Brian Hoffman
@buzzhoffman.bsky.social
College professor and archaeologist
I chose this Common Yellowthroat clinging to a branch for today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme, #BestOfJuly. It has been a very dry month in #Minnesota, so I was able to work my way deep into a swamp and then just wait for the birds to fly near me. Fun day #photography #wildlife #birds
For my #birdoftheday contribution in the #CHE theme (cormorants, herons, egrets), I’m posting this Great Heron flying against a grayish sky. I normally try to get some other element into my bird shots, but I like the graphic quality of this photo. #birds #nature #photography #Minnesota
For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme, #Birds&Flowers, I have a photo from this spring of a #Bay-breastedWarbler in a flowering crab apple tree. I was looking unsuccessfully for a rare Minnesota bird, but was pretty happy to get this nice shot instead.
For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme, celebrating #WorldOceansDay, I’m offering this photo I took of an early morning #PelagicCormorant flying past #SegulaIsland in the western #AleutianIslands of #Alaska. #NorthPacificOcean
Yes, Swiss scientist Fritz Zwicky coined the term “dark matter” which is impressive, but he also coined the term “spherical bastard” to describe people who are bastards no matter which way you look at them, and I think that should be celebrated more.
“Facts and truth are not sociologically equivalent. The purpose of a lie is often to hide or misinform, but myth can be illuminating, informative and truthful while perhaps not being factual.” ~ Austin Lawhead, Anthropologist
An American Robin surrounded by Willow buds in a classic sign of early spring in #Minnesota. #BirdOfTheDay #Robins #Birds
Here’s my contribution to today’s #BirdOfTheDay #juveniles theme, a pair of fluffy #GreatHorned owlets checking out their world. #birds
I like today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme #ManMadePerch because it makes me think of how I frame #bird photos to exclude human artifacts while also aware of the complexity of our natural and cultural worlds. I appreciate photographers who help me consider this complexity. White Wagtail in Kandestederne DK
My contribution to today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme, #SmallBirdsInFlight, is this tiny #Golden-crownedKinglet gleaning insects from our neighbor’s Tamarack tree during fall migration. #Birds
NEW Discovery of 30 prehistoric settlements in south-eastern Anatolia have big implications for our understanding of the origins of sedentary life in Western Asia. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology
The flood of #plastics flowing into the #ocean is a “pressing global #environmental #crisis.” Negotiations for a global plastics treaty are ongoing. Hussain & Zou compared successful #governance models and identify “essential mechanisms for #transboundary #collaboration” doi.org/10.1016/j.oc...
This Common Buzzard was definitely #LookingAtMe in #Rotterdam #KralinseBos, a beautiful lake and park with lots of interesting birds. #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #photography
🦣🏺 Great paper comparing Gran Dolina TD10.2 monospecific fauna with what turns out to be an equally distinctive lithic signature. Targetted mass-kills + focused stone sourcing = collab bison hunting & communal butchery, in proto- #Neanderthals c. 425-400 Ka. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Archaeologists untangle how Bronze Age textiles were made. #Archaeology phys.org/news/2026-03...
Archaeologists untangle how Bronze Age textiles were made
Analysis and reconstruction of a warp-weighted loom from the second millennium BC site of Cabezo Redondo, Spain, provides an unprecedented glimpse into the development of textile technology in the Bro...
phys.org
A Glaucous-winged Gull on the #Oregon coast. Heceta Head Lighthouse is in the background. I thought its grey wings added to the overall #GreyDay of today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme.
"Man the Hunter" is often conflated with Dart's "killer ape theory"; A pity because, though imperfect, the MTH conference was a departure from previous Hobbesian colonial Hunter-Gatherer narratives. In this new Target Article we map out some of that intellectual history.
The Meanings and Dividends of Man the Hunter
The phrase Man the Hunter is associated with disparate meanings across communities of scholars, journalists, and the public, which has led to unnecess…
sciencedirect.com
The #WildTurkeys in my home town have adapted to humans. This one offered me great #headshots as he walked by. One of my #firstoftheyear bird sightings on a brutally cold winter day. #BirdOfTheDay
When I first saw this lizard, I thought it was a western fence lizard, but upon further inspection, I realized it must be a southern sagebrush lizard. The scale size and pattern were slightly different. Now that I’ve identified the lizard, can you #FindThatLizard? Reference photo by California Herps
The bird report that I’ve been writing about my #patchbirding is now out! It includes many months of research, writing, illustrations, and photographs from the local community too. It is free to look through and I hope a nice read even for those not local 🐦 Here's a link: figham.neocities.org
My #BestOfTheMonth for February is this red morph #EasternScreechOwl. I am grateful to the other birders for their help in locating this pair. #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #Minnesota
Osprey are amazing birds with #WideOpenWings of nearly six feet (180 cm). Thrilling to watch them dive on a fish. This #osprey was one of a nesting pair with two chicks near Centerville Lake in #Minnesota. #birds #BirdOfTheDay
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to chat with a player from the Harlem Globetrotters. Fatima “TNT” Lister has been apart of the team for 15 years and still adores seeing the missing-tooth smiles and gleaming eyes of the Globetrotter's youngest and more fiery fans.
For one Globetrotter, the game is as much about connection as basketball
As the Harlem Globetrotters tour the country, veteran player Fatima “TNT” Lister reflects on a career built around performance, community connection and the responsibility of being a highly visible wo...
mprnews.org
Here is a tiny Ovenbird perched in an alder thicket for today’s #BirdOfTheDay #BranchBirds theme. Spotted in #Hovland #Minnesota #birds #wildlifephotography #photography
🧪🏺 Update - authors have new paper showing how useless gen- #AI is for archaeological illustration. All 400 images were multiply inaccurate (physically, socially, technologically, environmentally), even with improved prompts. JUST USE HUMAN EXPERTS & ARTISTS www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes@lemoustier.bsky.social · 8mo agoe.g. to produce these two – which are still problematic – took at least 80 batches of DALL-E 2 generation (each batch making multiple images), and on top of that, required direct editing of the #AI images themselves. Paper: Magnani & Clindaniel 2023 🏺🧪 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
From 1066 to Robin Hood, longbows are an iconic part of English history - and what's a bow without its arrows? Blacksmith Joe Tyler and craftsman Lewis Beck show us how to make a replica Saxon arrow based on local archaeology! Watch & Subscribe: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVae...
How to Forge and Fletch a Saxon Arrowhead
YouTube video by Butser Ancient Farm
youtube.com
Wrote down some thoughts I had while staring at a Dodge Durango full of Border Patrol dudes. www.minnpost.com/cityscape/20...
Rules of the road are at the center of ICE occupation, resistance
Whenever the ICE occupation finally ends — and it’s no longer necessary to track agents with cars — laws must be enforced.
minnpost.com
Today’s #BirdoftheDay theme is challenging for me. I love #B&W #photography but have always struggled taking good shots. This pair of #trumpeterswans on an icy lake seems a safe choice. The reflected swan face is my favorite element. #birds
