A little osprey drama

#birds

[Chestnut-sided warbler. Found at Indiana Dunes State Park.]

Tail movements, including spreading or flashing, can be an alarm signal to alert other birds of potential photo-ops.

#birds

Dipper dance! A fledgling American Dipper practices its new moves.

#birds #bird #nature #wildlife

Extra credit: Can you identify the bird this falcon is carrying? Just kidding, it's a pigeon. It's always a pigeon.

From the other side.

Falcon at Sundown. 200 mph of calm.
#birds

If you find a chick without fully formed feathers, it should be returned to the nest if possible. If the bird is a fledgling, hopping about, but unable to fly, then hands off. Let the fox have him. It's the only way he'll learn.
#birds

Ravel’s “Sad Birds” was supposedly also inspired by a Blackbird but I don’t hear it. Unless blackbirds —like Ravel’s title— sound better in French?

When Spring migration transitions to fall out of your nest migration.

#birds
#naturephotography
#nikonphotography

Blackbird by Dutilleux.

Blackbird by birth. Sgt. Pepper by choice.

#birds

The ibis is a sacred figure in Egypt, closely associated with the god Thoth. In folklore, they represent courage - the last bird to take shelter during a hurricane. In Australia, they're called bin chickens.

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White Ibises, Ocean City, New Jersey. White Ibis young start off without the signature plumage and curved bill. The bills start to curve at 14 days. But the sense of unbelonging lasts a lifetime.

"Are you my mother?" asks the baby bird. It seems a valid question. Mother pauses and stares out the window.

#birds

Egrets, I've had a few.

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The OED says that "frangible" means easily broken, as in "Strut around your room ... to the manifest terror of all frangibles in your reach." Apparently, the word died out in the 19th century, but I hope to bring it back. Apropos of nothing, here's a Night Heron tending to its children.
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A lifer for me! The elusive Bay-breasted Oak Leaf.

Run-DMV

An Eastern Kingbird looking suspiciously like a Victorian greeting card. I swear, no backgrounds were harmed in the processing of this photo.

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This Yellow Warbler looks like an easy mark for cowbirds. But evidence suggests that yellows have developed an alarm call that alerts other species when cowbirds are near. It’s only a matter of time before they form a militia. Happy Migratory Bird Day.

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Black and White Warblers are elegant dualists, able to cling to trees both right side up and upside down. They look good in uniform but are preoccupied with boundaries and will attack Chickadees, Nuthatches, and American Redstarts without provocation. Hobbies include: Moss.

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Schoolyard bully off to go beat up an Osprey for lunch money.

#birds
#naturephotography

Fair

A neighbor recently had their chickens killed by a mink and my first thought was: "I should get a chicken. I don't have any mink photos yet."

I was of three minds.
Like a tree
In which there are three blackbirds.
- Or maybe just one really indecisive blackbird.

#birds
#poetry

I feel like there’s a story here. Maybe not a 300 word story but one to be distributed over several posts.

"Common Yellowthroat" is an odd name for what is clearly a masked hero from the golden age of comics.
#birds
#naturephotography
#nature

Thanks for the tip. So far I’ve gotten better results than expected. I’m planning a big bird trip in August though so I’ll either buy them - or at least rent the long Z lens.

I'm finally a seasoned pro at hawk identification. This is the body of a Cooper's hawk with the tail of a Sharp-Shinned Hawk and the slightly bulging eyes of Peter Lorre.
#Birds