Limpkin Park!

We do! They're still cute either way, though. :) bsky.app/profile/spah...

They were fine! Quite a few spoonbills were sleeping right in front of some larger gators (also sleeping). 😅

Right? There was also a bald eagle off to the side but it never got into frame with the rest. 🙄

You and I both. :)

A photo of a wetland scene featuring various labeled wildlife species standing near water, including an American Alligator, Great Blue Heron, Wood Stork, Roseate Spoonbills, Black Vultures, Great Egret, and a Limpkin against a green, forested background.

I hiked out to a sinkhole that hosts hundreds of alligators and stumbled across a rather surreal surprise: a grand gathering of #Birds.

🦖🦤🙌

🌺

It more than ever feels like some students are just paying for a piece of paper rather than the deep, crucial education that should come with it. Universities, at least smaller ones, are stuck between a rock and a hard place: either offer these programs, or don't and lose students and thus funding.

More and more students are receiving an education with minimal human interaction, little to no hands-on experience, and thanks to the advent of AI some are cheating their way through in no time with effectively zero effort at all. I view this as a serious disservice to our students.

In comes accelerated online programs. Students looking to save money and to take what is often an easier path enroll in these faster, cheaper programs. As a result, fewer students are on campus for face-to-face courses, and this can force certain other courses to shift to an online format.

The decrease in funding from the state, coupled with inflationary costs, means that the university has no choice but to increase tuition fees in order to keep itself operational.

Tuition increases force higher education to become less affordable and thus less accessible to the broader population.

Higher education is experiencing a feedback loop that is forcing it to circle the drain. Imo, it primarily starts with a lack of funding.

State appropriations have steadily declined over the years. For example, the state currently funds just 25.7% of my university’s budget, down from 52.5% in 2007.

Yep, in much the same way as flamingos! 🌸

A photo of three roseate spoonbills (one adult and two adolescents) standing on a nest made of twigs and branches surrounded by green foliage. The birds display distinctive pink plumage, long legs, and of course spoon-shaped bills. The photo was taken during golden hour.

Adolescent roseate spoonbills pestering their mother in her nest. #Photography #BirdOfTheDay #Birds

Three years ago today, in central Oklahoma...

✨flashing lights warning✨

A photo of an eastern meadowlark with bright yellow chest and striped brown back perched on a leafy green shrub. The background features a soft-focus natural landscape with muted greens and yellows.

An Eastern Meadowlark surveying expansive Florida wetlands. #Photography #BirdOfTheDay #Birds

Thanks so much! 😊

Thank you! 🙏

A photo of a bald eagle standing over its kill on green grass with a blurred natural background of brown and green vegetation.

A bald eagle standing over its kill.
#Photography #BirdOfTheDay #Birds

Thank you! 🙏

🌊

Not quite. These were asperitas.

A coastal Florida marshland of golden grasses and white sands under dramatic, layered, wavy clouds with varying shades of gray and saturated blue.

Your reminder that the atmosphere is a fluid. #Photography

Sounds about right lol

'Snake bird' is a nickname of the anhinga, yes., but cormorants are different.

Thanks, Carrie!

They sure do! I briefly captured one swimming beside my kayak while down there. Had to slow it down since they're so fast!

A photo of an anhinga bird perched among green leaves and red branches in the rain (raindrops visible as short white streaks) looking up into the soft, warm sunlight.

Evil Spirit of the Woods. #Birds #BirdOfTheDay #Photography

The anhinga gets its name from the Brazilian Tupi Indian term for 'devil bird,' or an 'evil spirit of the woods.'