Per @robcrank68.bsky.social, today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Raptors, any of the birds of prey. Here’s a #hawk, I think maybe a red-shouldered, making a rare visit down to our backyard. Our resident squirrels probably did not appreciate this as much as I did. #photography #birds #BirdPhotography

Carpenter #bee visiting a blanket #flower in the front #garden. #SilentSunday #Stunday #photography #bees #flowers #BloomScrolling #InsectPhotography #flowerphotography #nature

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme, per @alan678.bsky.social, is #EFGH, #birds with any of these letters at the beginning of any part of their name. Here’s an American #Goldfinch perched on a #basil flower stalk gone to seed (the goldfinches loved the seeds). #photography #BackyardBirds #BirdPhotography

For the Saturday May 9, 2026 #BlueSkyArtShow theme #Soft, a fuzzy western #honeybee visiting the wispy #blooms of a Gregg’s mistflower. #photography #flowers #bees #garden #BloomScrolling #nature

For the Saturday May 9, 2026 #BlueSkyArtShow theme #Soft, my cat Jasper (RIP) who like all cats (though maybe not the hairless breeds) had the softest of fuzzy under-chins. #Caturday #cats #photography #monochrome

BloomSquirreling #SaturdaySquirrel #photography #squirrels #BackyardWildlife #SquirrelsOfBlueSky #BloomScrolling #flowers #FlowerPower #Nature #petunias

By decree of @alan678.bsky.social, today’s #BirdOfTheDay alt theme is #UrbanLegends, birds captured in urban environments. Here’s the most ubiquitous of urban #birds, the classic common #pigeon, enjoying a drool shower at the Obélisque d'Arles’s fountain. #photography #France #BirdPhotography

Per @alan678.bsky.social, today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #photogenic, birds you find to be great to snap. For me the most photogenic are the #hummingbirds (also for me the most challenging to shoot). Here’s a ruby-throated that visited briefly yesterday. #birds #BirdPhotography #BackyardBirds

Wandering the vecchi vicoli of #Napoli #FensterFreitag #photography #monochrome #StreetPhotography #Travel #TravelPhotography #Italy #Naples

Another one for @alan678.bsky.social’s #BirdOfTheDay theme #InMotion, a #bird showing any motion except flight. Here’s a ruby-throated #hummingbird warming up the flappers. #birds #photography #BirdPhotography #BackyardBirds

Per @alan678.bsky.social, today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #InMotion, a bird showing any motion except flight. Here’s a blue jay snatching a peanut while its partner keeps a lookout for squirrels. #birds #BlueJays #photography #BackyardBirds #BirdPhotography #PartnersInCrime

Over the weeks since, I’ve been watching the #cosmos steadily growing from seeds I spread in the front #garden bed in late winter, they’re now starting to come into bloom, always nice to see, big reward for not that much effort. #photography #gardening #flowers #BloomScrolling #FlowersOfMastodon

@robcrank68.bsky.social’s #BirdOfTheDay Alt Theme is #Black. Here’s a (black) bronzed cowbird, probably looking for a cardinal’s nest to infiltrate. #birds #photography #BirdPhotography #BackyardBirds

Per @robcrank68.bsky.social, today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #SeaBirds, and apparently my sub-theme is #LoneGulls, so here’s another one, this time soaring above the rugged shoreline near #BigSur, #California. #birds #photography #seascape #Pacific #seagull #WestCoast

Per @robcrank68.bsky.social, today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #SeaBirds, here’s a lone #gull soaring above the #CostaBrava cliffs near Tossa de Mar, #Catalonia. #birds #photography #seascape #Mediterranean #Spain #seagull

Villefranche-sur-Mer #MeerMittwoch #photography #TravelPhotography #Mediterranean #Travel #CotedAzur #France

Per @alan678.bsky.social, the #BirdOfTheDay alt theme is #LowFlying, any bird flying just above ground or water. Here’s some brown #pelicans strafing the surf off west Galveston Island, #Texas #birds #photography #seabirds #beach #BirdPhotography #GulfOfMexico

Eiffel’s ironwork. #TravelTuesday #photography #monochrome #architecture #EiffelTower #Paris #France #travel

Per @robcrank68.bsky.social, Today's #BirdOfTheDay Alt Theme is #Gulls. Here’s two, one from the southwesternmost shores of the continental US - San Diego, CA, & one from the opposite end - Lubec, ME. So probably not the same gull. #photography #birds #BirdPhotography #travel #seabirds #ocean

Red-bellied #woodpecker launching. #MondaysAreForTheBirds #birds #photography #BirdPhotography #BackyardBirds

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Pairs: •So anyways, guess who I saw flapping out of Gloria’s sweetgum tree yesterday morning? ~Who? •Harry! ~Our Mable’s Harry? •None other. ~Did you tell Mable? •Oh she’s still not speaking to me, says I’m just a molty old gossip. #birds #photography #BackyardBirds

@alan678.bsky.social’s Alt #BirdOfTheDay theme for today is #mouthful. Here’s a red-bellied #woodpecker carrying away more than that in a clear violation of the B. Kliban rule: never eat anything bigger than your head. #birds #photography #BirdPhotography #BackyardBirds #nature #BackyardWildlife

Per @alan678.bsky.social, the #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #RockSolid, any #bird captured perched on or standing by rocks. Here’s a gulp of #cormorants (yes, the collective name is gulp, I looked it up) hanging out on a rock off the coast of Northern #California. #photography #nature #seabirds

Carpenter #bee on a native #Texas rock rose blossom. #SilentSunday #Stunday #bees #flowers #BloomScrolling #photography #InsectPhotography #BackyardWildlife

Besalú street. #BlueSkyArtShow #ShadowPlay #photography #Catalonia #Spain #ShadowsAndLight #monochrome

Urban cowboys. #BlueSkyArtShow #ShadowPlay #photography #HoustonRodeo #ShadowsAndLight

By decree of @robcrank68.bsky.social, today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Stretched, so here’s a blue jay doing a “downward peanut”. #birds #photography #bluejays #BackyardBirds #BirdPhotography #BirdsOfBlueSky #nature

A balanced diet. #SaturdaySquirrel #squirrels #photography #BackyardWildlife #nature #SquirrelsOfBlueSky

#Barcelona #FensterFreitag #photography #travel #TravelPhotography #Catalonia #Spain

Per @alan678.bsky.social, today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Parenthood. Here’s a northern #cardinal sharing parental wisdom, or maybe just a seed, with a juvenile who will remain ungrateful despite all the parent’s efforts. #photography #birds #nature #BackyardBirds #SharingIsCaring #BirdPhotography

Saw this pipevine #swallowtail flittering around the backyard and eventually it zeroed in on the #pipevine (its host plant). Captured it alighting on it & then depositing a clutch of #eggs. #photography #butterfly #ButterflyPhotography #InsectPhotography #MacroPhotography #BackyardWildlife #nature

Per @robcrank68.bsky.social, today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BestOfTheMonth from April 2026. April is the peak of #hummingbird migration north through this part of the world so I’ve spent a lot of time watching & waiting. Here’s one I captured, a ruby-throated. #birds #photography #BirdPhotography

By decree of @alan678.bsky.social, today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BeautyInBrown, so here’s a beautifully brown Carolina wren, fresh out of the bath.

#Foggy morning at Trinidad harbor, northern #California #MeerMittwoch #photography #seascape #travel #TravelPhotography #birds #seabirds #Pacific #cormorants #seagulls

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme #WellTimed, here’s a blue jay in the act of sharing a tasty morsel with another. Given the size I assume it’s a romantic partner (I read blue jay males do that) but could be an offspring. #birds #BirdPhotography #photography #BackyardBirds #SharingIsCaring #BlueJays

In the streets of Seillans at night. #TravelTuesday #photography #TravelPhotography #StreetPhotography #monochrome #NightPhotography #Provence #France

A tufted #titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) coming straight atchya. I guess this also fits the “bill” for today’s #BirdOfTheDay #PassportPhoto theme. #MondaysAreForTheBirds #birds #photography #nature #BirdPhotography #BackyardBirds

Per @alan678.bsky.social, today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #PassportPhoto. Here’s a male northern #cardinal with a sharply crested mohawk that no customs officer could refuse entry to. #birds #photography #BirdPhotography #nature #BackyardBirds #BirdPortrait

Today's #BirdOfTheDay Alt Theme is any bird of the #SpeciesParidae (per @robcrank68.bsky.social) so here’s a Carolina #chickadee (of the, ahem, *Family* Paridae) dodging a close call by a passing northern #cardinal. #birds #photography #BirdPhotography #nature #BackyardBirds

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #LongNecks (per @robcrank68.bsky.social). Here’s an American White Ibis taking flight.

This was the first gulf fritillary I’ve seen making a stop in the front #garden this year, it spent a little time with the mealy blue sage before flittering on. #SilentSunday #Stunday #photography #butterfly #ButterflyPhotography #insects #nature

The #BirdOfTheDay alt theme per @alan678.bsky.social is #monochrome, b&w shots of any #bird. Here’s a monochrome #mockingbird. #birds #photography #nature #BirdPhotography #BNW

Per @alan678.bsky.social today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #CamoOrContrast, birds that blend in or stand out in their surroundings. This red-bellied #woodpecker might blend into a crowd of French sailors with red berets but here not so much. #photography #birds #BirdPhotography #nature #BackyardBirds

Digging into & hiding nuts in my poinsettia pot when there’s an entire belt of land & trees behind our property in which to stash their stuff. Why. #SquirrelSaturday #photography #nature #squirrels #SquirrelsOfBlueSky #BackyardWildlife

Another for today's #BirdOfTheDay theme #TheSongFactor (per @robcrank68.bsky.social), a ruby-throated #hummingbird humming along with its beak open. #photography #birds #BirdPhotography #nature #BackyardBirds

Per @robcrank68.bsky.social, today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #TheSongFactor, #birds with their empty beaks open, so here’s a male northern #cardinal belting one out. #photography #BirdPhotography #nature #BackyardBirds

Sagrada windows. #FensterFreitag #photography #SagradaFamilia #Barcelona #Catalonia #Spain #TravelPhotography #architecture #Gaudí

Today’s Alt theme for #BirdOfTheDay (per @alan678.bsky.social) is #RestingBeakFace so here’s a blue jay having a bad feather day.

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme (per @alan678.bsky.social) is #Insectivores. Here’s a scissor-tailed #flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus), spotted near Lake Travis in central #Texas. #birds #photography #BirdPhotography #nature

Southern yellowjacket #wasps (Vespula squamosa) attempting to take over the hummingbird feeder. #insects #photography #insectphotography #BackyardWildlife #nature