Keith Roragen
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keithroragen.bsky.social
Keith Roragen
@keithroragen.bsky.social
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keithroragen.bsky.social
It's 8:18PM as I sit and wait for a delivery of #succulents that is supposed to be delivered by 9:00 tonight. Was originally supposed to be here yesterday. Tomorrow morning it is going to be 27 degrees. 🌵😥
November 26, 2025 at 2:21 AM
keithroragen.bsky.social
Surprise! My wife and I just learned we are hosting Thanksgiving dinner for at least 12 people. We have 3 days to clean 500 square feet + one bathroom of our house.
November 24, 2025 at 3:08 AM
keithroragen.bsky.social
My streak of checklists outside the state of Nebraska that do not include an owl has, mercifully, ended at 554. Great-horned Owl today at Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson, Arizona. Record now stands at Nebraska - 5 species, The rest of the world - 1 species. #birds #birding #Owls 🪶 🦉
A Great-horned Owl sits on a tree branch, surrounded by other branches. The owl's back faces the camera with mostly gray feathers striped with black. The tail is short and somewhat brad with gray feathers with black bands the head is turned to the left revealing one dark, partly-closed eye. A ridge extends from the beak to the horn, which is long and pointed. A dark curved line surrounds the face from ear to neck form a facial disk.
November 13, 2025 at 11:33 PM
keithroragen.bsky.social
I think I may have a problem. #HouseplantTakeover #Plants
A collection of large houseplants crowds a fireplace hearth. Most of them have long, pointed green leaves. A few smaller plants are on tables on either side of the fireplace
October 7, 2025 at 2:11 AM
keithroragen.bsky.social
RIP #RobertRedford #Legend
a man with long hair and a beard is wearing a brown coat
Alt: Robert Redford as Jeremiah Johnson, with long hair and a beard is wearing a brown coat. He gives a small smile and nod.
media.tenor.com
September 16, 2025 at 9:17 PM
keithroragen.bsky.social
Got home this morning just in time to witness two hummingbirds fighting for control of the feeder apparently by means of an aerial dance-off. They danced around the feeder for a while until the inferior dancer flew off and the winner took her place on a branch above the feeder. 🪶
September 12, 2025 at 4:30 PM
keithroragen.bsky.social
I had an unobstructed view of this Green Heron, not more than 20' away. It didn't seem bothered by me stopping to take a few pics. 🪶 #Birding #Omaha
A Greeb Heron perches on a branch over some murky water. The bord is oval shaped with a long, pointed bill. Its wings are greyish green, some with yellow edges. legs are yellow with long feet and long, curved claws tightly gripping the branch. Cheeks and throat are a rusty color with a patch of white just below the bill.
September 7, 2025 at 1:59 AM
keithroragen.bsky.social
No fewer than 28 Common Nighthawks on the walk through the neighborhood this evening. Last week there were none. #BirdingNebraska. #FallMigration 🪶
August 28, 2025 at 12:44 AM
keithroragen.bsky.social
Not one but two mantids at the blacklight tonight. #insects #BackyardBlacklighting
A green mantis on a blue wall. The mantis has a long slender body which thins at the thorax. The head is triangular with large dark eyes and long, thin antenna. Hind two pair of legs are long and thin. Front pair have swollen femurs with claw-like tibia for grasping prey A brown mantis on a blue wall. Hind two pair of legs are green.
August 16, 2025 at 2:52 AM
keithroragen.bsky.social
A Monarch butterfly was laying eggs on Honeyvine Milkweed in my garden. 🦋 #Butterfly #Insects #Omaha
August 11, 2025 at 1:54 AM
keithroragen.bsky.social
Yesterday, my wife texted me a picture of a bird that was perching on a ledge outside the window of her office building and it was a nighthawk! Of course, I ran out there as soon as I could and got my own pictures. 🪶 #Birds #BirdingOmaha
A Common Nighthawk rests on the metal trim beneath a window. The bird is brownish with lighter and darker spots. It is oval-shaped in profile with the head tucked tightly against the body. The eye is visible but appears mostly closed. A small black beak is visible at the front of the head. No legs are visible and the body appear to be resting directly on the metal trim.
August 2, 2025 at 3:11 PM
keithroragen.bsky.social
There was a young Green Iguana on my in-law's pool enclosure. I snapped a few pics and they asked me if I wanted to see some big ones. They took me to a spot a few blocks away that was crawling with them. 🦎 #Lizards #Reptiles
A young Green Iguana clings to a screen. The lizard is bright green with a red eye. Its hind legs have much longer toes than the front. the long whip-like tail is banded with darker green. A Large Green Iguana rests on some rocks. The lizard is brown with some dull green on the underside and darker banding on the tail. There are spiny ridges on the throat and back. The eye is brownish-orange. A green Iguana rests on a bank near water. The lizard is green with a stout tail, banded in black. There is a row of spines down the back and on the throat. There is a large circular structure where the head meets the throat. A Green Iguana rests on a rock. The lizard is mostly green but blotched with pale black. A row of spines extends from the back of the head to the base of the tail, becoming shorter approaching the tail. Arow of shorter spines is visible from the lower jaw to the throat. There is a fold of green skin behind the head.
July 20, 2025 at 12:03 AM
keithroragen.bsky.social
Common Gallinule chick - Peaceful Waters Sanctuary, Wellington Florida. 🪶 #BirdsofFlorida
A Gallinule chick stands on a Duckweed covered pond. The chick is oval-shaped and covered in black fuzz. The top of the head is bare and reddish orange. The top base of the bill is red with the remainder orange. Legs are black and almost as long as the width of the body. The feet are almost as long as the legs with three prominanent forward facing toes. The pond is completely covered with small floating green leaves.
July 18, 2025 at 3:21 PM
keithroragen.bsky.social
First Lifer of this year's Florida Trip - Roseate Spoonbill 🪶 #BirdsofFlorida
A Roseate Spoonbill walks up a grassy slope. The bird has a stout pink body, long, thick white neck and a long, dull-yellow bill which resembles a flat spoon. Legs are red and long with long, dark toes.
July 14, 2025 at 4:12 PM
keithroragen.bsky.social
Probably the largest moth I’ve ever had at my backyard blacklight, this Underwing Moth. Maybe Ilia Underwing? 🦋 #Moths #insects #BackyardBlacklightung.
A large grayish-brown moth one blue wall. The moth is medium brown with a light grey band through the center of each wing forming a shallow V. There is a dark brown hourglass shape between the light grey band and the we ing edge. A small speck of the pink underwing is visible where the two forewings meet. Wingspan is about 50mm
June 28, 2025 at 4:05 AM
keithroragen.bsky.social
One of the two Buttonbushes I planted last year is finally starting to bloom. A small hover fly stopped by for a visit. #NativeGardening #Pollinators.
A single Buttonbush bloom against its green oval-shaped foliage The bloom is white and round with many stiff white filaments radiating from it. Another bloom, less compact and globe shaped with thicker more yellow structures radiating from it. A Small fly wit a yellow abdomen and relatively large red eyes rests on it
June 27, 2025 at 1:09 AM
keithroragen.bsky.social
Got myself a late birthday present with this Elephant’s Foot - Dioscorea elephantipes. Native to South Africa, the woody tuberous stem stores water to help the plant survive harsh summers. 🌱 #CaudexPlants #Succulents #Houseplants
An Elephant’s Foot plant sits in a square, green nursery pot. The plant consists of a bulbous, woody tuber with a single vine emerging from the tip. The vine has alternating heart-shaped leaves.
June 15, 2025 at 10:03 PM
keithroragen.bsky.social
I saw this insect on a door at work today. At first I thought it was a small parasitic wasp. On closer inspection, it’s a moth, specifically, a Maple Callus Borer moth. 🦋 #Insects
A close-up image of a Maple Callus Borer moth resting on a pale background. The moth has narrow, transparent wings with distinctive black markings and fringed edges. Its slender, dark body is banded and elongated, with a fan-shaped tuft at the tip. It has long, curved, slightly thickened antennae that arch outward. The moth’s wasp-like appearance is typical of clearwing moths in the Sesiidae family. An oblique view of the Maple Callus Borer moth. This views shows off the long pointed mouthparts, as well as the dense feathery fringe of the hind wing
June 12, 2025 at 11:51 PM
keithroragen.bsky.social
After an exhausting month of work and birding I decided to take today off from birding and, boy, I'm glad I did. Yard bird #65 and FOY Yellow-billed Cuckoo. #BackyardBirding #Nebraska 🪶 🐦
A Yellow-billed Cuckoo sits atop a Burning Bush against the backdrop of a grayish-brown cement wall. The bird's head appears above the top of the foliage revealing a black eye, brown head and back and white throat and breast. The bill is long and curves slightly downward. It is predominantly yellow with a thin black upper edge that broadens a bit towards the tip.
June 7, 2025 at 1:55 PM
keithroragen.bsky.social
My Domino Cactus bloomed sometime last night. Flower was fully open this morning and is now almost closed. The single bloom seems to have oriented itself towards the setting sun. 🌵 #Cactus #Houseplant
A Domino cactus with a single bloom. The cactus is barrel-shaped and encircled with ridges, each with a row of white tufts forming spots similar to those on dominos. The flower is all white with a yellow center. It is in a long green stalk. The cactus is planted in a terra cotta pot with small multicolored stones as a top dressing.
May 31, 2025 at 1:36 AM
keithroragen.bsky.social
I took 56 pictures of Black Terns today, all of them terrible. This was the best one. They were stationary but far away. 🐦🪶 #Birding #Nebraska
5 Black Terns perch on the remains of a dead tree that is surrounded by water. The terns have gray wings and black heads.
May 25, 2025 at 1:35 AM
keithroragen.bsky.social
I took the Snake Plant I’ve been growing in water for the last four months out to clean out the algae and it’s grown four pups since I planted it. 🌱 #Houseplants
A Snake plant with bare roots. The yellow edged green leaves are arranged in whorls with one main whorl at he center and three progressively smaller whorls around it. Roots are mostly orange. The same Snake plant planted in a glass vase. The base is filled with small black stones and water fills the vase up to the level of the leaves.
May 12, 2025 at 2:03 AM
keithroragen.bsky.social
Last year was a terrible year for snakes, meaning I didn’t see any, so I was super-excited today to see these two Dekay’s Brown Snakes in the process of making more Dekay’s Brown snakes. 🐍 #snakes #AccidentalHerper
Two small brown snakes intertwined on a grassy lawn.
May 5, 2025 at 10:51 PM
keithroragen.bsky.social
Native Golden Alexander -Zizia aurea blooming in my garden. A great plant for early pollinators and host plant for Black Swallowtail butterflies. 🌱 #NativeGardening
Green stems with serrated lanceolate leaves and clusters of tiny yellow flowers.
April 27, 2025 at 3:45 PM
keithroragen.bsky.social
First Nebraska herp of the year. American Bullfrog - Bellevue, Nebraska 🐸 #Frogs
"An American Bullfrog sits partially submerged in water, its robust, muscular body blending into the murky shallows. Its smooth, greenish-brown skin glistens with moisture, mottled with darker speckles that offer natural camouflage. The large, round golden eyes, encircled by a thin black ring, bulge from the sides of its broad head, giving it a vigilant appearance. Below its eyes, the tympanic membranes—flat, circular eardrums—are clearly visible. A thick ridge extends from the back of the eye and curves down the back of the head.
April 20, 2025 at 5:52 PM