Declan Troy
@troydeclan.bsky.social
Alaska based biologist and photographer.
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme of birds showing #poise
Spruce Grouse may lose marks on scores for grace and calmness but they get top grades for self-confidence as they strut around the boreal forest. Denali National park #Alaska 🪶
Spruce Grouse may lose marks on scores for grace and calmness but they get top grades for self-confidence as they strut around the boreal forest. Denali National park #Alaska 🪶
January 25, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme of birds showing #poise
Spruce Grouse may lose marks on scores for grace and calmness but they get top grades for self-confidence as they strut around the boreal forest. Denali National park #Alaska 🪶
Spruce Grouse may lose marks on scores for grace and calmness but they get top grades for self-confidence as they strut around the boreal forest. Denali National park #Alaska 🪶
For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme of #swans
Trumpeter Swans: Flying over an autumn marsh. Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge, #Alaska 🪶
Trumpeter Swans: Flying over an autumn marsh. Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge, #Alaska 🪶
January 24, 2026 at 4:34 PM
For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme of #swans
Trumpeter Swans: Flying over an autumn marsh. Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge, #Alaska 🪶
Trumpeter Swans: Flying over an autumn marsh. Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge, #Alaska 🪶
Surfs Up: Commerson's Dolphins riding the waves coming into Saunders Island, Falkland Islands. They were doing this the entire time I was there, seems like they were just having fun but perhaps there is some foraging link to the behavior? 🦊🦑
January 23, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Surfs Up: Commerson's Dolphins riding the waves coming into Saunders Island, Falkland Islands. They were doing this the entire time I was there, seems like they were just having fun but perhaps there is some foraging link to the behavior? 🦊🦑
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #TailsUp (any bird with its tail raised).
Maranon Gnatcatcher: Sometimes considered conspecific with the Tropical Gnatcatcher, this small passerine is found in the Upper Marañón Valley in northern #Peru 🪶
Maranon Gnatcatcher: Sometimes considered conspecific with the Tropical Gnatcatcher, this small passerine is found in the Upper Marañón Valley in northern #Peru 🪶
January 22, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #TailsUp (any bird with its tail raised).
Maranon Gnatcatcher: Sometimes considered conspecific with the Tropical Gnatcatcher, this small passerine is found in the Upper Marañón Valley in northern #Peru 🪶
Maranon Gnatcatcher: Sometimes considered conspecific with the Tropical Gnatcatcher, this small passerine is found in the Upper Marañón Valley in northern #Peru 🪶
Arctic Ground Squirrel surveying its alpine domain. Well it was, currently sawing logs in some cozy underground chamber. #Squirrelappreciationday, Denali National Park #Alaska 🦊
January 21, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Arctic Ground Squirrel surveying its alpine domain. Well it was, currently sawing logs in some cozy underground chamber. #Squirrelappreciationday, Denali National Park #Alaska 🦊
Almost home. Gento Penguins racing towards shore and their colony on South Georgia. 🪶🦑
January 20, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Almost home. Gento Penguins racing towards shore and their colony on South Georgia. 🪶🦑
The #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #Winterlight
The perfect conditions for watching Great Gray Owls (and them watching you). Sometimes they perch at ground level. Anchorage, #Alaska 🪶
The perfect conditions for watching Great Gray Owls (and them watching you). Sometimes they perch at ground level. Anchorage, #Alaska 🪶
January 19, 2026 at 5:01 PM
The #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #Winterlight
The perfect conditions for watching Great Gray Owls (and them watching you). Sometimes they perch at ground level. Anchorage, #Alaska 🪶
The perfect conditions for watching Great Gray Owls (and them watching you). Sometimes they perch at ground level. Anchorage, #Alaska 🪶
Here's #TwoOfAKind for #birdoftheday
Sabine's Gulls, Like many arctic birds they nest on the tundra then head out to sea for the rest of the year. Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, #Alaska 🪶
Sabine's Gulls, Like many arctic birds they nest on the tundra then head out to sea for the rest of the year. Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, #Alaska 🪶
January 18, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Here's #TwoOfAKind for #birdoftheday
Sabine's Gulls, Like many arctic birds they nest on the tundra then head out to sea for the rest of the year. Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, #Alaska 🪶
Sabine's Gulls, Like many arctic birds they nest on the tundra then head out to sea for the rest of the year. Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, #Alaska 🪶
Most of the time one wonders why the Crested Duck gets its name but the wee crest is visible on the rear duck of this pair. Carcass Island, Falkland Islands 🪶
January 16, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Most of the time one wonders why the Crested Duck gets its name but the wee crest is visible on the rear duck of this pair. Carcass Island, Falkland Islands 🪶
Small wings, big feet. The Falklands Steamer-Duck can get everywhere it wants to without taking to the air so they are flightless (only one of four species of Steamer-Duck can fly). Carcass Island, Falkland Islands 🪶
January 15, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Small wings, big feet. The Falklands Steamer-Duck can get everywhere it wants to without taking to the air so they are flightless (only one of four species of Steamer-Duck can fly). Carcass Island, Falkland Islands 🪶
Whiter than a snow goose, every feather on a male Kelp Goose is white. Unlike snow geese, Kelp Geese are sexual dimorphic and the females look completely different. Carcass Island Falkland Islands. 🪶
January 14, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Whiter than a snow goose, every feather on a male Kelp Goose is white. Unlike snow geese, Kelp Geese are sexual dimorphic and the females look completely different. Carcass Island Falkland Islands. 🪶
Meet the Striated Caracara aka Johnny Rook. An opportunistic and clever (problem solving skills similar to parrots) raptor of the Falkland Islands. Be careful around them with your stuff, they are apt to borrow anything they can carry. Carcass Island, Falkland Islands 🪶
January 13, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Meet the Striated Caracara aka Johnny Rook. An opportunistic and clever (problem solving skills similar to parrots) raptor of the Falkland Islands. Be careful around them with your stuff, they are apt to borrow anything they can carry. Carcass Island, Falkland Islands 🪶
Who Made You the Boss? An Imperial Cormorant presiding over a colony of Western Rockhopper Penguins. Saunders Island, Falkland Islands.
January 12, 2026 at 3:50 PM
Who Made You the Boss? An Imperial Cormorant presiding over a colony of Western Rockhopper Penguins. Saunders Island, Falkland Islands.
And then there were three. I've seen all the rockhopper penguins so I got an armchair twitch this fall when 2 species became three in the last checklist update. This is the newly named Western Rockhopper Penguin from New Island, Falkland Islands 🪶
January 11, 2026 at 3:57 PM
And then there were three. I've seen all the rockhopper penguins so I got an armchair twitch this fall when 2 species became three in the last checklist update. This is the newly named Western Rockhopper Penguin from New Island, Falkland Islands 🪶
Many places around the world have a counterpart to the familiar American Robin (or Blackbird in Eurasia). In the Falkland Islands the bird is the Austral Thrush. This one watching visitors to Saunders Island. 🪶
January 10, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Many places around the world have a counterpart to the familiar American Robin (or Blackbird in Eurasia). In the Falkland Islands the bird is the Austral Thrush. This one watching visitors to Saunders Island. 🪶
Back at my desk and resuming looking through the images from my excursion to the south last fall. We resume with the spectacular Red-legged Cormorant. They occur primarily along the Pacific coast of South America but I was delighted to find a pocket of them in #Argentina at Puerto Deseado 🪶
January 9, 2026 at 11:15 PM
Back at my desk and resuming looking through the images from my excursion to the south last fall. We resume with the spectacular Red-legged Cormorant. They occur primarily along the Pacific coast of South America but I was delighted to find a pocket of them in #Argentina at Puerto Deseado 🪶
Snowy Sheathbill, a Southern Ocean relative of shorebirds . They struck my curiosity when I took ornithology and became one of my most wanted species when I first visited the south. Not to elusive, I found some my first day but I still look forward to seeing them when I return. Falkland Islands 🪶
December 15, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Snowy Sheathbill, a Southern Ocean relative of shorebirds . They struck my curiosity when I took ornithology and became one of my most wanted species when I first visited the south. Not to elusive, I found some my first day but I still look forward to seeing them when I return. Falkland Islands 🪶
I'm always excited to see an albatross but apparently rockhopper penguins don't share my delight. Black-browed Albatross returning to a colony in the Falkland Islands. 🪶🦑
December 14, 2025 at 4:42 PM
I'm always excited to see an albatross but apparently rockhopper penguins don't share my delight. Black-browed Albatross returning to a colony in the Falkland Islands. 🪶🦑
Most tinamous I've encountered are just invisible voices mocking me from deep in the forest, never to be seen. But Elegant Crested-Tinamous ( lifer @aba.org )are the exception, walking around in relatively open environments showing off their elegant crests. Punta Tombo #Argentina 🪶
December 13, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Most tinamous I've encountered are just invisible voices mocking me from deep in the forest, never to be seen. But Elegant Crested-Tinamous ( lifer @aba.org )are the exception, walking around in relatively open environments showing off their elegant crests. Punta Tombo #Argentina 🪶
White-headed Steamer-Duck. This flightless duck has a rather limited range midway along the coast of Argentina. A lifer for me ( @aba.org ) and my 3rd species steamer-duck. Punta Tombo #Argentina
December 12, 2025 at 4:41 PM
White-headed Steamer-Duck. This flightless duck has a rather limited range midway along the coast of Argentina. A lifer for me ( @aba.org ) and my 3rd species steamer-duck. Punta Tombo #Argentina
South American Sea Lion bull and his harem. There was considerable mortality among sea lions due to avian flu but at this location they appeared to be holding their own. Snowy Sheatbill patrolling the foreground. Arroyo Verde #Argentina 🦊🦑
December 11, 2025 at 5:56 PM
South American Sea Lion bull and his harem. There was considerable mortality among sea lions due to avian flu but at this location they appeared to be holding their own. Snowy Sheatbill patrolling the foreground. Arroyo Verde #Argentina 🦊🦑
If one hadn't seen a Common Loon yet this year it's too late to look around Anchorage #Alaska Fortunately they are easy to come by during summer and we're sending more back than came back last spring. 🪶
December 10, 2025 at 5:52 PM
If one hadn't seen a Common Loon yet this year it's too late to look around Anchorage #Alaska Fortunately they are easy to come by during summer and we're sending more back than came back last spring. 🪶
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #SideViews, Here's a Common Diving-Petrel rapidly hoping to change to a rear view. Off the Snares Islands, New Zealand I love the blue feet which are usually hidden from view. 🪶🦑
December 9, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #SideViews, Here's a Common Diving-Petrel rapidly hoping to change to a rear view. Off the Snares Islands, New Zealand I love the blue feet which are usually hidden from view. 🪶🦑
Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #NestBuilders birds with nest materials,....
As I shovel my driveway it is easy to forget that nesting is just getting underway in the other hemisphere. Here's an Imperial Cormorant bringing in home renovation supplies on the Falkland Islands 🪶
As I shovel my driveway it is easy to forget that nesting is just getting underway in the other hemisphere. Here's an Imperial Cormorant bringing in home renovation supplies on the Falkland Islands 🪶
December 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #NestBuilders birds with nest materials,....
As I shovel my driveway it is easy to forget that nesting is just getting underway in the other hemisphere. Here's an Imperial Cormorant bringing in home renovation supplies on the Falkland Islands 🪶
As I shovel my driveway it is easy to forget that nesting is just getting underway in the other hemisphere. Here's an Imperial Cormorant bringing in home renovation supplies on the Falkland Islands 🪶
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BirdsOnTwigs. My contribution may be disqualified as the judges could rule this Bohemian Waxwing is under the twig. They are back again for the winter so I'll try to do better. Anchorage #Alaska 🪶
December 7, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BirdsOnTwigs. My contribution may be disqualified as the judges could rule this Bohemian Waxwing is under the twig. They are back again for the winter so I'll try to do better. Anchorage #Alaska 🪶