Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Rebecca Heisman @rheisman.bsky.social · 2d

Aw thank you!

Rebecca Heisman @rheisman.bsky.social · 14d

I'm trying to spend less time on social media for the sake of my mental health BUT I thought y'all might enjoy this SciShow video that I wrote the script for, all about the ways that decoy/dummy birds are used in #ornithology. youtu.be/aSzCs_w0dhA?...

These Birds Aren’t Real

YouTube video by SciShow

youtu.be

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Reposted by Rebecca Heisman

Robert Francis @birdhistory.bsky.social · 20d

Having names for plants and animals is our starting point for interacting with nature. I think that's discouraging for a lot of people because they don't know the names for things around them (me included!) but instead why don't we just… make them up?

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 Rebecca Heisman

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 28d

Political violence is bad. It usually begets more political violence.

Celebrating political violence is bad. It usually encourages more political violence, against various targets.

Campus shootings are bad. They make everyone on campus less safe.

It's bad that what I wrote here is controversial.

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Reposted by Rebecca Heisman

David Roberts @volts.wtf · Sep 3

The biggest scandal in US public life *ought* to be that we are the richest country in history & yet our infrastructure sucks, our transportation choices suck, our cities suck, our healthcare sucks, our public administration sucks, & in dozens of little ways, our daily lives suck.

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Rebecca Heisman @rheisman.bsky.social · Sep 4

Good luck! I'm about to dive into the treacherous waters of learning disability diagnosis and accommodations myself...

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Rebecca Heisman @rheisman.bsky.social · Sep 4

Rural(ish) eastern Washington. He's in 2nd grade. And wow, that sounds bonkers!

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Rebecca Heisman @rheisman.bsky.social · Sep 4

21, I think? His school is dealing with declining enrollment, though - they recently dropped down from four kindergarten classes to three because they didn't have enough incoming students to justify four.

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Reposted by Rebecca Heisman

Wilson Ornithological Society @wilsonornithsoc.bsky.social · Sep 4

WOS Research Award recipient Samantha Fishman's work has shown that although Chestnut-sided and Golden-winged warblers can tolerate a certain percentage of nonnative shrubs in the landscape, they both strongly prefer to forage on native shrubs. #ornithology

Guest Post – Where the Warblers Forage: How Birds Help Us Understand Habitat Quality in Shrublands

“Bee-buzz buzz” and “pleased pleased pleased to meetcha” are two of the many frequently heard bird songs in the shrublands of Virginia.

wilsonsociety.org

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Reposted by Rebecca Heisman

Liam U. Taylor @liamtaylor.bsky.social · Sep 4

the worst part of every manuscript for an ornithologist,

yes, worse than tough reviewers
worse even than outright rejection

when they typeset the paper and all the species names are lower case

a man in a suit is crying in the rain .

ALT: a man in a suit is crying in the rain .

media.tenor.com

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Rebecca Heisman @rheisman.bsky.social · Sep 4

Loved this @highcountrynews.org story about Motus research, and not just because researcher @andyjboyce.bsky.social is also featured in my book! www.hcn.org/articles/the...

The invisible ‘giant nets’ that catch the smallest songbirds - High Country News

Collaboration and tiny technology are revolutionizing the study of migration.

www.hcn.org

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Reposted by Rebecca Heisman

Rebecca Heisman @rheisman.bsky.social · Sep 3

I sent out my monthly email newsletter this morning. Random (usually bird-related) musings, book recommendations, and bird news from around the internet. Maybe subscribe if that sounds like it would interest you? buttondown.com/rheisman/arc...

Bird of Passage: September 2025

Our backyard has a unique bird-related feature...

buttondown.com

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Rebecca Heisman @rheisman.bsky.social · Sep 3

I have not! Maybe I'll look for it.

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Rebecca Heisman @rheisman.bsky.social · Sep 3

This is what being a cancer survivor is like. (Context: when I was diagnosed w/ lymphoma in 2020, enlarged lymph nodes in my sternum were causing some tenderness.)

"Oh that's weird the area around my sternum aches OH F#&% MY CANCER MUST BE BACK S#!%—wait, I did pushups yesterday, my pecs are sore."

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Reposted by Rebecca Heisman

Wendy Miller @burrowingowl.bsky.social · Sep 3

Tfw someone asks you to smile for the camera. 🪶

Grumpy burrowing owl sitting outside her man-made burrow. There is a pink flag with a smiley owl marking the burrow entrance.

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Reposted by Rebecca Heisman

Mike Melton @mikemelton.bsky.social · Sep 3

I really love Snail Kites. They have incredible bills that are adapted to eating Apple Snails and they have those intense red eyes.

At Laguna de Sonso, Valle de Cauca #Colombia

#birds #nature

A dark hawk with mottled brown feathers, bright red eyes, a hooked beak, and yellow talons perched on a branch.

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Rebecca Heisman @rheisman.bsky.social · Sep 3

I sent out my monthly email newsletter this morning. Random (usually bird-related) musings, book recommendations, and bird news from around the internet. Maybe subscribe if that sounds like it would interest you? buttondown.com/rheisman/arc...

Bird of Passage: September 2025

Our backyard has a unique bird-related feature...

buttondown.com

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Reposted by Rebecca Heisman

Dan Baldassarre @evornithology.bsky.social · Sep 3

Oh word? Birds-of-paradise are just fluorescing left and right now? Goddamn! royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

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Reposted by Rebecca Heisman

Rebecca Heisman @rheisman.bsky.social · Sep 2

Currently reading: What If We Get It Right by Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson. Enjoying this surprisingly uplifting book examining what the future could look like if humanity can come together to stop the worst effects of climate change. www.getitright.earth

What If We Get It Right?

www.getitright.earth

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Reposted by Rebecca Heisman

Maia McDonald 💫✌🏽 @maiamcdonald.me · Sep 2

Hello everyone! I am working on a story for The Guardian about how Chicagoans are preparing for the possible arrival of federal troops, following President Trump's statements on the matter. Right now, I'm looking for residents, community organizers, business owners, and other folks to talk to!

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Reposted by Rebecca Heisman

Zoë Plakias @zoeconomy.bsky.social · Sep 2

As everyone waits with bated breath for some announcement from the White House that may or may not be very significant, I am reminded of something @sarahkendzior.bsky.social wrote in a post a few days ago: "Do not let Donald Trump be the most important person in your life."

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Reposted by Rebecca Heisman

Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · Sep 2

Bad news for these dancing birds: The Trump administration released draft plans today stripping away protections for the greater sage grouse on about 50 million acres of public lands across the West.

More info: https://bit.ly/4p1TKaz

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Rebecca Heisman @rheisman.bsky.social · Sep 2

Currently reading: What If We Get It Right by Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson. Enjoying this surprisingly uplifting book examining what the future could look like if humanity can come together to stop the worst effects of climate change. www.getitright.earth

What If We Get It Right?

www.getitright.earth

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Reposted by Rebecca Heisman

The Onion @theonion.com · Aug 26

Hummingbird Feels Like Fucking Idiot After Seeing Other Bird Gliding https://theonion.com/hummingbird-feels-like-fucking-idiot-after-seeing-other-bird-gliding/

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Rebecca Heisman @rheisman.bsky.social · Aug 26

You're right, I wonder if the duration has something to do with it - this is day four of continuous "moderate" air here and it's really starting to hit me.