Amy Law

@amylawscigeek

Science geek, dog person, nature lover, non-fiction writer. Citizen scientist. Half of a pet therapy team. Unless noted or reposted, all photographs are my own. CC BY-NC 4.0 ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL 4.0 INTERNATIONAL

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Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jul 12

#BirdOfTheDay alt - #BestSideEye Who knew Broadtailed #Hummingbirds could do side-eye? #iNat #BirdsOfFrontRange

A female Broadtailed Hummingbird perches on the wire of a tomato basket. She is facing away from the view, but looking back over her shoulder with a look of utter disdain. The iridescent green of her back feathers shines in the sunlight.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jul 11

#BirdOfTheDay theme is #UpAndDown #iNat #BirdsofFrontRange A Chipping Sparrow keeping an eye to the sky in case of hawks. Smart bird.

A small gray bird with dark tan and black striped wings, dark stripe across it's eye and up the center of its head from its beak, and a russet cap stands in sparse grass with an eye cocked to the sky.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jul 11

@alan678.bsky.social Alan H’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #UpAndDown American Goldfinch looking down at a sunflower head full of juicy seeds.

A bright yellow bird with a black cap, black wings with white bars, and an orange beak leans down to peck at the sunflower head on which he is perched.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jul 10

The #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #Rocky, birds perched on rocks. Alt #Contortionist, birds getting into strange shapes. From a fabulous day capturing Cedar Waxwing images. March 2025

A sleek looking light tan bird with a yellow underside fading to white perches on a slender branch in a tree covered in chokecherries. The bird has a dramatic black mask across its eyes sweeping back to points on the side of its head. There are yellow waxy-looking tips on its tail feathers.
Although the bird is perched upright on the branch, it has stretched upside down, and back behind it, to reach a chokecherry.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jul 8

#BirdOfTheDay #lifer #birdsofFrontRange Northen Yellow Warbler. It took me the longest time to find these birds, but now that I have I'm seeing them more easily. Practice!

Small yellow bird singing on a slender brach amid leaves. The bird has thin red stripes on its chest. Its head is thrown back in song.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jul 8

#BirdOfTheDay #BirdsofFrontRange #BirdsILoveToSee #hummingbird

Broadtailed Hummingbird hovers in front of a stem covered in tubular red flowers. Her wings are swept forward which has created vortices across her back, ruffling some of the feathers on her back.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jul 8

#iNat #dolphins We had a blast watching Common Dolphins in Monterey Bay this morning. 🐬 Hope your day was as wonderful!

At least 7 Common Dolphins riding the bow wave of the whale watching boat. Some are surfacing, but some are under water.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jul 5

The #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Ebony&Ivory, birds that have Black & White plumage, the Alt Theme is #AllWhite, birds with White plumage. Gotta go with a magpie giving side eye. So, normal. #BirdsofFrontRange

A glossy black bird with white belly and wing bars and a tail as long as the rest of its body gives the viewer side-eye as it gathers grass.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jul 3

#iNat #BirdsOfFrontRange #BirdOfTheDay is any kind of #Ducks, so here are some fluffy fledgling Hooded Mergansers preening after a dip in the beaver pond.

Five juvenile ducks, still having lots of baby fluff, but coming into their adult feathers, perch on a log in still water. They are mottled grey-brown above, with white bellies and yellow bills.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jul 3

#iNat #BirdsOfFrontRange #BirdOfTheDay is #ducks! My very favorite duck picture -- a female Gadwall dabbling. From March 2025.

Head and chest shot of a mottled brown duck dabbling its bill in the glassywater. the water rises up onto her face almost to her eye in a bow wave, then flows down to her body.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jul 2

#BirdOfTheDay #BirdsofFrontRange #scrollback #sunrisesunset Female Hooded Merganser several winters ago.

A medium-sized brown duck with a yellow eye and crest of feathers on the back of her head floats on still water. The water reflects red light of sunset.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jul 1

#BirdOfTheDay #iNat #BirdsOfFrontRange #RedBeakFeetEyes A male Spotted Towhee belting out a song last March. His red eyes match his rufous plumage.

A small-medium sized bird perches on a spruce twig. He has red sides, white breast, black wings with white stripes. His head and beak are black and his eyes are a startling red. His head is thrown back and his beak is open as he sings.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 30

#BirdOfTheDay #BirdsOfFrontRange #iNat #goldfinch From July 2018. I guess I always think of lesser goldfinches at the feeder, because these two females foraging for thistles really says #LivingLandscapes to me.

Two small yellow birds perch on thistle stems. The one in the lower left corner has her wings slightly spread to keep her balance, while the one in the upper right sits amid the fluffy thistle seeds, with her beak full.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 29

#BirdOfTheDay #BestOfJune26 #iNat #BirdsOfFrontRange #hummingbirds Last week overcast skies let me get a shot of a female broadtailed hummingbird hawking gnats. Her lower beak is beginning to flex down so it can snap shut when it touches a gnat.

A hummingbird in mid-flight, against a grey sky with black dots all around her. Her wings are extended behind her. Her lower beak is bent back slightly as she prepares to snap on one of the gnats around her.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 26

#BirdOfTheDay #BirdsofFrontRange #iNat #AmericanDipper #GreyDay An American Dipper from last winter, backlit by the morning sun.

A small grey borb with a very short tail stands on a rock at the edge of fliwing water. The water is reflecting pale orange light, backlighting the bird.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 25

#BirdOfTheDay #LittleBrownBird #Food #birdsofFrontRange #songsparrow You've got a little bit of berry on your beak...

Side view close-up - so close you can see the pupil of its eye - of a small brown bird with white stripes above and below its eye. It has purple berry mash on its beak.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 24

#BirdOfTheDay #BirdsofFrontRange Until I took masses of photos of #BirdsAndBuds last year, I didn't realize broadtailed #hummingbirds poached from buds that hadn't opened yet because they have more nectar. #Bokeh bonus.

A female hummingbird pikes her beak into a long red tubular flower that hasn't opened yet. An open flower just beneath her target dusts pollen on her anyway.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 19

#BirdsOfFrontRange #BirdOfTheDay #iNat Saw this leucistic Canada Goose #OutForAWalk around the reservoir last week.

A group of Canada Geese walk through a field. There are typical-looking Canada Geese - big brownish-grey water bird with black neck and head and cheek patch - in the fore and back ground. But the Canada Goose in the center of the photo has a white body.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 18

#BirdOfTheDay #BirdsofFrontRange This is a hard prompt, because aren't they all #interestingmoments? But one of those that I keep coming back to is this American Dipper walking along the bottom of a fast moving creek.

A small gray borb is completely submerged in fast-moving water. It is just rising to the surface. The viewer can identify its beak and head, and even see a white eyebrow, then the follow the contour of the water for its back.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 15

#BirdsOfFrontRange #BirdOfTheDay #iNat #YourChoice #NaturePhotography Northern Yellow Warbler has spotted a ladybug on a leaf beneath it. But the ladybugs' red color is a warning that they produce a host of irritants and toxins. The Warbler wisely decided not to bother it.

We are looking up at a small bird perched in the branches of a willow tree, with a very blue sky as background. The yellow bird has reddish stripes on its underside, but otherwise is bright yellow. It is looking down at a ladybug on a leaf just beneath it.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 13

#BirdOfTheDay #Preeners&Scratchers #BirdsOfFrontRange Look first at the talons holding onto the branch of the Great Horned owlet on the right. Pretty sharp, right? Now look at where its using another talon for scratching ... DIDN'T YOUR MOTHER EVER TELL YOU NOT TO PUT SHARP OBJECTS NEAR YOUR EYE?

Two fluff balls of baby Great Horned Owls perch on a branch. The owlet on the left is staring into space. The one on the right is using a needle-sharp talon to scratch its eye.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 13

#CorgiCrew Tegan and Zoe: BFF

A medium sized black with tan points lies on a deck outside in the sun. Further back in the photo, a smallish tan and white Pembroke Welsh Corgi rests her head on the black dog's hip. Both dogs are asleep.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 12

#birdoftheday #birdsofFrontRange Update on yesterday's #Nesting post: mama Northern Flicker has been seen poking her head out of the nest hole, and an empty eggshell was found (by my corgi) at the base of the tree. It's looking good for hatchlings!

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 11

#birdsofFrontRange #iNat #naturalist Was walking around a small local reservoir with a friend when she pointed to the middle of the water. "What's that?" An Eared Grebe in Colorado, in June! #lifer!

A reddish duck with a broad tan sweep away from its eye on its dark head floats in calm water.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 11

#BirdOfTheDay #Nesting #BirdsofFrontRange #iNat A female broadtailed hummingbird pulls out more nesting material than she can hold. Great prompt, @robcrank68.bsky.social !

A female hummingbird seen from behind, so we see her dazzling iridescent green back feathers. She is hovering above a suet cage that instead holds dog hair. She is on the backstroke of her wing beat, as she tries to pull a huge hunk out.

A female hummingbird. She has pivoted around so now we see her front -- pale belly, rufous flanks and greenish dots on her throat. She is hovering next to the suet cage holding dog hair, and has pulled a huge hunk out. But it's too much for her to hold! Most of it is floating away as it falls out of her beak.

A female hummingbird on the backstroke of her wing beat. Out of the huge hunk of fuzz she pulled out, she is left with just a few strands.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 11

#BirdoftheDay theme is #Nesting thanks to @robcrank68.bsky.social #BirdsOfFrontRange #iNat We've been watching a Northern Flicker (Red-Shafted) hammer out a hole in a neighborhood maple tree. She's sitting on the nest as of yesterday, but I haven't gotten good pics of it yet.

A medium sized bird head sticks out of a round hole in a large tree. The bird's head is grey, with a red stripe on its chin, and a longish black beak. The bird has a beak-full of wood chips that it is disgorging outside the hole.

A medium sized bird head sticks out of a round hole in a large tree. The bird's head is grey, with a red stripe on its chin, and a longish black beak. It has flung the wood chips as far from the hole as it can, which, fail. The wood chips are visible as they begin to fall just a foot or so out from the tree.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 10

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #TheGathering, images showing flocks, colonies, or communal behavior. The alt is #LivingLandscape, a single bird as part of a wider natural scene. Gulls heading in for the night. Elkhorn Slough, CA. Sept. 2025 #iNat

Six birds flying low over still water at sunset.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 6

#BirdOfTheDay #BirdsofFrontRange #iNat #femalebeauty Female Belted Kingfishers wear the belt in the family! And she wears it *so* well.

A medium-sized bird with a sturdy beak as long as her head perches on a medium-sized branch. She is alternating colors: slate blue head and chest, white neck, lower chest and lower belly with a rust red belt around her belly.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 5

#BirdsOfFrontRange #BirdOfTheDay #iNat #LookingAtYou A Male Spotted Towhee gives his best Resting Bitch Face (and it is a pretty good Face).

A medium sized bird perches in a Blue Spruce tree. The bird has reddish sides, a white breast, and a very black head and beak. Its eyes are red, and glaring at the viewer.

Amy Law@amylawscigeek· Jun 4

Darwin the Wonder Corgi says Happy International Corgi Day!