Stephen Riffle, Ph.D.
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eyaspectre.bsky.social
Stephen Riffle, Ph.D.
@eyaspectre.bsky.social
340 followers 190 following 270 posts
Former researcher | Now freelance science writer, 👻 writer, & amateur wildlife 📸 (photos my own) | Fan of grappling. He/Him. 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️🖤
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eyaspectre.bsky.social
Stuck the landing! 10.0 on execution which will combine with a meager 4.0 on difficulty to give a respectable 14. Not the highest score in this owlympic games, but for a competitor of their age (>1) and with an injury, they should be very proud.
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🐡🌿 🌎🪶 San Francisco, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/1600
A brown and tan great horned owl stands on a minor stump that jets out from an oak tree's trunk where a thick branch once grew. The owl's feet are clearly visible on the tree and its left wing is partially raised in the air, the bird having just landed from flight.
August 6, 2024 at 5:00 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
A lucky moment in GGP with this Great Horned Owl. I'm not so familiar with bird injuries, but its right eyebrow ain't looking too good. Anyone seen this before?
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🐡🌿 🌎🪶 San Francisco, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/1600
A great horned owl flys towards the camera, its wings paused midway through an upbeat, splayed out with the white and black feathers backlight by the sun. Its yellow eyes gaze behind the camera. The background is a mottled mixture of oak-tree branches and nebulous green leaves.
August 5, 2024 at 3:19 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
A coyote pup, having a roll, roll, roll in z hay
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🐡🌿🦊 🌎 Tahoe, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/1600
A coyote pup is seen laying on its back with its paws in the air and it's tail slightly arched upward. Its face is curled back towards its tail, maw open in a playful attempt to bite the tail.
July 12, 2024 at 4:19 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
Pup butt. After meandering away from the group, this one came bounding back into the grass to start stalking up on its littermates (off-camera in the upper left background).
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🐡🌿🦊 🌎 Tahoe, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/1600
Bounding into a field of tall brown and green grass, a coyote pup can be seen with its back to us, its little butt clearly visible as the rest of it disappears into the grass.
July 9, 2024 at 4:15 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
Smiles all around as these pups came tumbling out of the tall grass.
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🐡🌿🦊 🌎 Tahoe, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/1600
A close up image of four coyote pups, each looking engaged and playful as they run alongside one another, tongues out and eyes alight with youthful joy. A group of four coyote pups can be seen running in a close pack out from tall grass, their ears perked up and mouths open as they nip and play with one another mid-run. Same general description as the previous picture, however now more of the pups' faces can be seen, tongues out and flopping as they run. The group is now blurry as they begin to tumble and fall into the tall grass.
July 8, 2024 at 4:48 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
mischief is a foot (a floof?)
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🐡🌿🦊 🌎 Tahoe, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/1600
A coyote pup's head can be seen poking up out of some tall grass in a meadow of brown and green grass.
July 5, 2024 at 2:44 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
A joyful coyote pup zoomie
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🐡🌿🦊 🌎 Tahoe, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/1600
Three coyote pups can be seen in a brightly lit meadow. Two are standing next to each other having just been wrestling. The third is running away from the group towards the lower right corner of the picture, its ears tucked back and mouth open. The running pup seems to be having a great time.
July 3, 2024 at 1:58 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
In a stroke of dumb luck, I got to watch a gaggle of coyote pups playing in a meadow while passing through Tahoe. It. Was. Magical lol The pics aren't stellar. But, it'll give you a little preview into the unfettered joy of pups playing in a meadow 😍

🐡🌿🦊 🌎 Tahoe, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/1600
Three coyote pups stand in a meadow surrounded by tall grasses. Two of the pups are wrestling, one is standing with its head cocked looking back over its shoulder. In the background is an area of dark shaded undergrowth beneath Pine trees.
July 2, 2024 at 4:36 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
*Thread* 3/3

Here, a pair of coyotes spotted the squirrelly commotion and began to hunt. I fear that this kind of event, while not directly feeding the coyotes, sets a precedent that humans can be accompanied by little furry snacks. 

🐡🌿🦊 🌎🪶 San Francisco, CA
📸 135mm, F5.6, 1/400
A coyote walks away from the man, having altered course when it got too close to the man feeding squirrels. No squirrels can be seen.
May 24, 2024 at 4:53 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
*Thread* 2/3

While I don't condone this practice, I understand there's a lot of psychological nuances involved. Still, there can be knock on effects when you encourage prey species to swarm. 

🐡🌿🦊 🌎🪶 San Francisco, CA
📸 135mm, F5.6, 1/400
A coyote walks on a path not 10 feet from the man feeding squirrels. No squirrels can be seen.
May 24, 2024 at 4:51 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
*Thread* 1/3

Sometimes, feeding coyotes isn't obvious or intended. Here, a person was feeding squirrels.

🐡🌿🦊 🌎 San Francisco, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/250
A pair of coyotes stand blurry in the foreground, their backs to the camera as they look on into the background. There, a man can be seen—partially obscured by the coyote—looking down into his backpack (where an unseen big bag of peanuts sat).
May 24, 2024 at 4:50 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
And of course, every incident has its rubberneckers

🐡🌿🦊 🌎🪶 San Francisco, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/1600
A great blue heron stands with a gopher hanging from its beak as a raven strides below the raven, looking up at the bird and the rodent.
May 23, 2024 at 6:28 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
Shortly after the initial grab

🐡🌿🦊 🌎🪶 San Francisco, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/1600
A great blue heron stands in a grassy field with a tree trunk and green bushes behind it. The bird's head is downward as a gopher dangles from its beak.
May 23, 2024 at 6:27 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
A zoomed out version. Also, note that the first image in this thread is mislabeled, should say 300mm for zoom.

🐡🌿🦊 🌎🪶 San Francisco, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/1600
A great blue heron strides through short grass with a limp gopher hanging from its beak.
May 23, 2024 at 6:26 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
After watching this, I'm pretty sure that death by coyote is FAR better than death by heron.

🐡🌿🦊 🌎🪶 San Francisco, CA
📸 130mm, F5.6, 1/1600
A great blue heron strides through short grass with a limp gopher hanging from its beak.
May 23, 2024 at 6:24 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
From out of the shadows, a curious dream, ephemeral in all but memory.

(Resharing this one because why not 🤷‍♂️)

🐡🌿🦊 🌎 San Francisco, CA
📸 130mm, F5.6, 1/1600
A person lays on their back among green grass and white daisies, bathed in one strong beam of sunlight. The person's hands are resting limply above their head, which is propped up on a skateboard and covered by the person's shirt. In the shadowed grass beyond the person, a coyote looks on with curiosity.
May 8, 2024 at 4:07 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
Watching curiously as people and dogs walk on the trail below.

🐡🌿🦊 🌎 San Francisco, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/250
A coyote stands in a tree clearing facing to the left of the picture frame, its ears perked up. Around it are lush green vines and bushes. The picture is framed by golden brown tree trunks on either side of the photo.
May 7, 2024 at 3:38 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
Another couple shots from 4/20. I was lucky enough to be in a spot where I could see the coyotes emerge from the bushes and then proceed to cross the road one at a time, first wearily, then at speed. 

🐡🌿🦊 🌎 San Francisco, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/2000
A coyote stands looking straight off to the right side of the picture frame. In the blurry background are 4 people staring at it, one with a phone raised to take a picture, another with a 3' long bong in one hand and the other raised, pointing at the coyote. A blurry foreground image of a coyote standing and looking towards the background at four people, all staring in awe at the coyote. One person has their phone raised to take a picture, the rest have their hands full carrying picnic items, and one guy—adorned in a Celtics jersey with snowboarding sunglasses on—rests with his weight partially on a ~3' long bong. A coyote runs across the sidewalk as three blurry figures look on in the background.
April 26, 2024 at 4:16 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
Sleepy days, what better time to rest among the flowers?

🐡🌿🦊 🌎 San Francisco, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/160
A coyote lays at the base of two diverging tree trunks. Next to is a bushel of purple flowers blooming out from among deep green leaves. The coyote is yawning.
April 25, 2024 at 3:38 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
🧵 On Bold Coyote Behavior:

This is not to provoke fear, but to encourage positive co-existence. Coyotes are important in many ways, but they're also wild animals who deserve respect, and that means recognizing and reinforcing mutual boundaries. 

🐡🌿🦊 🌎 San Francisco, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/2000
A man lays on the ground with a shirt over his face, sunbathing. About 5 yards away, a coyote looks at him curiously.
April 24, 2024 at 4:41 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
🧵 On Bold Coyote Behavior:

(3) Keep control over tense situations by leashing your pets.

🐡🌿🦊 🌎 San Francisco, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/2000
A coyote can be seen from behind, walking away from the camera towards a man and his german shepherd. The man is glancing back over his shoulder at the coyote.
April 24, 2024 at 4:38 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
🧵 On Bold Coyote Behavior:

(2) If the yote persists, haze it by getting loud, clapping, and throwing items between you and the yote (not at it, as your goal is to deter, not harm). Do this as you slowly leave the area. Cracking a belt works well.

🐡🌿🦊 🌎 San Francisco, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/2000
A coyote walks towards a dog in this distance who is looking in the opposite direction
April 24, 2024 at 4:36 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
🧵 On Bold Coyote Behavior:

A few additional tips:

(1) Best to keep a large distance between you+your dog and to calmly leave the area;

🐡🌿🦊 🌎 San Francisco, CA
📸 300mm, F5.6, 1/2000
April 24, 2024 at 4:34 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
🧵 On Bold Coyote Behavior:
This could be escorting behavior, reckless curiosity, boldness born out of habit, or other such reasons. Hard to say. But, if this happens to you, report it at at BayAreaCoyote.org
🐡🌿🦊 🌎 San Francisco, CA
📸 120mm, F5.0, 1/2000
A coyote crosses behind a man and his dog
April 24, 2024 at 4:33 PM
eyaspectre.bsky.social
🧵 On Bold Coyote Behavior:
After approaching the dog and its owner, this coyote persisted in following them (at a slower pace) for about 10 yards before peeling off into some nearby trees. 
🐡🌿🦊 🌎 San Francisco, CA
📸 120mm, F5.0, 1/2000
A coyote walks alongside a man and his dog
April 24, 2024 at 4:31 PM