Sunbirb

@fantasyfan13

Avid birder. Amateur nature photographer. Bug enthusiast. Word nerd. Cat parent. Bookworm. She/her. Free Palestine! 🍉

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Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· 12d

My mom and I recently visited the Tampa area for birding purposes. On the last night before we flew home, my mom found this teeny tiny baby gecko in the bathtub of our AirBnB. We were both delighted, and we escorted him safely outside to a tree.

A photo looking down into the open top of an amber-colored medication bottle. A tiny gecko is sprawled at the bottom of the bottle. The gecko is maybe 2 inches long if you include the tail, which makes up about 40% of the total length. The gecko has large, dark eyes and a blotchy pattern of grays and browns all over its body.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· May 26

I found a periodical cicada in the park today! Here in southwestern Ohio, we had a big emergence of 17-year cicadas last year. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen, and I had been missing them this spring, so finding this gal and seeing her goofy lil face brought me much joy.

A periodical cicada sitting on a person's black-gloved hand with green grass and leaves in the background. The cicada has a mostly black body, red-orange eyes and legs, and transparent wings with red-orange veins.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· May 17

They're also often surprisingly chill. I picked up a wild one with my bare hands a few weeks ago to move him away from a bluebird nest with babies in it, and he didn't try to bite me or anything.

A person's hand holds a fairly long but relatively slender snake in front of a background of green grass, weeds, and trees. The snake is coiled much like a roll of rope, with its head and tail hanging downward. The snake is mostly black with faint splotchy patterns on its topside and a white chin and throat. This is a ratsnake; it is nonvenomous and harmless to humans.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· May 14

This tiny columbine plant that I bought on impulse last summer has made a big, beautiful flower and has a second one on the way! It is just absolutely stunning.

An up-close cell phone photo of a small columbine plant in the midst of flowering. One blossom is fully open, while the second looks like it will open within a day or two. The flowers are various shades of purple: lighter in the center and a deeper shade on the outer petals. The fully-open flower has a cluster of yellow stamens in the center.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Apr 22

Oh man, what a thrill!! 😍 There's lots of good stuff happening in the garden today. We've got 3 types of milkweed (Monarch caterpillar food) sprouting out of the ground and Golden Alexanders thriving and blooming. (That one is a food plant for black swallowtail caterpillars.)

A photo of a patch of blooming Golden Alexanders with a reddish wooden deck in the background. The plants have roughly triangular leaves and numerous clusters of tiny yellow flowers. The tallest stems are about 3 feet tall.

A Common Milkweed selling sprouting out of the dirt. It is about 1 foot tall with leaves that are shaped like pointed ovals. Other greenery can be seen around and behind the milkweed.

Three Swamp Milkweed seedlings sprouting out of the dirt of an untidy flower bed. They are perhaps 4 inches tall, with narrow, pointy leaves.

A cluster of about 10 Butterfly Milkweed seedlings sprouting out of the dirt with a concrete wall visible in the background. Most of the milkweeds are only 1 or 2 inches tall, but the biggest one towers above the rest at a height of about 6 inches. They all have narrow, pointy leaves and very hairy stems.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Mar 26

I found a couple of yellow trout lilies blooming today, and got a brief glimpse of a small snake! The snake disappeared too fast for a photo, but here's a trout lily.

A yellow trout lily flower blooming amongst leaf litter on the forest floor. The flower has 6 sunshine-yellow petals that curl back away from its stamens, which hang downward toward the ground. A small beetle is climbing on the flower petals.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Feb 3

A collage of four cheetahs against a black background. All four are wearing facial expressions that make them look like they are laughing uproariously.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Jan 13

A pair of pompom Acorn Woodpeckers. Why two? Because this species is gregarious and doesn't like to be alone. 😊

A pair of handcrafted Acorn Woodpeckers, posing side by side and facing directly into the camera. They are made of pompoms, felt, pipe cleaners, and googly eyes. Their faces have a clownish pattern of black and white, with beaks made of black pipe cleaners. Their bodies are white pompoms with black felt wings and "bib" markings. Their feet are gray pipe cleaners.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Jan 13

Here's the nuthatch. I'll put the woodpeckers in the next reply.

A handmade craft modeled after a Pygmy Nuthatch, a small songbird. It is made of pompoms for the head and body, pipe cleaners for the beak and feet, felt for the wings and tail, and googly eyes.

A face-front view of the Pygmy Nuthatch craft. Its body is mostly obscured by the head, which is a white pompom with a cap of brown felt, a black pipe cleaner beak, and a pair of googly eyes. The bird's comically large feet are visible poking out from under its chin; they are made of black pipe cleaners.

A view of the nuthatch's underside, showing its humorously oversized feet, very short tail made of light gray felt, and the gray and white pompoms that make up its body and head.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Nov 4

My kitty Marcos has been very cuddly today. I love the fact that he enjoys my company so much.

A long-haired tuxedo cat sits on a cushy recliner chair, partially covered by a heart-patterned fleece blanket. The cat is looking straight at the camera with green eyes that are only half open. He has an asymmetrical black splotch across his nose and one cheek, and a black band under his chin that looks like a beard.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Oct 26

I saw ELEVEN (11) woolly bear caterpillars today!! Three of them were even on the same plant. They're just so goshdarn cute! 🥰

A "woolly bear" caterpillar on a plant with thin leaves that are starting to dry out and curl up. The caterpillar is about 2.5 inches long and covered in a dense coat of short bristly hairs. The hairs are black at both ends of the caterpillar's body and dark reddish brown in the middle. It is unclear which end is the caterpillar's head.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Oct 3

I found an empty Monarch chrysalis in the garden today! Proof that a caterpillar made it to adulthood right outside my back door. 🥰

An empty, split-open Monarch butterfly chrysalis hangs from a twig with a mess of greenery in the background. The chrysalis is made of a translucent, papery material, attached to the underside of the twig with a glob of silk. About one-third the way from the top of the chrysalis is a row of tiny black and gold dots. The bottom half is split open where the butterfly pushed its way out.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Sep 24

I don't have any recent mantis pictures on my phone right now, but I did find 8 stick insects a few days ago! I RARELY see even one, so I was absolutely flabbergasted. All these are from southern Illinois.

A stick insect clinging to a vertical wooden post with its head facing upwards. The insect is a vibrant shade of yellow-green. Its body is long, thin, and straight, like a twig. It has six long, spindly legs. The back and middle pairs of legs cling to the wooden post, while the frontmost pair is held out in front of the insect's small, roughly round head. This pose increases the illusion that the insect is actually a twig.

A pair of Northern Walkingsticks (stick insects) in the act of mating. They are resting on the asphalt surface of a parking lot. The male is sort of riding on the female's back with the ends of their abdomens linked. The male is brown, shorter in length and more slender than the female, who is longer, thicker, and green. Both insects have straight, twiglike bodies, long spindly legs, small round heads with small eyes, and very long antennae.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Aug 17

This bush katydid was singing outside my kitchen window last night. I think he was happy :)

A green bush katydid sits on the vinyl siding on the outside of a house, lit from above by an unseen light bulb. The katydid is clinging to the vertical surface with his head facing down and his behind pointing up. His wings are folded flat and have a veined texture that makes them look very much like a leaf. His eyes are small, round, and brownish in color, and they appear to be looking at the camera. He has six slender, jointed legs. The hind-most pair of legs are adapted for jumping, just like a grasshopper.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Jun 30

The other day, I got my first photos of a Monarch butterfly this year!

A photo of a Monarch butterfly sitting on asphalt with wings held closed above its back. It is a large butterfly whose wings are mostly orange with black veins and numerous white spots around the wing edges. The butterfly's body is black with white spots. It has a pair of thin black antennae with clubbed ends, and its "tongue" or proboscis is extended to get a drink of something wet that has puddled in the pavement.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Jun 26

A two-panel comic. Panel 1 shows a simply drawn cartoon newt with a brown back and orange belly, sitting and scrolling peacefully on their phone. In panel 2, the newt wears an expression of disgust with squinty eyes, wrinkled-up nose, and a big frown. They are gingerly holding their phone away from their body with 2 fingers and saying, "ick." The caption on this panel reads, "when I see AI slop."

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Jun 24

Thanks, I really did need a cat pic. Here's one of mine in return.

Marcos, a tuxedo cat with medium-long fur, sits curled up on a white bedsheet, with a blue pillow and part of a blue blanket visible behind him. Marcos is lying on his side with his paws tucked beneath his body and his long, fluffy black tail curled around to cover his paws.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Jun 23

This is the recipe my mom uses. We have a specialized gadget called a Ninja Creami that is designed for homemade ice cream, but you can make it without one. It might take a little experimenting to get the consistency you want. Or you can skip the overnight freeze & just eat it like a milkshake.

A screenshot of the recipe app Paprika, showing the ingredients for a recipe titled "Rachel's Chocolate Peanut Butter Nice Cream." The ingredients are as follows:
1 cup plant based milk
1 cup cooked sweet potato or frozen butternut squash chunks
1 large frozen banana
1 to 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup real maple syrup
1 to 2 Tbsp peanut butter or peanut flour
1 tsp vanilla

A screenshot from the recipe app Paprika, showing the directions for a recipe titled "Rachel's Chocolate Peanut Butter Nice Cream." The directions are as follows:

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Transfer to the Ninja Creami pint container and freeze for 24 hours. Process on the light ice cream function.

If you don't have the Creami machine, just process in your high speed blender. To make it thick, you may want to cut back on the plant milk to get a nice consistency.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Jun 22

I got to see these cute little Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillars today! I had never seen one before, so I was thrilled. They grow up into a beautiful black butterfly.

A Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar sits on a Spicebush leaf while a person's hand holds the end of the leaf still. The caterpillar is a pleasant light green color, with smooth skin and rows of small blue spots on the back half of its body. Near the caterpillar's head is a pair of big black-and-yellow spots that look like eyes.

A young Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar sits on the edge of a wilting Spicebush leaf while a person's hand holds the leaf up to the camera. The caterpillar is about half an inch long and resembles a blob of bird poop due to its splotchy brown and white coloring.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Jun 1

Speaking of cute...! I feel very lucky to live in range for the Brood XIV periodical cicada emergence that is going on right now. For about 2 weeks now, cicadas have been popping up out of my lawn, and every time I go outside I can't resist picking them up to say hi. I love their little faces.

An underside view of a periodical cicada being held gently by a person's thumb and index finger. The cicada is an insect about 1.5 inches long, with a mostly black body, round red eyes positioned on the sides of its head, and transparent wings with orange-gold veins. The cicada's face is broad and almost froglike, with a pair of short, thin antennae. Its six legs are orange, and it has orange stripes across the segments on its belly.

A side view of a periodical cicada resting on a person's cupped fingers, facing to the right. The cicada's body and head are black, with round red eyes positioned on the sides of its head. Its legs are orange. The wings are mostly transparent with black and orange veins, folded back neatly so that they cover about half of the cicada's body.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Jun 1

Wow!! I found some yesterday that look very similar--same species maybe? (Seen in southwestern Ohio)

A side view of a cluster of three small mushrooms with white stems and yellow caps. The largest mushroom in the center has a rather trumpet-like shape because its stem is wider at the top and its cap is concave. The right-most mushroom has a wedge-shaped chunk missing from its cap. The whole cluster is growing on a fallen log with green foliage and leaf litter in the background.

A top-down view of a cluster of three small mushrooms with white stems and round, concave yellow caps. The left-most mushroom has two small wedge-shaped chunks missing from its cap. The mushrooms are growing on a fallen log with green foliage and leaf litter in the background.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· May 18

I bumped into a friend unexpectedly at the park this morning, AND I got to see my first periodical cicada! 😁

A 17-year cicada sits facing left on a leafy twig with more green vegetation in the background. The cicada has a broad, almost froglike head with round, red eyes and two short, thin antennae. Its main body is black, and about two-thirds of the body is covered by a pair of long wings that are mostly transparent with gold veins, folded elegantly across the cicada's back. The cicada stands on 6 legs, each of which is a rust-red color and about half as long as one of its wings.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· May 10

This is my kitty Marcos. My favorite thing about him is that he loooves cuddling. Sometimes when I'm watching a movie from a rocking chair or recliner, he will jump up and sit on my chest in order to get as close to my face as possible. He also likes sleeping on my feet at night.

A long-haired tuxedo cat lounges contentedly on the lap of a person sitting in a comfy recliner chair. The person's face is out of view, but their lap is covered by a fuzzy blanket patterned with hearts and red, white, and pink plaid. The cat, Marcos, is mostly black on his back and white on his underside, with a long fluffy black tail that is tucked over his paws. His ears are black, while his face is mostly white except for a tall black splotch that covers his nose and part of one cheek. Under his chin is a wide black marking that looks a lot like a beard. His green eyes are half-shut, giving him a lazy and relaxed appearance.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· May 9

I've been slacking on the #NearbyNature2025 challenge, but here is an Eastern Bluebird couple I made out of pompoms, pipe cleaners, and felt as a Mother's Day gift for my mom.

A handcrafted pair of Eastern Bluebirds sitting side by side on a wooden bookshelf, facing directly toward the camera. The birds' bodies and heads are made of blue pompoms: bright blue for the male on the left and paler blue for the female on the right. Their wings, tucked against their sides, are made of blue felt. They have a white belly and orange chest, both felt. Their feet are made of light gray pipe cleaners. They each have a black pipe cleaner beak and a pair of googly eyes. The bluebirds are each about 2 inches tall.

A handcrafted pair of Eastern Bluebirds sitting side by side on a green felt background, facing partly to the right and partly toward the camera. The birds' bodies and heads are made of blue pompoms: bright blue for the male on the right and paler blue for the female on the left. Their wings, tucked against their sides, are made of blue felt. They have a white belly and orange chest, both felt. Their feet are made of light gray pipe cleaners. Their tails, only partially visible behind the birds, are made of blue felt and rest against the ground, providing balance and support. They each have a black pipe cleaner beak and a pair of googly eyes. The bluebirds are each about 2 inches tall.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· May 4

It's called Merlin! Created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

A screenshot of an app in the Google Play store. The app is called Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab. The app icon shows stylized, minimalistic art of a bird in flight that is mostly black, with white patches on its wings, yellow under its tail, a red cap and red throat, a straight black bill, and black and white stripes on its face. Beneath the app name and icon are two buttons labeled "uninstall" and "open." Below those buttons is a heading: Events and Offers. One event is coming up in 5 days called Global Big Day. The Global Big Day text is placed on a photo of a Northern Parula among pink flowers. The parula is a small songbird with a blue-gray head, back, and wings, a sunshine-yellow chin and breast, an orange "necklace," white wingbars, white arcs above and below its eyes, and a small, sharply pointed bill that is blackish on top and yellow-orange on bottom.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· May 4

YEP. When my mom and I found several on our tomato plants last summer, I put the chonkers in an enclosure and clipped tomato leaves to feed them so I could control the damage and not let them kill any of the plants. They grew up into big beautiful moths.

A Carolina Sphinx moth sits on the tips of a person's index, middle, and ring fingers, with a blurry green background. The moth is large, about 3 inches in length. It is shaped somewhat like a stealth bomber airplane, with pointed wings swept back elegantly and folded against its body. The moth's slender whitish antennae are laid back against its shoulders. The rest of the moth is a mottled mixture of different shades of gray and brown, giving it the appearance of rough tree bark. Its legs, which are slightly fuzzy, can be seen gripping the person's fingers. This is the moth that a "tobacco hornworm" caterpillar will grow into if it is not killed.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Apr 22

I went to one of my favorite parks on this warm, mildly rainy day and found not only the tadpoles and larval salamanders I was looking for, but also a surprise bonus box turtle! 🥰

A box turtle sitting in a bed of green grass and clover, seen from the side and above. The turtle has pulled its head, tail, and legs inside the shell so they are not visible. The shell has a dark gray base color with bright yellow-orange markings that vaguely resemble the rosettes of a leopard's fur.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Apr 10

I'm actually pretty proud of this drawing I did with a ballpoint pen and a sticky note. 😁

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Apr 5

Preach!! I love my kitty too much to let him play the Russian roulette of running loose outdoors. He is perfectly happy in the house with abundant food, plenty of toys, and warm soft places to sleep.

Marcos, a long-haired tuxedo cat, is curled up on a fleece blanket patterned with hearts and red-and-white plaid. His nose is tucked into his long, fluffy tail, and his green eyes are half-closed. He looks content and happy.

Sunbirb@fantasyfan13· Mar 25

I would love to see an ironclad beetle!! A friend of mine lived in Texas for a few years and sent me pictures of them, so I was hoping to find one when I visited the RGV area this January, but no luck. I did, however, find a bitty scorpion with the help of a UV flashlight!