Brian Rusnica
@neogonzo.bsky.social
Raptor Enthusiast 🦅 / Wildlife Photography / Hawk Migration & Conservation / #RaptorID / Illustration / Dinosaurs 🦖 / Instagram: @neogonzo / www.brianrusnica.com
I see a lot of pushback that the Color of the Year for 2026 was "Cloud Dancer" (aka white) but some of the alternate choices were not much better. 🎨🦜 #birdingmemes #birding 🪶
December 11, 2025 at 5:44 PM
I see a lot of pushback that the Color of the Year for 2026 was "Cloud Dancer" (aka white) but some of the alternate choices were not much better. 🎨🦜 #birdingmemes #birding 🪶
One of my goals this winter was to get this bird at my feeder! No luck yet … but right down the street, on my Christmas Bird Count turf, is a definite win: EVENING GROSBEAK!
A state bird for me. Hope I can find another next weekend !! #eveninggrosbeak #christmasbirdcount #cbc2025 #birding 🪶
A state bird for me. Hope I can find another next weekend !! #eveninggrosbeak #christmasbirdcount #cbc2025 #birding 🪶
December 8, 2025 at 6:10 PM
One of my goals this winter was to get this bird at my feeder! No luck yet … but right down the street, on my Christmas Bird Count turf, is a definite win: EVENING GROSBEAK!
A state bird for me. Hope I can find another next weekend !! #eveninggrosbeak #christmasbirdcount #cbc2025 #birding 🪶
A state bird for me. Hope I can find another next weekend !! #eveninggrosbeak #christmasbirdcount #cbc2025 #birding 🪶
December 7, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Scenes from last night’s Aurora (Townsend, MA) Pink and purple pillars at the absolute peak of intensity. I could see it still going from bed just before midnight but decided I wasn’t gearing up again 😴. We’ll see if tonight has more in store! #northernlights #auroraborealis
November 12, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Scenes from last night’s Aurora (Townsend, MA) Pink and purple pillars at the absolute peak of intensity. I could see it still going from bed just before midnight but decided I wasn’t gearing up again 😴. We’ll see if tonight has more in store! #northernlights #auroraborealis
Possibly the luckiest frame I could imagine... two bright meteors flashed overhead right in the middle of my 2 second exposure. Right around 8:58pm EST, my yard in Townsend, MA. #auroraborealis #northernlights 🌃
November 12, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Possibly the luckiest frame I could imagine... two bright meteors flashed overhead right in the middle of my 2 second exposure. Right around 8:58pm EST, my yard in Townsend, MA. #auroraborealis #northernlights 🌃
Cape May Kestrels from October. I "only" saw 130 #AmericanKestrel at the #hawkwatch so they took a bit of a back seat to the other small raptors. Still a thrill. Yes, they were all going left! 😁 #birding 🦅🪶
November 10, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Cape May Kestrels from October. I "only" saw 130 #AmericanKestrel at the #hawkwatch so they took a bit of a back seat to the other small raptors. Still a thrill. Yes, they were all going left! 😁 #birding 🦅🪶
Ya like Merlins? Well no surprise, Cape May has them too. I saw over 200 #Merlin in my 3 days last month at the Cape May (NJ) #hawkwatch. (Official count was over 600.) In my notes, I wrote down that I saw 8 (!) individual birds in a single scan at one point. #birding #nature 🪶🦅😎
November 6, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Ya like Merlins? Well no surprise, Cape May has them too. I saw over 200 #Merlin in my 3 days last month at the Cape May (NJ) #hawkwatch. (Official count was over 600.) In my notes, I wrote down that I saw 8 (!) individual birds in a single scan at one point. #birding #nature 🪶🦅😎
Reposted by Brian Rusnica
Flying Squirrel Loves It Every Time
November 5, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Flying Squirrel Loves It Every Time
Good one for the @thebirdist.bsky.social - I noticed the trailer for HAMNET has a hawk (YES!) but it's a Harris's Hawk. A common bird in modern #Falconry, but native to the southwest US. In Elizabethan-era England, the chances of this bird being used in Falconry, I'm guessing, is zero! #birding
November 5, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Good one for the @thebirdist.bsky.social - I noticed the trailer for HAMNET has a hawk (YES!) but it's a Harris's Hawk. A common bird in modern #Falconry, but native to the southwest US. In Elizabethan-era England, the chances of this bird being used in Falconry, I'm guessing, is zero! #birding
The Cape May NJ #hawkwatch is an amazing site for hawks. However I always 'just missed' the big flights...until now! From Oct 15-17, I caught a huge surge of Cooper's Hawk, Sharpie, Kestrel & Merlin migration. Personally, I saw ~500 Coops in 3 days. Official count was 1,700+ Coops. 🤯🪶 #birding
November 4, 2025 at 3:29 PM
The Cape May NJ #hawkwatch is an amazing site for hawks. However I always 'just missed' the big flights...until now! From Oct 15-17, I caught a huge surge of Cooper's Hawk, Sharpie, Kestrel & Merlin migration. Personally, I saw ~500 Coops in 3 days. Official count was 1,700+ Coops. 🤯🪶 #birding
Getting that first Roughie of the year is always a good feeling. This light morph #RoughLeggedHawk flew by the Cape May #Hawkwatch on October 15th, probably a little early compared to your average winter migrant. 🦅❄️🪶 #birding
November 3, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Getting that first Roughie of the year is always a good feeling. This light morph #RoughLeggedHawk flew by the Cape May #Hawkwatch on October 15th, probably a little early compared to your average winter migrant. 🦅❄️🪶 #birding
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 🦅🪶🌎
October 30, 2025 at 1:09 PM
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 🦅🪶🌎
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 🪶🦅😎✌️
October 29, 2025 at 5:43 PM
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 🪶🦅😎✌️
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 🪶🦅😎✌️
October 29, 2025 at 5:41 PM
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 🪶🦅😎✌️
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 🪶🦅
October 29, 2025 at 5:40 PM
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 🪶🦅
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 🪶🦅✌️😎
October 29, 2025 at 5:39 PM
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 🪶🦅✌️😎
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
October 24, 2025 at 12:02 PM
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
Reposted by Brian Rusnica
October 23, 2025 at 6:59 PM
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 🪶🦅
October 23, 2025 at 1:24 PM
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 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 🪶🦅
October 22, 2025 at 2:10 PM
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 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 🦅🪶
October 22, 2025 at 2:09 PM
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 🦅🪶
Reposted by Brian Rusnica
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
press.princeton.edu/sale/70-off
October 8, 2025 at 12:49 PM
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
press.princeton.edu/sale/70-off
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 🪶
September 9, 2025 at 1:40 PM
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 🪶