Ted Zukoski
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tedzukoski.bsky.social
Ted Zukoski
@tedzukoski.bsky.social
1K followers 440 following 430 posts
Lawyer working to protect public lands & the climate in the US Southwest. Would-be backpacker. Birder. "World's Okayest Dad" (says 1 of my kids). Personal (not professional) account.
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tedzukoski.bsky.social
A walk outside is good for the soul. Especially when the neighbors are out too. Greater yellowlegs and American white pelicans at Walden Ponds in Boulder, Colorado. #birds #birding #Colorado
Two greater yellowlegs (shorebirds) stand stop adjacent rocks in a shallow pond near the shore. Walden Ponds, Boulder, Colorado. Four preening white pelicans standing in shallow water. Walden Ponds, Boulder, Colorado.
November 11, 2025 at 8:48 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
The drying of the Great Salt Lake in Utah is threatening the survival of a rare shorebird. @biologicaldiversity.org is preparing a lawsuit to protect the Wilson’s Phalarope and the lake #birds
biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
Wilson's phalaropes take flight from tufa towers at Mono Lake, CA. Ron Ozuna photo. Used with permission from Center for Biological Diversity.
October 1, 2025 at 5:31 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
The U.N. General Assembly starts this week.

The term "United Nations" was initially used in 1942 to describe the allies fighting fascism.
A World War II poster displaying the Statue of Liberty with the flags of the nations allied in fighting fascism. Headlined with the words "The United Nations Fight for Freedom."
September 22, 2025 at 3:08 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
Photo of a smiling Teddy Roosevelt with his quote from a 1918 op-ed: "To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
September 20, 2025 at 11:51 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
Trump administration begins wall construction that will sever one of the most significant wildlife corridors remaining along the Arizona-Mexico border. Affected species include endangered jaguars & ocelots. Also black bears, pronghorn, & cougars. #wildlife

biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
San Rafael Valley border wall constructions on Sept 15, 2025. Photo shows an orange scar in the center (the scraped road on the border), the shaded wall on the right, mountains in the distance on the left, and a partly cloudy sky overhead. Photo courtesy of Russ McSpadden, Center for Biological Diversity
September 16, 2025 at 6:52 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
Is there such a thing as #spidersunday on Bluesky?
A tiny, hairy, orangy spider, probably an orb weaver, on its web, silhouetted against a green background. Colorado, September 2025.
September 15, 2025 at 3:08 AM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
Particularly liked this take on what we can do to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires:
- reduce human ignition sources
- less urban sprawl in wild lands
- more prescribed & cultural fires
- And the kicker: reduce fossil fuel combustion! #climate #climatechange #climatewarming #wildfire
Excerpt from a NY Times story that reads: "Even as fire regimes intensify, Kelly emphasized, people still have points of leverage over fire. We can reduce ignitions in places, including Southern California, where most fires are started, often accidentally, by humans. We can reduce the buildup of fuel for wildfire with prescribed and cultural burns (the burns performed by Indigenous people to manage ecosystems in various ways). Kelly considers local communities’ increased use and acceptance of these measures the most hopeful recent development in fire ecology. We can stop pushing our urban sprawl into the wild lands that are most vulnerable to fire. We can get serious about stopping the burning that has made all the other burns so much worse: our relentless combustion of fossil fuels."
September 13, 2025 at 9:19 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
NEWS: Arizona's San Pedro River is a hotspot for bird biodiversity. New data shows groundwater that keeps the River wet is disappearing. Development in Sierra Vista, AZ & expansion of the Defense Department's Fort Huachuca are driving the drawdown. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press... #birds
An arching canopy of cottonwoods reflected in the San Pedro River, Arizona. Photo credit: Robin Silver. Used with permission.
September 10, 2025 at 5:45 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
Great photo! Here are a couple. I'm not a good enough photographer to catch them in flight.
Kestrel on top of a bare twig in a gray day at Barr Lake State Park, Colorado. 2025. Another kestrel, amid numerous bare branches, against a blue sky. Barr Lake State Park. August 2025.
September 9, 2025 at 7:05 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
Hey, #birdsky.

The Trump administration released draft plans today stripping protections for the greater sage-grouse on ~50 million acres of public lands. The protections were meant to prevent grouse extinction.

More: biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...

Photo c/o Pacific Region/USFWS. #birds
A male greater sage-grouse struts on its lek, his tale feathers fanned out and backlit in the morning sun. Photo credit: Pacific Region/USFWS.
September 2, 2025 at 5:04 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
Beautiful! Here's mine from yesterday, with a bonus native bee.
Closeup of a sunflower with a native yellow and orange bee in the center. Boulder, CO. August 2025.
August 31, 2025 at 2:46 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
Wilderness #flowerfriday #flowersonfriday. Columbine, Mount Zirkel Wilderness, Colorado. This July.
A riot of light purple and white Columbine blooms against a green background. Mount Zirkel Wilderness, Colorado, July 2025.
August 29, 2025 at 2:03 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
Another view of the Snowy Range Roadless Area in Wyoming, threatened by the Forest Service's proposed repeal of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
Rocks dot the outlet to Lost Lake, Snowy Range Roadless Area, Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming.
August 27, 2025 at 4:54 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
@biologicaldiversity.org will be pushing back hard on this one. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...

To ensure roadless areas like Wyoming's Snowy Range aren't bulldozed and chainsawed.
Wyoming's Snowy Range Roadless Area, Medicine Bow National Forest, August 2024. Two lakes perch below pyramidal Sugarloaf Mountain surrounded by willows and forests.
August 27, 2025 at 4:46 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
Kestrel on a snag. Barr Lake State Park, Colorado. August 2025. #birds
With blue sky behind, a kestrel (small falcon) sits amidst several bare branches. Barr Lake State Park, Colorado. August 2025.
August 26, 2025 at 4:06 AM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
Check out those yellow feet! Snowy egret. Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado. August 2025. #birds
A snowy egret stands on the Rocky edge of a reservoir, facing to the left, with prominent yellow feet.
August 24, 2025 at 1:53 AM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
Two feeder visitors in North Park, Colorado. The calliope hummingbird (left) is just passing through; the broad-tail (right) stays all summer. #birds
A calliope hummingbird, with an iridescent green back and dark stripes down a white throat, sits on a red feeder. North Park, Colorado. July 2025. A male broad-tail hummingbird sits on a red feeder and flashes its ruby throat. North Park, Colorado. July 2025.
August 16, 2025 at 5:36 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
Abstract. Lichen on granite. Mount Zirkel Wilderness, Colorado. July 2025. #nature #naturephotography
Blotches of black, gray, green, orange and pink lichen on a pinkish rock. Mount Zirkel Wilderness, Colorado. July 2025.
August 11, 2025 at 4:34 AM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
Two views of a rufous hummingbird; one flashing his coppery gorget in the sunlight, the other showing his rusty back. North Park, Colorado. July 2025.
A male rufous hummingbird flashing a coppery throat while flapping his wings on a wooden platform. North Park, Colorado. July 2025. A male rufous hummingbird facing left and perched on the edge of a bird feeder, while a female (?) flies behind him.
August 8, 2025 at 4:42 AM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
These people are now channelling Stalin. Erasing the past to control the future.
Josef Stalin stands near the Moscow Canal in both photos. In the top photo, Nikolai Yezhov stands next to him to our right. In the bottom photo, Yezhov has been removed. Yezhov was one of the architects of Stalin's great purge, but fell victim to the purge himself in 1940. A famous example of Stalin altering photos, memories, and history to suit his needs.
August 8, 2025 at 4:22 AM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
#MooseMonday! Mama moose and calf. North Park, Colorado. July 2025.
August 4, 2025 at 7:05 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
This young bank swallow uncharacteristically rested for a few minutes on a fence, looking puffy and handsome. North Park, Colorado. July 2025. #birds #birding
A puffy bird, with dark head and back and whitish throat and breast against a green background, looks to our right while sitting on a wooden fence cross-beam.
August 1, 2025 at 3:52 AM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
EPA now hurtling the world toward this future.
Cartoon showing people huddled around a fire in a cave, with the speaker in a tattered suit saying: "Yes the planet got destroyed. But for a beautiful moment in time we created a lot of value for shareholders."
July 29, 2025 at 7:07 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
#flowerfriday! Bee a bloomscroller.
Sunflower with an upside-down native be crawling on it. Boulder, Colorado, July 2025.
July 25, 2025 at 1:15 PM
tedzukoski.bsky.social
I was lucky enough to spend 5 nights at the campground a half mile from the lodge last September. Such a beautiful spot. I know fire is a natural part of pine ecosystems in many places, but that climate change and drought are making these fires worse. Hoping some of the big old trees survived.
Sunset at the North Rim Campground, Grand Canyon National Park. Tall ponderosa pines silhouetted against a blue, yellow, and red sky. September 2024. Hoping some of these big boys survived the fire.
July 13, 2025 at 11:28 PM