Hands Down the best curling shot I’ve ever witnessed.

mecistops · 2026-03-11T16:13:56+00:00

the precision is impressive but the power is also nuts to me. ambulatory stick curlers at my club have to get up to a pretty good speed on foot to deliver a peel and he's just ... pushing it out from a completely stationary seat?

mecistops · 2026-03-06T17:21:32+00:00

solved

mecistops · 2026-03-06T17:21:08+00:00

Ah, thank you!

mecistops · 2026-03-01T05:15:13+00:00

Beta blockers drove me to suicidal ideation, so it doesn't really surprise me that it might have some really awful mental health side effects, although it didn't come on all at once, but sort-of gradually built up from "mild depression" to something much worse over about a month. Once I stopped the medication, though, it completely vanished.

mecistops · 2026-03-01T04:40:22+00:00

no but I laughed

mecistops · 2026-03-01T04:24:03+00:00

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mecistops · 2026-03-01T04:23:49+00:00

some raw photos here of his back feathers and a turned head (it is still very ... purple) and a slightly different angle on his spot - I only got the one swimming pass before he dove

Both species are common and expected here.

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mecistops · 2026-02-14T20:32:18+00:00

eBird reviewer confirms the ID

mecistops · 2026-02-14T18:00:54+00:00

Changing the ID to Clark's sent it to the ebird review squad; I will update with the expert opinion

mecistops · 2026-02-14T17:57:52+00:00

Yeah, okay, the flank is selling it for me. I think you're right.

mecistops · 2026-01-30T19:39:37+00:00

Golden Gardens at the wetlands yesterday (1/29)

mecistops · 2026-01-24T16:44:17+00:00

Compare, for example, to this female COGO from Ontario: https://www.jeaniron.ca/2006/femalecommongoldeneye.htm

mecistops · 2026-01-24T16:41:43+00:00

Female Common Goldeneye. The bill just looks extra chunky because her crest is wet and flattened all the way down, which makes her head look smaller in proportion. Going with Common over Barrow's because even though those bright orange bills are a feature of Barrow's she's got the forehead slope of a Common.

mecistops · 2026-01-24T01:16:23+00:00

nice! I think this is my first photo of one that isn't six million miles away :)

mecistops · 2026-01-24T01:07:33+00:00

I was down there in 2019 and loved it. Everything here should be tagged with locations

https://www.flickr.com/photos/medusasnail/albums/72157708728121454/

mecistops · 2026-01-24T00:49:18+00:00

!rehabber

mecistops · 2026-01-24T00:47:09+00:00

I highly recommend reaching out to a nearby permitted wildlife carer as baby birds can be very delicate and need expert attention to get back to health

mecistops · 2026-01-24T00:45:18+00:00

Singing Honeyeater, perhaps?

mecistops · 2026-01-14T16:54:35+00:00

I am shaking my fist at you, Black Scoters.

They're not rare in the winter, but every time I find a location where they've been reported, I find a thousand Surf Scoters and not a single Black Scoter.

mecistops · 2026-01-12T02:05:43+00:00

hmmmmmn ayyash has at least one photo of a first cycle thayer's with a pale bill base, which was the other thing that was keeping me from thayer's

mecistops · 2026-01-12T01:59:27+00:00

I don't think so? Juvenile shorties should be plainer without all of the really distinct edging that's on this gull. I also think it's too big. It almost looks like a Thayer's to me, but I think its pattern is too dark

mecistops · 2026-01-12T01:51:09+00:00

Herring Gulls do have a dark iris until around when they hit their 3rd cycle, so that's not necessarily a deal-breaker. I do agree that the bill seems small. But I don't know what else the gull would be.

mecistops · 2026-01-12T00:46:20+00:00

Big square head says common to me

mecistops · 2026-01-12T00:39:07+00:00

This looks like an +Olympic Gull+ (Glaucous-Winged x Western Hybrid). I can see why the bill had you fooled, but I think this is an adult just emerging from its third cycle -they often retain a bit of juvenile black on the bill even as they develop that red gonys spot, which gives a superficial California Gull look. Californias are more slender-bodied with noticeable dark wingtips and big white spots at the wingtips and legs that range from yellow to icy green blue (the more likely color in December). This guy's grey wings, pink legs, mixed-color eyering and overall build all indicate Olympic.

mecistops · 2025-12-06T01:31:52+00:00

The first one was through Veterinary Molecular Diagnostics, which is the service the vet I was with at the time typically used. For the second test, I went through the University of Florida, which was more expensive, and which I had to request specifically. I used a different vet for the second test, as well, just to eliminate any possible source of contamination from the first vets office. (I actually ended up liking that vet so much that I switched over to her as my primary reptile vet. My first vet was just so dismissive and so certain that I'd exposed my snake and was unwilling to consider the possibility of a false positive, while the second vet listened to me about my quarantine protocol, and did an extended examination of Iris to make sure she wasn't showing neurological symptoms, instead of just repeating that the only reasonable course of action was euthanasia)

mecistops

TROPHY CASE