These are some very cool folks on a great retreat, where you will also get to see amazing birds. Do it if you can!

ryan@ryanfm.bsky.social · last wk.

Join me in Colombia for @jerthorp.bsky.social's Living in Data Retreats!! 5 days in the jungle with a group of curious people, exploring and making collaborative art. It'll be incredible!!! Week 1 is Jer + @birdturntable.bsky.social Week 2 is Jer + me www.jerthorp.me/lid-retreat-...

Join me in Colombia for @jerthorp.bsky.social's Living in Data Retreats!! 5 days in the jungle with a group of curious people, exploring and making collaborative art. It'll be incredible!!! Week 1 is Jer + @birdturntable.bsky.social Week 2 is Jer + me www.jerthorp.me/lid-retreat-...

Living in Data Rainforest Retreat: 2026

Spend five days in the lush and bird-filled jungle of Santa Marta, Colombia with Jer Thorp and a small group of curious bird + data + art enthusiasts. We'll wander the forest with local guides, learn ...

jerthorp.me

2. There's still time to join me in Colombia for my Living in Data Retreats. 5 days in the jungle with a group of curious people, exploring and making collaborative art. Week 1 is co-facilitated with @birdturntable.bsky.social Week 2 is with @ryanfm.bsky.social www.jerthorp.me/lid-retreat-...

This is such a cool story from @ryanfm.bsky.social about stumbling upon (paddling upon?) one of North America's rarest birds. It's a good reminder that there's more to birding than just going to the hotspots. ryanmandelbirder.substack.com/p/these-plov...

these plovers could be my most significant bird find yet

bois blanc island delivers once again

ryanmandelbirder.substack.com

last month i found two undocumented breeding pairs of piping plovers in michigan, increasing the known population of the great lakes piping plover by 2%! my latest newsletter post is about that plus the species' precarious future. ryanmandelbirder.substack.com/p/these-plov...

these plovers could be my most significant bird find yet

bois blanc island delivers once again

ryanmandelbirder.substack.com

Birds, data, art... and quantum computing? Here's @ryanfm.bsky.social, co-facilitator of the second cohort of my Living in Data retreats in September, talking about quantum computing. At last year's retreat they gave a lecture on quantum... then went and found two roosting baby spectacled owls!

A decade of quantum on the cloud

YouTube video by IBM Research

youtube.com

A wonderful interview I had with @ryanfm.bsky.social has borne fruit in this article in the new issue of Audubon magazine. He is a wonderful human being, who has a Substack called “Wild NYC.” #bugsky #bugwatching #article #Audubon

- There will be tiny monkeys - We'll have an amazing local guide with us the whole time - Week 1 is co-facilitated with @birdturntable.bsky.social - Week 2 is co-facilitated with @ryanfm.bsky.social - I'm super happy to answer questions!

happy pride, bird heads!

hello are you interested in reading a blog about current events? if yes then consider reading my post about... why people go birdwatching at landfills ryanmandelbirder.substack.com/p/why-would-...

why would someone go birdwatching at a landfill?

a visit to ushuaia's infamous dump

ryanmandelbirder.substack.com

knowing that the first cruise ship hantavirus victims were nature people, i would not be surprised if what actually happened was that they encountered a rodent they'd never seen before and picked it up. they may have even been actively seeking out some specific rodent species!

hello bluesky do you want to know how to find birds? if so then you should read my post about how to find birds ryanmandelbirder.substack.com/p/how-to-fin...

how to find birds: a subjective guide

based solely on experience

ryanmandelbirder.substack.com

New podcast episode! This month's panel is an exceptional one to end a month with. Host Nate Swick is joined by Stephanie Beilke, Andres Jimenez, and Ryan Mandelbaum for a fun and birdy conversation. Listen here: www.aba.org/this-month-i...

This Month in Birding - March 2026 - American Birding Association

aba.org

new post: an interview with aaron soh, who has a passion not for finding things himself, but helping other people figure out what they’re looking at. he's uncovered several species photographed for the first time since their scientific description. ryanmandelbirder.substack.com/p/documentin...

documenting the world's rarest butterflies from an office chair

a q+a with prolific inaturalist user and butterfly expert aaron soh

ryanmandelbirder.substack.com

eurasian goshawks are so much less serious than american goshawks. like... chasing a snipe around the marsh?? get real

i shouted "little gull"

everything about bad bunny's halftime show was perfect except for the set which gave me flashbacks of failing to see yellow-breasted crake in identical-looking habitat on my last visit to puerto rico

I’d love to be able to enjoy the Muppets as much as everyone else does but whenever I watch them I just feel sick imagining what the man inside the Kermit the Frog costume must look like

i defiantly used this slide at a presentation given last night to a zoom call full of retired people, meant to explain why red crossbills are my favorite bird. i don't care if you've never encountered the most esoteric character from the homestar runner webtoon universe. this is millennial culture

Daily reminder that you can make personalized messages with feathers and bird names over at feathertype.binstobins.com. You download hi-res images and video, and even order prints!

scrolling though the iphone ringtones and realized that one of them is in 7/8 time which isn't that weird i guess but i like to think the composer was having a little fun with it

it's here, the moment you've all been waiting for: the microsnail blog! dive into a journey of discovery, drama, loss, and hope as you learn about... the tiny fen snails of lake huron ryanmandelbirder.substack.com/p/that-time-...

that time we rediscovered endangered snails for fun

you're welcome, michigan

ryanmandelbirder.substack.com

i am unreasonably mad about the "goth heron." if you didn't see, a heron in louisiana went quasi-viral because it was all black. it was pretty clear that that the bird was covered in something, with yellow knees peeking through its black legs and greasy-looking clumped neck feathers.

I think my least favorite quality in a person, one that is so often praised as an asset or virtue, is: "doesn't take no for an answer." We're living through an extended nightmare of what that looks like when brought to its logical conclusion.

I had so much fun talking to @ryanfm.bsky.social about their book and birds and much more on my latest podcast episode. Give it a listen and don't forget to buy a copy of Wild NYC! Pod 🎧 billbowbaggins.substack.com/p/ten-birdin... Book 📕 bookshop.org/p/books/wild...

Ten Birding Questions, with Ryan Mandelbaum

The Birding with BillBow Podcast, Episode 7

billbowbaggins.substack.com

One of my favorite things about working on Alcatraz was watching the resident raven pair "teach" their kids to fly. It always included a session on barrel rolls. It was even more special bc the mgmt plan incl oiling their eggs to make them unviable & the ravens knew & would always lay another clutch

ryan@ryanfm.bsky.social · 8mo ago

sitting at lunch in midtown manhattan and just watched a raven do a barrel roll, presumably for no reason

sitting at lunch in midtown manhattan and just watched a raven do a barrel roll, presumably for no reason

Some personal news: I’m writing a book! I’ve signed with Holt to write a full-length history of birds and people in America. Birds have always been central to our economy, divisions, culture, and identity. If you want to understand America, you‘ve got to understand its birds.

Earlier today, I was notified that someone was at my door. This is who it was:

send this post to your friends who love cocks open.substack.com/pub/ryanmand...

potatoes have descended on new york city

peent

open.substack.com