Ryan Bebej
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Ryan Bebej
@ryanbebej.bsky.social
370 followers 100 following 470 posts
Calvin University professor + alum / anatomist + marine mammal paleontologist / birder + amateur photographer / science + faith speaker / University of Michigan alum / fan of St Louis Cardinals + Star Wars + other nerdy things / surname pronounced "BB"
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ryanbebej.bsky.social
Dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) – I love when these little snowbirds come back to west Michigan each year, though I can't say I always look forward to the cold, gray months that their return signifies.

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
Dark-eyed junco foraging for seeds in the snow
December 5, 2025 at 1:46 PM
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Kererū / New Zealand pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae)– From the Instagram archive… I look forward to seeing these native wood pigeons again when I bring some students back to Aotearoa in January.

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
New Zealand pigeon perched in a tree
December 4, 2025 at 2:04 PM
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Cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) – I hope everyone has a wonderful #WaxwingWednesday!

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
Sleek cedar waxwing sitting on a branch
December 3, 2025 at 1:24 PM
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Long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis) – From the Instagram archive… These fancy-looking ducks are actually fairly common out on Lake Michigan during the winter months.

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
December 2, 2025 at 9:14 PM
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White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) – It's #MammalMonday! Here's a young buck that I encountered when I was out birding with some of my college students last month.

#wildlife #wildlifephoto #wildlifephotography #wildlifephotographer
Young white-tailed deer buck
December 1, 2025 at 1:46 PM
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Winter wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) – Happy #WrenWednesday! (Or should I say #wrensday…) I went out looking for this bird on Saturday. Right as I left the parking lot, I heard this guy sweetly singing.

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
Winter wren perched on a branch with its tail sticking straight up
November 26, 2025 at 5:02 PM
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Sora (Porzana carolina) – From the Instagram archive… The first time I heard this little rail and saw it among some cattails, I had absolutely no idea what it was. Now it's a personal favorite of mine!

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
November 25, 2025 at 2:44 PM
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Merlin (Falco columbarius) – We've been fortunate to have some of these small falcons nesting on our campus a few times in the past several years. Hoping they return in the spring! #MerlinMonday

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
Merlin perched in a conifer with its wings spread Merlin calling while perched in a conifer
November 24, 2025 at 4:52 PM
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Rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) – One of my favorite MI summertime birds, often brought to my attention when I hear a call note that sounds like a shoe squeaking on a basketball court.

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
Male rose-breasted grosbeak perched in a hawthorn tree
November 21, 2025 at 1:50 PM
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Eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) – From the Instagram archive… In this photo, I like how all the bird's colors are also shown in the environment surrounding it—the blue sky, red buds, and white bark.

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
Eastern bluebird perched on a branch
November 20, 2025 at 1:30 PM
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Nashville warbler (Leiothlypis ruficapilla, 7 May 2025) – For #WarblerWednesday, here are a couple shots of a bird that I captured while it was softly singing this past spring.

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
Nashville warbler perched on a twig Nashville warbler perched on a twig while sweetly singing
November 19, 2025 at 1:50 PM
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Lesser yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) – From the Instagram archive… I think I've finally made it to the stage in my birding where I can pretty easily differentiate lesser and greater yellowlegs. #birdnerd

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
Lesser yellowlegs wading in search of some food Two lesser yellowlegs wading in the water
November 18, 2025 at 2:19 PM
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Blue-winged teal (Spatula discors) – These birds represent the second smallest species of duck in North America (only their green-winged cousins are smaller).

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
Two male blue-winged teals dabbling in a shallow pond
November 17, 2025 at 1:24 PM
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Eastern phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) – Happy #FlycatcherFriday! This photo gives me the distinct impression that this bird is proudly posing after scaling to the summit of a massive mountain.

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
November 14, 2025 at 2:02 PM
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Northern yellow warbler (Setophaga aestiva) – From the Instagram archive… This is the 1st time I've posted a photo of this species since the mangrove yellow warbler was made into a separate species!

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
Northern yellow warbler perched on a branch Northern yellow warbler perched on a branch with a small pink worm in its beak
November 13, 2025 at 2:02 PM
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Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) – Here's a bold and braggadocious ovenbird for #WarblerWednesday.

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
Ovenbird perched on a branch with a bright green backdrop Ovenbird singing loud and proud while perched on a branch with a bright green backdrop
November 12, 2025 at 1:54 PM
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Vesper sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus) – From the Instagram archive… Not a common sparrow to see around west Michigan, but there are a few fairly reliable places to see/hear them each summer.

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🪶 #birds #birding #birdoftheday #wildlifephotography
Vesper sparrow perched on a post
November 11, 2025 at 4:11 PM
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Scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea) – We just had our first snowfall of the season this weekend in west Michigan, so here's a bright colorful reminder of warmer weather from springs gone by.

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🪶 #birds #birding #wildlifephotography
Bright red scarlet tanager perched on a branch
November 10, 2025 at 1:47 PM
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Ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula) – Always a difficult bird to get in focus due to its frenetic activity, it's even rarer for me to a get a photo of the bird showing its namesake crown.

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🪶 #birds #birding #wildlifephotography
Ruby-crowned kinglet showing off its magnificent red crown
November 7, 2025 at 1:28 PM
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American redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) – From the Instagram archive… Given this bird's color palette, I probably should have posted these photos on Halloween.

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🪶 #birds #birding #wildlifephotography
Male American redstart singing Male American redstart
November 6, 2025 at 1:28 PM
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Sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis) – One of those species for which it doesn't take much imagination to realize that birds really are dinosaurs, especially when you hear them vocalize.

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🪶 #birds #birding #wildlifephotography
Sandhill crane foraging among yellow corn stalks
November 5, 2025 at 1:34 PM
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Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) – From the Instagram archive… I often remind myself not to overlook the common things. So here's a cheeky mallard that I encountered on Lake Michigan during an early morning.

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🪶 #birds #birding #wildlifephotography
Male mallard on Lake Michigan Male mallard looking cheeky in the morning sunlight
November 4, 2025 at 12:42 PM
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Swamp sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) – A spunky little sparrow from last fall. #SparrowAppreciationSociety

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🪶 #birds #birding #wildlifephotography
Swamp sparrow perched in some bare branches
November 3, 2025 at 1:44 PM
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Eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) – I spotted this bright little bird foraging in a sumac tree a couple springs ago.

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🪶 #birds #birding #wildlifephotography
Male eastern bluebird foraging in a sumac tree
October 31, 2025 at 12:52 PM
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Red-footed booby (Sula sula) – From the Instagram archive… While on Isla Genovesa in the Galápagos Islands, I saw several morphs / ages of this species: adult white morphs, adult brown morphs, juveniles, and chicks.

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🪶 #birds #birding #wildlifephotography
White morph adult red-footed booby Brown morph adult red-footed booby Juvenile red-footed boobies Red-footed booby chick
October 30, 2025 at 11:53 AM