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🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S.

@thewaterbirds.bsky.social

370 followers 210 following 170 posts

Loading: PhD Wildlife (sneezing ducks) 🦆 Completed: MS Biochemistry, BS Chickenology 🐓 #TeamBird 🦩 Book things happening 📚 Traditional artist 🎨 Bird decals and prints @ Etsy/Redbubble 🦜 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheWaterBirds

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🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 3d

Set up a Patreon for the art even though I have no idea what I'm doing. How do other traditional artists use it? I have a tier where I would send a monthly mini print to subscribers. Any other ideas?

www.patreon.com/cw/TheWaterB...

TheWaterBirds | Patreon

bird art

www.patreon.com

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Reposted by 🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S.

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 18h

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

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🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 5h

Adding some little finishing bits to this guy. Will be the first sticker/print monthly offering for the #Patreon.
#watercolor

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Reposted by 🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S.

The Oatmeal @theoatmeal.bsky.social · 2d

Let’s talk about AI art.

theoatmeal.com/comics/ai_art

A cartoonist's review of AI art - The Oatmeal

This is a comic about AI art.

theoatmeal.com

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Reposted by 🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S.

Alexa Ray Corriea @alexaray.bsky.social · 2d

It’s boiling in October because you’re using ChatGPT to write your emails, Janice.

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🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 2d

In progress today. #artists #watercolor

🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 3d

TheWaterBirds | Patreon

bird art

www.patreon.com

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🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 4d

And we’re all finished up. #art #watercolor

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🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 5d

Weekend update. #watercolor #artwip

Reposted by 🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S.

Buffalo Bills @buffalobillsnfl.bsky.social · 6d

Ornithology is all about the process.

#GoBills | #BillsMafia

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Reposted by 🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S.

Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 8d

feels like we're living through some kind of cultural gas leak

The Verge @theverge.com · 10d

Microsoft launches ‘vibe working’ in Excel and Word

Vibe working is all about Office’s new Agent Mode.

buff.ly

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🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 8d

First paper from my PhD work has been published today in Birds. Please clap. www.mdpi.com/3525676

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Reposted by 🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S.

Burrito Justice @burritojustice.bsky.social · 8d

quick while the government is shut down let’s all switch to metric

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🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 10d

Pleased that I found a way to incorporate this helpful image from "How to catch a duck" into my invited talk this week. #gradschool

🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 11d

A little too on the nose that Mr. Waterbirds flew up to Canada yesterday to go check out birds and I'm sitting here in Louisiana watching through the Handmaid's Tale show and seeing a character make it to Canada and freedom.

a woman says take me with you please in a screenshot from schitts creek

ALT: a woman says take me with you please in a screenshot from schitts creek

media.tenor.com

🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 12d

This is getting out of hand. Now there are 4 of them. #wip #watercolor

🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 13d

"Birb" can refer to a single individual, or multiple individuals from the same species.

“Birbs” refers to multiple species.

🦆 Birb
🦆🦆🦆 Birb
🦆🐦🦅 Birbs

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 13d

“Fish” can refer to a single individual, or multiple individuals from the same species.

“Fishes” refers to multiple species.

🐠 Fish
🐠🐠🐠 Fish
🐠🐟🐡 Fishes

🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 14d

Multiple projects all in the starting layers. Goofy things.

🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 15d

Green Woodpecker for this month's @birdwhisperers.bsky.social ! #watercolor

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🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 18d

Finished up this lady in time for my birthday today. #watercolor #art

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Reposted by 🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S.

✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 19d

That last line is one of the absolute single scariest things to me and that it was said with such casual happiness is even more disturbing.

Not distressing.

Full tilt disturbing.

Elizabeth Lopatto @lopatto.bsky.social · 20d

imagine relying on AI to write your bio and then having the nerve to say you're witty and full of personality

Anderson felt her bio was authentically her even if it was written by a chatbot. “My bio is 100 percent in alignment with my true personality,” she told me. “I don’t have a filter. I’m very witty. I’m full of personality.” Nor did she think using ChatGPT reflected the “bare minimum energy” she loathed. “It took me an hour and change to drill down my bio to be that good,” she explained. “I had to edit it, edit it, edit it down. I have to keep talking to it.” On the other hand, she admits that ChatGPT has sapped her motivation to write a first draft of anything herself, even though she minored in writing in college and described herself as a “wordsmith.” “I’m gonna be honest with you: Once you use ChatGPT, you don’t want to think for yourself anymore,” she said.

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🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 20d

Duck update heading into the weekend. #watercolor

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Reposted by 🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S.

Robert Francis @birdhistory.bsky.social · 20d

Americans used to know birds by thousands of unique local folk names. Ruddy Ducks alone were called dummy duck, dinky, dipper, dopper, dumb-bird, and god-damn. My latest piece is on the joy of folk names and losing them to the bureaucratic formalization of knowledge about birds.

Chunk Ducks, Blatherskites, Butterballs, and Slug-toots

These used to be folk names for American birds. Where did they all go?

birdhistory.substack.com

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Reposted by 🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S.

Helen Kennedy @helenkennedy.bsky.social · 21d

Hey look, a dead canary.

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Reposted by 🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S.

Altmetric @altmetric.com · 24d

There has been a 60%+ collapse in attention from the site formerly known as Twitter for your uni. This is full database filtered by University of Manchester. Bluesky growing exponentially since end of 2024. Still smaller.

Explorer filtered to Manchester, timeline of attention

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🦆 Alee Vestal-Laborde M.S. @thewaterbirds.bsky.social · 24d

Tiny update