Long Tailed Ducks like this one are cold water diving specialists. They can dive up to 200ft deep to forage! They rarely come close to shores, preferring to stay in deep water, so this was a special experience to get so close! Silver lining of the winter storm! #birds #birding #wildlifephotography

I struggle to tell young red-shouldered hawks from red-tailed hawks from the front. The main difference is the red-shouldered will have a full belly of spots and the red-tailed hawks will have a ‘belly band’ of spots…unless they don’t 😅 #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #photography #birdwatching

Seeing a Bald Eagle is just as cool the 100th time as the 1st time. Truly amazing animals! #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography #wildlifephotography

We got 15 minutes of golden light for the first time in what feels like months! This mallard took advantage by catching an evening wave on the Ohio River. 🤙 #birds #birdwatching #birding #photography #wildlifephotography

Had the pleasure of getting to see the first Iceland Gull recorded in WV since 2015! We stood on the bank of the Ohio River waiting for it to fly across state lines for the official record! 😄Great start to the year! @aba.org #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography #wildlifephotography

Ended up with about a half inch of snow piled on me while I spent time with the Hooded Mergansers this morning. It’s cold, but it makes for good camouflage! #birds #birding #photography #wildlifephotography

I’m fortunate enough to live near where the Hooded Mergansers put on their mating displays and pair up before migrating back north to nest. One of the most stunning waterfowl in North America. The male will flair his crest and bob his head to attract his mate! #birds #birding #wildlifephotography

It is hard to impress upon you just how tiny a Winter Wren is. #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography #wildlifephotography

White-Throated Sparrows have two morphs, tan or white striped. Either sex can be either morph but usually mates with the opposite morph! This individual is a tan striped morph, I believe. The difference can be quite subtle sometimes. #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography #wildlifephotography

So I go birding because I’m frustrated with the world and wanna clear my head, but I found this Northern Cardinal who screamed at himself in the mirror so much he’s worn down the glass. Me too, little guy. Me too… #birds #birding #photography #wildlifephotography #worldnews

Stood in 7° 25mph winds for an hour to get this blurry shot of a Short Eared Owl from a quarter mile away…still counts! Last #lifer of the year #249! I started birding in Jan of 2025. Resolution completed, lifelong journey began! 🎉 @aba.org #birding #birdwatching #birds #wildlifephotography

Bufflehead coming in hot! #birds #birding #photography #wildlifephotography

Pileated Woodpeckers dig rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so broad and deep that they can cause small trees to break in half! Many species will also use these holes for shelter, making these woodpeckers important ecosystem engineers! #birds #wildlifephotography

Got to take part in a particularly cool Christmas Bird Count this year by cruising up and down the frigid Ohio River by boat logging all the birds on the river islands! Great day birding! Here’s some White-Winged Scoter we saw just off Blennerhasset Island, WV @aba.org #birds #wildlifephotography

Winter Wrens have THE most beautiful song, every other bird is just trying for second place. They also completely avoid open spaces! It’s a big world out there for a little bird! the briars are safer for singing! 😄 #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography #wildlifephotography

Golden Crowned Kinglet. Unlike the Ruby Crowned cousins, these little guys always have a visible stripe of color on their head, not just when they’re being defensive. #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography #wildlifephotography

Sharing the outdoors with those who may not be able to get out there as much for whatever reasons, is my goal. Yesterday I got to watch the Field Sparrows forage on grasses for a while. I hope it brings you a fraction of the peace it brought me! 🙂 #birds #birding #photography #wildlifephotography

Field Sparrows sing one of my most nostalgic summer birdsongs, however in winter now they are nearly silent, save a few ‘chips’. #birding #birdwatching #birds #photography #wildlifephotography 🪶

The American Robins always seem to flock together after a snow storm. 65 were in one tree beside my house this morning. #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography #wildlifephotography

The Brown-headed Cowbird is North America’s most common “brood parasite.” A female cowbird makes no nest of her own, but instead lays her eggs in the nests of other bird species, who then raise the young cowbirds. #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography #wildlifephotography 🪶

European Starlings are horribly invasive in the US, but boy are they pretty. #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography #wildlifephotography 🪶

Neat fact I learned today, Canada Geese will switch out who leads the ‘V’ to let the front goose rest. #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography #wildlifephotography 🪶

Ross’s goose are a rare treat in the Ohio valley. I was lucky enough to spend some time admiring them today. As if they weren’t special enough, they were accompanied by a blue morph Snow Goose!! Lifer 245 & 246! @aba.org #birds #birding #photography #wildlifephotography 🪶

Tundra Swan on a cold morning. #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography #wildlifephotography

Ring-Billed Gull. Nature is beautiful 🥲 #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography #wildlifephotography

Some people call Yellow-Rumped Warblers “butter butts”. I think that’s a much more fun name #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography #wildlifephotography

Recent snow hasn’t seemed to bother this Hermit Thrush #birds #birding #birdwatching #photgraphy #wildlifephotography

My neighbor was at Albany Bulb in the East Bay and met a photographer named Charlie who had captured this amazing shot there. If you know him, send me his last name to credit.

We’re hitting the big leagues now! I’ve acquired a proper camera! Big jump up from my Nikon P-950 point and shoot. Excited to get out and lug this big gal through the mountains! Canon 7DmkII, Sigma 150-600 #birding #wildlifephotography #photography #birdwatching #canon

Today’s #birdoftheday theme is #mottled so how about Marbled Godwits, that’s close enough right? 😄 #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography

Sweet-gum trees are a vital source of winter long seed food for finches like this American Goldfinch, they also make for neat pictures 😄 #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography 🪶

This Purple Gallinule is the first reported sighting in West Virginia in over a decade! What an exotic and special bird!! Lifer #239, and one I never thought I’d see! @aba.org #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography 🪶

Now that we’re down to the last few fall leaves clinging to the trees it’s becoming MUCH easier to see and photograph the birds. This Downy Woodpecker is a year round resident here, but difficult to see in the summer! #birds #birding #birdwatching #photography 🪶

Lifer #236 was this neat little snow bunting! A county first for us! I like the way they crawl on their bellies 😄 #birds #birding #birdwatching 🪶

This is a leucistic Red Tailed Hawk I saw today. What a beautiful and rare creature! It’s easy to see why many Native American tribes saw animals like this as sacred, because they are certainly nothing less than otherworldly! #birds #birding #birdwatching #raptor #naturephotography #leucistic 🪶

First snow of the season, had to practice my photography on the House Sparrows some #birds #birding #photography

@aba.org got my #lifer Clay Colored Sparrow way out of it’s typical range on the North Carolina outer banks recently! Then I got home to get my #lifer American Avocet in West Virginia of all places! Great luck with vagrant birds so far this fall! Excited for waterfowl this winter 😃 #birds #birding

Sanderlings are only one of three species of shorebirds with a nearly world wide distribution. The Ruddy Turnstone and Whimbrel being the other two. Unless you go to the high arctic breeding grounds you’ll probably only see their black and white non breeding plumage though. Still beautiful! #birds 🪶

Brown pelicans are one of only two species of pelicans that plunge dive for their food, and the only one you could see do it here in the US. Watching a flock hammer the water like cannonballs is really something else! Here is a striking male in breeding plumage I saw recently! #birds #birding 🪶

American Oystercatchers are my favorite bird! They have such goofy little personalities! I got lucky enough to see a few in North Carolina recently. Even more lucky, it was a banded pair! #birds #birdwatching 🪶

Piping Plovers are pretty endangered due to the destruction of the dry sand habitats they nest in for human development. The world probably needs a few less beach rentals, and a few more plovers, so let’s save two birds with one stone and protect habitat! #birds #birding #birdwatching 🪶

It wasn’t until I was editing the photo did I notice the PORTUGUESE MAN-O-WAR in the background!!! Oh, there’s a Marbled Godwit in there too I guess…😄 #birds #birding #birdwatching 🪶

Here’s one I don’t see every day, a Sora! I was sitting waiting for a swamp sparrow to come up out of the reeds when she peeked out. Never saw the swamp sparrow again, but the consolation prize isn’t too bad! 😄 #birds #birding #birdwatching 🪶

I promise it’s a Golden Winged Warbler! This bird is exceptionally rare where I live, only the third sighting in my county this year! Had a good look through my binos and almost forgot to even attempt a photo. Unfortunately this Zapruder film level quality is all I got 😔 #birds #birdwatching 🪶

The fall colors are here! This Cape May Warbler just melts into the autumn foliage. A good crisp morning in the woods is a nice reprieve from the troubles of the world #birds #birding #birdwatching 🪶

Black-and-White Warblers are like a warbler in a little Nuthatch costume. They’ll hang and climb on the trunk and larger branches just like a nuthatch too! We’ve had quite a few this year. Always happy to see a species thriving! 🙂 #birds #birding #birdwatching 🪶

It’s nothing short of awe inspiring to think that this Blackburnian Warbler could fly from Canada to Colombia! Good luck little one! #birds #birding #birdwatching 🪶

Got a fantastic look at a Yellow Billed Cuckoo yesterday. He was much less excited about the migrating warblers in his tree than I was 😄 #birds #birding #birdwatching 🪶

Stunning Wilson’s Warbler this morning. #birds #birding #birdwatching 🪶

An Indigo Bunting resting in the Pokeweed. Pokeweed is a lovely plant native to the eastern US that produces deep pinkish-purple berries that are an excellent source of late summer food for birds, and a bane for nearby car windows! 😄 #birds #birding #birdwatching 🪶