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Jer Thorp

@jerthorp.bsky.social

5.5K followers 830 following 2.9K posts

Artist, writer, educator, birder & nudibranch enthusiast. Author of Living in Data (MCDxFSG).

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Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · Aug 28

My course about birding & creative code is also secretly (shhhh) a course about critical data thinking.

Which is one of the most important skills you could possibly cultivate in this age of AI and misinformation.

Autumn cohorts start September 23rd... join me?

jerthorp.me/learning

🪶📊🎨

Why birds & data?
To see the whole picture.
Data is a system, not a thing.
To truly understand data, you need to know how it gets made, how it is changed by the processes of computation, and how the choices we make in representing it affect the stories that can be told.
Birding offers a way to get intimate with this entire system. To watch as our observations become data. To see how they are recast and reshaped by algorithms and models. To explore the many practical and poetic ways we might tell our data's story.
Through birding, data is revealed not as static record, but as a living process of which we (and our feathered neighbors) are very much a part.

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Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · 1h

This thing is at a point where it's now going through a whole bunch of exceptions and figuring out if there are some clever fixes to squash a lot of them rather than writing a thousand little cover-ups

Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · 1h

Flamingos have better PR

Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · 1h

Hah!

Actually it's kind of funny how underemphasized the pinkitude is here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roseate...

Roseate spoonbill - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · 1h

This bird's call is described as "unpleasant"

And wow. It is very unpleasant. Like microphone feedback at a concert. It gives me the shivers.

ebird.org/species/glmm...

Glossy-mantled Manucode - eBird

A large, long-tailed bird of lowland, open wooded areas, including mangroves. All black with red eyes and iridescence on the wings, back and tail. Some spotted iridescence on neck and chest. It has quite long-necked appearance. Co-occurs with Jobi and Trumpet Manucodes, but Glossy is larger and longer-tailed. Voice, an unpleasant, high-pitch whistle sounding a bit like microphone distortion. Sings from a high, open perch.

ebird.org

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Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · 1h

I think my work here is done.

birdstocolors.binstobins.online

(My work is nowhere near done here)

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Reposted by Jer Thorp

Rosemary Mosco @rosemarymosco.com · 2h

Spooky bird stories. Last year's Halloween comic.

A comic titled Spooky Bird Stories. In panel 1, a turkey vulture is telling stories to other vultures, and it says, "She walked toward the source of the terrible smell. She got closer and closer, and then, to her horror, she saw... No dead body." A black vulture says "No!" and a turkey vulture says "Did someone already eat it??"
In panel 2, a northern cardinal is telling a story to some songbirds. It says "They peered through the windows of the house at the gory scene. Zombies had smashed through the door in the night. The homeowner was dead. But worst of all... He hadn't refilled the feeders." An eastern bluebird says "Aaah!" and an American goldfinch says "It can't be!".
In panel 3, a screech owl is telling a story to other owls. It says "And then the ghost fluffed itself up really big to appear scarier." A saw-whet owl gasps, and a long-eared owl says "Horrifying!".
In panel 4, a downy woodpecker is telling a story to other woodpeckers, and says "The eerie sound rang through the dark woods. Tap-tap. Tap-tap. It was the distinctive two-part knock of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The species had returned from the dead... FOR REVENGE." A red-cockaded woodpecker says "Yesss".

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Reposted by Jer Thorp

Anna Hughes 🍁 @annaghughes.bsky.social · 1h

For anyone with a yard/garden!

The Bird Host’s Handbook: Fall Tips for Your Yard

October is the perfect time to help birds thrive by planting native species, leaving leaf litter and setting up feeders. Learn how small changes at home can help create a

www.birdscanada.org

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Reposted by Jer Thorp

leon @leyawn.bsky.social · 1h

mtg in 1997: this card is selenia, a guardian angel from the heavenly realm of serra. twisted by the phyrexians, she drove crovax of urborg insane with unrequited love

mtg in 2025: this card is spongebob. from spongebob squarepants

mtg in 2035: we ran out of ideas. this card is your coworker jeff

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Reposted by Jer Thorp

Samantha Mash @samanthamash.bsky.social · 2h

#PortfolioDay again! I'm a West Coast artist named Samantha and I specialize in editorials, publishing (mostly book covers), and branding

✉️[email protected]
🧡samanthamash.com
🧡samanthamash.etsy.com
🧡inprnt.com/gallery/samanthamash
🧡patreon.com/samanthamash

Illustration of woman with short hair kneeling back on the ground and pulling the string of a bow tight. She is holding a white arrow and prepared to let go. Around her is the Sagittarius constellation that is made of orange and pale yellow stars. The background is a pale peach, the woman is made up of oranges and reds.

Illustration of a pale antelope on a dark background with orange plants around it

Five herons, two black, three white are circled around one of the black herons holding an orb of light

Pale woman with dark hair in periwinkle one piece swimsuit swimming with fish and other sea life in a dark ocean with a pink sky and peach sun

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Reposted by Jer Thorp

Iveta's Aviary @ivetasaviary.bsky.social · 10h

Hi, my name’s Iveta and I’m passionate about drawing birds. I’m open for small scale bird related projects.

🐦 ivetasaviary.com
📧 ivetasaviary[at]gmail.com

#portfolioday #wildlifeart #birdart #sciart #illustration

An illustration of an Eurasian Jay done in watercolor and ink.

A photo of a sketchbook placed on a cloth, surrounded by various object from the nature. The sketchbook is open on a page with an ink an watercolor illustration of a laughing kookaburra sitting on a branch.

Five digital studies of sanderlings - two drawings and three paintings.

An illustration of a Small Blue Kingfisher done in watercolor and ink.

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Reposted by Jer Thorp

Dominique Ramsey 𓃥 @dominiqueramseyart.bsky.social · 17h

The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return

Marker, colored pencil, and ink pen.
11 x 14in

Illustration of a green deer hugging a hare, with the hare is hugging a mouse. All three animals hugging form the silhouette outline of the deer.

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Reposted by Jer Thorp

Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 19h

Hey, Portland, join me in conversation with the wonderful Amy Stewart on Oct 24 at the Powells at Cedar Crossing, to celebrate the trade paperback of Absolution. That is, if you can make it through the war-ravaged landscape and endless waves of inflatable dancing frogs and unicorns...

With photos of Jeff VanderMeer and Amy Stewart and the deconstructed alligator cover of Absolution...
10/24, 7:00 p.m. - Beaverton, OR
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
in conversation with Amy Stewart

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Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · 1d

Next week I'll be up at Dartmouth where I'll be leading some in-person Binoculars to Binomials workshops and bird walks.

This programming is open to anyone in the Hanover area!

uvhere.com/event/curios...

Curiosity in Common: Binoculars to Binomials - Upper Valley Events Calendar | Discover NH & VT Happenings

Join us in October for two days of learning about birding and data visualization with internationally renowned data artist and educator, Jer Thorpe. Jer Thorp is an artist, writer and teacher living i...

uvhere.com

Reposted by Jer Thorp

The Birdist @thebirdist.bsky.social · 1d

A PSA

www.thebirdist.com/2025/10/weir...

Weird Guys Harming Birds for Social Media Clout

I am mostly writing this post so people will have something to link to for Community Notes. Nothing is more depressing to me than the Click...

www.thebirdist.com

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Reposted by Jer Thorp

Ignacio GHOULup-Diaz @igallupd.bsky.social · 2d

BABY NUMBATSNUMBATSNUMBATS:

"Baby numbats spotted at two wildlife sanctuaries in hopeful sign for one of Australia’s rarest marsupials"

"Video shows some of the juveniles exploring outside their den at Mallee Cliffs national park in south-western NSW"

Baby numbats spotted at two wildlife sanctuaries in hopeful sign for one of Australia’s rarest marsupials

Video shows some of the juveniles exploring outside their den at Mallee Cliffs national park in south-western NSW

www.theguardian.com

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Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · 2d

Halloween idea

Bevis Musson @bevismusson.bsky.social · 2d

Mr Laos. Just when you though this year was a bit quiet on the insanely huge, bedazzled, symbolic costumes along comes Mr Laos and blows everyone else out of the water. This is insane, but it's also *so* good.

A photo of a contestant at Mister Global 2025

Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · 2d

To be fair clipboard coach turned out to be very kind, too

Reposted by Jer Thorp

Jeff Doctor @jeff.doctor · 3d

I am once again asking Canadian journalists to ask the most basic-ass question of "on whose land will these be built?" How is it that every other major industry must consider Indigenous rights but with tech it's like "meh".
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...

ANALYSIS | Why OpenAI wants to help Canada build homegrown artificial intelligence | CBC News

OpenAI wants to help Canada build a sovereign digital infrastructure for artificial intelligence, putting the country in a tough spot as it tries to distance itself from overreliance on U.S. tech comp...

www.cbc.ca

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Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · 2d

"Trans issues aren't this shameful thing that Democratic consultants suggest we hide from, it's the same fight undocumented immigrants are fighting, or those who can't access health care are fighting."

Katelyn Boo-urns @katelynburns.com · 3d

I wrote a little about some of the little details you might have missed in this video and why it hit me so hard as a trans person this morning:

www.burnsnotice.com/you-have-to-...

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Reposted by Jer Thorp

Sasha Costanza-Chock @schock.cc · 2d

It's ok to cry

Thank you @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social

💙💜

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 3d

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

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Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · 3d

My son plays in a community ⚽ league on Saturdays and the range of vibe from team to team and coach to coach is hilarious.

Our coach is very positive and just great.

The other guy today has set plays drawn up 😂

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Reposted by Jer Thorp

Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · 3d

I like how the news will be like “while the President claiming Portland was ruled by a giant skeleton named Mr Nibbles is not strictly true, it does speak to the anxiety of many Americans”

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Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · 3d

Favorite GBV song?

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Reposted by Jer Thorp

Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · 4d

Stretch maybe but if someone could hook me up with a ticket for NYCC on Sunday, my kid would be very pleased.

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Reposted by Jer Thorp

cow tools daily @cowtoolsdaily.bsky.social · 4d

it's not FOR us

edited comic panel. Batman is breaking a lump-with-handle cow tool over his knee and saying "this is the tool of the cow. we do not understand it. we will not use it."

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