iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 12m

Trying to stack my firewood before it rains tomorrow, but my neighbour has opinions.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 1h

Thank you. I recently had it printed as magnets. It looks cute on my fridge.

A 2x3 inch magnet with a painting of a little red-backed vole hiding among a wild strawberry plant. It's sitting on a black background.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 22h

Hi #PortfolioDay! I'm Heather, a Canadian illustrator and educator. I work in many different media and much of my art ends up in interpretive panels that I create for clients all over the place. I also teach online drawing classes. #SciArt

A coloured pencil drawing of a raccoon peering at the viewer from behind a tree trunk.

A digital painting of a red-backed vole hiding among a wild strawberry plant.

A digital painting of a pair of wood ducks sitting on a rock next to the water's edge in a green forest. The greyish female is on the left and the colourful male with his bright green head, red eye and orange bill is on the right.

A digitally painted diorama depicting all of the different animals that benefit from badger digging in southern Alberta. There is a black and white badger crawling down a hole after a Richardson's ground squirrel while a green and black tiger salamander rest in a side cave. Another side cave holds a western rattlesnake. Above ground, you see two burrowing owls poking their heads out of a hole while a swift fox and her kit sit among the wildflowers. A common nighthawk flies overhead in the light of sunset.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

How I'm feeling after cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 8 people last night and then doing all of the dishes this morning. #mammals 🌿

A polar bear snuggles in the brown dead grasses up against the bare branches of fall willows.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The royal family of the marsh - the largest Trumpeter swan family I've ever seen - 7 cygnets. I can remember when there were no swans in this marsh and this year we had 3 families. #birds

A family of trumpeter swans swim in the sunlight of a fall marsh morning. The adults (white are in the middle of their seven grey cygnets) Two have their bums in the air as they forage under the water.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

How do you know it’s Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. I’m making apple pie. We also have pumpkin, but my one friend doesn’t like it so I always make sure there’s an apple available.

A unbaked apple pie sitting on the counter next to a ceramic mixing bowl with a blue stripe and a glass jar full of flour. The pie is decorated with a lattice top

A lattice, top apple pie baking in the oven as viewed through the window

Freshly baked apple pie out of the oven. The lettuce top is now brown with sprinkled sugar on top and the apples are cooked inside.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

When you're trying to relax but your family members have other ideas. #mammals

A coyote rests in the sand on a beach at the edge of a forest. To its right another coyote jumps on the back of its family member.

The interaction continues with the coyote who got jumped on, jumping up and snapping at the offender. The resting coyote looks increasingly irritated with its ears back.

The two coyotes are in full battle mode while their family member tries to rest in the sand by looks increasingly irritated.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

A squadron of American white pelicans in the October sunlight. There are both ring-billed and herring gulls swimming in front of them that really give you a sense of how big they are. #birds

A flock of 10 American white pelicans lit up by the morning sun as they swim on a deep blue lake. Three gulls swim in front of them, looking small next to the large birds. The forest in the background is a mix of green and gold leaves.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Here is the new car. Corolla Cross doesn’t sound as fun as Matrix, but it’s a nice car and I hope it’s just as reliable. It will be put to work.

A woman wearing a maroon shirt under a gray blazer and a brown belt hat stands next to a blue gray car with a big red bow on it inside of a car dealership

A 2025 Corolla cross, with a big red bow on it. The car is blue grey and sort of a cross between a hatchback and a small SUV. It’s sitting inside a car dealership.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

After 20 years and half a million kilometres, I said goodbye to the Matrix today. I am ridiculously emotionally attached to this car so it was tough, but I’m very happy to have a car that is not rusting out from under me.

A navy blue Toyota matrix sits on a gravel parking pad in front of a tent garage. The car is covered in gravel and the running board is being held on by black spray foam. Behind it is a forest full of golden poplars.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

They won't be around much longer, but I'm enjoying the pelicans as long as I can before the head south. You really feel how big they are when they fly over your kayak. #birds

Three large American white pelicans with orange bills and black wingtips soar over the steel grey lake against the pinkish morning sky.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I love my neighbourhood in this time of year. The poplars are so beautiful.

Looking down gravel road that bends to the left. All along the right side of the road are brilliant golden poplars that shine in the sun and contrast sharply against the bright, blue sky.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I've worked on dozens of interpretive media projects over the last 15 years, and I've learned a few things along the way. If you have a site that would benefit from interpretive signage, why not join me for a free webinar on October 13th to learn about best practices? 3common.com/event/6ab591...

A handout titled So you want to make interpretive signs?

It includes images of three different types of panels and the woman who made them.

Join interpretive specialist, Heather Hinam for a
free one-hour webinar that will take you through
the basics of planning, designing and creating good
interpretive signage, including:
• The principles of good interpretation
• The benefits of a good interpretive plan to save
time and money
• How does interpretive planning work?
• Types of interpretive media
• What does it cost?
• When to engage professional help
She will answer your questions and will give you
the guidance to get started telling your stories in an
interesting and timeless way.

Naturalist, artist, and educator, Dr. Heather
Hinam is the driving force behind the awardwinning
Second Nature, Creative Interpretation.
For 15 years, she has combined a Ph.D. in
ecology with 30 years of experience as a nature
and heritage interpreter, and illustrator to help
dozens of clients share their stories through
engaging and beautiful media.

When: Tues, October 13, 2026
2:00 pm CDT

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Sunrise from the kayak this morning. The waves were a little stronger than I expected, but still managed a lovely paddle. The birds were after rough fish left by one of the commercial fishermen. Everything is eaten.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

It was one of those sunsets that was a gift that just kept on giving.

A bright orange streak of sun set lights up the bottom of a cloud bank and stretches up in a fan of rays up over the clouds. A large tree is silhouette against the bright light along with a number of other trees on either side of it. All of it is reflected in the Still water of the Icelandic river.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Looking back at last week's spectacular sunset that I got to enjoy from my kayak. It turned what was otherwise and unremarkable, mostly cloudy sky and uninteresting shoreline into something incredible.

A old dry-docked lake freighter sits on the silhouetted shoreline against the backdrop of a brilliant sunset. It's streaks of orange and deep red, lighting up pillows of clouds with deep blue sky in between. The whole scene is mirrored in the still water of the Icelandic river in the foreground.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Looking back to June. Momma bear and her three cubs. It was so lovely to be able to sit and watch them (safely from my vehicle). #mammals

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

One of my favourite little fall migrants - American Pipit. I love finding these little guys bobbing along the shoreline of roadsides as they stop on their way south. #birds

An American pipit perched a rock along a rocky shore. It's a little grey-brown bird with a white breast and brownish wing and tail.

An American pipit perched amid pale grey pebbles looking straight at the camera, showing up its pale streaky breast.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The marsh was full of coots yesterday. Always fun to watch them running on the water. Taken from the kayak.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

When your sibling has a treat and you don't - two coyotes fighting over a fish head. #mammals 🌿

Two coyotes running up a slanted slab of limestone. The one in the front has a fish head in its mouth while the other chases close behind.

Two coyotes tussling on top of a tilted slab of layered limestone. The coyote in the front has dropped its fish head, which runs the risk of falling into a crack between the layers. The second coyote makes a lunge for the prize.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Bonaparte's gulls in the mist of early morning, taken from the kayak. #birds 🌿

A little, white gull flaps its wings over its head as it comes in to land on the silvery water while a second one takes off behind it in a blur of wings.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Yesterday, he called me to his boat brandishing a whitefish, extolling their virtues. I had to dissuade him from putting it in my kayak, so he promised if I came back today there would be cleaned fish waiting in the back of his truck. I found them this morning. I need to have people for dinner. 2/2

Two whole, cleaned and headless whitefish in plastic. A pound of pickerel (walleye) fillets in plastic.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The fisherman in this boat is 95 years old. We've known each other off and on for years, and reconnected a few weeks ago when he came out of the fog in front of me while I was kayaking along the cliffs. Bob is full of wisdom, stories, and strong opinions and is a strong voice for lake Winnipeg. 1/2

A lone fisherman in a red jacket stands at the bow of 20-ish foot yawl with a large, black outboard motor. He's working his net in the dim blue light of pre-dawn as a small squadron of white pelicans wait behind the boat for scraps.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Walking around in the bush with my head down again this morning. I’m absolutely in love with the gills on this mushroom. I think it might be a type of oysterling. 🍄🌿

Looking at the underside of a frilly oyster mushroom. The different lobes overlap, each other kind of like a nudibranch, it’s tan gills form, beautiful, ripping patterns.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Sunrise over Weenipagamiksaguygun on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Reflecting, as a settler, on how much better things would be if more people adopted an Indigenous World View and treated the lake and all around us as our relatives.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Here's a better view of it (minus the rudder). Having the rudder definitely helps keep me from drifting when I'm photographing.

A blue kayak rests in the plastic cradle of a kayak launch as it waits to be sent out into the blue waters of the marsh beyond. It has a mostly closed cockpit and two sealed compartments.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

My morning paddle. Damp and gloomy, but always fun to spend time with my wild neighbours. #mammals 🌿

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I started this drawing months ago as part of a course I was teaching and I finally got around to finishing it this afternoon. I’m still refining my coloured pencil skills so I’m very pleased with this one. Also, I’m now a big fan of coloured paper. #SciArt

A coloured pencil, drawing of a raccoon peeking around the side of a tree.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It was such a treat to find these gorgeous little green cup mushrooms in the forest this morning. Usually all I can ever find is the bright turquoise mycelia in the rotting wood. Finding the thumbnail size fruiting bodies is pretty rare for me. Their colour is unreal. 🍄🌿

Bright turquoise green little fingernail shaped mushrooms, growing out of a rotting log

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Spent a fun morning mucking about in the forest before the rain, enjoying all of the mushrooms that are popping up all over the place. Found some gorgeous Amanita mushrooms. Hours tend to be more yellow than red, but they are still majestic. 🌿🍄

Two beautiful Amanita mushrooms, growing side-by-side. Both caps are yellow around the outside with an orange Centre and dotted with white speckles. The stems are white coming out of a round bowl and they have a little skirt on them just under the cap.

A beautiful yellow Amanita mushroom growing out of the forest floor. It’s white stem has a little skirt around it just underneath the cap.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Finishing up breakfast. - One of the many coyote photos I've taken over the last few weeks. They just keep giving me opportunities. #mammals 🌿

A healthy coyote licks its lips as it looks over at the photographer who is floating in the water in a kayak. The early morning sun sets its fur and the slabs of limestone behind it aglow. Mist rises off of the water in the foreground.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

For the last 15 years, I've worked on dozens of interpretive media projects and I've learned a few things along the way. If you have a site that would benefit from interpretive signage, why not join me online on October 13th to learn about best practices? It's free! 3common.com/event/6ab591...

A flyer advertising a free webinar on the steps to making effective interpretive signage. It's available on Tuesday, October 13th at 2:00 on Zoom.

Join interpretive specialist, Heather Hinam for a free one-hour webinar that will take you through the basics of planning, designing and creating good interpretive signage, including:

The principles of good interpretation
The benefits of a good interpretive plan to save time and money
How does interpretive planning work?
Types of interpretive media
What does it cost?
When to engage professional help

She will answer your questions and will give you the guidance to get started telling your stories in an interesting and timeless way.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

American white pelicans at sunrise. Lake Winnipeg is home to thousands of these enormous birds who nest in large colonies on isolated rock outcrops in the lake. #birds

A squadron of 12 pelicans are silhouetted against the orange sky as they fly through the misty air from right to left over the lake. The dark silhouette of a treed island looms below them on the horizon.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

For polar bears, fat is fit. Hudson Bay polar bears spend over 5 months on land, not eating. So when ice is present and seals are accessible, they go into hyperphagia, eating as much as they can, to pack on the fat and counter a loss of 1 kg/day in the summer months. #FatBearWeek

A male polar bear is quite good condition for mid-November walks atop the thin layer of snow dusting the grasses of the tundra. His body is still pretty plump after many months of fasting.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I'm looking forward to getting back up to the tundra in a month. Being able to spend time with these amazing creatures and share them with others is such an privilege. #mammals 🐻‍❄️🌿

A momma polar bear stands in the sun with her 9-month old cub. A wall of bare willows separate them from the lake in the background. The cub has very muddy legs from playing on the not-yet-snowy tundra.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

They can be beautiful and even derpy, but never forget that coyotes are wild predators and can be very dangerous. This is why I'm photographing them from my kayak in the water with a long lens. #mammals 🌿

One coyotes snarls menacingly at its pack-mate who is standing in the water with its back to the camera as the two of them scuffle on a rocky shoreline in the golden glow of sunrise.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Their breeding range is a little weird, but a population exists in the far north, which is likely where this one came from. There are some in both Brandon and Winnipeg, Manitoba that don't show up on this map.

A map showing the breeding and wintering range of peregrine falcons in North and South America. They breed in a swath across the Arctic and in the Rockies as well as the Andes. They can be found year-round in the southwest of the US and along the Canadian Pacific coast. They winter in the south eastern US, Mexico and all of South America.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

A magical moment watching coyotes from the kayak at sunrise. #mammals 🌿

Two coyotes stand side by side on a piece of limestone that is on an incline next to the shore of Lake Winnipeg. The water is glowing a peach colour from the rising sun and mist covers the shore. Two more coyotes sniff the rocks at the base of the slab closer to the water. The cliffs and trees are golden in the early morning light.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

An unexpected find on the road home the other day. We don't have anywhere for peregrine falcons to nest. This one must have been on its way south.

A peregrine falcon perches on a hydro wire, its steel grey feathers shining in the sun.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Some fun fungi from the forest floor. I love it when the coral fungi and lion's mane. I love their intricate structures. 🌿

Close up of a coral light ochre-coloured coral fungus. It's a mushroom that grows like a branched coral and it's sitting among some dark brown dead poplar leaves.

Close up of a coral light ochre-coloured coral fungus. It's a mushroom that grows like a branched coral.

A ivory-coloured tuft of lion's mane fungus growing out of the side of a rotting aspen log. It's a shaggy mushroom with hundreds of dangling bits that look like hairs.

A smaller ivory-coloured tuft of lion's mane fungus growing out of the top of a rotting aspen log. It's a shaggy mushroom with hundreds of dangling bits that look like hairs.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Bonaparte's gull at sunrise. I love these dainty little gulls who let me photograph them from the kayak. #birds

A small dainty gull floats on the golden water of a lake at sunrise.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The water was absolutely magical yesterday morning. I could have sat here bobbing in the ripples all day.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Sunrise song. You'll want the volume up for this one, but not too high. Every coyote within a half kilometre radius decided to make themselves known this morning while I was enjoying the sunrise from the kayak. A truly magical moment. #mammals 🌿

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Another shot from last night’s sunset. This old freighter has been sitting on land for decades. It was recently restored, and sits as a reminder of days past when they used to be the only way to get up and down Lake Winnipeg.

An old lake freighter sits in the tall grasses on the shore of a river, its bulk reflected in the water below. The sky is ablaze with dark, red and orange as the sunset disappears over the horizon. The water is a mirror, reflecting, both the fiery sky and the boat.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Took the kayak down the Icelandic river to where it hits Lake Winnipeg. Most of the evening, the sky was quite dull, and then it exploded.

A brilliant red and deep orange sunset streaks across the sky behind the silhouettes of a small clump of trees in the middle of a field. All of this is reflected, almost perfectly in the water in the foreground. Taken from a kayak.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A comfy sitting spot on cool morning. I'm pretty sure I've sat in the same place at some point. #mammals 🌿

A fluffy coyote sits comfortably in the moss on top of a layered limestone cliff. It's surrounded by leafy green shrubs as it gazes down on the photographer.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Gorgeous morning for a paddle with my friend who took these photos of me doing one of my favourite things.

Looking over the bow of a light blue kayak at a woman in a larger blue kayak wearing a re life jacket. The sky is orange with the rising sun lighting up the puffy clouds overhead.

Looking over the bow of a light blue kayak at a woman in a larger blue kayak wearing a re life jacket. The sky is blue with the rising sun lighting up the puffy clouds overhead and water below.

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Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This one and half year-old bald eagle flew right over me while I bobbed in the kayak, watching the coyotes. This coyote was just as taken by the spectacle as I was. 🌿🪶🦊

A large juvenile bald eagle flies in front of a forest. The eagle has a dark brown head and eyes, white underwing feathers and black feather tips.

A large coyote stands on a leaning limestone boulder and looks off to the right with great interest, tracking the flight of a bald eagle that was photographed in the previous image.

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