Sari C. Cunningham
@saricunningham.bsky.social
530 followers 260 following 650 posts
Ecologist | Writer | Poet | Caregiver (Not in that order) | Conservation & narrative 🇺🇸 🇧🇪 🇸🇯 in 🇸🇯 Fondness for birds & islands. Words: The Island Review, The Curlew, Kyoto Journal, The Ginkgo Prize Anthology, Magma
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saricunningham.bsky.social
I'm grateful that my poem, Japanese Knotweed, found the best possible of homes imaginable. It is now published in issue 92 of @magmapoetry.bsky.social, 'Ownership'. Thanks to the editors for selecting it. Your belief in it means a lot to me.
magmapoetry.bsky.social
Delighted to announce Magma 92 'Ownership' is now published and available to buy on our website.
Edited by @pimlottkathy.bsky.social Danne Jobin and Paul Stephenson.

#magma #poetry
#ownership #magma92
#poetrymagazine
#magmapoetry

Get your hands on a copy here: magmapoetry.com/archive/magm...
Reposted by Sari C. Cunningham
poetbex.bsky.social
My gran died this evening. Posting this poem again so she knows her stories are safe with me 💙
saricunningham.bsky.social
Bex, I am so sorry for your loss. That is such a lovely tribute to your gran.
Reposted by Sari C. Cunningham
mobydickatsea.bsky.social
Art thou a silk-worm? Dost thou spin thy own shroud out of thyself?
Reposted by Sari C. Cunningham
dmihalicstaples.bsky.social
Ghost pipes in a Southern Appalachian forest—usually these are a glassy-white, but this magenta color was eye-catching. #FlowerReport #Bloomscrolling
A group of seven bell-like flowers of varying height, on scaly stems, on a leafy woodland background. Ghost pipes do not photosynthesize; they don’t produce chlorophyl, so they aren’t green, but are pale magenta-to-white in color here. More commonly they are glassy white.
Reposted by Sari C. Cunningham
thelabandfield.bsky.social
I've been remiss in celebrating #Auktober, so here are four delightful pics of the smollest one, the Least Auklet from Kiska Island, Alaska (where there are 1.2 million PAIRS in about 2 km sq).

Bonus early PhD Alex for scale.
Reposted by Sari C. Cunningham
levparikian.bsky.social
Today I learned there’s a penguin called Jane Goodall and she’s travelled 5000km since April.
A map of the east coast of South America, with several tracking lines, each representing a penguin. Jane Goodall’s line is highlighted in pale pink. There is also an inset with her facts and figures: body weight 4600g, tagged 25th April 2025, distance travelled 4769.3 km, average speed 2 kmh.
saricunningham.bsky.social
The best dancer bar none is and always will be my mother. 💃

"Angelina, Angelina, please bring down your concertina" - Harry Belafonte

open.spotify.com/track/7MPrtK...
Angelina
open.spotify.com
Reposted by Sari C. Cunningham
steelyseabirder.bsky.social
Welcome to Super Seabird Sunday where we ask you to share photos, videos & artwork of seabirds to brighten up timelines. To get us started here are thousands of Puffins on the Isle of May #SuperSeabirdSunday
saricunningham.bsky.social
Congratulations! Their covers look lovely!
saricunningham.bsky.social
Michael, I thought I'd responded and realized I hadn't. My apologies! Either would be possible. I can give an example I came across as to old bird place-names in Norway: "Ramberg" ("berg" being "mountain") likely refers to ravens. The modern "ravn" used to be spelled "ramn". I'll DM my details.
saricunningham.bsky.social
Well, this blew up. 😆

And also ... what? I was not aware that there was a difference in pronunciation.

I also used to pronounce "disembowel" weirdly, but that's a digression best saved for another day.
merriam-webster.com
Here’s a primer on ‘primer.’

It’s pronounced ‘PRIMM-er’ if you mean “a small book” or “a short informative piece of writing.”

It’s pronounced ‘PRY-mer’ if you mean “an initial coat of paint.”
saricunningham.bsky.social
Interesting. It is majuscule/minuscule in French.
saricunningham.bsky.social
Soundscapes of extinction. Notes dissolving into nothingness.
saricunningham.bsky.social
Pap Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
saricunningham.bsky.social
"While Europe has not been immune to the wave of bird extinctions that have swept the world since the 1500s, those such as the great auk and Canary Island oystercatcher were largely island species."
Reposted by Sari C. Cunningham
thelabandfield.bsky.social
Well, it's official. After our paper last year (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....), the Slender-billed Curlew is officially declared Extinct today.

Scientists dream of describing new species, not writing their obituary and epitaph, knowing that they are gone forever #ornithology
saricunningham.bsky.social
"And?"

"Do we already know if he will receive the Nobel Peace Prize?"
saricunningham.bsky.social
Intriguing research suggests that dopamine deficiency actually enhances memory retention and learning.

Brought to you by the elegance of C. elegans.
samillingworth.com
🧠 Dopamine and forgetting

A new study shows dopamine helps the brain forget old memories. Worms lacking dopamine held onto memories longer, suggesting forgetting is an active, dopamine-driven process.

🔗 doi.org/10.1111/jnc.70200

#SciComm 🧪 #Neuroscience #Memory
Dopaminergic Modulation of Short‐Term Associative Memory in Caenorhabditis elegans
Forgetting is a vital, active process that clears irrelevant memories and supports new learning. Using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans, we investigated how dopamine, a key neurotransmitter,....
doi.org
saricunningham.bsky.social
"The eyes have it," said the Speaker. Order! Order!
Reposted by Sari C. Cunningham