Auriel Fournier
@rallidaerule.bsky.social
Forbes Bio Station Director
Wetland Bird/Waterfowl @ Illinois Natural Hist Survey
Posts do not represent my employer
President @wilsonornithsoc.bsky.social
Gardening
she/her
aurielfournier.github.io
forbes-bio-station.inhs.illinois.edu
Wetland Bird/Waterfowl @ Illinois Natural Hist Survey
Posts do not represent my employer
President @wilsonornithsoc.bsky.social
Gardening
she/her
aurielfournier.github.io
forbes-bio-station.inhs.illinois.edu
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
One of the reasons I so greatly dislike the “can men and women be friends?” nonsense (yes, full stop, shut up) is that it casts suspicion on people with opposite-sex friends instead of where it more often belongs: on people with no opposite-sex friends.
Anyway, yeah. The overwhelming impression one gets from so many of these emails is that a lot of them are guys who have never had a real, serious friendship with a woman in their lives.
Which sucks for them, but also sucks for every woman who has to deal with them, ever.
Which sucks for them, but also sucks for every woman who has to deal with them, ever.
February 5, 2026 at 6:47 PM
One of the reasons I so greatly dislike the “can men and women be friends?” nonsense (yes, full stop, shut up) is that it casts suspicion on people with opposite-sex friends instead of where it more often belongs: on people with no opposite-sex friends.
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
February 1, 2026 at 6:46 AM
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
This is exactly how librarians have been blamed for cuts to library budgets for decades. "You didn't do enough to communicate your value." What that really means is "you don't make any profit, and profit is the only legitimate value an organization can produce."
You hear this a lot on the left but it isn't true. USAID did not "fail to tell its story to Americans," the right targeted the agency with lies and misinformation.
Ultimately this narrative turns conservative attacks into even more calls for the left to reform.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/o...
Ultimately this narrative turns conservative attacks into even more calls for the left to reform.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/o...
June 30, 2025 at 4:15 PM
This is exactly how librarians have been blamed for cuts to library budgets for decades. "You didn't do enough to communicate your value." What that really means is "you don't make any profit, and profit is the only legitimate value an organization can produce."
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
the Epstein files are really devastating because they remind me of how many girls and women miss out on professional opportunities, mentorship and careers because of how many powerful, rich and influential men only view girls and women — and interactions with them — through the lens of sex
February 5, 2026 at 5:05 PM
the Epstein files are really devastating because they remind me of how many girls and women miss out on professional opportunities, mentorship and careers because of how many powerful, rich and influential men only view girls and women — and interactions with them — through the lens of sex
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
We are seeking sponsors at multiple levels for #AFOWOS2026! Support our conference and reach an engaged audience of #ornithology professionals. Please share!
Sponsors
About the conference The 2026 conference is a joint meeting of two professional societies, the Association of Field Ornithologists, and the Wilson Ornithological Society. The conference will offer …
afowos2026.org
February 5, 2026 at 2:02 PM
We are seeking sponsors at multiple levels for #AFOWOS2026! Support our conference and reach an engaged audience of #ornithology professionals. Please share!
last election we ran out of stickers because we had such high turn out (hotly contested township road commissioner race, yes I live in rural Illinois)
which yay high turn out
but the sadness, at the lack of stickers
seriously, people love those stickers
which yay high turn out
but the sadness, at the lack of stickers
seriously, people love those stickers
and all the stress is really outweighed by the JOY on people's faces when they get their 'i voted' sticker
or when a kid gets one for coming along with their parent/adult
PEOPLE LOVE STICKERS
or when a kid gets one for coming along with their parent/adult
PEOPLE LOVE STICKERS
February 5, 2026 at 1:49 PM
last election we ran out of stickers because we had such high turn out (hotly contested township road commissioner race, yes I live in rural Illinois)
which yay high turn out
but the sadness, at the lack of stickers
seriously, people love those stickers
which yay high turn out
but the sadness, at the lack of stickers
seriously, people love those stickers
please if you can be an election judge
its hard and tiring work, but its so important, and most places need more folks
signed, an illinois election judge
its hard and tiring work, but its so important, and most places need more folks
signed, an illinois election judge
I know we're all bundles of fear and rage but I am begging some of y'all to "touch grass" and by, touch grass, I mean volunteer as an election judge or with local Dems or league of women voters, FFS. YOU have power. Use it. It will make you feel less scared.
one thing i have noticed is a lot of folks do not seem to understand the difference between a presidential election and 435+ legislative elections. i have seen any number of people say that you could subvert the outcome this november by targeting “swing states,” which does not make any sense.
February 5, 2026 at 1:43 PM
please if you can be an election judge
its hard and tiring work, but its so important, and most places need more folks
signed, an illinois election judge
its hard and tiring work, but its so important, and most places need more folks
signed, an illinois election judge
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
I am so panicked that people are going to stop buying books right now. And I don’t just say this because I have a book coming out in April. I am saying this also because indie bookstores are doing a lot of protest support work and need the business. And my friends have books coming out too.
Please buy books that are coming out this year.
Doesn’t have to be mine. But there is a stellar release calendar this year especially of Black writers and it would be a shame if one of the fascist victories was people not buying those books (from the indies that are in the fight with us). #BookSky
Doesn’t have to be mine. But there is a stellar release calendar this year especially of Black writers and it would be a shame if one of the fascist victories was people not buying those books (from the indies that are in the fight with us). #BookSky
February 5, 2026 at 12:48 PM
I am so panicked that people are going to stop buying books right now. And I don’t just say this because I have a book coming out in April. I am saying this also because indie bookstores are doing a lot of protest support work and need the business. And my friends have books coming out too.
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
Now open: Applications for Field Inclusive's WOS-sponsored fellowship at Cape Fear Bird Observatory! Open to students & early-career professionals from marginalized / historically excluded identities (race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability status, etc).
Field Inclusive - Cape Fear Bird Observatory Joint Fellowship - Field Inclusive, Inc.
Field Inclusive – Cape Fear Bird Observatory Joint Fellowship Accepting Applications. Organization: The Cape Fear Bird ObservatoryLocation: Greater Wilmington (New Hanover and Brunswick Counties)Job…
www.fieldinclusive.org
February 4, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Now open: Applications for Field Inclusive's WOS-sponsored fellowship at Cape Fear Bird Observatory! Open to students & early-career professionals from marginalized / historically excluded identities (race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability status, etc).
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
Happy Wednesday! I am on my second day of having a kid home sick, and my spouse is out of town and I have deadlines coming up, but at least I got my newsletter out so you can read about bird eyeballs! I hope you'll check it out. 🪶👀 buttondown.com/rheisman/arc...
Bird of Passage: February 2026
Let's talk about bird eyeballs.
buttondown.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Happy Wednesday! I am on my second day of having a kid home sick, and my spouse is out of town and I have deadlines coming up, but at least I got my newsletter out so you can read about bird eyeballs! I hope you'll check it out. 🪶👀 buttondown.com/rheisman/arc...
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
Ear appreciation post
February 4, 2026 at 5:03 AM
Ear appreciation post
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
Update: In the past week we've learned ICE has secured property to build human warehouses in Merrimack, NH and Williamsport, MD *as well as* Surprise, AZ; Upper Bern, PA; and Tremont, PA.
Facts that bear repeating.
Facts that bear repeating.
In the past week we've learned ICE has secured property to build human warehouses in Merrimack, NH and Williamsport, MD. Just some facts I think bear repeating.
February 4, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Update: In the past week we've learned ICE has secured property to build human warehouses in Merrimack, NH and Williamsport, MD *as well as* Surprise, AZ; Upper Bern, PA; and Tremont, PA.
Facts that bear repeating.
Facts that bear repeating.
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
Books are not clutter. Clutter is all the other stuff that gets in the way of having more books.
February 2, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Books are not clutter. Clutter is all the other stuff that gets in the way of having more books.
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
Well! @charliejane.bsky.social's Lessons in Magic and Disaster is a whole whirlwind of emotions in a book.
Fascinating and incredible mother-daughter story wrapped in 18th century literature and hedge witchcraft.
bookshop.org/p/books/less...
Fascinating and incredible mother-daughter story wrapped in 18th century literature and hedge witchcraft.
bookshop.org/p/books/less...
Lessons in Magic and Disaster
Check out Lessons in Magic and Disaster - <p><b>In the vein of Alice Hoffman and Charlie Jane Anders's own <i>All the Birds in the Sky</i> comes a novel full of love, disaster, and magic. </b><br><br>...
bookshop.org
February 4, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Well! @charliejane.bsky.social's Lessons in Magic and Disaster is a whole whirlwind of emotions in a book.
Fascinating and incredible mother-daughter story wrapped in 18th century literature and hedge witchcraft.
bookshop.org/p/books/less...
Fascinating and incredible mother-daughter story wrapped in 18th century literature and hedge witchcraft.
bookshop.org/p/books/less...
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
This is tremendous. Take the time to watch it.
Highlighting the speaker who stood in front of the Surprise mayor and told him to consider what the Mayor of Ohrdruf must’ve thought before he died by suicide: “He might have thought ‘how is this my fault I had no jurisdiction over this’ maybe he said ‘this site was not subject to local zoning.’”
February 4, 2026 at 1:48 PM
This is tremendous. Take the time to watch it.
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
We are thrilled to reveal the official logo for #AFOWOS2026! Will you be joining us in Rhode Island this summer?
January 30, 2026 at 7:01 PM
We are thrilled to reveal the official logo for #AFOWOS2026! Will you be joining us in Rhode Island this summer?
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
It drives me absolutely insane that the money I give to the federal government is being used to brutalize our families and our children.
Our money should be feeding, clothing, and educating Liam.
Our money should be feeding, clothing, and educating Liam.
“Liam is a bright student,” said the five-year-old’s preschool teacher. “He is very kind and caring, and his classmates miss him. He comes to class every day and brightens up the classroom. All I want is for him to come home safe and sound.”
“According to limited data compiled by the Deportation Data Project, ICE took 3,800 children into immigration detention with their parents between January and October 2025, including children as young as one or two years old.” english.elpais.com/usa/2026-01-...
January 28, 2026 at 9:57 PM
It drives me absolutely insane that the money I give to the federal government is being used to brutalize our families and our children.
Our money should be feeding, clothing, and educating Liam.
Our money should be feeding, clothing, and educating Liam.
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
Been thinking about how we’re not okay here in Minnesota and how events and the state of affaires are echoing in our day to day world. A thread.
cw: suicide
cw: suicide
January 28, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Been thinking about how we’re not okay here in Minnesota and how events and the state of affaires are echoing in our day to day world. A thread.
cw: suicide
cw: suicide
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
I keep hearing about people here just not functioning like they otherwise would. Productivity, attention span, organization, just keeping one’s shit together, it’s all suffering. And I think it’s a response to the world itself being out of kilter. We can’t function because our world won’t either.
January 28, 2026 at 5:19 PM
I keep hearing about people here just not functioning like they otherwise would. Productivity, attention span, organization, just keeping one’s shit together, it’s all suffering. And I think it’s a response to the world itself being out of kilter. We can’t function because our world won’t either.
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
Honestly nothing feels different here today at all. There are still ICE raids all over, they're still letting people out at Whipple into the cold with nothing, and like you said, people still need food and rent money.
please remember that no matter how many “ICE is losing in MN” articles you read today, there is still a very real, urgent, ongoing crisis in Minnesota.
people need food and they need rent money. that has not changed.
people need food and they need rent money. that has not changed.
January 28, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Honestly nothing feels different here today at all. There are still ICE raids all over, they're still letting people out at Whipple into the cold with nothing, and like you said, people still need food and rent money.
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
My annual "DO IT!" encouragement post!
Selfishly, my time on CSEE council was the highlight of my PhD, it opened doors and opportunities that research alone did not. And I think we accomplished some good things for the society! 🧪🌎
Selfishly, my time on CSEE council was the highlight of my PhD, it opened doors and opportunities that research alone did not. And I think we accomplished some good things for the society! 🧪🌎
Do you want to help advance the profile of #ecology, #evolution, & #conservation in Canada? Do you want to be part of a team that gets things done on behalf of a broader community? Run for CSEE Council! Nominations due April 26. Learn more here: csee-scee.ca/elections/
January 27, 2026 at 9:29 PM
My annual "DO IT!" encouragement post!
Selfishly, my time on CSEE council was the highlight of my PhD, it opened doors and opportunities that research alone did not. And I think we accomplished some good things for the society! 🧪🌎
Selfishly, my time on CSEE council was the highlight of my PhD, it opened doors and opportunities that research alone did not. And I think we accomplished some good things for the society! 🧪🌎
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
While independent bookstores are giving out free whistles, hosting protest sign making events, and donating proceeds to mutual aid, Amazon is *checks notes* providing technology that assists ICE in their terrorizing of communities.
Independent bookstores deserve your support. Amazon does not.
Independent bookstores deserve your support. Amazon does not.
January 27, 2026 at 5:07 PM
While independent bookstores are giving out free whistles, hosting protest sign making events, and donating proceeds to mutual aid, Amazon is *checks notes* providing technology that assists ICE in their terrorizing of communities.
Independent bookstores deserve your support. Amazon does not.
Independent bookstores deserve your support. Amazon does not.
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
Fun fact: Your local bookstore is doing more to protect you and your neighbors than Amazon is.
January 26, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Fun fact: Your local bookstore is doing more to protect you and your neighbors than Amazon is.
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
A lovely thread of dogs who love the snow. In case you also need that this morning.
I am having a really rough morning emotionally and would like more videos and pictures of your dogs - not just any dogs, but your dogs - in the snow.
January 26, 2026 at 2:49 PM
A lovely thread of dogs who love the snow. In case you also need that this morning.
Reposted by Auriel Fournier
