Kris Gates
@krismgates.bsky.social
Scientist, atheist, educator. Proud PNW liberal; Oregon. Striving to be a part of our more perfect union. Lover of birds, cats, baking & preserving. Facts Matter. #Bird photos are mine unless noted otherwise. Joined 4/24 Missing Post News! She/her/pissed
USA TODAY: Small bird feeder films timelapse of Spokane fire destruction: Watch www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Small bird feeder films timelapse of Spokane fire destruction: Watch
A bird feeder camera captured 28 hours of the Spokane Complex Fire as it scorched thousands of acres in Washington.
usatoday.com
#Bird of the Day: Bald Eagle (BAEA) When I was just beginning to learn about birds, I believed that male Bald Eagles had white heads and females had brown. I soon realized that, like most raptors, BAEA are monomorphic in their plumage. The primary difference between the sexes is in size; females are
RFK Jr's CDC reportedly scaled back foodborne disease tracking last year, removing cyclospora from mandatory reporting. The CDC also lost roughly 3,000 employees since 2025. Now a cyclosporiasis outbreak has killed 2 and sickened thousands across 45 states. "Make America Healthy Again."
This is exactly why Oregon MUST maintain our Democratic Governor (+ Att Gen & Sec of State). It’s our best chance to fight the Federal overreach that will further erode our personal freedoms & civil rights. Fuck you, Todd Blanche. Their war on women everywhere continues. thehill.com/policy/healt...
Blanche pledges to make Dobbs decision ‘permanent’ in every state
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told faith leaders he is planning to roll back abortion access even in states that have laws protecting it. On a private call last week hosted by the Whit…
thehill.com
WHY WOULD ANY USA CITIZEN BE EXEMPT FROM A TAX AUDIT??? Especially The President? He is not a KING ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️
Wow, my eyes are already burning from brief treks outside to move a sprinkler. We're dealing with a bit of wildfire smoke. I've changed the HVAC filter to try to keep the indoor air cleaner. In the great fires of 2021, my bees absconded during the worst smoky days. Hope they stick around this time.
#Bird of the Day: White-eyed Vireo (WEVI) Vireos are a genus of 35 species in the Western Hemisphere. Slightly larger than most warblers, more sturdily built, & are often easy to hear but difficult to spot. They're persistent singers, often referred to as “chatty”, but although both sexes sing in
Trump has caused this needless suffering. May there be a reckoning.
Cuba plunges into darkness as electric grid collapses
Cuba's electricity grid collapsed late on Sunday, the state-owned grid operator said, plunging the island of about 10 million people into darkness as blackouts become more frequent.
reuters.com
The Elaine Dance Contest at the Brooklyn Cyclones annual event rules 😂😂
#Bird of the Day: Green Heron (GRHE) In the pre-COVID days, a local park opened at sunrise, & it was a favorite treat to arrive at dawn to see the birds as they started their day. Nowadays, they don’t unlock the gate until 10am, really too late for the best birding, so I don’t go there nearly as
Senior US military officials are reportedly crowdsourcing ideas over email on “how to deal with Iran” while admitting they need to “reevaluate their strategy.” If your war plan starts with a brainstorming session, you’ve already lost. This is embarrassing and dangerous.
Since I keep taking longer trips (lucky me!), I’m always seeking ways to reduce liquids/pastes in my luggage. These tablets get 2 thumbs up. The pack’s ~the size of a deck of cards. I’m strongly #TeamFluoride, but there’s also a non-fluoride version. $9 at my zero-waste store. Lavarse los dientes!
Trump overruled FEMA & NOAA recommendations to deny disaster aid to New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York after federal officials determined the states met the requirements for assistance. Another example of federal dollars being used to reward allies and punish political opponents.
Trump overrode his own agencies to deny 4 Democratic disaster requests
President Donald Trump cast aside bipartisan precedent when he rejected eligible disaster requests from four blue states.
politico.com
People have been rightly focusing on how Trump blaming Walz for the cyber attacks from Iran is disgusting & unpatriotic. But a bigger problem is that it signals to our adversaries that they can attack Americans with impunity, as long as Trump sees them as political enemies.
Alpha-gal syndrome is on the rise, a meat/dairy born allergy that can be gotten from Lone Star tick bites. These lil bastards also carry the bourbon virus. I know it sounds good, especially if it is aged in the right oak casks, but it can kill you. Thank your local climate change and white tail deer
Meat allergy is on the rise — what scientists want to know
The allergy is caused by ticks, but researchers have much to learn about it.
nature.com
Pears were ready to be picked. My tree tends to alternate years between light & heavy crops. This is a light one. I try to mostly eat local & my own produce each summer— especially this summer! Once picked, pears ripen slowly & can be stored in the basement or refrigerator to be enjoyed gradually.
This female or immature black-chinned hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) stopped short of a feeder "flower," and hovered as it considered the wasp already there. It then moved to a different feeding port. Smart bird. Photo taken in Albuquerque on August 1, 2026. #nature #naturephotography #birds
The front page of this morning’s Spokesman-Review, Aug. 2, 2026, the day after one of the worst wildfires in Washington state history. More than 600 structures, mostly homes, have been lost in the #OldTrailsFire. Read local news.
Just for fun. Bald Eagle at sunrise with a nearly-full moon. 🦉
#Bird of the Day: American Coot (AMCO) Like my yard, the marshes are replete with juvenile birds. Some of them are still dependent on their parents & others, like these coots at various stages, are already fending for themselves. When hatched, coot chicks are so ugly they’re adorable, with semi-bald
One of the highlights of yesterday’s #birding outing. At dawn, white pelicans aloft. I love how upon take-off they’re an overlapping mass, but then quickly space themselves out like a coordinated flight team.
#Bird of the Day: Hepatic Tanager (HETA) Somewhat unusual for a tanager, the HETA favors higher elevation forests of pine & oak. Perhaps because it's not truly a tanager at all-- it’s in the family that includes cardinals, buntings & grosbeaks. This same misnaming is also true for other “tanagers”
Only 34 today at the weekly corner protest. Hot enough that a nice convenience mart employee on the corner brought out some bottles of water for us. So much honking/waving. Also a guy waiting FOREVER in the left-turn lane shouting obscenities at the “old, dried-up wastes of space”. Yep, that’s us!
The State Department is making permanent a pilot program under which citizens from 50 countries, mainly in Africa, are required to post bonds to apply for a U.S. visa, and it's raising the cost as well, to as much as $20,000. https://to.pbs.org/4wEfLji
U.S. will make visa bond program permanent, affecting mostly African countries
A draft notice published Friday in the Federal Register says a nearly year-long review “provided sufficient data” to suggest the bond program effectively enforces compliance with visa conditions, and ...
to.pbs.org
