Timberdoodle

Birdwatching, photography, backpacking and hiking. Traveling. Professional Book Conservator and Hand Bookbinder.

[Give A Shit About Nature @giveashitnature]

You can crash your yard's mosquito population without spraying a single chemical with a Mosquito Bucket of Doom.

Fill a 5-gallon bucket about two-thirds with water. Drop in a handful of grass clippings, leaves, or hay. Let it sit for a day, then drop in a Bti dunk (also called Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, sold at any hardware store as "mosquito dunks," about $10 for six).

Mosquitoes are powerfully attracted to fermenting water and will lay their eggs in your bucket. Bti is a naturally occurring soil bacterium that produces a toxin that kills mosquito, blackfly, and fungus gnat larvae only.

This method doesn't harm bees, butterflies, fireflies, fish, frogs, birds, pets, or people. BTI dunks are EPA-approved for organic use and safe in animal water troughs and birdbaths.

One dunk lasts about 30 days. Top off the water as it evaporates. Cover with 1/2-in Mesh Hardware Cloth to prevent animals from getting trapped and put the bucket somewhere shady where pets and kids won't get into it.

The bucket becomes a mosquito magnet and a dead end. Compare that to fogging the entire yard with pyrethroids, which kills every insect in it, including the predators that eat mosquitoes.

Doug Tallamy's Homegrown National Park has been running the "Mosquito Bucket Challenge" since 2021. The more buckets in a neighborhood, the bigger the dent. One bucket per yard is a great start.

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

🚨HUGE! In a stunning win for his tax the rich plan, Mayor Zohran Mamdani just reached a deal with Governor Kathy Hochul tax second homes valued over $5 million owned by out-of-state residents. The taxes will generate $500 million annually for the state. This is amazing.

[James Tate @JamesTate121]

Scientists have confirmed something almost unbelievable… forests aren’t silent at all.
Researchers from the University of Florence discovered that trees communicate using ultrasonic sound pulses — frequencies so high (20–200 kHz) that humans can’t hear them.
In the forests of Casentino Forest, European beech trees under drought stress began emitting rapid ultrasonic “clicks.” These weren’t random noises — they were warnings.
And here’s the wild part…
Nearby trees heard the signal and reacted within hours.
Before experiencing any drought themselves, they started closing their stomata (tiny pores on leaves) to conserve water proving they received and acted on the warning.
Scientists traced the sound to tiny internal events called cavitation microscopic bubbles forming and collapsing inside the tree’s water transport system. These clicks travel through air and soil, reaching trees up to 50 meters away.

[Afshine Emrani MD FACC @afshineemrani]

Melika Azizi is 18 years old. The regime wants her dead because she isn't afraid of them.
​While the world slept, they raided her home. While they beat her in Lakan Prison, she held her head high. When the judge handed down a death sentence, she didn't beg for her life—she demanded justice for the fallen.
​"How can I stay silent?" she asked.
​We cannot be the ones who stay silent while they try to hang a teenager for her bravery. Silence is a death sentence. Noise is a lifeline.
​ACT NOW: Save this post. Share it. Tag three friends who will help spread her name. We have to make the cost of executing her higher than the cost of letting her go.
​#MelikaAzizi #SaveMelika #StopExecutionsInIran #HumanRights

[Amitav Ghosh @GhoshAmitav]

Absolutely brilliant @ZohranKMamdani !

[Hayden @the_transit_guy]

It takes 19 to 21 hours on a daily train to travel between Chicago and NYC, which is roughly the same distance as Beijing to Shanghai, a trip that takes only 4.5 hours by high-speed rail and runs 41 times a day in both directions. Our infrastructure is so far behind.

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

Wow

[Meidas_Charise Lee @charise_lee]

Remember their names and faces and share their bravery with the world‼️ Anthony Aguilar (retired Green Beret Liutenant) and Josephine Guilbeau (former army intelligence officer)

[Johnny @Johnny_200033]

#ConnecticutWarbler currently at The Hill of Graves (just north of Grave of Elliott Carter) in Green-Wood cemetery @BirdBrklyn #birdcpp

[Neil deGrasse Tyson @neiltyson]

Notice to flat-Earthers in the Eastern Hemisphere witnessing a Total Lunar Eclipse right now:

Please alert the authorities if your eclipse tonight looks like this:

[Timberdoodle @Timberdoodle20]

@nytmike The beginning of the end! Shameful and sad!

[Timberdoodle @Timberdoodle20]

Now here is what nature conservation should look like!

https://t.co/GhQK5WErQS

[Timberdoodle @Timberdoodle20]

@Above96th Candy corn beak!

[Centre ValBio @CentreValBio]

🌿 Our table at the 30th International Primatological Society (IPS) Congress

🗞️ Our Annual Report 2024 is officially released! Details to come for accessing a digital copy. But if you’re at IPS in Madagascar, be sure to grab a paper copy from our table!

📸: Alain Rasolo

[David Lei @davidlei]

Central Park coyotes Romeo and Juliet howling in response to a siren—still photo and audio. @jacquelineUWS and I were interviewed about the coyotes by Michael Hill at @WNYC this morning. Part of this clip played at the beginning.

Cont’d

#birdcpp #wildlife #CaptureCoexistence

[Timberdoodle @Timberdoodle20]

One of three Loggerhead turtles I saw on my recent overnight pelagic trip on the American Princess. My first time seeing them! Very exciting!

[Timberdoodle @Timberdoodle20]

Fledgelings are everywhere!
Here is. Common Grackle feeding her young in Central Park. They are nesting in the park.

[Timberdoodle @Timberdoodle20]

I saw this Chestnut-sided Warbler in the North woods if Central Park Sunday!

[Feather Friendly @FeatherFriendly]

Feather Friendly is a proven solution to stop bird-glass collisions, but even the best products need the right application.

Avoid these 3 common mistakes to ensure your glass is truly bird safe.

Smart tips. Safer birds. Better results.

#birdsafe #savebirds

[David Lei @davidlei]

It was a great privilege to see this stunningly beautiful barn owl in Central Park again Sunday night. It had been about a month since we last saw it very briefly. This time, I was able to observe it hunting for ~10 minutes. Cont’d.

#birdcpp #birds #birding #nature #wildlife