The #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #PowerPose any bird showing strength through its stance. The alt is #FeedingFrenzy any bird in a rush to eat. ~ I submit a male Wild Turkey I found in full display at a nearby park and a flock of American White Pelicans feeding in the pond behind my house. #birds

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #RuffledFeathers, birds with feathers out of place. I photographed this Great Egret at a rookery on the Upper Texas Coast a couple decades ago. #birds #digiscoping

The alternate #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #SeaBirds ~ This storm-petrel, which I’ve tentatively identified as the Chapman’s form of Leach’s Storm-Petrel, was unusually cooperative last summer off San Diego, CA. #birds #canonr7

For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme: #WingsOverWater I present this Pink-footed Shearwater that made a close flyby on a calm morning off Carlsbad, CA #birds #seabirds

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BranchBirds, any bird on a branch. I dug into my archives for this Grey-headed Kingfisher that I photographed at Kichwa Tembo Lodge in Kenya’s rift valley. #birds #kenya #kingfisher #digiscoping

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #PeacefulSolitude - This American Barn Owl didn’t quite find the solitude it was looking for, but it certainly was peaceful. 😌 #birds #canonr7

@robcrank68.bsky.social has set today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme as #CollectingFood, birds with food in their beaks. This juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron caught a Black Bullhead, but that was just the beginning of the struggle. Those fine spines are no joke! #birds #digiscoping

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay alt theme is #Corvids ~ I photographed this adult Yucatan Jay in Belize. The young birds have yellow bills. #birds #digiscoping

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Portrait, a portrait capture of any bird set by @alan678.bsky.social ~ This Wood Stork showed up unexpectedly at a pond near my home. Marabou Stork gets my vote for most disturbing bird to view up close, but Wood Stork ranks right up there. #birds #canonr7 #nightmare

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #DivingForFood, birds that dive under water for food, my submission is a California Least Tern in mid-dive. This endangered species has multiple breeding colonies around San Diego Bay, where I captured this image. #birds

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Birds&Bugs, my contribution comes from a magical trip to Napo Wildlife Center in the Amazon basin of Ecuador, a White-necked Puffbird with a katydid. #birds #digiscoping

Rob’s chosen #BirdOfTheDay theme is #StareDown (birds looking at you) (Alt theme is #Gulls) @robcrank68.bsky.social - This is one of my favorites, a Blackburnian Warbler from our banding station in the Florida Keys back in 2003. Check out those rictal bristles! #birds #warbler

The #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #posted - a bird on a post or fence. The alt is #red - any bird with the color red. #birds This brilliant male Vermilion Flycatcher gave me two for the price of one!

Today's ALT #BirdOfTheDay theme is #backlitbeauty sunlight behind the bird - set by @alan678.bsky.social ~ This American Avocet made for a distinctive silhouette at San Elijo Lagoon, CA, USA. #birds #digiscoping #phoneskope

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Pigeons&Doves, the Alt theme is #Black&White, any bird with them colours set by @robcrank68.bsky.social - my dove submission is a male Blue Ground Dove from Belize and my B&W bird is one of my favorite raptors, White-tailed Kite from my hometown of San Diego. #birds

@alan678.bsky.social theme for #BirdOfTheDay is #BackyardBirds, birds seen close to home, the Alt theme is #LongNecks. This long necked bird (a Great Egret) does visit my yard to hunt gophers and lizards, but I captured this haunting foggy image at a nearby estuary. #birds #digiscoping

Rob @robcrank68.bsky.social says today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Reflections, any bird reflection. This Tree Swallow was a fun, if challenging subject. #birds

For @alan678.bsky.social ‘s #openbeaks theme today for #BirdOfTheDay I present this cheeky pair of Nene (Hawaiian Geese). The Nene is endemic to Hawaii, where it is the state bird. Conservation efforts have brought it back from the brink of extinction. I found this pair on the Big Island. #birds

Rob's @robcrank68.bsky.social theme for today's #BirdOfTheDay is #GullsInWater. Here is a juvenile Sabine’s Gull that I found on a pond in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Far away from the species’ typical oceanic haunts. #birds #digiscoping

Sometimes #birds are so #metal. This Anna’s Hummingbird was giving a very metal vibe today.

Orange-crowned Warblers can be difficult to identify. Especially when they look like this! 😱 #birds #warblers #canonr7

This Peregrine Falcon was just finishing its breakfast when it flew over my house this morning. #birds #canonr7 #falcon #raptors

Introduce yourself with 5 animals you’ve seen in the wild: Blue Whale Swordfish Springhare Gray-bellied Hawk Loruhama Eyemark

I am so glad I got into bird photography in the digital era (mostly). I was able to get this shot in a couple minutes of effort, with basically no planning, just point and shoot. It must be infuriating for old timers to see how easy it is with today’s equipment 😅 #birds #hummingbirds #canonr7

This gorgeous Cape May Warbler provided a welcome distraction this morning. Living in California, this is a species that I rarely get to see. Especially individuals as stunning as this one 🤩. #birds #birding #getoutside #warblers #canonr7

Some gulls have dark eyes and some have pale eyes. And some have a little of both! #birds #eyes #canonr7

Yellow-crowned Night Herons are so over all of our nonsense. #birds #digiscoping #phonescope

Jon asks why the GOP's "one is too many" logic applies only to immigrants and not mass shootings

Now, I’m not saying the rapture has started. But if it has, it has apparently begun with the Bell’s Vireos 👼 #birds #photography #notholdingmybreath

I got home too late today for fast action photography, but I was happy to get a shot of this dude, doing his best to claim ownership of the feeder at the day’s last light. #birds #hummingbirds #photography #sunset

Fall hummingbird migration is kicking into gear in my yard. Lots of fun photo opportunities at the feeders. But it also means that Rufous Hummingbirds are passing through, so most of the orange and green hummingbirds are no longer safely identifiable. #birds #hummingbird #migration #canonr7

Sometimes random closeup shots turn into album covers. I was fiddling around with the clip on closeup lens on my phone and made this image of a fennel flower. #macro #closeup #botany #flower

Damselfly faces are so fun. They don’t seem real. This Vivid Dancer let me get up close and personal. #macro #entomology #odonata #damselfly

Stunning weather yesterday for the Dingle Peninsula’s Slea Head Drive. #Ireland

This spunky little Goldcrest gave me a great view in Saint Stephen’s Green. #birds #ireland

The highlight of my 4th of July was watching this Yellow-crowned Night Heron dispatch a Yellow Rock Crab. It was the first time I’d ever seen that crab species. And the last time that crab ever saw that bird species 😕 #birds #crab #heron #photography

Another slow shutter speed raptor shot (on purpose this time). This White-tailed Kite was quite a ways off, but the softness of the details sorta works with the blurred wings and the blown out background. #birds #birdsinflight #CanonR7 #raptor

This tarantula-hawk wasp was still sleeping when I found it this morning. I used the #CanonR7 in-camera focus stacking to get the whole critter in focus. Then I clipped on a closeup lens to my phone for a closer look. #entomology #hymenoptera #macro

A bit of drama today at Agami Island as this male got into a fight with another male displaying nearby. There was some snapping and bill clacking and this guy then goes into full-on dance mode with his crest expanded. At Agami Island #costarica #birds #herons #nature #testosterone

Hawk watchers call adult male Northern Harriers “Gray Ghosts” due to their gray and white plumage. I got this very ghostly shot of one totally by accident as it flew past me. 1/20th sec shutter speed is NOT what I normally choose for #birdsinflight #birds

I love bluebirds, I’m just not sure why they always have to be so angry. #birds #angrybluebird #digiscoping

Sometimes Turkey Vultures will let you walk right up to them. This one let me get close enough to look right through its nostrils! #birds #wildlife #canonr7 #photography

This roosting Great Horned Owl had drawn the attention of many of the small birds in the area, including the Costa’s Hummingbird seen buzzing by at a safe distance. #birds #digiscoping

Cuts have consequences, illustrated. As seen on TV 📺

I went out listening for Common Poorwills this evening. Luckily I was watching my step, as this juvenile Red Diamond Rattlesnake crossed my path in the fading light. #snake #reptile #herping

I was thrilled to stumble upon this Pied-billed Grebe nest while walking the dog this morning. I had the camera set up for swift/swallow photography so didn’t get quite the shot I probably could have, but the eggs were only visible for a moment. My first nest of this species. #birds #nest #eggs

Vermilion Flycatchers are so intensely red, camera sensors have a difficult time not blowing out the color. I think this might be the first time I’ve really been pleased with my results. #birds #birding #canon7

After a mass bird collision in Oct 2023, Chicago’s McCormick Place Lakeside took action, installing bird-friendly dots on nearly 2 football fields of glass. Collisions have dropped dramatically. Real change is possible. Learn more: bit.ly/stopbirdcoll... #StopBirdCollisions #BirdSafeStructures

Spring migration keeps trucking along! This Western Tanager gave me a close flyby on its way north. #birding #birds #migration #canonr7

The first week of May is time for the return of the pewees. This Western Wood-Pewee showed up in my yard yesterday, right on schedule! 😃 #birds #birding #migration #canonr7