Shifty Pony
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shiftypony.bsky.social
Shifty Pony
@shiftypony.bsky.social
50 followers 130 following 72 posts
Enby butler to a perpetually unfed tuxedo cat.

Follows with zero posts/replies get blocked, go tell someone their cat is cute or something.
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shiftypony.bsky.social
With the ground covered by snow cardinals are swarming my feeders. A welcome flash of bright 🪶 in a drab landscape.
A bright red and very fluffed up cardinal sits on a branch. He has a determined look on his face.
December 5, 2025 at 9:11 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
New @purrplecat.bsky.social release makes Monday a little less Monday.
A screenshot showing an album titled "Multiverse 2" by Purrple Cat with a release date of today. On the album cover a purple cat walks through a corridor in space formed by floating windows that appear to contain portals to other dimensions and places.
November 17, 2025 at 12:55 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
Every now and then you just gotta lift your #cats. I don't make the rules, that's just the way it is. #catsofbkuesky #tuxedocats
A tuxedo cat is housed in the air by a hand under its front armpits. It looks down at the viewer with a blank expression.
October 27, 2025 at 10:14 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
A yellow-shafted northern flicker paid a visit to the birdbath this afternoon. He was quite thirsty and spent a while before returning to his bug-hunt 🪶
A medium-large bird sits on the edge of a bird bath looking outwards. It has a dark green-brown back and light brown chest with black spots on each feather. His cheeks and front neck sport stylish strokes of solid black, and a red band can be seen at the back of his head. This cool appearance is ruined by the fact that one of his butt feathers is soaking in the water.
October 26, 2025 at 9:37 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
Red shouldered hawk paying no mind to the alarm calls of the orher #birds in my yard. Oh to be so unbothered!

Olympus E-M5 145mm f/5.6
A red shouldered hawk is perched on a bare branch. The reddish-brown chest is facing the viewer. A red shouldered hawk is perched on a bare branch. The reddish-brown chest is facing the viewer. The bird is looking at something out of frame to the viewer's right.
September 18, 2025 at 1:34 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
Hummingborb 🪶
A delightfully round Ruby, throated hummingbird is perched on the end of the stick
September 7, 2025 at 1:22 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
A male Ruby throated hummingbird has taken to using my new zinnia support stick to guard his claim to the flowers and feeders. #birds #hummingbirds
A hummingbird with an iridescent red neck faces the viewer. It is perched at the top of a stick.
August 18, 2025 at 12:06 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
I realized the #Lego diver flippers fit on this Lego shark and I've been giggling at it pretty much all day.
August 16, 2025 at 11:22 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
Raspberries are producing nearly a pound every other day, the peach trees are beginning to ripen, blackberries are turning pink, and the tomato plants will soon be taller than I am. I love this time of year. #gardening #fruittrees
A silver bowl filled with raspberries next to three ripe peaches.
June 18, 2025 at 3:31 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
A blueberry thief makes a quick getaway.

Gray Catbirds love fruit, and from personal observations I can attest that they are also quite adept at finding holes in bird netting.

#birds #gardening
A gray bird with black cap and tail is in flight. In its unrepentant beak is an ill-gotten blueberry
June 10, 2025 at 10:54 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
Hey there, Mr. Blue,
We're so pleased to be with you.

I continue to be impressed that this Olympus E-M5 is still hanging on and giving decent photos.

#birds
A male Eastern Bluebird sits perched on a black metal arch. The bird is facing away from the viewer, with head turned in profile.
May 27, 2025 at 6:02 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
Bluebird babies are getting very close to fledging now and I'll soon be able to clean things up for the next #birds to move in. Mom and dad let things get really messy this year, so the box will get a good scrubbing.
Three heavily feathered blueish-grey bird chicks crowd a nest that is too small for two. Three heavily feathered blueish-grey chicks crowd a nest at the bottom of a nesting box. The walls of the nesting box are heavily spotted with bird waste.
April 25, 2025 at 11:59 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
The #birds at the feeder are really starting to pop! It has been fun watching the goldfinches quickly become highlighter-yellow.
Three small birds are perched at a tube shaped feeder. All three are very bright yellow with black and white wings and small "cap"-like black area at the top of their head.
April 20, 2025 at 2:13 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
A 🪶 traveler making a pit stop on a long journey.

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks migrate between a winter range in Central America or the Caribbean and a breeding range across much of the northern US and Canada.
A medium sized bird with a short stout beak is perched at a hanging tube shaped feeder half full of dark seed. Green grass is in the background The bird's coloration is: black head, black back, black tail, black wings with white bars, a white belly, and an area of bright red on its upper breast.
April 20, 2025 at 1:07 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
Two #BirdButts for the price of one this #WoodpeckerWednesday !Pileated and Red Bellied woodpeckers agree: the old pine tree in my backyard is the happenin' place to shack up! 🪶
March 19, 2025 at 5:54 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
One of our resident Eastern Bluebirds keeping an eye out from a cherry tree 🪶
A bluebird sits on a bare branch, mostly facing the viewer. It has a bright blue head, a reddish-brown upper breast, and a white lower breast. A small amount of blue can be seen on the shoulder. The background of the picture has broad green leaves around the edge of the bottom third. The rest of the image is out of focus dull browns and light greens.
March 1, 2025 at 2:29 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
Hello little Carolina Wren 🪶
A Carolina Wren (a small compact bird with dark brown back, light tan belly, a white stripe above its eye, and a pointed beak) sits facing away from the viewer on a birdfeeder on the other side of a window. Some green plants are in the foreground
February 22, 2025 at 8:31 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
Trying out digiscoping for the first time with the red bellied woodpeckers nesting behind my house.

It's going to take some fiddling to minimize the vignetting and the chromatic aberrations from my cheap binoculars, good thing there are so many #birds to practice with!
A photograph showing the top of a dead tree with patchy remains of bark, against a light blue background. A medium sized bird with a red head and cream breast is perched at the tip of a branch, and a dark hole can be seen in the trunk where the branch joins. The photograph is slightly softer focus near the top edge. A photograph showing the top of a dead tree with patchy remains of bark, against a light blue background. A medium sized bird is perched at the decaying tip of the trunk, and a dark hole can be seen in the trunk where a branch joins. The bird has black wings with horizontal stripes, and a cream colored head with a red streak at the very top. The photograph is notably dimmer and out of focus near the bottom edge.
February 18, 2025 at 2:08 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
Heads up to backyard bird lovers of the US mid-Atlantic: house sparrows are starting to actively scout for nesting sites. If you have any bluebird boxes keep an eye out and be ready to evict any sparrows.

While cute they are aggressive and invasive, native cavity nesting #birds need our help!
Two small house sparrows, one male and one female, are on top of a wooden bird nesting box, which has a hole on the front face. Large green leaves are in the background. A female house sparrow is peeking out of the front hole of a wooden bird nesting box. Large green leaves are in the background.
February 17, 2025 at 3:08 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
This bluebird hung out with its tail🪶 soaking in the birdbath for a good 15 minutes. Not all #birds have crow-smarts I suppose.
A bluebird sits on the edge of a concrete birdbath, facing away from the water. Its head is cocked to the side, oblivious to its tail being submerged in the water. A bluebird sits on the edge of a concrete birdbath, facing away from the water. Its head is cocked to the side, looking somewhat towards the viewer. The bird appears oblivious to its tail being submerged in the water.
February 3, 2025 at 9:15 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
Even in winter plumage this American Goldfinch can't help but let his true colors peek through. #birds
A small bird with black and white wings, dull tan body, and a brighter yellow head looks at the viewer from the perch of a bird feeder.
February 2, 2025 at 11:04 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
This Carolina Wren has been shoveling sunflower seeds out of my feeders, searching for already open ones. Occasionally it just sits there looking grumpy about the other #birds and their fancy seed-opening beaks.
A bird with a tan breast with chestnut brown cap and back sits between two black metal posts arranged in a Y shape. The bird's expression is decidedly unimpressed.
January 25, 2025 at 10:16 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
The neighborhood #birds are dealing with the cold snap by becoming spheres.
January 23, 2025 at 2:09 AM
shiftypony.bsky.social
I thought working from home meant that the boss wouldn't randomly yell at me?
A photo taken from the point of view of someone sitting at a desk with a keyboard. The head and shoulders of a black and white cat sitting on their lap is visible, mouth open and white whiskers spread wide in what appears to be a loud and emphatic meow.
January 11, 2025 at 11:19 PM
shiftypony.bsky.social
Carolina wrens are such silly #birds. This one managed to lose a fight with a sunflower seed.
January 7, 2025 at 3:59 PM