Binoculars to Binomials logo with title text and circular bird visualization showing colorful dots arranged in a radial pattern, alongside a detailed anatomical diagram of a bird with labeled parts including crown, eye, wing, rump, tail, throat, breast, and belly

Course overview stating 'Through 5 modules packed with coursework and examples you'll cultivate an observational practice through bird watching' next to a close-up photo of a sparrow with anatomical labels pointing to various body parts

For the last two years I've been teaching an online course about birding and data visualization.

It's a course about noticing. About learning to be critical about data. About incubating and encouraging environmental care.

www.jerthorp.me/learning

Republicans did 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 in Tuesday’s elections!

Progressives won Wisconsin’s nonpartisan Supreme Court race by 60-40—their biggest margin since 1999—and grew their majority to 5-2.

Dems had their biggest House special election overperformance since 2008 in Marjorie Taylor Greene’s old district

Yes I can see the photo as a large gull, just the colouring looked so dark. But that could just be a photographic effect. I find identifying birds from photos often quite challenging! My eyes looking through binoculars see them quite differently!

Maybe juvenile Parasitic from the wing pattern? @jerthorp.bsky.social

I Survived Winter Break With Little Kids Hopefully you did, too

open.substack.com/pub/thepom/p...

Flooding expected in parts of B.C.'s Fraser Valley, North Shore Mountains amid rainfall warnings - The Weather Network Province warn rivers could rise quickly as another round of stormy weather moves into already soaked areas

B.C. is bracing for another round of heavy rain on Monday.

The Fraser Valley could see rising rivers, renewed flooding, and more road closures.

https://ow.ly/688O50XJVmj

Trees along a body of water are blanketed in snow. People stand in winter clothes and tall buildings in the background are partially obscured by the snowy haze. Photo by Janice Chung for The New York Times

Central Park was under a canvas of snow Sunday morning, with its trees, meadows and pathways frosted in a wintry icing after New York City’s first big snowfall of the season. trib.al/1iP7AJr

This is nice to hear - Bill
Merilees was an enthusiastic & knowledgeable naturalist, active for many many years in nature education for all. He was a longtime member of #bcnature (Federation of BC Naturalists). I shall check out the platform when next in #nanaimo 😊

S&P and Nasdaq Slump as Stocks Fall on Trump China Tariff Threat The S&P 500 slumped more than 2 percent for the first time in six months, rattling investors after a long stretch of gains.

The stock market slumped to its worst one-day showing since tariffs roiled markets in April, as President Trump threatened to impose more tariffs on Chinese imports.

📽️ WATCH: Epidemiologist Erin McCanlies spent much of the past 20 years studying how parents’ exposure to toxic chemicals affects the chances that they will have an autistic child.

RFK Jr. cut her entire division — yet promises to identify the causes of autism by September: https://propub.li/4nhXQua

An actual quote from the Secretary of State for Business and Trade

Too often people go to university to ‘explore research and knowledge’

Look forward to Wes S saying 'too often people go to hospital to have operations' or Heidi Alexander saying 'too often people go to the station to catch a train'

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to cancel nearly half a billion dollars in federal funding for mRNA vaccine development is the "most dangerous public health decision" ever, epidemiologist Michael Osterholm said.

Canadian researchers solve 12-year mystery of sea star wasting disease cheknews.ca/canadian-res...

DOGE keeps gaining access to sensitive data. Now, it can cut off billions to farmers DOGE recently gained high-level access to a database that controls government payments and loans to farmers and ranchers across the U.S.

DOGE recently gained high-level access to a database that controls government payments and loans to farmers and ranchers across the U.S.

Harvard vs Trump: what this epic battle means for science Research across science and medicine will probably shrink at one of the world’s most elite universities amid a new political reality.

Researchers told Nature that long-term threats to science at Harvard University are likely to remain no matter what happens in the legal battle between the university and the Trump administration. #Academicsky 🧪

Our village street used to be a-shriek with swifts.

Today, there isn't a single one.

Please ask your MP to support the Swift Brick amendment to the Planning & Infrastructure Bill.

#SwiftBricks #MandateForSwiftBricks
#SwiftsNeedUs #NatureNeedsYou

Nice video!

'Needed to get home': Central Saanich woman seeks compensation after being denied boarding flight home A Central Saanich woman is seeking compensation and answers after she was denied boarding her flight home while on vacation.

'Needed to get home': Central Saanich woman seeks compensation after being denied boarding flight home cheknews.ca/needed-to-ge...

Two men found guilty of ‘mindless, moronic’ felling of Sycamore Gap tree Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, found to have criminally damaged tree and Hadrian’s Wall

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Here in Delta, BC, Canada we have a casual birding group that offers morning walks twice a week and sometimes also on Saturdays. They are popular with retired people and part-time workers. Birdwatching is the focus & we go to different locations each week. #deltanaturalists

Amazing!!! 🌸🌸🌸🌸

North 40 park, Delta, British Columbia #cityofdeltabc

“DOGE has already squandered half a trillion dollars.”
@joshtpm.bsky.social

Here’s the real reason why DOGE is gutting the IRS.

(Hint: it has nothing to do with “efficiency.”)

I’m kicking off my book tour for my forthcoming book NATURE NEEDS YOU - The Fight To Save Our Swifts on 27th April with the wonderful Winchester Book Festival. Will you come? Will you join the fight to #SaveOurSwifts (tickets and info below)

winchesterbooksfestival.com/events/hanna...

Image of a world map showing the journey of Cuckoo Tom when he hitched a ride on a cruise ship. Arrows show the ships journey from West Africa to the Atlantic Ocean, across to the coast of South America, past Puerto Rico, the United States, up to Iceland and to the UK. A headshot of Cuckoo Tom features, alongside the wording: Tagged, Norfolk 2023. Current location: UK. Mode of transport: cruise ship. Outline of a cruise ship in white sits over the ocean. BTO logo features top right of the image.

One of our satellite-tagged Cuckoos has hitched a ride on a cruise ship and is now in the UK, the earliest one of our superstar Cuckoos has ever reached us! 😮🛥️🧵

Meta loses its AI research head, as billions in investments hang in the balance Joelle Pineau will leave the company in May. Pineau's successor remains unclear.

Joelle Pineau will leave the company in May. Pineau's successor remains unclear.

The CDC Has Been Gutted Thousands of CDC employees who worked on things like preventing HIV and lead poisoning have been told they were subject to a reduction in force. Experts say people will die.

NEW: Thousands of CDC employees who worked on things like preventing HIV and lead poisoning have been told they were subject to a reduction in force. Experts say people will die.

White House Correspondents' dinner cancels comedian Amber Ruffin's appearance Amber Ruffin had been scheduled to perform at the prestigious gathering of political journalists on April 26 in Washington, D.C.

Amber Ruffin had been scheduled to perform at the prestigious gathering of political journalists on April 26 in Washington, D.C.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Tesla dealerships and showrooms across the United States on March 29, protesting against CEO Elon Musk’s role with Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and demanded he leave his ‘unelected’ role in the Trump administration.