Mira Thompson 🏳️‍⚧️
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Mira Thompson 🏳️‍⚧️
@wensthomp.bsky.social
120 followers 110 following 22 posts
Palaeo + Seds PhD Candidate at University of Manitoba. PalaeoPoems science writer. Thompsonite. She/her
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wensthomp.bsky.social
Now this forest,my home,is gone. A casualty to the changes brought on our world by greedy, selfish would-be tyrants. I find solace knowing it helps keep people safe in town. I hope my pictures and words help this place live on. It is and always has been my home, and will be a part of me forever. 4/4
Picture of the river bank of the Burtwood River im Manitoba. It is summer, so the rocky bank is populated by green grass and brush and bordered by boreal forest. The weather is bright and only a little cloudy. Picture of a poplar tree with the initials "MT 14" scratched into the bark. I did this in 2014 and this tree remains standing, thankfully Picture of a poplar grove turned bright yellow in the fall, contrasting the clear blue sky and dark green spruce in the foreground. Picture of a cloudy fall day at the now clear cut forest. The poplar and birch trees are bright yellow and interrupted by dark green black spruce trees.
July 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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This patch of forest and those nearby being cleared are where I gained my appreciation and connection to nature, in particular with birds. I knew many of these birds on an individual level through differences in appearance and calls. They'd even bring their babies to hang out with my mom and I. 3/4
Picture of a woman wearing blue parka with black fur trim on the hood and holding a whiskey jack (also known as gray jay) bird on her outstretched hand. It is winter and there is about a foot of snow on the ground on this wooded trail behind the woman and bird.
July 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM
wensthomp.bsky.social
I think often of this patch of forest for many reasons. I dream of it weekly. It was my home. It's where I walked my dogs nearly every day. Both of them spent time on their last days on these trails. They're buried not far away so they can be where they loved to run forever. 2/4
Picture taken at the banks of a river where my two dogs play. On the left is my golden retriever when she was young, standing in the river soaking wet and taunting my other dog on the shore. The dog on the shore is a black lab puppy, about 4 months old, rearing back playfully with a tennis ball I his mouth Pictured are my two dogs in the forest during fall. On the right is my golden retriever who is licking my black lab's ear. The poplar trees surrounding them are a beautiful bright yellow colour. A golden retriever with a white face stands in a trail ina snow covered boreal forest dominated by black spruce trees. She faces the camera, wanting whoever is taking the photo to follow her.
July 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM
wensthomp.bsky.social
Today, I mourn the loss of the forest I spent my youth exploring on the edges of Thompson, Manitoba. Cut down to prevent forest fires from potentially jumping the river and destroying the city. 1/4
Picture of a black spruce forest just beyond a field of yellowing grass on a cloudy day. Picture of the aftermath of clearing the forest in the previous picture. All trees shown earlier have been demolished.
July 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM
wensthomp.bsky.social
Recently got to see the always incredible Borealopelta markmitchelli in its new display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum! #FossilFriday
Picture of the skeleton of Borealopelta markmitchelli, an armored dinosaur. The photo is taken from the left side of the skeleton,which is lying on its stomach. The skeleton preserves the impressive armor and spines that adorned the animals back, as well as skin. Picture of Mira standing in front of the Borealopelta skeleton. She is smiling and wearing a purple baseball hat with a hummingbird embroidered on it.
June 20, 2025 at 10:12 PM
wensthomp.bsky.social
Very nice dromaeosaur claw found by the Tyrrell Museum crew in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta this week. #FossilFriday
Picture of a claw from a dromaeosaur (raptor). The claw is laying on a piece of paper towel and is about 6 cm long. It is curved, brown in colour, and broken cleanly in 3 spots.
June 6, 2025 at 4:47 PM
wensthomp.bsky.social
Had another great season in Dinosaur Provincial Park looking at bones and bentonite. Expect to see some really exciting results from this soon 👀!
Picture of a tyrannosaur tooth fossil held in my left hand. The tooth is brown, curves to the right, has a steak knife like serrated edge, and a worn down tip. Picture of a flake of altered volcanic ash called bentonite held in my left hand. It is about 3 cm wide and somewhat square shaped and coloured a distinct grey green with small black flakes of the mineral biotite within. Picture of rock outcrops in Dinosaur Provincial Park. The sky is a gradient of light to dark blue with fluffy clouds throughout. The outcrops are hilly, with the photo looking down at their tops, which are covered with uniform grey mudstone. In the distance, taller outcrops are seen, made of pale grey sandstone. Picture of bentonite in outcrop. The bentonite is a 10 cm thick distinct greenish layer of rock. Under it is a very dark black brown mudstone and above a lighter grey brown mudstone. The outcrop is within a hole dug into the side of the hill
June 6, 2025 at 4:41 PM
wensthomp.bsky.social
Love Ruby Crowned Kinglets, one of my favourite early spring migrants here in Manitoba. This one was so curious about what I was doing!
Picture of a bird called a ruby crowned kinglet sitting on a tree branch in front if a brown wooden fence. The kinglet is small, round bodied, yellowish brown with a lighter belly and a distinctive bright red spot on top of its head. It is looking at the camera curiously.
April 19, 2025 at 11:41 PM
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Making myself visible on this Transgender Day of Visibility as a now publicly out trans woman!

Some people have known about my transition for a while now, but if you didn't, I go by Mira or M (as a nickname) and use she/her pronouns. Excited for my journey to live as my authentic self!
March 31, 2025 at 12:19 PM
wensthomp.bsky.social
Foraminifera from the Campanian Foremost Formation of Alberta for #FossilFriday. This figure comes from my paper published last week. The species found suggest marginal marine environments preserved in the formation experienced differences in oxygen and nutrient levels spacially and over time.
Figure showing tiny fossils of single called organisms called Foraminifera, all to scale with eachother and placed on a black background for ease of visualization. Several have spiral shapes, others are more cone or cylinder shaped. They all are made of multiple small chambers.
December 27, 2024 at 3:20 PM
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And as an added bonus, a beautiful photo I took of the Milk River valley where the outcrops I studied were located was chosen to be the cover for this month's volume of PALAIOS!
December 22, 2024 at 2:51 PM
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Isotelus rex, the largest trilobite fossil so far discovered. Found near Churchill, Manitoba and housed at the Manitoba Museum. #FossilFriday
Picture of the fossil of the largest trilobte, Isotelus rex, placed in the middle of the photo and laying on it's feet. It is beige coloured with the head plate being a dark brown. A hand is seen in the foreground on the right for scale, being about the size of half the trilobites head.
December 13, 2024 at 3:10 PM
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Pretty plant fossil, probably Metasequioa, found in a bentonite bed in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. #FossilFriday
A plant fossil preserved as a carbon imprint in grey mudstone is being held by my leather gloved hand between my thumb and index finger. The leaves are thin and numerous, similar to a modern redwood tree.
November 22, 2024 at 7:00 PM
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Hey folks, noticed the mass migration, so here's an intro post!

I'm a PhD student at University of Manitoba focusing on vertebrate palaeontology and sedimentology in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, hoping to help fix errors with the stratigraphic placement of dinosaur fossils.
Picture of myself standing I front of beige coloured sandstone rock outcrops in Dinosaur Provincial Park. Picture of myself standing I front of a paper poster showing the results of some of my research, including photographs and illustrations of rock layers and graphs showing chemical properties of minerals.
November 20, 2024 at 6:22 PM