Thanks Rob

Feeder Friend

House Finches, living up to their name, are by far our most frequent #FeederFriends.

They can appear drab at times, but caught at the right moment, they can be quite beautiful.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Heads Up!

This Great Blue Heron was foraging at water’s edge behind a narrow band of chest-high vegetation, allowing me to creep close.

When I eventually took a noisy step, it elevated that long neck, and I caught this #headshot before it flew away.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Bug Patrol Blur

If you’ve tried to capture a Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, you know how frenetic they are, chasing flying insects.

My only successful frame—but the moment the bird perched turned out to be lovely because of the setting created by #LeafandLight.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Great Blue Pastry Chef

Ripples and #reflections make it appear this Great Blue Heron is using its beak like a baker’s piping bag to apply yellow icing.

I haven’t been able to duplicate this illusion, shot Dec. 24, 2024. Guess it was a Christmas present.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

SMMD Seeking SFMD

This single male Mallard duck seeking a single female Mallard is also hoping to win a two-fer on today’s #BOTD #JKLMNOP and #MallardMonday prompts.

I rarely see Mallards alone. Hope this guys finds a mate.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Thanks Alan!

Long But Not Lean

With their #LongNecks and short legs, Canada geese have a low center of gravity that helps them stretch for food while foraging without tipping over.

How they get airborne and maintain flight with this imbalance is a natural marvel.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Scram, Crows!

A Red-shouldered Hawk calls out some sneaky crows getting too close to its nest.

These hawks are among our most common #woodland raptors in eastern North Carolina.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Backside Beauty

A White-throated Sparrow shows off the beautiful plumage that covers his #BirdButt.

These well-camouflaged birds have lovely markings if you can spot them perching—here in a pine tree, where bright sun makes December 31 look like a spring day.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Thanks Rob

Seabird Rest Stop

Double-crested Cormorants congregate on this mooring buoy in a shipping lane near Halifax, N.S.

No manlier #ManMadePerch than one supplied by the navy—this one spotted from our cruise ship.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Periscopes Up!

Do those #BlackHeads atop long black necks confer any camouflage benefits for Canada geese?

I don’t know, but they sure help the parents and goslings see each other while foraging among tall weeds.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Thanks Alan.

The Yellowest Rump

Yellow-rumped Myrtle #Warblers winter in the southern U.S. and Mexico and breed in Canada and the western U.S. in summer.

This shot highlights their yellow rump. I think all have migrated north now, as I’ve not seen one for a week or so.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Nervous Mug Shot

I don’t know what made this Northern Cardinal so skittish, but if this pose were a mug shot, he looks guilty as hell.

Beyond highlighting his #Black&Red markings, his upper mandible looks remarkably like a human nose. Maybe he stole it.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Throwing Shade

I first thought this Great Blue Heron was drying its wings as it foraged along the banks of a dam spillway.

But I believe the heron spread its wing #feathers this way to block the sun’s reflection and see better.

Moments later, it caught a fish.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Red-Wing Warning

Capturing #SmallBirdsInFlight is easier when they fly straight at you—like this Red-winged Blackbird did.

This angle offers a sense of how other birds see these loud, brash blurs of red, yellow and black when entering their territory.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Eagle Dad’s Blustery Day

Bald Eagles guard their nests through all sorts of #weather.

This dad kept his vigil while buffeted by wind gusts that ruffled his plumage so much, he resembles a giant pine cone.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Bank Shot

The challenges of capturing #LargeBirdsInFlight are many, but it helps when they are circling, offering multiple angles against the light.

This Red-shouldered Hawk was tailing two vultures above a pond and banked hard right just as it approached me.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Thanks Rob!

That Last One Is Mine!

This winter shot shows the tangle of branches a female Northern Cardinal was willing to battle for one Crepe Myrtle berry #snack.

Given how dried out these pods were, she was either very hungry or full of #attitude and refused to be denied.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Guarding the Nest

Bald Eagle mother Shelley at Shelley Lake Park in Raleigh, NC, spent most of March guarding her nest—keeping intruders out and her toddling 3-week-old in.

I love how this image captures the nest under her care.

#BestOfTheMonth
#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Intruder Alert!

Lots of #RuffledFeathers on both sides as a mother eagle flashes her enormous wingspan and calls out a Red-shouldered Hawk that has ventured too near her nest.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Waiting for a Fish

Shelley, matriarch of Shelley Lake in Raleigh, NC, stays close to Solo, her 3-week-old eaglet, while waiting on Raleigh, the dad, to bring lunch.

These two eagles have been #AdultsWithChicks annually for almost a decade at this park.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Waiting for Bath Time

A young Eastern #Bluebird eyes the birdbath below as larger birds compete for splash time.

A year-rounder in our area, they’re our most common bird with truly #blue plumage. Extra credit for those parallel pin #Stripes on the wings?

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Catch Me If You Can!

Two Bufflehead Ducks race across the water’s surface with #WingsOpenNotFlying as they play what seems a game of tag.

“Those water-walking lizards got nothing on us,” I imagined them saying in a post-race interview.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Posing Like Napoleon

A #speckled Red-shouldered Hawk perches with #oneleg tucked, evoking Napoleon’s famous “hand-in-waistcoat” pose.

Birds supposedly perch on one leg to conserve body heat, but this was a warm spring day. Maybe we're all creatures of habit.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

This is My Tree!

A recently fledged Mockingbird with wide #openbeak tells a sibling to find their own perch—elsewhere.

These two were among three youngsters just out of the nest, finding their voices and practicing what mockers do.

#birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Thanks Alan.