Hannah Clipp, PhD
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allthatwildlife.bsky.social
Hannah Clipp, PhD
@allthatwildlife.bsky.social
3.3K followers 650 following 150 posts
Wildlife biologist & birder | Interests: wildlife research, birding, & nature photography | GIS Scientist working for the Appalachian Mountain Club | PhD in Natural Resources Science (WVU) | Website: hannahclipp.weebly.com
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allthatwildlife.bsky.social
Happy Owl-O-Ween! 🪶 🎃 🦇

(This is one of the Barred Owls that lives in the WVU Core Arboretum in Morgantown, WV.)
Cropped close-up photograph of an adult Barred Owl. It is mostly facing the camera, with its round head slight angled towards the right. Its eyes are black, its short pointed beak is orange-yellow, and its intricate feathers are a mix of frosted white and warm brown. The background is a blur of white and yellow-green on the left and mostly gray-brown on the right.
October 31, 2025 at 9:41 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
My final good-ish wolf photo from earlier this month is very autumnal.

I enjoyed the fall foliage in Jasper National Park, and even more so the wildlife! In addition to wolves, there was a family of moose and a handful of elk and mule deer.

#wildlife #mammals #nature #autumn
Photograph of a distant wolf walking through short golden grass at the edge of a coniferous forest. The wolf is in profile, facing to the left, with its head lowered. It is mostly gray, with pale brown legs and dark markings on its pelt. Scattered brown shrubs are in the foreground, with a line of conifer trees in the background.
October 23, 2025 at 7:13 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
About 2 weeks ago, I was lucky to spot at least 2 wolves from a somewhat random stop along Maligne Lake Road in Jasper National Park.

I was looking for birds, so it was pretty unexpected to see my first ever wolves!

#wildlife #mammals
Highly cropped photograph of a distant wolf walking in short browning grass, with a rocky hillside in the background. The wolf is in profile, heading to the left. It is mostly gray, with pale brown legs and dark markings on its pelt. Highly cropped photograph of a distant wolf lying in a patch of short grass, with a rocky hillside in the background. The wolf is looking in the direction of the camera. It is mostly gray and pale brown, with a notable white face and dark markings on its pelt.
October 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
Recently, I attended The Wildlife Society conference in Edmonton, Canada, and then ventured to Jasper National Park.

One of the best highlights of that trip was seeing WOLVES in the wild for the first time!

Sure, they were ~0.5 miles (~800 m) away, but still so cool.

#TWS2025 #wildlife #mammals
A highly cropped photograph of a distant wolf walking through chest-high pale yellow grass. The wolf is dark gray overall, with a pale gray muzzle. It is mostly in profile, facing to the left, with its head tilted toward the camera. In the background is a rocky hill interspersed with tufts of browning grass.
October 21, 2025 at 10:46 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
Female Lesser Nighthawks lack the bright white wingbars of their male counterparts (see my previous posts), but they are just as amazing to watch zip by in search of flying insect prey. I was lucky to see ~10 of these nightjars along one road in southeast Arizona. 🪶

#birding #nature #photography
Photo of a female Lesser Nighthawk gliding by through the air, with a distant blurred brown hill in the background. She is headed to the left, with wings outstretched. She is buff-colored overall, with brown striping on her belly and brown barring on her wings.
August 7, 2025 at 10:25 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
Having birds swoop around you with no concern for your presence is such a delightful experience and is a highlight of #birding for me. 🪶

I'm glad that I was able to capture one such moment with this male Lesser Nighthawk during my 1st time seeing the species.

#nature #photography #BirdsSeenIn2025
Photo of a male Lesser Nighthawk captured in midflight against a flat light gray sky. He is posed rather dramatically, with wings spread and tail partially flared. His oddly flat head is in profile, looking to the left. His body is mostly dark brown and mottled with gray and rufous highlights. He has vertical white wingbars near his wingtips and a white band along the bottom edge of his tail.
August 6, 2025 at 9:49 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
I had never seen a Lesser Nighthawk before my trip to southeast Arizona this past June, and I had such an awesome encounter with this male! 🪶

Lesser Nighthawks like to zoom around the desert scrub searching for insect swarms, usually around dusk.

#birding #nature #photography ##BirdsSeenIn2025
Photo of a male Lesser Nighthawk in mid-flight against a flat pale sky. His wings and tail are fully outspread in a dramatic pose, with his flat-looking head in profile facing to the left. Although he is buffy-colored overall with thick brown barring on his wing and tail feathers and thin brown horizontal striping across his belly, he also boasts a contrasting white bar along his chin, outer wingtips, and tail edge. The photo is amazingly crisp given the unpredictable flight paths of this species.
August 4, 2025 at 9:33 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
I interrupt my nightjar photo series to pose a challenge to my bird-aware friends + followers...

Based on the two unusual bird species in these not-so-great photos, can you deduce where I was last weekend?

#birds #birding #BirdsSeenIn2025
A mystery gull lays on a messy-looking nest on the roof of a building, near the top. He has a yellow bill, unstreaked white head, and a very dark mantle. If he stood up, he would have dull greenish-gray legs. A mystery gull lays on a messy-looking nest on the roof of a building, near the top. His head is tucked in this photo, but he has a yellow bill, unstreaked white head, and a very dark mantle. If he stood up, he would have dull greenish-gray legs. He is surrounded by four American Herring Gulls. A mystery songbird is perched upright on the head of an old thistle plant. He has a pointy pink bill, red mask, and mostly white body with tan smudging on his breast. He is surrounded by thistle plants. A mystery songbird is perched upright on the head of an old thistle plant. He has a pointy pink bill, red mask, and mostly white body with tan smudging on his breast. He is surrounded by thistle plants.
July 26, 2025 at 10:43 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
On a nice summer night, if you walk along a trail in Miller Canyon in southeast Arizona, you might just come across a funky little mottled gray bird sitting in your path.

This is a Common Poorwill --- the smallest nightjar species in North America! 🪶

#birding #nature #photography #BirdsSeenIn2025
Photo of a Common Poorwill lying in the middle of a rock-strewn dirt hiking trail. He is in profile, facing to the right, with his small, flat-looking head raised in an alert position. The bird is a mottled gray color, with a tiny dark bill, large black eyes, and a white-tipped tail.
July 24, 2025 at 10:39 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
I heard and saw my lifer Mexican Whip-poor-will this past June in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona. 🪶

The 2 whip-poor-wills that breed in the USA were split into distinct species in 2010 based on differences in vocalizations and genetics.

#birding #nature #photography #BirdsSeenIn2025
Photo of a Mexican Whip-poor-will lying in a horizontal position along a down-curved bare branch. The bird is in profile, facing to the left. He is in the midst of singing, so his small bill is half-open. His body is long and merges into his blunt-tipped tail. Overall, he is a brindled mix of brown and gray, with black eyes, a black throat, and a white band across his upper chest. The background is dark, with some blurry green leaves dripping from the top frame.
July 15, 2025 at 10:35 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
Since the start of 2024, I have managed to photograph 8 of the 9 nightjar species that regularly occur in the USA. 🪶

Here is my 1st ever photo of an Eastern Whip-poor-will that was found day-roosting at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area this past May.

#birds #birding #nature #photography #BirdsSeenIn2025
Photograph of an Eastern Whip-poor-will that is roosting during the day on a horizontal branch near the ground. The bird is an oddball-looking fellow, with a big flat head and a tiny bill that you can barely see. Its feathers are a mix of brindled brown and gray, which creates excellent camouflage with tree bark and leaf litter. In the photo, the bird is in profile, facing to the left, with a couple of bright green plants in the foreground and a small tree trunk and various green blurs in the background.
July 10, 2025 at 10:20 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
This was a mini review paper conceived by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station scientists with whom I have been working for the past 2 years. 🧪🌲

Although the subject matter was slightly out of my expertise, they were gracious enough to let me contribute, which was a fun experience!
A figure from a recently published mini review paper in the scientific journal Forest Ecology and Management. The USA is overlaid by hexagonal grid cells that are different colors based on the prevailing combination of disturbance agents that are primary drivers in the local region.
July 2, 2025 at 10:05 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
This has been a pretty good publication year for me! My 3rd peer-reviewed article of 2025 was published in Forest Ecology and Management. 🧪

"Integrating disturbance to improve our understanding of range-wide patterns in tree species abundance and demography"

authors.elsevier.com/c/1lDKR1L~Gw...
Graphical abstract for a recently published mini review paper in the scientific journal Forest Ecology and Management. The title is "Workflow for integrating disturbance in range-wide models of tree species abundance and demography". There are three sections: (i) identifying relevant predictor variables, (ii) modeling approach, and (iii) mapping. Each section has corresponding graphics and brief text explanations.
July 2, 2025 at 10:05 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
LIFE UPDATE!

It has been 2 years since I successfully defended my PhD dissertation, and although my planned career path with the Forest Service was upended...

I am delighted to announce that I have started a new, permanent position as a conservation scientist with the Appalachian Mountain Club.
Professional-looking headshot of a Chinese-American woman with black-rimmed glasses and a light-colored blouse with dark green designs. The background is distant green foliage.
June 18, 2025 at 10:31 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
Excited to announce that another one of my Ph.D. dissertation chapters is now published!

Research article title: "Optimizing management of wildlife openings in forested landscapes for game birds and overall avian diversity"

Link to article: wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Image of the cover of the June issue of Wildlife Monographs. The top text is the journal title: "Wildlife Monographs". The main image is a conglomerate of 9 individual photos. The three in the top row are photos of wild turkeys from game cameras. The middle row is comprised of three photos of wildlife openings, with green grass, forbs, and shrubs. The three photos in the bottom row are closeup headshots of a male indigo bunting, cedar waxing, and immature dark-eyed junco. The title text says: "Optimizing management of wildlife openings in forested landscapes for game birds and overall avian diversity".
June 13, 2025 at 9:59 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
And that's just the birds! Our little habitat was also frequented by red squirrels, deer, groundhogs, chipmunks, shrews, raccoons, and opossums.

The removal of those trees and shrubs portends the loss of much of our backyard wildlife, and for a wildlife biologist and birder, that is quite sad.
Before image of the backyard, from a couple weeks ago. The photo is filled with green leafy trees and shrubs. After image of the backyard, with a current view. The area that was once filled with green leafy trees and shrubs is now empty, revealing sky and dirt.
June 11, 2025 at 10:47 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
During the winter, we hosted dozens of cardinals, a handful of white-throated sparrows and dark-eyed juncos, and sometimes an American tree sparrow or pine siskin.

We also catered to the occasional hawk, pileated woodpecker, mockingbird, brown thrasher, grackle, red-winged blackbird, and nuthatch.
Before image of the backyard, from a couple weeks ago. The photo is filled with green leafy trees and shrubs. After image of the backyard, with a current view. The area that was once filled with green leafy trees and shrubs is now empty, revealing sky and dirt.
June 11, 2025 at 10:47 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
Our backyard regulars included doves, downy woodpeckers, blue jays, chickadees, titmice, robins, wrens, and finches.

During the spring and fall, this small patch of habitat hosted a variety of migrating birds, including hummingbirds, multiple warbler and sparrow species, and even wood thrushes.
Before image of the backyard, from a couple weeks ago. The photo is filled with green leafy trees and shrubs. After image of the backyard, with a current view. The area that was once filled with green leafy trees and shrubs is now empty, revealing sky and dirt.
June 11, 2025 at 10:47 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
On an annual basis, pairs of gray catbirds, eastern towhees, song sparrows, and northern cardinals all raised their families in those trees. I am fairly certain from the distressed behavior of the gray catbirds that their nest was destroyed as the trees and shrubs were removed.
Before image of the backyard, from a couple weeks ago. The photo is filled with green leafy trees and shrubs. After image of the backyard, with a current view. The area that was once filled with green leafy trees and shrubs is now empty, revealing sky and dirt.
June 11, 2025 at 10:47 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
A small tragedy amidst all that is happening in the world, but all the trees and shrubs behind our house (not on our property) were cut down to make way for a new apartment complex. 😭

The trees provided shade and privacy for us, but to our backyard birds, they were home.
Before image of the backyard, from a couple weeks ago. The photo is filled with green leafy trees and shrubs. After image of the backyard, with a current view. The area that was once filled with green leafy trees and shrubs is now empty, revealing sky and dirt.
June 11, 2025 at 10:47 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
For this study, I used North American Breeding Bird Survey data to model contemporary and future forest bird distributions across the Appalachian Mountains Bird Conservation Region in relation to climate factors and land cover metrics.

🪶 🧪 #ornithology #science
Part of a figure from a research article published in the scientific journal Landscape Ecology. The figure displays the expected count of Black-throated Blue Warblers in the Appalachian Mountains Bird Conservation Region for the year 2000 and for the year 2100 based on four future climate scenarios.
May 20, 2025 at 10:37 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
Barred Owls are a year-round resident within the woods of the @westvirginiau.bsky.social Core Arboretum in Morgantown, West Virginia, and I was lucky enough to encounter one this morning! There should be owlets branching out in just a few weeks.

#Owl #Bird #Birding #Wildlife #Photography #Nature
Tightly cropped photograph of an adult Barred Owl with a light, sun-bright background. The owl is facing forward, with its face looking slightly up and to the left. It has a round head with black eyes and a yellow beak. Its face is pale brown with brown striping radiating out from its eyes. Its neck has brown and white horizontal stripes, and its white chest has vertical brown striping.
April 24, 2025 at 10:22 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
After 2 hours of waiting in the rain, I got excellent looks at my lifer Barnacle Goose near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this past weekend.

Barnacle Geese are infrequent visitors to the United States, as they are native to northern Europe.

#birds #birding #BirdsSeenIn2025 #wildlife #NaturePhotography
A Barnacle Goose stands in short green grass with its wings outstretched to either side. Its head is small and white, with a thin black mask around its eye, and its bill is short and dark. Its neck and upper chest are black and the rest of its round belly is white. Its spread wings are silvery brown. Aside from the goose, the background is a cheery green.
April 11, 2025 at 10:29 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
It's #SuperbOwl Sunday!

Here's a gorgeous Great Gray Owl from Sax-Zim Bog, gazing skyward in heavy snow.

Great Gray Owls are mostly active at night and at dusk and dawn, but they also hunt during the day during the winter months.

#owl #birds #birding #wildlife #photography #birdphotography
Photograph of the head and shoulders of a Great Gray Owl surrounded by falling snowflakes, with its face upturned to the sky. The owl's broad facial disc is silvery gray and is tilted upward. Its eyes and small beak are yellow. Snowflakes fill the majority of the image, contrasting with the gray background.
February 9, 2025 at 5:01 PM
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
For #SuperbOwl weekend, here's a Boreal Owl perched in the shadows of some conifer trees in Sax-Zim Bog.

Boreal Owls are similar in length/weight to a screech-owl, although they are most closely related to the tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl.

#owl #birds #birding #wildlife #photography #birdphotography
Photograph of a Boreal Owl perched on a twig in the shadows between two conifer trees. The owl is small and facing mostly to the left, although it's head is pointed toward the camera. It has a pale gray face, with luminous yellow eyes, a brown head and back, and a white belly streaked with vertical brown barring. There are some white spots on its brown wings.
February 8, 2025 at 6:43 PM