Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins

@ajcousins.bsky.social

5.8K followers 2.1K following 12K posts

Queer romance author. Obsessive book buyer. Slow runner. Newly fascinated birder. She/her, bi. Rep'd by Handspun Literary Agency. Volunteer Child Advocate for detained immigrant kiddos. Views my own.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · Dec 18

I released a new audiobook last year and neglected to tell anyone! 😂 Grumpy-grumpy, found-family holiday romance.

Adam Beckett did a FANTASTIC job with this one. He's an amazing performer.

Glass Tidings: www.amazon.com/Audible-Glas...

Infographic showing the audiobook cover of Glass Tidings by Amy Jo Cousins, narrated by Adam Beckett, against a background of snow-covered pine trees under a starry winter sky, with text at the top reading, "Can this grumpy shop owner show a drifter the true meaning of Christmas?"

3 19 68

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 12h

They're so striking!

1 1

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 12h

I love those days! There were mornings the only other person I saw out there was a fisherman in the harbor. 😊 I'm ready for owls!

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 12h

Keeping my eyes peeled for Buntings!

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 12h

a man in a blue shirt and tie sitting in front of a computer monitor

Alt: Gif of two people in an office high fiving at a distant across the room

media.tenor.com

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 14h

Oh wow! What a cool photo. I "saw" one flyover Bunting last year, but didn't get a real look. Hoping for a better glimpse this year!

1 1

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 14h

I went every weekend last year! I love walking through the sanctuary when it's snowing and there's no one else ridiculous enough to be there. But I didn't know where to look or what birds I was looking for. 😂 Merlin kept hearing stuff, but I only saw a small %. Looking forward to this year!

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 14h

So many Winter Wrens! Please enjoy my absolute best photo of this adorable tiny bird. :) #birds

Blurry, unfocused photo of a teensy brown speckled bird with a short vertical tail that shoots straight up from its butt like a little ruler, clutching a dried grass stem in an equally blurry setting of dried prairie grasses

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 14h

They're so pretty! I thought it was fabulous to see them once, and now I've seen them twice, so I'm pretty chuffed. :)

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 14h

Have you read about them? They have 4 sexes. Absolutely fascinating stuff.

www.audubon.org/magazine/fas...

The Fascinating and Complicated Sex Lives of White-throated Sparrows

With their quadruple personalities, those little brown birds at your feeder are a lot more interesting than they might appear.

www.audubon.org

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 14h

Keeping my sanity [relatively] intact via birds... 😂😭😂

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 16h

That's perfect! 😍

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 17h

Tons of White-throated Sparrows too. I love it when they eat the flowers off whatever this bush/tree is. :) #birds

Photo of a White-throated Sparrow sitting on some green leaves near a stem of tiny pale flowers, its bill full of petal shreds

3 3 32

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 17h

I think I only hung out on the pier on Wednesday evening, so I didn't realize. :) Yay, migration!

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 17h

Definitely the same here! I'd been seeing one or two, but yesterday they were *everywhere.*

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 17h

Last year, I didn't see a single Red-breasted Nuthatch. This year, I see them every time I go to the sanctuary. I definitely understand what an irruption year means now! #birds

Photo of a Red-breasted Nuthatch sitting on a thick white rope just where the rope passes through a wooden fence post, against a dark shadowed background

2 3 28

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 17h

Thank you! It's been fun seeing my progress in both birding and photography, which go hand in hand for me. :)

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 17h

There were simply massive numbers of Hermit Thrushes yesterday too. I had 5 in sight at one time, I think, and they were curious, flitting and hopping close. First year birds, maybe? Lovely to see. #birds

Photo of a Hermit Thrush, a brown bird with a rufous red tail, facing away from me and looking left as it sits perched on the broken end of a thick vertical branch against a background of blurry leaves

3 2 19

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 18h

A Kestrel getting ruffled by some wind from a buttward direction. #birds

Photo of an American Kestrel perched on the very top of a tower of big spotlights overlooking the beach, anti-bird spikes covering every inch except the tip of the upturned metal bar where it perches

1 1 25

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 18h

I'd only seen a juvenile once before, so I was super excited to see an adult! Pretty amazing day at the pier. :)

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 18h

It looks like you should be able to see the wires holding it up! 😂

1 1

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 18h

Isn't it beautiful??? I'd love to see one in breeding plumage someday, but they're just stunning in the fall too. 😍

1 1

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 18h

There was a Horned Lark hanging out with the LALO. Sometimes a bird just will *not* move away from the trash on the beach, no matter how long you wait... *sighs* #birds

Photo of a Horned Lark sitting on a pile of beach rubble next to a clear plastic water bottle

3 3 42

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 18h

I saw birds other than falcons yesterday too! Another beautiful Lapland Longspur on the beach. A year ago, I would've seen a small brown bird. Now, it's a *gorgeous* small brown bird. :) #birds

Photo of a Lapland Longspur in rubble on the beach (stones, sticks, feathers, shells) chirping with its bill open as it tilts its head to keep an eye on the sky

6 7 130

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 19h

I was trying to restrain myself, but just one more falcon photo... 😍 #birds

Photo of a Peregrine Falcon flying just over my head against a white sky, little orange feet tucked back, what looks like a full crop bulging, big dark eyes looking straight ahead

4 15

Amy Jo (AJ) Cousins @ajcousins.bsky.social · 1d

Extraordinary! 😍

1 1