This is the time of year when all the fancy ducks start showing up, like this northern shoveler. I'm not a wildlife expert but I assume they use their huge bills to eat ice cream much more effectively than any other kind of duck. #birds #ducks #photography #nikon

A cardinal trying to look dramatic for his head shot. #birds #cardinal #photography #nikon

I've never seen a bird more completely over the return of snow and cold weather to the Midwest this week. #birds #sparrow #photography #nikon

2026 Photo Challenge: take more photos of wild animals licking themselves. #photography #wildlife #nikon

House sparrow looking very distinguished posing for his head shot #birds #sparrow #photography #nikon

Today I had a photo shoot with the most judgmental sparrow in the Midwest #birds #sparrow #photography #nikon

Sunlight illuminating some fall leaves, from a few months ago when the trees had a little more color. #leaves #autumn #photography #nikon

Goose photobomb. A big part of bird photography is constantly explaining to the geese that not every photo is about them. #birds #egret #goose #photography #nikon

Great egret watching the water, hoping for lunch to swim by. #birds #egret #photography #nikon

Not a lot of wildlife active this week, but there were lots of non-migratory birds around. I saw this downy woodpecker braving the cold for some lunch. #birds #woodpecker #photography #nikon

I offer this tree sparrow as further proof that bird photos are 78% funnier if taken head-on. #birds #sparrow #photography #nikon

Not a lot of ducks out today, but I was happy to encounter this goldeneye in the near-freezing water. #birds #photography #goldeneye #nikon

Here's a photo I couldn't have possible planned from this morning and didn't even realize I had gotten it until I loaded photos after getting home—a squirrel mid-jump from one tree to another. #squirrel #photography #wildlife #nikon

I was up early this morning and saw some nice colors in the sky from the kitchen window. I jumped in the car and I arrived at the Lake Michigan shore right as the sun came up through the clouds. #sunrise #photography #lakemichigan #clouds #nikon

Allow me to introduce you to the roundest, friendliest-looking dark-eyed junco in the Midwest! #birds #photography #nikon #junco

We had our first snowfall of the season here in the Midwest yesterday and it caught some flowers by surprise. #flowers #snow #photography #nikon

White-breasted nuthatch posing for the camera #birds #photography #nuthatch #nikon

Reposting this palm warbler I mislabeled in a previous post. Thank you for a commenter for catching the error. I always enjoy seeing these little birds! #birds #warbler #photography #nikon

I was in the right place at the right time to photograph this dramatically lit red-bellied woodpecker holding a small seed. #birds #photography #shadow #woodpecker #dramatic #nikon

Gull flying away with lunch on a Rhode Island beach #birds #photography #gull #nikon

Definitely one of my favorite recent photos—a fierce deer/goose rivalry #birds #deer #photography #nikon

A double-crested cormorant takes flight. They're not as waterproofed as other water birds so they use the open water to run and gain lift during takeoff. #birds #photography #cormorant #nikon

Today I saw a HUGE number of large milkweed bug nymphs feeding on a milkweed seed pod. The larger black spots near their head are their wings beginning to develop. #macro #photography #insect #nikon

Turkey vulture circling high above Lake Estes on a recent trip to Estes Park, Co. I'm always in awe seeing these amazing birds in flight! #birds #vulture #photography #nikon

Deer nose and tongue close-up #deer #photography #wildlife #nikon

Early morning head shot of a gull on the beach #birds #gull #photography #nikon

A great egret that had no interest in sticking around for a portrait session #birds #egret #photography #nikon

Near where I saw the egret yesterday I saw this double-crested cormorant. Their bones are denser than those of ducks and their feather are not as waterproofed, so they tend to sink a bit under the surface when they swim. And they have such incredible eyes! #birds #cormorant #photography #nikon

I've been returning frequently to a particular spot where I've seen lots of herons lately. This is the closest I've been able to get to a great egret, and I got lucky with a nice reflection through the duck grass. #birds #egret #photography #reflection #nikon

Two cormorants from my forest trip today, and I couldn't have asked for a better pose. #birds #cormorant #photography

It's nice when insects look at the camera during a photo shoot. #insect #macro #photography #grasshopper

Here's a gray catbird from my forest trip today. It's definitely a little surreal to hear their call, which sounds like a cat meowing, in the middle of the woods. #birds #catbird #photography

I saw lots of milkweed plants yesterday covered in large milkweed bugs, including this one head-on standing on the surface of a seed pod. #macro #photography #insect #milkweed

These little birds are tougher to photograph in flight compared to the herons I saw on this trip, but after lots of attempts I managed to capture this barn swallow banking on a turn overhead. #birds #barnswallow #birdsinflight

I was happy to see lots of big birds yesterday, including several black-crowned night herons and great blue herons. I caught this one taking off, legs and feet covered in duckweed. #birds #photography #heron #birdsinflight

I've wanted to get a photo of a popping water balloon for a while now. I enlisted a couple students to help this week, and eight balloons later, finally captured this balloon mid-pop at 1/6400 of a second. #photography #highspeed #balloon

I walked through a field with lots of milkweed today and saw a few of these large milkweed bugs. Despite their name they’re not actually very large, but this one was kind enough to sit still for a quick photo. #macro #photography #insect #milkweed

I was looking for a old photo and found this one from about 3 years ago, from sunrise at a nearby harbor. For whatever reason it didn't stand out to me at the time, but I really like it. #sunrise #harbor #boat

Cone flowers are blooming all over the place right now. They're such an incredible combination of colors. #flowers #nature #macro #photography

I surprised this deer on the trail last week in the early morning, who proceeded to jump into the forest before turning and keeping an eye on me from a distance. #wildlife #photography #deer

Yesterday was my first time seeing a brown thrasher. They have amazingly long tails and bright yellow eyes, and this one seemed to be in the middle of an existential crisis. #birds #photography #wildlife

I’ve hoped to see an indigo bunting for a while now—I was happy to finally see one today. Their blue plumage is even more brilliant in person. #birds #photography #wildlife #birding

Here's an amazing little bird called a common yellowthroat. I didn't know they existed until I saw this one on a recent trip. #birds #photography #birding

I'm still going through photos from my recent Wisconsin trip. Here's a tree swallow, one of dozens of these birds I saw right from the parking lot. Their feathers are an incredible shade of iridescent blue! #birds #photography #treeswallow

A couple weeks ago I wasn't seeing a lot of birds so I switched to carrying my macro lens a bit more. Here's one of my favorite close-ups from that time. #macro #photography #flowers

I present to you the most judgmental barn swallow in all of the Midwest. #birds #barnswallow #photography

I watched a variety of birds fishing around the marsh and managed to get lucky and get a photo of one close to the surface seemingly looking at his own reflection. #birds #photography #reflection

Baby barn swallow whose full colors haven't quite come in yet, looking at me with slight suspicion. #birds #photography #barnswallow

Here's a turtle I saw who was completely uninterested in any kind of photo session #wildlife #photography #turtle

Bobolinks are such beautiful and unusual birds that they always seemed kind of like mythological creatures to me. After years of photography trips I finally encountered one. I didn't get a clear photo but I managed to get a short video that includes their incredible call. #birds #birding #bobolink