewe wool-dn't want to miss out on the baa-mazing talk by Monica Stenzel as she unravels the tight-knit history of wool! Stitching together millennia of textile history and weaving in its future, Stenzel traces the thread of this fantastic fibre.
Last chance to grab your ticket here:
buff.ly/XJc7u76
Last chance to grab your ticket here:
buff.ly/XJc7u76
February 17, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Ewe wool-dn't want to miss out on the baa-mazing talk by Monica Stenzel as she unravels the tight-knit history of wool! Stitching together millennia of textile history and weaving in its future, Stenzel traces the thread of this fantastic fibre.
Last chance to grab your ticket here:
buff.ly/XJc7u76
Last chance to grab your ticket here:
buff.ly/XJc7u76
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
Life swiftly rebounded after the Chicxulub impact (66 million years ago) such that new species emerged within 2,000 years of this mass extinction event! 🧪
pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/...
pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/...
February 16, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Life swiftly rebounded after the Chicxulub impact (66 million years ago) such that new species emerged within 2,000 years of this mass extinction event! 🧪
pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/...
pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/...
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
Frog toxins are in the news with the evidence that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was posioned with epibatidine. Here's more on frog toxins and how poisonous frogs avoid poisoning themselves: www.compoundchem.com/2017/09/26/p...
#ChemSky 🧪
#ChemSky 🧪
February 16, 2026 at 9:38 PM
Frog toxins are in the news with the evidence that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was posioned with epibatidine. Here's more on frog toxins and how poisonous frogs avoid poisoning themselves: www.compoundchem.com/2017/09/26/p...
#ChemSky 🧪
#ChemSky 🧪
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
1/5 Mammal Monday: Meet the Stone Marten (𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘢 )
Ever heard mysterious footsteps in the attic at night? In many parts of Europe, the culprit might be the stone marten — one of the most adaptable small carnivores.
🧪 🦊 🦤 🌍
Photos: © janconl, CC-BY-SA, iNaturalist
Ever heard mysterious footsteps in the attic at night? In many parts of Europe, the culprit might be the stone marten — one of the most adaptable small carnivores.
🧪 🦊 🦤 🌍
Photos: © janconl, CC-BY-SA, iNaturalist
February 16, 2026 at 7:00 PM
1/5 Mammal Monday: Meet the Stone Marten (𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘢 )
Ever heard mysterious footsteps in the attic at night? In many parts of Europe, the culprit might be the stone marten — one of the most adaptable small carnivores.
🧪 🦊 🦤 🌍
Photos: © janconl, CC-BY-SA, iNaturalist
Ever heard mysterious footsteps in the attic at night? In many parts of Europe, the culprit might be the stone marten — one of the most adaptable small carnivores.
🧪 🦊 🦤 🌍
Photos: © janconl, CC-BY-SA, iNaturalist
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
"Marine-based sectors in East Antarctica, representing ~5 m of potential sea-level rise, are at risk of losing stability at 2–5 °C."
Not one #TippingPoint — a network of them. The clock is ticking.
#ClimateChange 🌍🌐🧪
Not one #TippingPoint — a network of them. The clock is ticking.
#ClimateChange 🌍🌐🧪
Antarctica isn’t one big tipping point.
New research maps 18 separate ice basins, each with its own threshold. Some in West Antarctica may tip at just ~1–2C warming (i.e close to today’s levels).
Cross the line, and you commit to m’s of sea-level rise over centuries
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
New research maps 18 separate ice basins, each with its own threshold. Some in West Antarctica may tip at just ~1–2C warming (i.e close to today’s levels).
Cross the line, and you commit to m’s of sea-level rise over centuries
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Mapping tipping risks from Antarctic ice basins under global warming - Nature Climate Change
Climate change threatens the future of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Here the authors show that individual drainage basins have different thresholds and loss patterns, suggesting the need to consider the d...
www.nature.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:27 PM
"Marine-based sectors in East Antarctica, representing ~5 m of potential sea-level rise, are at risk of losing stability at 2–5 °C."
Not one #TippingPoint — a network of them. The clock is ticking.
#ClimateChange 🌍🌐🧪
Not one #TippingPoint — a network of them. The clock is ticking.
#ClimateChange 🌍🌐🧪
From 12:00 am on 13 Feb to 11:59 pm on 16 Feb there are 384 blocks of 15 minutes.
The theoretical maximum number of 15-minute checklists one can submit for the #GreatBackyardBirdCount is 384, and it looks like 3 lunatics are on pace to hit that!
#GBBC #eBird #birding #communityscience
The theoretical maximum number of 15-minute checklists one can submit for the #GreatBackyardBirdCount is 384, and it looks like 3 lunatics are on pace to hit that!
#GBBC #eBird #birding #communityscience
February 16, 2026 at 4:51 PM
From 12:00 am on 13 Feb to 11:59 pm on 16 Feb there are 384 blocks of 15 minutes.
The theoretical maximum number of 15-minute checklists one can submit for the #GreatBackyardBirdCount is 384, and it looks like 3 lunatics are on pace to hit that!
#GBBC #eBird #birding #communityscience
The theoretical maximum number of 15-minute checklists one can submit for the #GreatBackyardBirdCount is 384, and it looks like 3 lunatics are on pace to hit that!
#GBBC #eBird #birding #communityscience
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
Marine heatwaves disrupt the culling of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish on the Great Barrier Reef link.springer.com/article/10.1... 🧪🌎🦑
Marine heatwaves disrupt the culling of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish on the Great Barrier Reef - Coral Reefs
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (CoTS) predation poses an enduring threat to coral health on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), driving substantial investment in research and control efforts. However, how CoTS re...
link.springer.com
February 15, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Marine heatwaves disrupt the culling of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish on the Great Barrier Reef link.springer.com/article/10.1... 🧪🌎🦑
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
As the author of a book about the science of 💩, I’d just like to say that snorting cocaine off 🚽 seats is a great way to get a preventable disease 🦠 (not to mention the danger of addiction & overdose).
As a trained microbiologist, yes, I think a healthy fear of germs is actually a *good* thing. 🧪
As a trained microbiologist, yes, I think a healthy fear of germs is actually a *good* thing. 🧪
February 15, 2026 at 11:02 PM
As the author of a book about the science of 💩, I’d just like to say that snorting cocaine off 🚽 seats is a great way to get a preventable disease 🦠 (not to mention the danger of addiction & overdose).
As a trained microbiologist, yes, I think a healthy fear of germs is actually a *good* thing. 🧪
As a trained microbiologist, yes, I think a healthy fear of germs is actually a *good* thing. 🧪
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
🧪 CSIRO study indicates low & declining adult population size for #whalesharks in the Indian Ocean: Patterson et al (2025) Pillans et al (2025; image credit) www.bmis-bycatch.org/references?s... #fisheries #bycatch
February 15, 2026 at 11:11 PM
🧪 CSIRO study indicates low & declining adult population size for #whalesharks in the Indian Ocean: Patterson et al (2025) Pillans et al (2025; image credit) www.bmis-bycatch.org/references?s... #fisheries #bycatch
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
Annunciation by Francesco del Cossa, c. 1470, Berlin Gemäldegalerie.
🐌 For all snail lovers, note the gargantuan snail at the bottom. More about this painting in tomorrow’s post on Exploring Art History!
🖌️ Subscribe for free here: ideasroadshow.substack.com
🗃️ #arthistory #medievalsky #snail #art
🐌 For all snail lovers, note the gargantuan snail at the bottom. More about this painting in tomorrow’s post on Exploring Art History!
🖌️ Subscribe for free here: ideasroadshow.substack.com
🗃️ #arthistory #medievalsky #snail #art
February 15, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Annunciation by Francesco del Cossa, c. 1470, Berlin Gemäldegalerie.
🐌 For all snail lovers, note the gargantuan snail at the bottom. More about this painting in tomorrow’s post on Exploring Art History!
🖌️ Subscribe for free here: ideasroadshow.substack.com
🗃️ #arthistory #medievalsky #snail #art
🐌 For all snail lovers, note the gargantuan snail at the bottom. More about this painting in tomorrow’s post on Exploring Art History!
🖌️ Subscribe for free here: ideasroadshow.substack.com
🗃️ #arthistory #medievalsky #snail #art
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
Why specialization in science isn’t always a virtue
Researchers are trained to dive deep into niches—but sometimes depth comes at a cost.
Narrow focus can fragment knowledge, hide connections, and suppress interdisciplinary creativity
🧪 #Interdisciplinarity #SciWri #SciComm #philsci #ResearchQuality
Researchers are trained to dive deep into niches—but sometimes depth comes at a cost.
Narrow focus can fragment knowledge, hide connections, and suppress interdisciplinary creativity
🧪 #Interdisciplinarity #SciWri #SciComm #philsci #ResearchQuality
February 15, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Why specialization in science isn’t always a virtue
Researchers are trained to dive deep into niches—but sometimes depth comes at a cost.
Narrow focus can fragment knowledge, hide connections, and suppress interdisciplinary creativity
🧪 #Interdisciplinarity #SciWri #SciComm #philsci #ResearchQuality
Researchers are trained to dive deep into niches—but sometimes depth comes at a cost.
Narrow focus can fragment knowledge, hide connections, and suppress interdisciplinary creativity
🧪 #Interdisciplinarity #SciWri #SciComm #philsci #ResearchQuality
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 264
# 263 contd.
Mechanical vibrations of the petals of the #flower were observed in response to frequency specific sound mimicking the presence of nearby #bees/#pollinators suggesting that the flower is the ‘ear’ of the plant.
#nature
#science
🐝🌍
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 264
# 263 contd.
Mechanical vibrations of the petals of the #flower were observed in response to frequency specific sound mimicking the presence of nearby #bees/#pollinators suggesting that the flower is the ‘ear’ of the plant.
#nature
#science
🐝🌍
February 15, 2026 at 2:39 PM
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 264
# 263 contd.
Mechanical vibrations of the petals of the #flower were observed in response to frequency specific sound mimicking the presence of nearby #bees/#pollinators suggesting that the flower is the ‘ear’ of the plant.
#nature
#science
🐝🌍
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 264
# 263 contd.
Mechanical vibrations of the petals of the #flower were observed in response to frequency specific sound mimicking the presence of nearby #bees/#pollinators suggesting that the flower is the ‘ear’ of the plant.
#nature
#science
🐝🌍
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
First of my new prints 🖤
Another spectacular print from @babeandoak.bsky.social
The Altar Prayer Card to Diana.
This is amazing 😍😍😍
The Altar Prayer Card to Diana.
This is amazing 😍😍😍
February 15, 2026 at 2:31 PM
First of my new prints 🖤
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
📌 Welcome to the Mammals! 🦊 feed - photography, science, news, art, & more welcome!
Please no domestic dogs/cats! To post to the feed, you must be on the feed contributor list. See thread for feed info/rules, how to get added, & how to check if you’re already on the list.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
Please no domestic dogs/cats! To post to the feed, you must be on the feed contributor list. See thread for feed info/rules, how to get added, & how to check if you’re already on the list.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
November 20, 2024 at 10:32 PM
📌 Welcome to the Mammals! 🦊 feed - photography, science, news, art, & more welcome!
Please no domestic dogs/cats! To post to the feed, you must be on the feed contributor list. See thread for feed info/rules, how to get added, & how to check if you’re already on the list.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
Please no domestic dogs/cats! To post to the feed, you must be on the feed contributor list. See thread for feed info/rules, how to get added, & how to check if you’re already on the list.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
📌 Welcome to the Birds! 🦉 feed - photography, science, news, art, & more welcome!
To post to the feed, you must be on the feed contributor list. See thread for feed info/rules, how to get added, & how to check if you’re already on the list.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
To post to the feed, you must be on the feed contributor list. See thread for feed info/rules, how to get added, & how to check if you’re already on the list.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
November 20, 2024 at 11:40 PM
📌 Welcome to the Birds! 🦉 feed - photography, science, news, art, & more welcome!
To post to the feed, you must be on the feed contributor list. See thread for feed info/rules, how to get added, & how to check if you’re already on the list.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
To post to the feed, you must be on the feed contributor list. See thread for feed info/rules, how to get added, & how to check if you’re already on the list.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
And it would be cool to add some new features. Like polls, and some original stuff to have more fun.
February 15, 2026 at 6:06 AM
And it would be cool to add some new features. Like polls, and some original stuff to have more fun.
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
February 15, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Reposted by Tim O'Connell
Another red-tailed hawk. Because I cannot get enough of them. So beautiful.
#birds
#photography
#birdsofbluesky
#birds
#photography
#birdsofbluesky
February 15, 2026 at 12:21 AM
Another red-tailed hawk. Because I cannot get enough of them. So beautiful.
#birds
#photography
#birdsofbluesky
#birds
#photography
#birdsofbluesky