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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

#squirrel - not a #bird This fellow was drinking when something caught its attention. Time to stop drinking and attend to (whatever distracted it). (Either that - or it's giving the camera a "what are you?" look...)

A common tree squirrel is standing at the edge of a shallow stone bird-bath, looking attentively to the right. Background is a garden.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

#birds A male and a female cardinal visited the bath in afternoon. I infer that the breeding pair that's been here all summer hasn't left yet.

Red bird with a bit of black on it's face is a female Cardinal. She sits in a a shallow stone bird-bath with a garden behind.

A red bird with a black face mask (a Cardinal) is standing in a shallow stone bird bath with a garden in the background.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

#birds a Starling - doing the bath routine - it looks like it really wanted this bath.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#birds As the season gets cooler, some of the birds are no longer at the bath. But Robins and Blue Jays still stop by as well as this cardinal.

A cardinal stands on the very edge of a shallow stone bird-bath. It is looking down so that the mask and beak are seen from above. The background is a garden - mostly ferns are in view.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

#astronomy #moon #waxing #waning #photography This is tonight's moon (on the left, almost full) with one of the pictures from four+ weeks ago (on the right, just past full). It is interesting how different some of the surface features are because of the lighting angle...

Two images of the moon are shown, the one on the left is slightly darker, and its lower left edge is not very well list. The one on the right is slightly brighter, and its upper right edge is not very well lit.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

#science #space #satellite #mega-constellation The satellite mega-constellations around the earth are numerous enough that they can provide data to do science. www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?...

spaceweather.com

Spaceweather.com - realtime news about the Sun-Earth environment

Solar flares, geomagnetic storms, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

#birds A female Cardinal is getting her bath in the morning light.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

#birds A Mourning Dove stops by just to get a drink, but is so casual about it, it's hard to tell if it's actually interested in getting the drink.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

#birds Interesting poses from our avian friends as they stop by on their daily visit to the bath...(taken in the last few days).

A mourning dove stands near the edge of a shallow stone bird-bath with both wings held nearly vertically - showing all of the flight and under feathers that you usually don't get to see.

A Blue Jay is holding a very aristocratic pose, tail up, head up, beak pointed slightly above vertical. It is standing in a shallow stone bird-bath in a garden.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

#birds A pair of Starlings. They look in tip-top state. I suspect I'll see more of these in the coming days due to migration patterns.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A pair of Blue Jays. From the brightness of their feathers, and their hesitant splashing, I think these are young ones. I rarely see a pair of Blue Jays in the bath at the same time.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

#birds Blue Jays are very vigorous bathers. They splash and make a real spectacle with patterns and blurs. Here are some (slightly edited) images and frame-captures to show you what I mean. And yes, there is a Blue Jay in all the pictures - believe me.... 🙂

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

#birds - Just can't resist another view of the local sparrows in the bird-bath. They look like they are having SUCH a good time! (from last week, early afternoon light)

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

#birds This poor Mourning Dove is still in molt. It looks very uncomfortable....

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

#astronomy #moon #photography All these images were taken a few nights ago - in a 20-minute window. Each exposure was at ASA 100, color balance: full sunlight. Exposure times ranged 1/10th of a second down to 1/6400th of a second. Which one do you like best? 1/2

there are nine images of the moon arranged in a 3x3 square. The brightness of each image changes as the exposure time gets smaller.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

#birds #BirdsOfAFeather More sparrows than you can count! (from three days ago)

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

#birds Two for the price of one - a Robin, standing in the bath - watch how the feathers on the top of its head rise and fall as it checks out the surroundings. After it leaves, a Grackle arrives, sparkly and gorgeous in the 8:00 am morning light. (from last week)

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

#birds Size comparison: House Sparrows and a Starling. Very distinct size difference! My take is that Starlings are not as aggressive with the smaller birds. (From about a week ago. Early morning light.)

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

#birds This Robin doesn't like being interrupted. Our scene starts with it in the bath - chasing away an intruder, and then later doing it again. Definitely territorial when bath time comes! (This is from a couple days ago in the early morning light.)

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

#birds This looks like a parent and a juvenile Mourning Dove. (Mostly based on size.) It it looks ever so much like the parent is instructing the young one to drink. Watch it and see if you don't agree. 🙂 I love the parent's apparent attitude as it watches the smaller one depart.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

#birds Common Grackle (male) - From a few days ago - early morning light shows the brilliance of his feathers. And boy is he a speedy scratcher - his leg almost looks like it is standing still...but you can see it being in two places at the same time!

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

#volcano It's a little difficult to figure out what you are looking at because of how long-term time-lapse photography works, but this is watching geological events happen in a really different way... and given Mount St Helens history, it's also riveting. www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6B1...

youtube.com

Time-lapse images of Mount St. Helens dome growth 2004-2008

YouTube video by USGS

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

#birds This Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) moves so fast that the camera (30 FPS) can't keep up with it.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

#birds The Cardinal is perturbed by all the sparrows, but decides to continue getting his drink anyway. (Coloration indicated this is a male).

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

#birds A Blue Jay - It pauses mid-bath, then decides to continue anyway... Look at how rumpled the front feathers are!

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

#birds Bad news... Jackie - the female of the Bald Eagle pair I've posted about from Big Bear Valley in California has passed away after a lengthy illness. Background: www.friendsofbigbearvalley.org Details: www.friendsofbigbearvalley.org/mmbr/stories...

friendsofbigbearvalley.org

Eagle Log

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

#birds #BirdOfTheDay Alt is #Speckled From October of 2025. Speckled Starlings.

A shallow stone bird-bath, set in a garden, is full of Starlings. Each is facing a different direction. There are five separate birds, each with it's own pattern of speckles on the wings, belly and head.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

#birds Or is it #robins? So Many Robins! Could not resist posting this juvenile Robin preening at the end of what appears to be a very thorough bath.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

#birds A juvenile Robin apparently doesn't realize that the bath is filled with water (you can see it look before stepping - so not sure what it was expecting). Its surprise is palpable. I can almost hear "it's WET!!!". But it comes back from a drink once it realizes that it is water...

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

#birds This Mourning Dove just checks out everything before leaving. (Presumably it has had it's drink. I think it's kinda funny how the end of it's tail keeps dipping into the water.)

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

#birds The camera (when triggered) records 15 seconds of video and then turns off for a bit. So sometimes you only get part of the story. Here, a Blue Jay is in the bath, nibbling things that fell in and then trying to bathe... (you might have to stop the video looping to see the end)...

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

#birds This Robin is just sitting there huffing and puffing, clearly all wet and messy. It does some grooming and then it decides "nope - more water!"... I've not seen full wing slapping in the bath - that's new. (A female house sparrow makes a cameo appearance at the very end.)

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

#birds A Common Grackle bathes in sunlight showing all sorts of glistening colors. This one gets finishes abruptly and disappears (another vertical takeoff). Yes - the late arrival is an immature Grackle (no colors).

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

#birds It's been a busy day - here's a Starling splashing (and scratching and preening) in the bath. Starlings seem just as frenetic and speedy as the Robins!

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

#birds An energetic Blue Jay rockets through the morning ablutions.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

#birds This Mourning Dove is clearly checking out the camera to make sure it gets the right angle. Then it goes back to its morning drink.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

#birds Presented un-edited. How many sparrows can you reliably count? Don't forget the one up in the leaves of the plant.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

#astronomy #moon #craters After all that bad weather, finally a clear evening, and the moon was glorious - just short of "full-moon". I wanted to capture the craters at the edge of the terminator. (Slightly cropped from my original image, and rotated to correct the orientation.)

A very close-up view of the moon as seen through a telescope. The image shows the brilliance of the moon against a black sky, and on the edge, the moon is irregular as the light hits the high edges of the craters and creates shadows and sharp edges.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Eagle Update: The Moon Camp fund raiser reached it's goal: "The 63 acres of undisturbed forested open space and shoreline used by Jackie and Shadow, the beloved Big Bear bald eagle pair, will be preserved once and for all." friendsofbigbearvalley.org/wp-content/u...

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

#birds Here's a closeup snapshot of that Blue Jay in the bath. It looks so rumpled and bedraggled.

A very wet and bedraggled Blue Jay stands on the edge of a shallow stone bird-bath in a garden.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

#birds There's a waiting line for the bath... could you please hurry up? (The sparrows end up sharing the bath with the robin, which is unusual, as robins are normally very territorial at the bath, chasing everyone else away.)

A black-and-white image of three smaller birds (sparrows) on the left watching a robin in the shallow stone bird-bath. Two are on the rim of the bath, and one is on the ground - but they are all peering at the robin on the right who is not too happy looking, but refusing to give ground.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

#birds Here's a two-headed Mourning Dove.... Ooops - just a trick of perspective... 😉 (Edited into B&W because camera is overheating and generating tinted images.)

Two Mourning Doves sit on the edge of a shallow stone bird-bath in a garden. Their images overlap due to the camera angle, so for a moment one could get confused about which head was with which bird. Rendered in Black-and-White.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

#birds This Blue Jay (probably the same one as in the last post due to time-stamps and some distinctive feather markings) is now preening after washing in the bath. Quite a different view - it's all rumpled, and amazingly speedy as it turns and grooms all its feathers.

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

#birds This Blue Jay is taking his time getting a drink at the bird-bath. It looks relaxed, still attentive, but getting a good drink of water. This is late morning light (just before 11am).

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MatthewParis @matthewparis.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

#birds #BirdOfTheDay (theme: #SummerLovin) A male cardinal pauses at the edge of the bath, and happens to catch the best of the morning light to pose for today's theme.

A bright red cardinal with a black face mask (that's how you know it is a male of the species) stands on the edge of a shallow stone bird-bath. It is clear he's headed to the water to splash. Background is a garden with a wooden fence.

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