A mob of breeding plumage #AmericanWhitePelican had descended into Northern Illinois a bit ahead of schedule. These fine folk were drifting away after I had visited a new forest preserve.
Feb 2026 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #LongNecks and we have a two-fer here. Of course the #GreatBlueHeron qualifies, but perhaps the meal it is eating does too? As far as I can tell it is all neck!
Mar 2023 in OBX #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
An #AmericanGoldfinch in late January who was just starting to get some of that more vibrant yellow coming back in.
Jan 2026 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
The #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #Woodland and this #HermitThursh no doubt qualifies! A champion of the understory who sometimes pops out for good views.
Dec 2023 in Maryland (Great Falls NP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
My yard was conquered by this tiny fluff ball of a #RedBreastedNuthatch. Pretty benevolent!
Jan 2026 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
When I heard that the #YellowBelliedSapsucker could drill into trees, I didn't quite know what to expect. But that whole long peak sticks in! Nature truly is amazing.
Feb 2026 in Illinois (Burnidge FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
Today's #birdoftheday theme is #manmadeperch and it doesn't get more man made than the signs we stick in the ground (or bays)!
The #Osprey I used to track in NOVA often made great, if precarious, use of these structures!
Aug 2023 in Virginia #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
A female slate-backed #DarkEyedJunco. Males are often more uniformly dark grey while females have a bit of warmer buff to their head, back, and sides.
Jan 2026 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
A male #RedWingedBlackbird.
Feb 2026 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
Wouldn't be winter without the lovely red of the male #NorthernCardinal.
Jan 2026 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight
A sight almost all backyard birders are familiar with: a female #HouseFinch (streaked, slightly smaller) and female #HouseSparrow. I remember starting out thinking I would never be able to tell birds apart, but you pick it up over time until it is second nature!
Dec 2025 in Illinois #birds
This #RedBreastedNuthatch was ready to party! Just look at those dance moves!
Dec 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
A Sunday two-fer of this #NorthernFlicker and #RedWingedBlackbird.
Dec 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
A switch was flipped in late February and all my #RedWingedBlackbird friends returned!
Feb 2026 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
I simply love the golden yellow of the yellow-shafted #NorthernFlicker! Really flashes in almost every circumstance.
Dec 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
#RedBreastedNuthatch in profile.
Jan 2026 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
Going into the weekend with wings outstretched and ready to tackle the small mammals underfoot! Okay, that might be this #RedTailedHawk as I decidedly lack wings.
Feb 2026 in Illinois (Burnidge FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
A #EurasianTreeSparrow.
Nov 2025 in Japan #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
A couple #CommonKingfisher is no joke! These birds darted to and fro fast enough to make one's head spin!
Nov 2025 in Japan #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
A #GreatHornedOwl is much, much larger than I'd expect. This one would rotate around some trees in my neighborhood in December, stopping to survey the lands it claims as its own.
Dec 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
A #LargeBilledCrow with some seeds in its beak. Expert forager, no doubt!
Nov 2025 in Japan #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
Adult #CoopersHawk are to be feared. Even I retreated upon this glare!
Dec 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
A #GreatCormorant's eye glistening on a sunny day. No doubt moments away from diving down for another productive hunt.
Nov 2025 in Japan #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
Even the small #RedBreastedNuthatch has a bill that looks dangerous!
Dec 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
A #BrownEaredBulbul doing what it does best: loaf around a tree branch before calling out.
Nov 2025 in Japan #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
My last #EasternSpotBilledDuck from my brief travels. Till we meet again, friend.
Nov 2025 in Japan #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
An immature #BullHeadedShrike. Adults have a whiter throat patch and more defined facial pattern, but in many ways the immature strikes me as more interesting because of the rich rufous barring!
Nov 2025 in Japan #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
A beautiful #OrientalTurtleDove, one of the last birds I saw while I was in Japan.
Nov 2025 in Japan #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography
