Syd Cannings
@sydcannings1.bsky.social
2K followers 460 following 220 posts
Biologist, naturalist, bug- and bird lover, and inhabitant of the Yukon's boreal woodlands. Co-author of British Columbia: A Natural History. Conservation. Biodiversity.
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Reposted by Syd Cannings
dickcannings.bsky.social
The fall season is winding down at the Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory with the shift to late migrants like Pacific Wren and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Last day of operation is October 15.
Reposted by Syd Cannings
pbeasleyhall.bsky.social
The Cook Strait giant wētā (Deinacrida rugosa) is an anostostomatid from New Zealand. It's one of the largest insects in the world! Major threats to this cutie include land clearing and predation by rats. It's listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. #EverydayEnsifera

📸: d_kluza (iNaturalist)
Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/6343096
Reposted by Syd Cannings
birderk.bsky.social
BILLION BIRD NIGHT!!!
#birds #fall #migration
BirdCast map showing 1.24 billion birds headed south at 9:50pm EDT on October 8, 2025. Most of the migration is concentrated in the east, especially the southeast. NEXRAD radar composite map showing birds and weather.
Reposted by Syd Cannings
rockinbones.bsky.social
#ColorADay #RedWed 🪶🦆
Redheads up to no good .
Two Redhead ducks
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saskajanet.bsky.social
Look at her go!
#invertebrates 🌿
Screen shot of Project Monarch app map of progress of a monarch butterfly from southern Ontario to Oklahoma.
sydcannings1.bsky.social
I do love bees and stoneflies, but how about the Lake Emerald (Somatochlora cingulata), the Common Loon of dragonflies?
Reposted by Syd Cannings
tqmurdock.bsky.social
Environment and Climate Change Canada news release on the 2025 forecast just released today: www.canada.ca/en/environme...
sydcannings1.bsky.social
I was doing last week's @nytimes.com Sunday crossword (we get it in the Wednesday Yukon News 😀) when I was thrilled to find a Yukon clue at 24Ac!
Unfortunately it was wrong! Spoiler alert, red alders are NOT native to the Yukon, even though they grow on the Pacific slope of nearby Alaska and BC.
Bright green Red Alder leaves against a forest backdrop. Photo Syd Cannings
Reposted by Syd Cannings
smunoztobar.bsky.social
Twenty two new species of beetles from Ecuador’s páramo and cloud forest offer a rare glimpse into ecosystems that remain largely unexplored. Species names pay tribute to sites, communities and cultural traits of the Ecuadorian Andes zookeys.pensoft.net/article/1583... #Biodiversity #Ecuador #bugs
Dorsal view of Panabachia species
Reposted by Syd Cannings
thegodpodcast.com
Welcome to Heaven, Dr. Jane Goodall. You made the world a better place.
sydcannings1.bsky.social
Can't recall, but I was there too
sydcannings1.bsky.social
The view from my back door in #Whitehorse #Yukon just now... the sun must be acting up!
Reposted by Syd Cannings
heathermcpherson.bsky.social
What a wonderful trip to the Okanagan region with my dear friend, Richard Cannings.

I feel so energized by the people I met and I can’t wait to get back to this very special part of our country. 🧡
Reposted by Syd Cannings
davidatkinsonpoet.bsky.social
I have been a long admirer of Margaret Atwoods prose, but just recently discovered her poetry. It is just as good

#poemoftheday
#poemoftheday
#marriage
sydcannings1.bsky.social
...and in my younger days I used to count dozens on the Victoria Christmas Bird Count (I could hear over 8000 hz then!)
Reposted by Syd Cannings
alexwild.bsky.social
When people say “climate models could be wrong”, they are technically correct but should be aware that the models could be wrong by underpredicting change.
rarohde.bsky.social
The Northern Pacific Ocean is currently smashing temperature records.

And it is reaching these levels far earlier than the current generation of climate models had expected.

A short thread 🧵
Time series of monthly Northern Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature anomalies from 1850 to August 2025 alongside multi-model expectations of the warming in this area (scenario SSP2-4.5).
Reposted by Syd Cannings
hcrichardson.bsky.social
1901, photograph by Dr. Allan Warner of two 13 year old boys both infected with smallpox on the same day, one vaccinated as an infant and one not.
Of the two boys with smallpox, the one who had been vaccinated has very few pox while the other is horribly disfigured.
sydcannings1.bsky.social
I don't see Golden-crowned Kinglets very often because their calls are too high for me to hear, but this one was in a pack of chickadees and warblers! These little birds often forage in mixed flocks after nesting, presumably to gain mutual benefit from predator detection. #birds Fox Lake, #Yukon
sydcannings1.bsky.social
Sourdough from the Klondike! I've tried to resist posting sourdough photos, but last week I received some starter that reliable sources tell me is a direct descendant from sourdough during the Klondike gold rush, over 100 years ago! This loaf tasted pretty good, I must say.
sydcannings1.bsky.social
It's the time of year when the horntails search out the recently downed spruce trees and lay their eggs under the bark, where the larvae can much on the yummy wood... You can always impress your friends by catching these in your hands, they're totally harmless! Urocerus flavicornis. #bugs #insects
Reposted by Syd Cannings
flygirlnhm.bsky.social
Been a while but well done @nytimes.com for todays #taxonomicfail (and @bfly52.bsky.social for pointing this out)

Do love a Spelling Syrphid Forum..
Reposted by Syd Cannings
spahn711.bsky.social
Aerial view of Wallace Creek. 1000s of yrs ago, the creek flowed nearly in a straight line. However, it flows perpendicularly over the San Andreas Fault, which runs horizontally across the center, causing the creek to become displaced at a near perfect 90° angles. Evidence of plate motions!
A drone view of Wallace creek - a dried up creek that flows perpendicularly across the San Andreas Fault. As the fault slips over and over again over many years as the Pacific and North American plates slide past one another, the creek is offset more and more, creating the boxy 'S' shape seen here.
Reposted by Syd Cannings
bcferrys.bsky.social
Expect delays due to ferrymeandering.