Cliffhanger! Risking Life and Limb for Fluffy Seabirds

Another music video/science documentary mashup, this time involving falling off a cliff...

In which I plummet down a 70-meter seacliff to find nesting birds—fairy prions!—and their impossibly fluffy chicks. My latest Nat Geo story (link in bio) features a music video + science documentary with music from "Birds Say" by @darlingside.

A post shared by Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) on Jan 8, 2018 at 5:43pm PST

Year of the Bird!

2018 is #YearoftheBird at National Geographic. On my little corner of the Nat Geo site, it's #YearoftheSeabird! Link in bio (and lots more stories and sketches to come).

A post shared by Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) on Jan 1, 2018 at 3:08pm PST

Return of the Penguins?

The fourth and final installment of Voyage of the Yellow-eyed Penguin.

Photo by John Ayers

Yellow-eyed penguins on a subantarctic island! One of the most endangered penguin species in the world.

A post shared by Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) on Dec 14, 2017 at 9:30pm PST

What is it?

"What is it?" "A galaxias." This is DoC ranger Jolie (an accomplished highland dancer) surveying the freshwater fish on New Zealand's subantarctic islands.

A post shared by Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) on Dec 15, 2017 at 3:02pm PST

Thrills, spills, and seabirds in the subantarctic

Ever wondered what it's like to be jumped by a 700-pound endangered marine mammal? Find out in the latest installment of Voyage of the Yellow-eyed Penguin. Also featured: shipwrecks, near-shipwrecks, and albatrosses in peril.

A post shared by Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) on Dec 11, 2017 at 12:45pm PST

Sketches of New Zealand white-capped mollymawks, nesting on Auckland Island in the subantarctic

A post shared by Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) on Dec 8, 2017 at 3:43am PST