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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron)

@carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social
634 followers 102 following 1.2K posts

Bird enthusiast. Active transportation enthusiast. Childless heron lady. Philosophy PhD who rejected a traditional career for a quiet and solitary life in peaceful places. u.osu.edu/mcfarland.309 philosophisingsforthebirds.substack…

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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Bar-tailed godwit tongue action 🪶
A bar-tailed godwit stands in shallow water with bill partially open. Look closely, and you can see the bird's tongue.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Ringed plover in two senses. A ringed ringed plover. 🪶
A plover stands on a shore with pebbles and crushed shells wearing the ring "A07"
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"I learned to see birds as company, and there was no going back." A personal narrative written for the Mindful Birding Network, re: bird-noticing, lockdown, and solo travels. www.themindfulbirdingnetwork.com/mbn-blog/nev...
themindfulbirdingnetwork.com
Never Lonely with Birds Around by Kate McFarland — The Mindful Birding Network
Grey Heron © Kate McFarland
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I guess everyone here knows I am more fascinated by Avian Intelligence than that other thing, but FYI my colleagues have a new podcast, and I thought the inaugural episode on "How Should We Talk To and About AI?" was actually a very interesting conversation. open.spotify.com/episode/3FhA...
open.spotify.com
How Should We Talk To and About AI?
COMPAS: Conversations on Morality, Politics, and Society · Episode
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
When you walk to the coast thinking you might photograph some shorebirds, but the sun is over the water, so you think, "Hmm, fuck it, that wheatear behind me would make a fine photo subject." 🪶
Wheatear standing in grass and facing toward the right of the frame.Wheatear standing and sand by grass and facing toward the left of the frame.Wheatear standing in grass, with chest point forward and head turned somewhat toward the right of the frame.Wheatear standing on pebbly land with some plants and facing toward the left of the frame.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Turnstone tongue 👅 🦀🪶
Ruddy turnstone crouches down on a sandy beach to scavenge for meat in a broken crab shell. The bird's bill is open and the tongue visible.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Do birds have privacy interests? Some ethicists have argued so - and they have a point. On the other hand, public data sharing has real benefits, from incentivizing citizen science to storytelling. My latest "birds and philosophy" column for Columbus Audubon. columbusaudubon.org/do-birds-hav...
columbusaudubon.org
Do Birds Have a Right to Privacy? - Columbus Audubon
By Kate McFarland Do birds have a right to privacy? At first blush, it sounds like a joke – a comment we might make when feeling a bit voyeuristic after witnessing those few fleeting seconds of avian ...
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Gull photobombing a preening cormorant 🪶
A cormorant stands at waters edge with wings outstretched and bill pointed down behind of its wings. An out-of-focus gull walks into the frame from the right.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Young moorhen descending a fallen branch. 🪶
Juvenile moorhen walks down an inclined branched, wings and tail feathers up, toward a duckweed-covered pond.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Once I get out of the habit of photographing birds (or any other subject requiring better equipment than an iPhone SE camera), it's easy to stay out of it. But I saw some #moorhens the other day and thus had take some photos for a friend who likes to receive photos of moorhens 🪶
Adult moorhen with slightly dirty bill walking in front of a dark background.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Yes, #OffensivePigeons should be a genre.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Traveller Heron's first @bou.org.uk conference! Both heron and human thoroughly enjoyed the talks, lunch and workshop. #BOUasm26
Soft toy Heron looks at an Ibis on a BOU banner.Soft toy heron sits on a table with various empty glasses and mugs, with a "BOU Avian Futures" name tag for Kate McFarland hanging from their beakspear.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
When you’re a travelling heron, why not plan your travels around where the bird conferences are? Traveller is ready for #BOUasm26!
Soft toy heron sits on a table with a coffee cup, pastry, and conference program.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
This is Traveller Ammonite logging in with an important PSA. I am not a shrimp. That's all. G'night!
Coil red soft toy with orange head with beady eye and short tentacles -- not a shrimp -- sits next to a roughly matching negroni. The non-shrimp plushie is propped up by a crate from Chateau Pontet-Canet.
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Reposted by Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron)
American Bird Conservancy @abcbirds.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Global Bird Rescue Week (September 21–28) is here! We’re highlighting one of the most significant threats birds face during migration: collisions with windows & buildings. 🪟 There are several ways to reduce collisions around your home. Learn more: abcbirds.info/4gTw2LV
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Where is Traveller off to now? 🤔
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Traveller found a Heron-mobile!
Soft toy heron looks toward the ceiling where there is a mobile with white paper cut-outs. One of the cut-outs seems to depict a heron standing a big nest.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Traveller Heron reminds you: Choose respect, not egrets.
A sign on a post reads "Choose Respect. Not Regrets." But a soft toy heron is obscuring the "R" of "Regrets."
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
My life in socks 🧦
Two pairs of socks hang in a storefront display. One reads "I'm really into birds" with drawings of birds. The other reads "f*ck off, I'm reading" with a drawing of a woman with a face behind a book.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
It's yet another topic I find utterly fascinating... so I wrote about it for Rewilding Earth (in the article linked below). Specifically, I explore the idea that there are actual or potential forms of sensory pollution that are imperceptible to humans.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
It's Global Bird Rescue week! Some ways to participate: • Report any window collision victims you find to the Global Bird Collision Mapper; • Make your windows bird-safe; • Help spread the world. www.globalbirdrescue.org
globalbirdrescue.org
Global Bird Rescue
Global Bird Rescue is an annual global event where teams and individuals around the world go out and search for birds that have collided with buidlings.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
"Whenever researchers decide which problem to focus on, what questions to ask, which instruments and experimental set-ups to use, what statistical methods to apply, and how to interpret the results, they are engaging in philosophical reasoning, even if unreflectively" www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Science is based on assumptions. Philosophy can make sure they’re the right ones.
When I was a postdoctoral researcher, I spent several years teaching at an interdisciplinary research institute in Vienna, Austria. There, my main course sought to train master’s students—mostly biolo...
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
"Would you happen to have any bottles of wine with a heron on the label?" "I don't believe we do ... that's a really niche question."
Close up of the face of a soft toy heron facing shelves of wine in the background.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
First pass at typing up the general ideas for a book chapter of max 4500 words 🙌 Do I get a prize?
Screen shot of a Word Count from Google Docs, showing "Words 4500" (on. the. dot.)
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
We all know about light and noise pollution, but are there forms of sensory pollution that affect other sensory modalities -- perhaps some that are inherently imperceptible to humans? This is the question behind my latest piece for #Rewilding Earth (@rewilding.org). rewilding.org/beyond-the-h...
rewilding.org
Beyond the Human Umwelt: Silent and Invisible Sensory Pollution
We must not be deaf and blind to the importance of animal senses outside of hearing and vision and, correspondingly, sensory pollution beyond noise and light.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Also from Carson's speech (paraphrasing letters): "We have been troubled about the world and had almost lost faith in man. It helps to think about the long history of the earth ... And when we think in terms of millions of years, we are not so impatient that our own problems be solved tomorrow." 1/4
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I've not yet ruled out retraining. But enrolling in a large online undergraduate course might not be best for self-image when one already has a PhD and MSc. Thanks for all the info on how my college research projects will differ from the research I did in high school. At least I have 130.28% (A) 🤷‍♀️
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EveryHeron 𓅣 @everyheron.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Patience and Grace and Instant death The dichotomy of Heronkind
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
...from this speech (delivered in Columbus?) "I am not afraid of being thought a sentimentalist when I stand here tonight and tell you that I believe natural beauty has a necessary place in the spiritual development of any individual or any society." awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/communicatio...
awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu
Exceeding Beauty of the Earth - April 21, 1954 - Archives of Women's Political Communication
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Apparently it's #Plover Appreciation Day, so remember to thank a plover today. Here is a European golden plover and a common ringed plover, both of whom are much appreciated 🪶
European golden plover in non-breeding plumage stands on a mudflat.Common ringed plover stands on a pebbly/sandy beach by some seaweed.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
"Don't ask me why I'm doing this; you wouldn't understand..." Took my Heron to see @marillion.com at York Barbican last night.
Fuzzy picture of a soft toy heron and otherwise human audience watching British prog band Marillion perform "The Great Escape" on a stage bathed in white lights.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Traveller Heron eagerly awaits the show...
Soft toy heron looks at the stage in a concert hall, eagerly awaiting the start of the show.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Dejlige mindeord fra BIEN Danmark. Lovely remembrances from the Danish partner of @basicincomeearth.bsky.social (på dansk). basisindkomst.dk/erik-christe...
basisindkomst.dk
Erik Christensen (1945-2026) - mindeord - BIEN Danmark
Erik Christensen; medstifter af og kendt som "the grand old man" i Borgerlønsbevægelsen, er død 11. september 2026, 81 år gammel. Dorte Kolding har skrevet mindeord.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Does anyone else ever recall specific birds whom you met, and think "I wonder how that bird is doing these days? I hope they're still alive and thriving."🪶 Sometimes I meet birds only briefly, yet something about them leaves a lasting impression - this particular heron, for one.
A very young Fiskehejre (Grey Heron) stands in a shallow artificial pond outside of Liselund Slot near Møns Klint, Denmark.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I'm not sure if this will interest anyone in my Bluesky network, but at my day job, we run a series of webinars on research ethics, and I think they're good. The first of this academic year will be about posthumous attribution in both historical and modern contexts. cehv.osu.edu/events/care-...
cehv.osu.edu
CARE Panel: Co-Authorship and Posthumous Attribution
AboutWhy do we care about attribution and authorship? And what does it mean to attribute authorship of a text, or intellectual credit in general, to an individual after their death?
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Oh hi there 🪶
Female house sparrow stands on the seat of metal chair and faces the camera, her head just under the back of the chair.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Today is #WorldSoundwalkDay "As you move slowly through a place, pay attention to the sounds around you ... The goal is simply to slow down, become present, and experience your surroundings through listening." www.quietparks.org/urban-sound-...
quietparks.org
Urban Sound Walk Project — Quiet Parks International
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Very saddened to hear of the passing Danish #BasicIncome advocate and scholar Erik Christensen. Christensen's ecological argument for a basic income as a pillar in a steady state economy is as relevant today as ever. 1/2 www.basisindkomst.dk/bien/pdf/EC_...
basisindkomst.dk
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Ariel Brunner @arielbrunner.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Stunning, accessible and informative report here: sowb.birdlife.org
sowb.birdlife.org
State of the World’s Birds | BirdLife
BirdLife International’s report on the state of the world's birds — trends, pressures, and conservation responses.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
As the new academic year ramps up, I'm reminded how much I love administrative work. I like the interactivity and feeling responsible and valued. It gives my life meaning in the sense that I know that if I died, people would be inconvenienced. But an administrative career is a double-edged sword 1/3
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Candid shot of Traveller and Kate out for dinner in Santiago de Compostela 🇪🇸 🍽️
In the foreground, a soft toy heron sits in front of at a plate at a restaurant table. The heron is photographed from behind. At the other side of the table, a woman in a black merino shirt sits with a glass of white wine, and looks the heron in the eyes, intently awaiting the heron's next rebuttal in the argument over which dish to order.
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Reposted by Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron)
International Wader Study Group @waderstudy.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Everyone is welcome at our conferences, especially Traveller Heron 😂
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Traveller Heron had a wonderful and informative time at the @waderstudy.bsky.social IWSG 2026 conference. Traveller says everyone was welcoming and no one told them "We don't want *that* kind of wader here." A few remarks from Traveller's human, who also joined (again) as an outsider... 1/6
A soft toy heron stands in a university atrium and looks at a sign with a sketch of an oystercatcher. Another sign, to the upper left, reads "Welcome to the IWSG Conference!"
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Reposted by Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron)
EveryHeron 𓅣 @everyheron.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
A Green Heron patiently fishing with a spider 🕷️ lure... youtu.be/C1IqJJ9pO3M?... Nine species of Heron have been observed using bait fishing with twigs, leaves, bread - the Green and Black Crowned seem to be the stars. The skill is typically local, learned from observation of your elders.
youtu.be
Green Heron Uses Spider as Fishing Bait 🕷️
YouTube video by Two Lane Travels
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
"notheron is the state of being between being with Heron. The longer it lasts the greater the Heron appreciation when it is resolved. Conversely, too much Heron can lead to addiction." Wisdom from @everyheron.bsky.social
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Traveller and their human sometimes go to bird conferences for fun. They like all the PPTs with cute pictures of birds and being around other humans who like birds. Traveller gets positive attention, and Traveller's human lets them be an icebreaker, since she doesn't know shit about networking. 1/6
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Traveller Heron leads the way to the conference dinner on the first night of the annual conference of @waderstudy.bsky.social. Santiago de Compostela 🇪🇸
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Reposted by Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron)
yukongertie.bsky.social @yukongertie.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Elie gives us a glimpse of something even more profound: how birds might be thinking when communicating amongst themselves – and evidence that they are thinking and interpreting meaning instead of thoughtlessly reacting to auditory stimuli.
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
"... Elie has taken steps toward understanding how #birds themselves mentally represent their own calls – and that, in my view, is much more fascinating than being able to 'talk to' the birds." New essay from me on meaning, reference, and avian communication. columbusaudubon.org/do-birds-kno...
columbusaudubon.org
Do Birds Know What They’re Saying? - Columbus Audubon
(featured image photo credit: PotMart186, Wikimedia, CC BY-SA) By Kate McFarlane When neuroscientist Julie Elie won the 2026 Coller-Dolittle Prize for her work on semantic cognition in Zebra Finches, ...
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Kate McFarland (and Traveller Heron) @carfreebirdnoticer.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
"... Halving the illuminated window area among buildings decreased collision counts by nearly 11 times. It didn't require any costly changes to buildings. It only asked building owners to turn out unnecessary lights." Now there's a bright idea💡 www.darkskyconsulting.com/blog/for-the...
darkskyconsulting.com
Do "Lights Out" Initiatives Really Save Migrating Birds? What Science Says
Discover how urban light pollution impacts migratory birds and learn how seasonal "Lights Out" programs reduce fatal building collisions according to scientific research.
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