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igneousflock.dev
alex, chicago edition
@igneousflock.dev
140 followers 360 following 150 posts
birder, software dev, sim racer, motorsport fan in Chicago. he/him 🖤🩶🤍💜

pfp: @\kast.haus
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igneousflock.dev
Not ever
Quinn the gray cat, laying in front of a desktop monitor with his chin resting on my laptop keyboard.
December 4, 2025 at 8:59 PM
igneousflock.dev
Meant to do daily posts in that thread but I forgor 💀

Really fun trip, the Mississippi-Missouri confluence is just a gorgeous area. So much history and natural beauty.
A black bike with purple bar tape and large panniers leaning against an ARMCO barrier. Behind it is a large slough, with some land off in the distance. A rainbow curves down to the right. The same bike rested against a small, strangely shaped building next to a paved path overlooking a field of tall grass and reeds. The building is sort of shaped like a trapezoid on its side. It has four segments, each made of overlapping panels of gray metal with a couple cyan and red highlights. A close-up photo of a grasshopper clinging to the front brake line of my bike. Digiscope shot of a pair of Bald Eagles roosting in a bare tree.
October 2, 2025 at 3:38 PM
igneousflock.dev
Wayfinding in post-apocalyptic video games
View from a path or road through and industrial park. To the right is an empty lot and power pole, with some buildings off in the distance. A trestle bridge can bee seen some distance away. On the left, a pair of jersey barriers painted green sit next to an old industrial building, with some pipes spewing steam behind them. One of the barriers has a white “up” arrow painted on it, while the other has a “right” arrow next to an arch icon. Far off in the distance, the Gateway Arch towers over adjacent buildings.
October 2, 2025 at 3:29 PM
igneousflock.dev
S/O to this downy woodpecker hard at work pecking wood.
September 20, 2025 at 1:21 AM
igneousflock.dev
St Louis trip day 1/3 complete! Amtrak to Alton, visited the Melvin Price Lock and Dam, then rode to the Olin Nature Preserve. Never heard so many red-headed woodpeckers in my life.
Looking up at Willis/Sears tower at sunrise from ground level. It towers over the alleyway The Melvin Price Lock and Dam, a massive concrete structure rising over the Mississippi. There’s a few Army Corps of Engineers logos in the side. Third St, Alton, Illinois. In the background an abandoned factory towers over the town. At the end of the street there’s a row of building, including a defunct Masonic Temple. A big sign beckons to enter a bar. A view across the Mississippi from atop the bluffs at the Olin Nature Preserve.
September 20, 2025 at 1:14 AM
igneousflock.dev
It’s my birthday today, and I decided to go after my 300th lifer bird, an American Bittern! They’ve been hanging out in Humboldt Park in the middle of Chicago the last few days.
An American Bittern skulking in the reeds. They have a brown head with a long black and yellow bill, with striking yellow eyes. Its breast and body are streaked brown and white, making blend in super well with the foliage.
August 18, 2025 at 12:19 AM
igneousflock.dev
It got a little soggy on the walk home but was still very tasty. Bacon, eggs, onions, peppers iirc.
An everything bagel breakfast sandwich with eggs, bacon, peppers, and lots of malty cheese on a foil wrapper
August 13, 2025 at 9:55 PM
igneousflock.dev
Got a free train ride with my concert ticket tonight. They’re cool
August 7, 2025 at 12:15 AM
igneousflock.dev
And on the train back. Spoiled with another bike car. Very successful day with 51 bird species, making Wisconsin my seventh half-century state!
My bike again leaning against the bike rack in a metra bike car.
August 2, 2025 at 9:55 PM
igneousflock.dev
Quick lunch in waukeegan while waiting for the train
A hot dog with sport peppers and too much brown mustard
August 2, 2025 at 8:40 PM
igneousflock.dev
Two states at once!
My bike leaned up against a rusty pole.
August 2, 2025 at 6:12 PM
igneousflock.dev
On to the last spot in Wisconsin!
My bike leaning up against a bridge wall with the prairie in the background. A pair of binoculars is sitting on the wall with a hat. The prairie, viewed from a small hill, framed by two tall trees.
August 2, 2025 at 6:12 PM
igneousflock.dev
Finished with the Kenosha dunes, headed to Chiwaukee prairie next
A view from the top of a grassy sand dune looking out over a prairie. A Red-Spotted Admiral sitting on a grapevine. Small dark blue and black butterfly My bike leaning up against a rock next to the lake shore. The morning sun is reflecting off the gentle waves.
August 2, 2025 at 4:00 PM
igneousflock.dev
Kenosha I am in you
An ube muffin with a bite out of it sitting on a plate next to a glass of iced coffee.
August 2, 2025 at 1:36 PM
igneousflock.dev
Bien car!
The bike from the previous post mounted to the bike rack in the train car. The sunrise is coming in through a dirty window behind it.
August 2, 2025 at 11:49 AM
igneousflock.dev
Train time
A bike leaning against a wall on a train platform, tracks to the right. The bike is black with purple handlebar wraps. There are two bags sitting on the ground in front of it.
August 2, 2025 at 11:42 AM
igneousflock.dev
A mountain bluebird near Tahoe the other day.
A female or juvenile mountain bluebird perched on a fallen branch. Her head and back are gray while her chest is pale with dark gray splotches. Her folded wings and tail are bright blue.
July 25, 2025 at 8:16 PM
igneousflock.dev
awake, against his wishes
Quinn the gray cat, stretched out on my lap and sitting up. He has an annoyed expression on his face and is looking past the camera at whatever woke him.
June 6, 2025 at 11:13 PM
igneousflock.dev
Finally made it out to Montrose Point and got to see Pippin! He was moving too fast to get a scope pic. The purple martins and red-winged blackbirds are super bold! #birds
June 6, 2025 at 6:07 PM
igneousflock.dev
Quinn the gray cat between white sheets, squished down and looking slightly off camera.
May 21, 2025 at 4:49 AM
igneousflock.dev
Bonus: wood stork nestlings feeding! #birds #binoblast (#scopeblast ?)
May 5, 2025 at 3:33 PM
igneousflock.dev
I’ve also completely blown these goals out of the water lol. 52 lifers that weekend. With another trip out west (and some missing warblers and flycatchers) I think 275 by the end of the year is reasonable. bsky.app/profile/igne...
Screenshot of my eBird statistics, listing 258 species on my world life list and 246 species seen this year.
May 5, 2025 at 3:33 PM
igneousflock.dev
Recently I had my first trip to the coast for the Georgia Bird Fest summit on Jekyll Island and the Birds Georgia Shorebird Weekend, including the privilege to visit Little St. Simmons island. It was an absolutely unforgettable experience and I can’t wait to get back down there. #birds #binoblast
A roseate spoonbill, juvenile white ibis, and a snowy egret standing in a shallow pool. A least bittern prowling in the tall grass at the edge of a pond A black-bellied whistling duck perched on a bare branch. A gorgeous male painted bunting perched in a bush.
May 5, 2025 at 3:33 PM
igneousflock.dev
Quinn the gray cat, asleep in his pink fuzzy cave bed. He’s got one paw sticking out and his chin is resting on it very cutely. There’s an Arizona iced tea on the table next to him.
April 21, 2025 at 9:51 PM
igneousflock.dev
An eastern meadowlark and a solitary sandpiper appeared in the park yesterday, getting me to 200 lifers!

#birds
An Eastern Meadowlark perched in some Black Locust in front of a clear blue sky. The bird has a yellow belly with a black mark on the breast, and is a pale brownish gray above and on their head. eBird life list screenshot. 200 is Solitary Sandpiper, followed by Eastern Meadowlark, Northern Waterthrush, Trumpeter Swan, Common Goldeneye, and Common Merganser.
April 19, 2025 at 5:01 PM