Lev Parikian
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levparikian.bsky.social
Lev Parikian
@levparikian.bsky.social
12K followers 800 following 9.2K posts
Words, birds, music. Usual nonsense. South London. linktr.ee/levparikian
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levparikian.bsky.social
OK, as long as I can have the ONS (Office for Narked Swans)
A mute swan, very close.
November 26, 2025 at 12:51 PM
levparikian.bsky.social
Delighted to announce I’m taking over at the OBR*

*Office for Big Raptors
A white-tailed eagle in flight. Fucking huge. Photo from wikimedia commons, by Yathin S Krishnappa
November 26, 2025 at 12:42 PM
levparikian.bsky.social
Think they’ve been nicked by Wales
JUL 5 The annual Puffin colour ringing day is always an exceedingly popular event. We ring many more adults and Pufflings elsewhere, but there's something special about knowing that we'll be keeping a very close watch on these particular birds. It is the colour ringed birds in Crab Bay which have shown us that between 92% and 96% of adults survive from year to year, this an amazingly high proportion given that they're out in the wild Atlantic for eight months a year. This, coupled with the fact that well over 70% of pairs are fledging a Puffling each year, is driving the rapidly increasing Skokholm population. These birds may also be our first indication if there are any problems with disease or food supplv. We would like to sav a huge thank vou to all of the
November 26, 2025 at 8:44 AM
levparikian.bsky.social
Please enjoy this amazing photograph of a kingfisher
It’s in there, honest. Sure, there’s a lot of foliage. In fact it’s mostly foliage. But the keen observer will find a turquoise blob in the middle. That’s the kingfisher.
November 25, 2025 at 4:02 PM
levparikian.bsky.social
there are so many people you wish would just go away and they don’t and meanwhile good people die all the time and those fuckers just carry on infesting the world anyway here’s a kestrel
It’s perched on top of something or other, with a beady look in its eye. Brown plumage warmed by low sun.
November 24, 2025 at 11:03 PM
levparikian.bsky.social
I have to confess I’m a huge fan of LLMs

LOW
LEVEL
MARTINS
A house martin swooping in front of a building
November 23, 2025 at 10:38 PM
levparikian.bsky.social
Into The Tangled Bank is a journey round Britain looking at how we relate to nature. Lots of birds, several sheep, and one furious man who called his telescope a cunt. Longlisted for the Wainwright Prize, doncha know?

levparikian.com/index.php/pr...
An advertised graphic for Into The Tangled Bank, with a copy of the book on the left, and Melissa Harrison’s quote “funny, accessible, and full of wonders – a genuine breath of fresh air.”
November 23, 2025 at 11:10 AM
levparikian.bsky.social
Every year I stop myself from posting “now look here you lot, my books would make an excellent Christmas present” in October because it’s way too early, and then I forget until it’s way too late.

Hope I’ve hit the sweet spot this time.

levparikian.com/index.php/sh...
The cover of Taking Flight. Stylised illustrations of a selection of flying things against a pastel background of blues and greens. The cover of Light Rains Sometimes Fall. A pastel collage of seasonal urban nature (cherry tree in blossom, magpie, swifts, autumn leaves, urban fox etc). A cope of Into The Tangled Bank (its cover a collage of nature things (butterfly, flowers, birds, binoculars etc) nestled (yes, NESTLED) in leaves and grass. The cover of Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear? White background, title etc and various quotes saying how brilliant it is. To the right the rear half of a goldcrest disappearing out of view (the back cover has the other half of the bird).
November 23, 2025 at 10:59 AM
levparikian.bsky.social
For reasons, I found myself Google-translating the Russian expression “я вас люблю”, but because I couldn’t be bothered to turn on Russian script on my phone, I put in the transliteration, “ya vas lyublyu”.

It means “I love you”. Or at least I thought it did.
Swahili detected ya vas lyublyu English On the other hand, Lydia
November 20, 2025 at 8:25 AM
levparikian.bsky.social
Weeellll by my calculations (and please understand that this is not an exact science) it’s probably about time for you to look at a heron
The head and top neck of a heron against a backdrop of water lilies. The heron’s head is slim, yellow/orange dagger bill, keen eye, thick black stripe above the eye, tubular neck.
November 19, 2025 at 11:07 PM
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November 18, 2025 at 9:11 AM
levparikian.bsky.social
I have nothing of value or interest to say so here is a jackdaw thinking about how it really really likes chips
Grey nape, black head, hungry look in its silver eye. In the background, trees and Surrey.
November 17, 2025 at 10:04 PM
levparikian.bsky.social
WAY
November 17, 2025 at 9:52 PM
levparikian.bsky.social
The sound you hear is of cricketers all over the world laughing forever.
Jorge Posada catching a baseball with his bare hand will always be unbelievable.
November 17, 2025 at 4:21 PM
levparikian.bsky.social
Ours that came to the garden regularly a couple of years ago
A jay. It’s peachy on the front, with a pronounced black moustache speckled crest and a blue patch on the wings. It looks either mad or furious or both.
November 15, 2025 at 2:19 PM
levparikian.bsky.social
I have nothing of value or interest to say, so here’s a sword-billed hummingbird.
It’s suspended against an indistinct greenish/pinkish/yellowish background, a green iridescent jewel hanging in midair, wings spread and a maniacal glint in its eye. Its main distinguishing feature is the bill memorialised in its name, which is longer than the bird’s body.
November 14, 2025 at 7:30 PM
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Mamdani meme. EAST FIFE 5 FORFAR 4.
November 8, 2025 at 11:35 PM
levparikian.bsky.social
Mamdani meme. “FORTY-TWO” (in response to gralefrit’s “so long and thanks for all the fish)
November 8, 2025 at 11:30 PM
levparikian.bsky.social
The Mamdani meme. “FOR SPRUNG DURCH TECHNIK”
November 8, 2025 at 11:27 PM
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The Mamdani meme again. Blue background, orange font. The text reads “GO TO BED FOR FUXAKE”
November 8, 2025 at 11:17 PM
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A poster in the style of Mamdani’s campaign posters. Blue background, stylish orange font. The text reads “O FORTUNA”
November 8, 2025 at 10:26 PM
levparikian.bsky.social
Olli and Taylor have a gig this Thursday as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival. Lunchtime. Free. Do come! efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk/events/gsmd-...
A poster for a concert. Top half: a 7-piece band posing cheerfully with their instruments. Bottom half: a young man and woman smiling. The text reads: The Jazz Social. Thursday 13th November 2025. Double bill: Beluag & Taylor Mitchell and Oliver Parikian. Free entry. 1pm EC2V 9HT.
November 8, 2025 at 9:37 AM
levparikian.bsky.social
Jack Hargreaves. An old man, bearded and smoking a pipe, probably doling out wisdom from beneath a battered hat.
November 7, 2025 at 3:02 PM
levparikian.bsky.social
Not since 1998 has an entire nation simultaneously banged the table and shouted “oh for fucks sake David” #CelebrityTraitors
David Beckham being sent off in the 1998 World Cup
November 7, 2025 at 10:39 AM
levparikian.bsky.social
Look, I’m not saying that this photograph of young Egyptian geese is going to make all your problems go away, but it’s not going to do any harm, is it?
There are four gosling heads in all, all of them a soft brown. One is lifted above the others, and one of them is barely visible. The background is of trees.
November 2, 2025 at 7:13 PM