Alison Forde
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n8rnerd.bsky.social
Alison Forde
@n8rnerd.bsky.social
2.3K followers 770 following 670 posts
🐍 Consulting Ecologist with a focus on Species at Risk and Impact Assessment/Mitigation
🐢 Educator 🎻 Musician 🍪 Baker 🎲 Boardgamer 🏒 Leafs Fan 🌎 Explorer 🌿 iNaturalist obsessed
#Novid 😷 Based in #HamOnt. #ElbowsUp 🇨🇦 She/her.
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n8rnerd.bsky.social
🎶 it's beginning to look a lot like a Hallmark Christmas move 🎶 because there are still green leaves on the trees underneath the snow 😆
Trees and lawn with a light dusting of snow, all very green underneath
November 9, 2025 at 1:10 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Blue Jays are stunning ✨
November 8, 2025 at 11:19 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Me too, Artuu. Me too.
November 8, 2025 at 12:46 AM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
✅ Cool: I found a Baltimore Oriole nest on the ground.

❌ Not cool: it's almost entirely composed of fishing line.

I wonder if the parents a) used it and b) lost any offspring to entanglement.

Please clean up discarded fishing line.

🪶 #birds #ornithology #HamOnt
What initially appears to be a tangle of fishing line of various calibre is a woven Baltimore Oriole nest, shaped like a deep cup.
November 2, 2025 at 8:00 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Did you know that the Chinese use the same word for "crisis" as they do for "opportunity"? "Crisitunity"!
November 2, 2025 at 4:10 AM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
I am all out of Relax. LET'S GOOOOO!

#LetsGoBlueJays
Holding up an empty mug that says "Relax" on it, with Bo Bichette on the TV in the background.
November 2, 2025 at 2:45 AM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
October 28, 2025 at 6:35 AM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Watching a favourite Canadian artist, Lennie Gallant, perform in Kitchener (recorded last night). 🇨🇦🎵❤️
Artuu the African Grey Parrot in focus with the TV playing Lennie Gallant's performance in the background.
October 26, 2025 at 11:50 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Just a month ago I was hoping to hit 550 species, and now I may have the opportunity to hit 600 before the end of the year! Insects have been doing the heavy lifting, comprising 55% of what I've found in my yard. Hoping to use a malaise trap next year and boost that number even more!
A screenshot from my iNaturalist project showing some of the most recent observations in my yard, including several birds. The observation count is at 1,230 and the species count is at 591.
October 25, 2025 at 2:34 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Tonight's outfit! Maybe I need to update my hat 😂

#LetsGoBlueJays
A mesh back/trucker hat that says "It's Time 89!” with a white/home Blue Jays jersey showing the name and number on the back (Delgado, 25)
October 24, 2025 at 9:18 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
I need to get more batteries for my wildlife camera and find out who is digging these rather large holes in my yard! My guess is skunk. I just don't want to roll an ankle in one 😬
October 21, 2025 at 9:20 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Hamilton's First Climate Forum
Thinking Globally, Acting Locally – The Climate Crisis and Our Energy Future
Wed. Oct. 29, 2025
Doors Open: 4:30 PM
Program Begins: 5:00 PM
David Braley Health Sciences Centre, Auditorium Room 2032 (100 Main St. W., Hamilton)

RSVP: climatechange@hamilton.com

#HamOnt
Hosted by the City of Hamilton’s Office of Climate Change Initiatives, this free public event will feature keynote speaker Ralph Torrie, Director of Research at Corporate Knights, and an internationally recognized leader in local climate action. Torrie will present a hopeful, practical pathway toward environmental sustainability and economic prosperity.
October 20, 2025 at 3:00 AM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Naturally, Artuu is supporting the #BlueJays! #LetsGoBlueJays
October 20, 2025 at 12:18 AM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
I thought the Common Grackles had left because I hadn't seen a flock for nearly a month. So I put out the "good" seed mix today. Clearly I was wrong. There are 60 of them emptying my feeder 🥲 🪶
October 19, 2025 at 7:43 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Participated in the AeroVax trial this morning! Phase 2 clinical trial for an inhaled COVID vaccine. It's double-blind so I won't know until it's published whether I've had the placebo or not. I'll be getting my regular dose in 8 weeks to be sure 🙂

aerovax.ca
Alison, masked, sitting behind a nebulizer that will deliver the inhaled COVID-19 vaccine (or placebo).
October 15, 2025 at 2:13 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Welcome home, new plants!
October 4, 2025 at 8:17 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Filled up my #ebike to capacity with native plants at the sale put on by @hamiltonnature.org this morning! 8 new species to add to my yard: boneset, golden alexander, field pusseytoes, moss phlox, cardinal flower, prairie smoke and hairy & foxglove beardtongue.

#hamont
An ebike with a box in the front and a low profile Rubbermaid tub strapped to the back, both filled with native plants. Alison and her ebike with the native plant sale in the background.
October 4, 2025 at 3:26 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Towards the end of my work day I noticed a White-throated Sparrow foraging in the leaf litter in my yard. First of the fall, looking forward to more migrating this way soon! 🪶
A White-throated Sparrow on a sun-dappled lawn.
October 3, 2025 at 12:05 AM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
This petit organic pumpkin from the #HamOnt farmers market is just the right size for Artuu to devour 🎃
October 2, 2025 at 12:20 AM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
#RIPJaneGoodall

I had the immense fortune of hearing her speak at an event in Toronto in 2010. She's always been an inspiration to me for her conservation work and also as a woman in field biology.
Alison (right) with Jane Goodall (left) after her talk in Toronto in April 2010.
October 1, 2025 at 11:34 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Run to your local bookstore and pick this one up!
The book Run Like a Girl: A Memoir of Ambition, Resilience and Fighting for Change by Catherine McKenna, who is also on the book cover.
September 28, 2025 at 9:10 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Still vastly different.
September 24, 2025 at 11:28 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Didn't get a picture of myself but attended #DrawTheLine in Oakville this morning with a great crowd gathered by #GASP4Change.
A painted sign with a globe on fire at the top and wildflowers and grasses at the bottom, text in the middle says Be Radical Grow 'Weeds'.
September 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Thoroughly enjoyed attending @ljohnsonauthor.bsky.social's talk in Dundas this evening, hosted by Action 13. I'm looking forward to reading "A Garden for the Rusty-patched Bumblebee" (& sharing with family & friends) to find additional encouragement and inspiration to continue naturalizing my yard.
The book "A Garden for the Rusty-patched Bumblebee: Creating Habitat for Native Pollinators, Ontario and Great Lakes Edition" by Lorraine Johnson and Sheila Colla A screenshot of my iNaturalist home patch observations, displaying a variety of recently observed species insects like the eastern tailed-blue butterfly and common Eastern bumble bee and plants such as New England aster and frost aster.
September 16, 2025 at 1:59 AM
n8rnerd.bsky.social
Yesterday was a good day because I found TWO new native aster species growing in my yard: arrow-leaved aster and smooth-leaved aster. I need to flag their locations so I don't forget. I already have an abundance of other asters: New England, calico, panicled, and frost/hairy white oldfield.
Arrow-leaved aster, not quite in bloom yet Smooth-leaved aster with two open blooms that are a light lilac colour.
September 13, 2025 at 12:43 PM