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The One True Kat

@theonetruekat.bsky.social

1.7K followers 540 following 2.4K posts

Biologist. Californian. Madly in love with nature. Always outside. Garden nerd. Cyclist. Big fan of informed democracy. Sheltering and supporting as many people as possible. She/her All photos mine unless credited.

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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · Mar 21

Since I have to reintroduce myself after the move:

I’m Kat. California biologist, currently in Davis. Herpetologist. 15 years in private consulting (utility and infrastructure), mostly as a field nerd, doing surveys for local flora/fauna and passing on whatever niche wisdom I can.

🦎🐸🐟🐻🦉🐝🐍🐢🌿

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Rebecca Lexa, Naturalist @rebeccanaturalist.bsky.social · 7h

A few treasures from #KonzaPrairie in east #Kansas #FlintHills today. My first monarch in 20+ years, my first sheepmoth, and my first speckled #kingsnake! #lepidoptera #insects #butterflies #moths #snakes #reptiles #herps #TallGrassPrairie #hiking #nature #wildlife #animals 🌿

An orange, black, and white butterfly on a cluster of tiny yellow flowers in the middle of a wide, grassy prairie with a blue sky overhead.

A very fuzzy and large black and white moth with rust colored accents resting with its wings folded on a piece of vegetation.

A long black snake with many tiny cream colored speckles on a gravel road. Its body curves side to side and its forked tongue is sticking out.

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Wendy Miller @burrowingowl.bsky.social · 10h

New burrowing owl behavior for me today-- taking a bath in the rain! So cool! 🪶

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Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 14h

EXTREMELY COOL BAT STUFF: A study out in Science today found that the greater noctule bat, Europe's largest, hunts and catches *migrating birds* while in flight. In at least one case, a bat climbed to more than 1200 feet, then chased a robin downward FAST until it caught it near the ground.

Greater noctule bats prey on and consume passerines in flight

Despite billions of passerines seasonally migrating during the night at high altitudes, only three bat species have been found to consistently tap into this rich prey resource. However, it remains unk...

www.science.org

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Brett "Solidarity 2025" Banditelli @banditelli.org · 14h

@magpie.tips ROAD TRIP

Rare white beaver wows Ottawa-area wildlife watchers | CBC News

Ottawa wildlife photographers have captured stunning images of a rare leucistic beaver.

www.cbc.ca

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Karly Kingsley @karlykingsley.bsky.social · 1d

This is a bop
Know your rights.

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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 20h

Being alive at this point in time is harmful to my health.

The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 20h

Surround yourself with people who give you hope. Also, be nice to migrating tarantulas.

The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 20h

Nothing like thinking you’re stealthy and then getting this face from your target. Cooper’s Hawk. 🪶 #BirdoftheDay

A small hawk with orange and white breast feathers and a dark grey cap stares at the photographer from a large oak tree.

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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 1d

YAAAAAAAAS!

The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 1d

Come get your mans, he’s out prowling the streets. #inverts

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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 1d

Lewis’s Woodpecker! (Melanerpes lewis)! These christmas-looking nerds are migrating south along the Sierra right now.

A handsome adult Lewis’s woodpecker with pinkish-red undercarriage and glossy dark green back and head.

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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 1d

Look at this baby fuzz. Doing a first migration. I love these goofs. Do you know who this is? Answer is in comments! 🪶

A slightly gawky-looking woodpecker youngster sits high in an oak tree.

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NightMar on Hicks Street, Part 4: The Rabbit’s Revenge @histoftech.bsky.social · 2d

doomscroll break

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Robby Deans @hydaticus.bsky.social · 2d

Baird's Ratsnake (Pantherophis bairdi) eating a bat! Val Verde County, Texas.

#herps #predation #snakes

A gray snake with longitudinal dark lines down its back and orange skin between the scales is coiled around a bat. The scene is inside a dark, rocky cave.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 2d

Early voting is underway for Prop 50 in California.

I urge anyone in the state to vote yes.

This isn’t a race to the bottom. It’s a means of avoiding the bottom. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/what-blue-states-should-do-when-red

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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 2d

Hello, loves. Welcome back. San Luis NWR. 🪶

A trio of Sandhill cranes rests in a wetland.

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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 2d

Out here at San Luis NWR, currently coot central.

A large, flooded wetland with many many American coots.

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Crystal Rogers, PhD @rogerslabucd.bsky.social · 2d

One of the major benefits to adapting a class to include your own research? It sure makes the lab portion more fun!! I’m happy to bring #DevBio, evo devo, and comparative anatomy to our pre-vet and pre-med undergrads @ucdavis.bsky.social!

A woman giving thumbs up in front of a lab classroom

A woman standing over an axolotl staging chart

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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 2d

Congrats!🎉

The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 2d

My dude. The mental image this just gave me. 😱

The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 2d

And once again, for those who have never seen it, this is how a spadefoot toad uses its “spades” to dig backward and bury itself. (Yes, it’s sped up). This was a wild toad in a cow footprint, slowly working its way downward. #toadallytuesday #herps

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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 2d

Invasive species management FTW.

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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 2d

Chonky baby spadefoot toads being rescued from a road puddle this summer. Chonkity chunk chonk. #toadallytuesday #herps

An abundance of large spadefoot toadpoles, at various developmental stages, in a clear container for transport.

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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 2d

The ducks are too.

A mallard stands on top of a western pond turtle.

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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 2d

It’s #ToadallyTuesday and you should post toads and toad-related content. #herps

A 4-panel comic with tips about identifying spadefoot toads vs western toads. Spadefoot have vertical pupils, true toads have horizontal pupils.

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