Elsa Chen
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byelsachen.bsky.social
Elsa Chen
@byelsachen.bsky.social
120 followers 190 following 31 posts
Wildlife Biologist for CSU CEMML.
🐦🎮📚📷 (she/her)
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Reposted by Elsa Chen
gettoknownature.bsky.social
More excellent ducks! This one is in the running for Cutest Duck Ever.

(Bufflehead Duck) #birds 🌿
A black and white duck floats in rippling water, moving towards the camera. The “black” is actually a mix of iridescent greens, blues and dark pinks
February 12, 2025 at 3:56 PM
byelsachen.bsky.social
One of the top serene photos for me this year would definitely be Peyto Lake in Banff! #SkySky 🌿
Glacial blue dog shaped lake with forest in the front and snow-ridged mountains in the back. There are also some thin fluffy grey clouds moving in front of the mountains and covering the sky
December 30, 2024 at 8:53 PM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
esthervanhulsen.bsky.social
Finished this painting last week. A small portrait of a Bohemian waxwing
Acrylics on board13 x 13 cm (5.1” x 5.1”)
Original is available 🙂

#SciArt #animalart #birdart #wildlifeart #birdpainting #animalpainting
December 26, 2024 at 4:08 PM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
glengrambo.bsky.social
#ArtAdventCalendar 2024
Day 24!
Taking off is a production for these giant birds! This White Pelican is just starting to take off from a small prairie marsh.
#Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶
A White Pelican starts to take off from a small prairie marsh. The Pelican is backlit, and the water splashing from its orange feet are lit up while the background is black
December 24, 2024 at 11:14 PM
byelsachen.bsky.social
One of my favorite water features from Glacier NP was probably this little gorge with Avalanche Creek on Trail of the Cedars! These are the peaceful nature vibes I want all of the time. #ArtAdventCalendar
Teal water running through a small rocky gorge covered with moss and some small conifers.
December 24, 2024 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
chuckwendig.bsky.social
#ArtAdventCalendar Day 24 -- the last day!

I leave you with one of my favoritest photos

THE PATH

Merry happy, y'all.

(photo by me)
A path through a dense, vibrantly green forest, moving center frame into the distance, where very blurry, people can be seen far off. The path passes by a bench, where you may stop to rest, if you like. This path is in Saratoga Springs, part of what I believe to be the Bog Meadow Brook Nature Trail, though don't quote me on that. Onward we go, through the forest. Photo by me, Chuck Wendig.
December 24, 2024 at 3:58 PM
byelsachen.bsky.social
One of my favorite feathered friends!
glengrambo.bsky.social Glen Grambo 🇨🇦 @glengrambo.bsky.social · Dec 24
#ArtAdventCalendar 2024
Day 23
Just before sunset, a female Northern Harrier flys low over a prairie marsh.
#Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶
A female Northern Harrier flys over brown prairie grasses with a dark background. It is just before sunset and she is backlit with her wings rim light by the sun.
December 24, 2024 at 1:31 AM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
hawaiianimages.bsky.social
Since Kilauea is erupting again, let me bring back another Kamokuna ocean entry shot from 2016 for #ArtAdventCalendar Day 23. You can see a large wave about to break on the lava...an ocean entry is beauty and violence, Pele and her sister Namakaokahai's ongoing sibling rivalry :) 📷🌿
A bright orange/red stream of lava flowing into the ocean diagonally from top right to lower left, as a wave breaks at the top left, the whole scene surrounded by steam. Kamokuna ocean entry, Big Island, Hawaii 2016
December 23, 2024 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
glengrambo.bsky.social
#ArtAdventCalendar 2024
Day 22
A white-breasted Nuthatch pauses to admire the falling snow.
#Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶
A White House-breasted Nuthatch perches right side up on the side of a spruce tree trunk. There is light snow falling that shows up against the dark background
December 23, 2024 at 1:48 AM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
secondnaturemb.bsky.social
My only other major acrylic painting for Day 22 of the #artAdventCalendar I did this short-eared owl a few years ago now and it tuned out well, considering I hadn't used my acrylics for 20 years. The canvas is 30 inches by 15 inches.
A pale brown short-eared owl floats over the prairie in the early spring. The pale yellow grass is spotted by patches of grey snow that reflects the light from the cloudy sky.
December 23, 2024 at 12:08 AM
byelsachen.bsky.social
Sitting at the top of Cinder Cone by myself during my Lassen trip was a very magical/peaceful experience. #ArtAdventCalendar
Volcanic rock covers the ground with some paths crossing the landscape. One solitary conifer to the right and a snowy peak in the back.
December 22, 2024 at 10:01 PM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
margueriteturl2.bsky.social
#artadventcalendar day 22 the Great Crested Flycatcher chilling out in front of the spruce tree! #birds
Great crested flycatcher brown and yellow bird in a branch to the right of the pic looking to the left with a spruce tree in the background
December 22, 2024 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
allthatwildlife.bsky.social
Here's a wood-burned Great Gray Owl for today's #ArtAdventCalendar.

I have never actually seen a Great Gray Owl, although I looked for them in Sax-Zim Bog a few winters ago.

#BirdArt #WildlifeArt #birds #owl
Image of a wood-burned artwork portraying the head of a Great Gray Owl. The medium is a piece of pale brown wood. It is marked by fine brown strokes made by a wood-burning tool. The face of the Great Gray Owl is looking directly at the viewer.
December 21, 2024 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
blueasterstudio.bsky.social
20 days into #ArtAdventCalendar, where does the time go? Today we'll share our most recent Turkey Vulture art print. We call this one the Majestic Turkey Vulture. 🎨🐡🪶
A 5 inch by 7 inch art print of a turkey vulture perched on a snag in front of a hilly background and crescent moon in the daytime sky.
December 20, 2024 at 2:41 PM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
elizabethkennen.bsky.social
Burrowing Owl in watercolor ~ #ArtAdventCalendar day 20
I loved painting all the details of this owl, inspired by one of @burrowingowl.bsky.social's wonderful photos. I just love #owls.💙 #birds #birdart #nature

🎨 1-elizabeth-kennen.pixels.com
Watercolor painting of a burrowing owl.
December 20, 2024 at 6:04 PM
byelsachen.bsky.social
Here’s Lake Helen with a reflection of Mt. Lassen in the background for more alpine lake scenery. #ArtAdventCalendar
Clear reflective turquoise-tinged lake with a rocky shoreline and conifers and a mountaintop in the background.
December 20, 2024 at 1:13 AM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
secondnaturemb.bsky.social
A late addition for Day 18 of the #ArtAdventCalendar. This acrylic painting of a great gray owl took a very long time partly because the background ended up being way more detailed than I intended it originally to be. It was a lot of fun though.
Acrylic painting of a great gray owl perched on a white birch, snag with bark peeling off of it. Behind the owl are snow covered, conifers, and bare white birches against a gray sky.
December 19, 2024 at 4:40 AM
byelsachen.bsky.social
Saw some in real life for the first time this past fall and I love their wing colors so much!
glengrambo.bsky.social Glen Grambo 🇨🇦 @glengrambo.bsky.social · Dec 19
#ArtAdventCalendar 2024
Day 18
Black-billed Magpies stay with us year round and seem to thrive in the winter! They often appear black and white, but a frosty winter day was perfect for it to show off its beautiful iridescence!
#Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶
A black-billed magpie flys in front of frost covered spruce trees. In addition to its black head and white and black body, its wings show a vivid blue and green iridescence.
December 19, 2024 at 1:26 AM
byelsachen.bsky.social
Another California place I need to make it back to is Lassen National Park! I loved the alpine lakes. #ArtAdventCalendar
Rocky ground covered with small green vegetation in the foreground. Then a turquoise, reflective lake and rocky ground and conifers in the back. A mountain peak with one snow is in the distance.
December 19, 2024 at 1:20 AM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
kerriedoodles.bsky.social
Day 18 of #ArtAdventCalendar.

This is a miniature clay sculpture of a Black Throated Diver (also known as an Arctic Loon) which would easily sit in the palm of your hand.
A clay sculpture of an Arctic Loon (Black Throated Diver - Gavia arctica) by Kerrie Ann Gardner. Loons are large water birds with dagger-shaped bills, webbed feet and legs so far back on their bodies that they cannot walk. Instead, when they are on the land, they slide along on their bellies.
December 18, 2024 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
jencross.bsky.social
Common Eastern Bumblebee making the most of autumn blooms. (Bombus impatiens) on bee balm (Monarda sp.)
#ArtAdventCalendar
A fuzzy bee with yellowish fuzz on the body and dark grayish fuzz on the abdomen. It is sitting in the middle of fading bee balm flowers. Gray skies fill the background.
December 17, 2024 at 11:28 PM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
secondnaturemb.bsky.social
For #ArtAdventCalendar Day 17, an illustration I completed earlier this year. It's meant to show the different animals and plants that benefit from badgers in southern Alberta. It's a digital painting and is included in the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators 2024 juried show. #SciArt
A colourful digital illustration of a cross-section of prairie. In the middle, a North American badger digs down into a tunnel after a Richardson's ground squirrel. In an offshoot of that tunnel a black and green tiger salamander sleeps. Above ground and to the left, a mom and kit swift fox sit near the entrance to a burrow, surrounded by grasses and orange and yellow blanket flowers. To the right, an adult and juvenile burrowing owl peek out of a tunnel. Below them, a western rattlesnake sleeps. Above it all against the orange of a setting sun, a common nighthawk flies to the right.
December 18, 2024 at 1:28 AM
byelsachen.bsky.social
I definitely have to give some California landscapes in addition to California birds, so here’s an idyllic image from Table Mountain this past spring! #ArtAdventCalendar
A small reflective creek with a rocky bed running between two hills that have a lot of small yellow flowers. Several trees dot the background before the blue sky with some fluffy clouds.
December 18, 2024 at 1:31 AM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
glengrambo.bsky.social
#ArtAdventCalendar 2024
Day 17
This Horned Grebe kept watch to make sure NOTHING encroached upon his 97% of the marsh!
#Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶
A Horned Grebe, with his rust coloured body and yellow ear “horns” floats on a calm marsh with his reflection. The water is green and reflects the surrounding reeds.
December 18, 2024 at 1:16 AM
Reposted by Elsa Chen
tinylongwing.bsky.social
#ArtAdventCalendar day 17, a snowy #TalonTuesday scene! A Great Gray Owl watches from dense conifers as snowflakes fall. Originally done for @instbirdpop.bsky.social as a winter thank you card illustration. 🎨🪶🐡 #birdart
A digital illustration of a Great Gray Owl facing right. Its bright yellow eyes stand in contrast to the mottled gray feathers. Light snow dusts the owl's head and the background of conifer branches. For The Institute for Bird Populations, 2022
December 17, 2024 at 5:33 PM