Lmst

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Green heron selecting the perfect stick

A green heron extending their neck fully as they grab at a thin stick with their long beak. The stick is below them on the branch so they are reaching downward and holding on to the branch with their bright orange feet. Their body is shiny blue. Their neck is reddish brown with a light stripe running down the underside. The scene is dark with green leaves and shadows

The experiment continues:

Doodling random foliage-like shapes and textures in Procreate has been my go-to boredom cure recently. I finally brought some into Blender yesterday.

Despite the conifer branches being messy, they look okay on trees. I especially like the overall textures of the two in the center.

The tree with a hatched canopy, at the left edge, is a happy accident. There's a texture and UV mismatch, so leaf meshes are showing parts of grass blades and a few random leaf clusters instead.

I like it, and I think I'll add intentional hatching to the next doodle session.

Blender Eevee render.

Four stylized conifer trees fill the center and left side of the image. They're each presented with a flat image plane of their branch textures to the upper left of the tree. From left to right:
1) Vaguely upside-down tear drop with randomly scalloped edges. The tree has upturned tips.
2). Like the first, but longer and thinner. Upturned tips.
3) Same shape as the first but with rounded protrusions. Branch tips turn down.
4) Same shape as the second but with random jagged edges. Downward tips.

The background has several deciduous trees with various leaf shapes including the canopy with hatching mentioned in the post.

There are random patches of grass cards around some of the trees. Two small test trees float in the sky.

A black phoebe perched above the warblers. They're on the lookout for bugs too.

#birds

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I love the special, still orbiness of the birds in winter.

Photo of a California scrub jay--a smallish corvid with a white-grey breast and blue face, wings, and tail--sitting flumfed up in the cold, bare branches of a mounting mahogany bush. Eir body is facing us, and e is so hunkered and fluffed up we see em as a nearly round, weathered tennis ball with a white throat sketched in with bright pastel, capped with a face drawn down into eir shoulders and the bright, vivid blue of something that has been aggressively tended with a knob of billiard cue chalk. E is looking off to our right, a blueberry muffin where all the blueberries sit on top, a stern-seeming white eyebrow sketched over eir glossy black eye.

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon wandering around Half Moon Bay with Jeri. She showed us a couple of her favorite beaches and birdwatching spots, and we took photos together.

Between beaches, Bob and Jeri pointed out a bird hopping around in the grass and on a fence—and there were more. It was a flock of yellow-rumped warblers.

I've only ever seen them perching or doing in-flight acrobatics to catch bugs. They're also nimble on the ground.

#birds #warblers

A yellow-rumped warbler runs across cut grass, staying low to the ground. They're looking for snacks with about a dozen of their friends, so they have to be quick.

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Comparison of our two most commonly-seen local Buteo hawks: Red-tailed and Red-shouldered. Generally, the Red-tailed is larger and bulkier. Also notice the solid red tail and the whitish V shaped pattern on the back. The Red-shouldered has a thickly banded tail and more of a “checkered” pattern on the wings

A Red-shouldered hawk perched on a branch

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🌧️ hey yeah it’s launch day. had a blast making this website with the inimitable @redintheshell, a Mastodon Account & in many ways a dear friend whose outlook on life inspires me deeply :)

this is a project made with love for the web, strange friendship, and reiselust. i'm excited to share it with y'all 🤍

https://strangersbyspring.com/

Pacific Ocean
noun

the world's largest and most luxurious saltwater bath for one tiny sanderling, that one time earlier today

#birds #shorbs #shorebirds

A sanderling stoops down and splashes in outgoing surf (center left). Foam gathers around the bird's chest while a new crashing wave looms in the background.

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You too can make a tiny, fixed-width website in the year of our lord 2025 ⚡️ https://lynnandtonic.com

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We report: we caught a movement in the sky, something unfurling and twisting itself in and out of shape. To the naked eye, it is just quick enough to see it happen in real time. We know how these clouds go, but it does not take away from watching this one at its freest.

Digital painting of a giant cloud blooming into a blue sky, against a background of large, sweeping clouds. The light is slightly yellow, creating complex shadows on the many valleys and mountains of the clouds.

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palm warbler has some questions

A small yellow and brown bird perched on a thin dry plant. They are looking at the camera inquisitively. In the background is green grass and yellow dandelions

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My lady.

Superzoom photo of a queenfisher--a female belted kingfisher--sitting on eir tiny toes and looking back over eir left shoulder from eir perch on a thin branch. E is very poised and stocky, eir white breast decked with a broad navy and russet collar and eir signature rust-colored sides and belt like a buttoned waistcoat. Eir navy blue wings are tucked with elegant propriety behind em, a vivid match to eir navy face and spiky crest. Eir eye is a glossy black wonder of intensity behind a brilliant white eye spot, and eir bill, a thick dagger above eir white throat, seems to just hold back a secret smile. The backdrop is a rich blur of cold, slightly sodden air and gold bullrushes.

@nu sometimes, yeah

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Red Breasted Nuthatch

Yesterday afternoon, we went for a walk at Heron's Head. I was happy to see at least three black-bellied plovers hunting along the shoreline. This one, however, stood still and took in the views as gentle waves lapped across their feet.

#birds #shorbs #ShoreBirds

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When I started this challenge I had a plan to assemble a murder of crows, one bird at a time. As one last treat, I'm pleased to share with you the final, full composition. Thanks for tuning in to #Crowvember. See you next year!