Author | Lightnews

Brian Rusnica

Brian Rusnica

@neogonzo.bsky.social

230 followers 130 following 230 posts

Raptor Enthusiast 🦅 / Wildlife Photography / Hawk Migration & Conservation / #RaptorID / Illustration / Dinosaurs 🦖 / Instagram: @neogonzo / www.brianrusnica.com

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Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · 9h

Vultures of Mt Watatic #Hawkwatch (MA). September doesn’t have many migrating Turkey Vulture but we see LOTS of locals soaring over the summit’s thermal or cruising updrafts. This year we hit a record 14 Black Vulture, our highest count ever, including 7 at once! #turkeyvulture #blackvulture 🦅🪶🌎

Collage of Turkey Vulture and Black Vulture images.

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · 1d

oh how excellent! Yes, we're just about a dozen miles N of Wachusett, we're all members of the same club 😎 Check out Watatic next September if you think of it!

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · 1d

Merlins of September at Mt. Watatic #Hawkwatch (MA). One of my favorite parts of the watch is the last hour. Day hikers have wrapped up their visits and the summit empties out. Low sun makes for great lighting. And for whatever reason, #Merlin seem to be late day migrants in the East. #birding 🪶🦅😎✌️

A collage of Merlin images.

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · 1d

American Kestrels migrating past Mt Watatic #Hawkwatch (MA) this September. A couple brave birds landed on the summit this fall, likely to pick off one of the Carolina Locusts that inhabit the rocky outcrops. This Sept we counted 108 migrants. Always love to see them! #AmericanKestrel #birding 🪶🦅😎✌️

A collage of American Kestrel images

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · 1d

Next up the round out the buteos, Red-shouldered Hawks at Watatic #Hawkwatch (MA) in September were sporadic migrants and mostly noisy locals. Several juveniles came in close enough for pics, including a couple visits to the decoy owl. #redshoulderedhawk #birding 🪶🦅

A collage of Red-shouldered Hawk images

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · 1d

Red-tailed Hawks from Mt. Watatic (MA) in September. This species doesn’t migrate here until later in the fall, so we mostly get to see juvenile local birds hunting the surrounding slopes. Some of the close shots here are from a run in with the decoy owl. #redtailedhawk #hawkwatch #birding 🪶🦅✌️😎

A collage of Red-tailed Hawk images.

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · 6d

Bald Eagles have always seemed to deliver in my time as counter at Mt. Watatic (MA). We see many locals and plenty of migrants often w/nice close looks. And it’s always a good chance to study the various plumages of immature birds. This year’s count in September was 118 #baldeagle. 🦅🪶 #birding

A collage of Bald Eagle images

Reposted by Brian Rusnica

Lily M @liliumnature.bsky.social · 7d

Ptarmigan stickers are up! www.etsy.com/listing/1502... #awebo #awebobird #ptarmigan

Stickers depicting two Willow Ptarmigans on snow with a spruce forest behind them

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · 7d

Sharpie time! It’s always fun to get close looks at #sharpshinnedhawk - they have such personality and are so dynamic during migration at Mt Watatic (MA). We had a respectable count for the #hawkwatch season with 308. Some of my fave frames here! #birding 🪶🦅

A collage of Sharp-shinned Hawks in flight

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · 8d

A few Cooper’s Hawk frames from this season at Mt. Watatic (MA) #hawkwatch. Not quite as many #coopershawk as last season, but still 66 in September. They typically peak in October so of course we miss a good deal of them. #birding 🪶🦅

A collage of Cooper's Hawk images

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · 8d

A look at my favorite Broad-wing photos from this Fall at Mt. Watatic (MA). By mid-October, most #broadwingedhawk have already left the US, heading south. It was a delight (and relief) to see thousands of them again at our #hawkwatch site after <1K last year. Total count : 3,624! #birding 🦅🪶

A collage of Broad-winged Hawk images

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · 21d

Joe Ingles completes goal of hitting a backwards 3/4 court shot during warmups in all 30 NBA arenas

Reposted by Brian Rusnica

Doug Hitchcox @dhitchcox.bsky.social · 22d

Annual reminder of the best sale in bird books! Not many new titles since last year but there’s a few I’m excited to finally get.

press.princeton.edu/sale/70-off

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · Sep 30

OMG i love THISSSS

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · Sep 9

Twinsies! 🦅🦅 These 2 juvenile #BaldEagle passed by my #hawkwatch site (Mt. Watatic, MA) this weekend, and both struck an identical pose on the way by! Note the variation in plumage between individuals at this age... identical ages but far from the same patterns of color. Neat! #birding 🪶

Two juvenile Bald Eagles, striking an identical pose

Juvenile Bald Eagle in flight.

Juvenile Bald Eagle in flight.

Reposted by Brian Rusnica

Ryan Estrada @ryanestrada.com · Sep 6

Just a reminder to check for your name in this list of books that OpenAI trained from. If your name is there, they probably owe you several thousand dollars.

OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.

Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI

Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.

www.theatlantic.com

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · Sep 8

still missing Aplomado; but maybe I can get 0.5 falcon credits for a Crested Caracara

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · Sep 2

Thanks so much for showing interest in #hawkwatching at Mt. Watatic! 2025 will be my 11th Fall counting raptors there, and I really think it’s one of the best birding experiences in Massachusetts! #birding 🦅🪶 (3/3)

My Fall Season: I'll be counting every dry day 9/11-9/24, approx 9am-4pm. Mt. Watatic is a 35-45 min hike-up. No restrooms, water, or trash facilities. Also always looking for folks to help before and after ”my” coverage.

Best days/times. Wind direction! N, NW or NE. Big flights can occur any time of day. 10am-2pm is a good window, but conditions change rapidly.
More time on site = more hawks.

Gear to Bring (in order of importance): Binoculars, Water, Sun protection, Layered clothing, Snacks

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · Sep 2

I’ve got a FAQ page on my website (brianrusnica.com/wp/mount-wat...) that covers the hike up to Mt. Watatic (MA) and what to expect. I’ll be covering the summit from 9/11-24 plus surrounding weekends. (2/3) #birding 🪶🦅

Mount Watatic / On the MA/NH border, North of Fitchburg. 1,832 ft mountain on the Wapack Ridge. Hawkwatching records date back to 1988.

The Count. Last 5 Fall Seasons:
2024: 1,884 Raptors (10-year low!)
2023: 12,815 Raptors (10-year high!)
2022: 9,461 Raptors
2021: 5,476 Raptors
2020: 6,683 Raptors

10-year avg: 5,853 Raptors

What raptors do you see? Mostly Broad-winged Hawks. 88% of the total count. Lots of Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawks & Cooper’s Hawks. Daily Regulars: Osprey, Turkey Vulture, American Kestrel. Frequent: Merlin, Peregrine Falcon. Occasionally: Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Harrier, Black Vulture.

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · Sep 2

It's September. Let's get the #hawkwatch going! Very soon, we’ll be in the peak #BroadwingedHawk migration window in Mass, with a chance to see big flights of migrating hawks. Consider this an invite to join us at the summit of Mount Watatic in the coming weeks! (1/3) #birding 🪶🦅

Let's go Hawkwatching! A Graphic of a Broad-winged Hawk soaring over green hills.

What is "Hawkwatching?" Volunteers identify and count migrating raptors to survey migratory numbers. Hundreds of sites across North America count and share data

Hawkwatching Defined: Counters watch at sites along migratory routes in Fall and Spring. Value of data requires year-to-year consistency. It's community science!

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · Sep 2

flippin' brilliant

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · Aug 26

myself and 2 friends are waiting on a restock of the Red-tail hawkwatch sticker!

Brian Rusnica @neogonzo.bsky.social · Aug 21

legit. so much heart went into this.

Reposted by Brian Rusnica

Aimee Cozza Illustration @aimeecozza.com · Jul 8

*slams it down* I finished it

My article

About AI use, impacts, etc, with lots and lots of links

It's uh

Really long

Opinion: Is it worth it to use AI? Some things you should know

AI has shown us again and again how it aims to change our society. Is this technology really "here to stay" and what's it doing to us?

www.foundationwebdev.com

Reposted by Brian Rusnica

Lauren @tinylongwing.bsky.social · Aug 12

Look, I for sure don't have time for all of #AvianAugust but I had to make an exception for the 'Io, one of the cutest birds in existence, so here is a very quick sketch! #BirdArt #SciArt 🎨🪶

Loose lineart sketch with minimal coloring of an 'Io, Hawaii's endemic buteo. Here it is perched on a lichen-covered branch, peering down from a pale gray-green background. It has a brown head and wings and mottled brown and white belly.