Daniel Martin
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fizbin.bsky.social
Daniel Martin
@fizbin.bsky.social
1.2K followers 170 following 4.2K posts
One of many, many people with this particular "real name".

You might know me from... IDK. College? Did we work together once? Prodigy's old math forum? debian-devel? A certain social MUSH? xoogler slack? "Making Light" comments? (he/him)
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fizbin.bsky.social
Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme set by @alan678.bsky.social is #MorningLight (a bird bathed in morning sunlight)

From this past March

#bird #microfourthirds
A bright red male Cardinal perches on a tree that is barren but with tiny buds of early Spring. The bird is facing to the right, the direction that sunlight is coming from. ƒ/5.6; 1/320 s; 150 mm; ISO 500
November 28, 2025 at 9:09 AM
fizbin.bsky.social
Normally I'd save these for a matching "bird of the day" theme, but I just wanted to share these shots of this lovely lady who showed up outside my office window yesterday.

#bird #microfourthirds
A female cardinal perches on a birch tree branch, having directly left. Her visible feathers are mostly a reddish brown, with a bright flame of red right at the top of her head. ƒ/8; 1/60 s; 300 mm; ISO 1600 A female cardinal sitting on a peeling birch tree branch. Her layered reddish-brown feathers give the impression of someone bundled in a fur coat. Her mouth is slightly open. Burlington, NJ, USA ƒ/8; 1/60 s; 300 mm; ISO 1600
November 28, 2025 at 12:07 AM
fizbin.bsky.social
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme from @robcrank68.bsky.social is all about #HeadShots (any bird's 'Close Up Capture')

I'm going with this Muscovy Duck.

#birds
The head of a Muscovy Duck, showing several of the bulbous bright red growths that species is prone to. Bubali Bird Sanctuary, Noord, Aruba ƒ/7.1; 1/800 s; 210 mm; ISO 200
November 27, 2025 at 11:52 AM
fizbin.bsky.social
More often than not, how I present the Merlin app with new birds to identify.

In other news, added "White-throated Sparrow" to the life list.
A photograph taken by a phone camera of the display screen on the back of an actual digital camera (my Panasonic DMC-GX850), with a window looking outside visible behind the camera. The display screen is zoomed in on an image of a white-throated sparrow, with an indicator in the corner saying "4.0X".
November 26, 2025 at 2:27 PM
fizbin.bsky.social
The #BirdOfTheDay theme today as set by @alan678.bsky.social is #OnTheEdge, any bird at the edge of a body of water.

This massive Muscovy Duck drake did this flex after stepping out of the lake behind him onto the shore. I don't know if it was for balance or if it was a courtship display.
A large black Muscovy Duck with a red eye mask stands on brown ground with a lake behind him, wings raised to the side. In front of him, slightly out-of-focus, are a whole bunch of White-cheeked Pintails. Bubali Bird Sanctuary, Noord, Aruba ƒ/7.1; 1/3200 s; 300 mm; ISO 1600
November 26, 2025 at 11:09 AM
fizbin.bsky.social
Compare this to the impression one gets from one of the same birds looking to the side. No sense of condemnation or disregard; I do get a sense of someone holding their hands out and low awkwardly, but no visceral reaction to any imagined facial expression.
A robin perches on top of a medium-sized tree branch facing right. The background is out-of-focus browns and grays, setting the picture in late autumn. Burlington NJ, USA
November 25, 2025 at 2:08 PM
fizbin.bsky.social
(American) Robins are pretty enough birds, and they often pose nicely in bright sunlight, but every time I get a shot of one that's looking at the camera they always look pissed, or at the very least deeply disappointed.
A robin on a birch tree branch with peeling bark. He's looking down slightly at the camera and isn't necessarily mad at the photographer, just deeply disappointed. Burlington, NJ, USA A robin on a medium-small tree branch looking over his right shoulder at the camera. The look gives an impression of disgust and contempt; you know what you did. Burlington, NJ, USA
November 25, 2025 at 2:01 PM
fizbin.bsky.social
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme set by @robcrank68.bsky.social is #HangingAround ('Birds at Unusual Angles') with an alternative of #Sparrows

Now, an unusual angle from a nuthatch or woodpecker is basically their whole deal, so instead I'm going to reuse this sparrow picture.

#birds
A male house sparrow tipped all the way over so that he's upside down. Burlington, NJ, USA ƒ/5.6; 1/30 s; 300 mm; ISO 320
November 25, 2025 at 9:24 AM
fizbin.bsky.social
The theme for #BirdOfTheDay by @alan678.bsky.social is #warblers, so here's another shot of the yellow warbler I saw in Aruba.
A yellow bird with vertical brown streaks sits on a thin branch with its head facing upwards. Its beak is slightly tilted upwards. The background is a collection of large green leaves. Bubali Bird Sanctuary, Noord, Aruba ƒ/8; 1/250 s; 300 mm; ISO 1600
November 24, 2025 at 9:34 AM
fizbin.bsky.social
A movie that takes place where you’re from.
Movie poster for the 1958 movie "The Blob", which was set in (and partially filmed in) Phoenixville, PA. It's not quite where I'm from, but I'm taking a bit of liberty and conflating all the PA suburbs of Philadelphia as a single place for the purposes of this meme.
November 24, 2025 at 3:42 AM
fizbin.bsky.social
New #bird for the life list today!

I finally saw a Northern Flicker, and caught it on camera.

I don't care that the photos are at an angle that doesn't show off the colors or that I had to goose the exposure in edits to see what it really was. I finally saw one!
A Northern Flicker woodpecker perched on a large, dark tree branch against a clear blue sky. The bird has a brown back with black barring, spotted underparts, a black crescent on its chest, and a red patch on the back of its head. Burlington, NJ, USA A Northern Flicker woodpecker perched on a large, dark tree branch against a clear blue sky. The bird is facing its head away from the camera, clearly displaying the red horizontal stripe on the back of its head. Burlington, NJ, USA A Northern Flicker woodpecker perched on and leaning into a large, dark tree branch against a clear blue sky. From this angle the speed underparts are very clear as is the yellow in the tail. Burlington, NJ, USA
November 24, 2025 at 3:18 AM
fizbin.bsky.social
For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme of #Mr&Mrs I'm going to take advantage of the fact that @robcrank68.bsky.social defined the theme as "any male & female of the same kind" to show this mixed-gender cluster of house sparrows while not making any statements about what arrangements the birds may have.
A male house sparrow stands on a chain-link fence between two female house sparrows. Burlington, NJ, USA ƒ/5.6; 1/1000 s; 150 mm; ISO 3200
November 23, 2025 at 3:20 PM
fizbin.bsky.social
Timing is everything. 🪶
An image of a tree trunk with a prominently displayed "Y" shaped branch in the front center. A yellow squiggle has been placed at the fork in the "Y" labeled "where the bird was when I lined up the shot". At the very left of the image is a house sparrow, wings up, flying off to the left, labeled "Bird".
November 22, 2025 at 9:52 PM
fizbin.bsky.social
People who know me from elsewhere might know that I do this, but for those who don't here's a little video of me practicing on our church's Ellacombe apparatus: eight ropes that run through pulleys to swing hammers to strike bells about twenty feet below where I'm standing.
November 22, 2025 at 8:11 PM
fizbin.bsky.social
Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #birdonawire (birds on a wire or line).

So here's exactly that: a European Starling on a wire for BlueSky.
A single black bird with light brown spots on a wire. Behind it is a clear blue sky. ƒ/10; 1/250 s; 300 mm; ISO 320
November 22, 2025 at 1:39 PM
fizbin.bsky.social
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme from @robcrank68.bsky.social is #GroundedGulls; that's "any Gull not in flight".

Reaching back over a year for this photo, but here are two gulls I saw in Stonehaven, Scotland.

#birds #photography #Gulls
Two European Herring Gulls on a stone wall, the one further back and facing left displaying the immature plumage that it takes this species a few years to grow out of. Stonehaven, Scotland, UK ƒ/5.6; 1/640 s; 150 mm; ISO 200
November 21, 2025 at 11:35 AM
fizbin.bsky.social
American Robins only though, not those colorful European Robins.

Also, technically catbirds belong to "mimic thrushes", a family closely related to but distinct from "true thrushes". American Robins are true thrushes.

As penance for my pedantry, please accept this catbird.
A grey bird with a thin black crest perches on a thin branch in a plant of thin almost needle-like leaves. I was really tickled to get this shot; it all but struck a pose for me. The background is an explosion of out-of-focus green. Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA, USA ƒ/5.6; 1/400 s; 300 mm; ISO 1250
November 20, 2025 at 3:31 PM
fizbin.bsky.social
Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme, per @alan678.bsky.social, is #Thrushes. The only thrush species I see regularly is the American Robin, so here's one from a bit over a week ago.
An American Robin with bright red breast stands on a thick tree branch. The leaves in the background give a very distinct "this is autumn" vibe. The sky further back is a uniform gray. Pennington NJ, USA ƒ/7.1; 1/640 s; 286 mm; ISO 250
November 20, 2025 at 11:43 AM
fizbin.bsky.social
For today's #BirdOfTheDay, @robcrank68.bsky.social has chosen "Birds looking a bit on the #Round side".

I've chosen this Carolina Wren, since it's also #Wrensday.
A small bird with a brown back and light brown/dark yellow breast perches on a branch looking rather round. There is a white streak above the eye. Burlington, NJ, USA ƒ/7.1; 1/50 s; 300 mm; ISO 800
November 19, 2025 at 1:12 PM
fizbin.bsky.social
Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme from @alan678.bsky.social is #mottled (birds marked with spots of a different colour), with an alt of #blurry (birds blurred in motion), and so I thought of this Hairy Woodpecker that I only managed two shots of back in June.
A small, black and white woodpecker is perched on a moss-covered, gnarled tree branch. The bird has a distinct black and white checkered pattern on its wings and a white breast, with a small dark cap. The background is a blurry mass of green leaves in a forest setting. ƒ/5.6; 1/500 s; 150 mm; ISO 4000 The same black and white bird as in the previous picture zooms off down and to the right in front of a dense, blurry background of bright green leaves. The bird's white underside and rump are visible. ƒ/5.6; 1/500 s; 150 mm; ISO 4000
November 18, 2025 at 9:58 AM
fizbin.bsky.social
For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme of #StareDown (any bird looking at you) I have this Ruddy Turnstone from Aruba who has (as evidenced by the missing foot) Seen Things in their life and is not impressed with my camera in their face.

#birds #photography #microfourthirds
A black, brown, and white bird stands on some rough fabric with blue-green ocean water behind it. Its left leg ends in a stump, missing the foot. The look at the camera radiates an air of tired contempt. Pelican pier, Noord, Aruba ƒ/7.1; 1/500 s; 234 mm; ISO 200
November 17, 2025 at 11:26 AM
fizbin.bsky.social
Twenty years ago, I used to be able to chart the course of my industry by what the "technology" section of the local Barnes&Noble section was selling.

The correlation got less strong during the 2010s, but this is by far the bleakest I've ever seen that section look. (More in alt text)
The entire technology section in this Barnes & Noble. One vertical set of shelves, and not even a full one, easily 80% or more of the titles the "for dummies" books, and the single hardcover book is the blue book titled "Hype" about how the Internet is all grifters and com artists these days.
November 16, 2025 at 7:47 PM
fizbin.bsky.social
The #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #shadesofgrey, so "any bird with grey in their colours", or rather "gray in their colors" for us Americans.

My first thought was of the mockingbird I frequently run across locally, but I thought I'd change it up and use this Caribbean Mockingbird from Aruba.
A great, black, and white bird inspects the fruit on a cactus. A lizard's tail and foot are visible wrapping around the top of the cactus. The background is out-of-focus greenery. Bubali Bird Sanctuary, Noord, Aruba ƒ/7.1; 1/640 s; 300 mm; ISO 1250
November 16, 2025 at 10:22 AM
fizbin.bsky.social
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme from @robcrank68.bsky.social is "CootsAndMoorhens", which I don't have any pictures for, with the alternative of #Ducklings, which I do.

Here are some from May who were assembling as mom got the last straggler out of the water.

#birds
Six ducklings stand together on a patch of forest floor. Black Run Preserve, Evesham NJ, USA ƒ/4.6; 1/1000 s; 162 mm; ISO 2000
November 15, 2025 at 12:37 PM
fizbin.bsky.social
Last night I captured three images of a local streetlight as it was red, yellow, and green, all perfectly lined up by virtue of having my camera sit on something and using its feature that lets my phone control it remotely to click the shutter.

The question is: now what do I do with these images?
red traffic light green traffic light
November 14, 2025 at 7:42 PM