Some neighborhood birds: #EuropeanStarling, #CoopersHawk, #Osprey. Never know what you will find when you go out! Aug 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

A bevy of photos showing a #TennesseeWarbler looking cute as it forages around. Oct 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

A #YellowBilledCuckoo! Hard to find these birds and this one was no exception as it sulked amongst the trees. Sept 2025 in Illinois (Coral Woods FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

A few #Osprey looking for fish shots. Glad they grace my backyard pond (although the fish probably aren't). Sept 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

Yet more glorious #CaspianTern in action shots as it surveys for a meal. That beak looks quite deadly! Aug 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

This #TennesseeWarbler wishes you a happy #TongueOutTuesday. Oct 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

A few photos from a #CaspianTern from my summer picture backlog. My favorite of the three is the diving near contact with water, but the other two are drying off from a failed attempt look good on the CATE too! July 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdinflight

A tale of two lighting configurations for this #CoopersHawk. More importantly, was a good lesson to me in shooting RAW as the corresponding JPEG was blown out by the bright light behind but the RAW image was able to recover most of my friend here! Sept 2025 in Illinois (Burnidge FP) #birds

Well if this #GreatEgret isn't photogenic, I don't know what is! Aug 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

A late night, likely last of year shot of an #Osprey in the water behind my house. Oct 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

A bevy of shots from a friendly western #PalmWarbler heading south for migration. A big fan of that warm yellow which they often flick about. Oct 2025 in Illinois (Fitchie Creek FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

Ever since moving back to the Midwest from the East, #CarolinaWren have been hard to come by. I was thrilled when this little birb popped out of my brothers shed! A pretty vocal little one too! Aug 2025 in Iowa #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

This is a fun one! These #TrumpeterSwan are not uncommon as the ebird species chart showed sightings for 51/52 weeks in the area. With this recordation, make that 52/52 🥳 Sept 2025 in Illinois (Exner Marsh FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

This #SandhillCrane was flying about, no doubt preparing for a migration. I enjoy the 4-part sequence catching it throughout its wing mechanics. Oct 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

An #AmericanWhitePelican. Aug 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

A young #CoopersHawk fliting across the sky. Aug 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

A bevy of August birds: eclipse #WoodDuck, #CedarWaxwing, #DownyWoodpecker, and #AmericanGoldfinch. A time of year to see nice mixes of molting and end of season fledglings. Aug 2025 in Illinois (Burnidge FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

A #RubyThroatedHummingbird taking the plunge to parts unknown. Sept 2025 in Illinois (Burnidge FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

Ominous #CanadaGoose gaggle? You be the judge! Sept 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

A #GreatEgret coming in for an ever graceful landing. Sept 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

A difference in exposure draws out interesting contrasts for this #AmericanCrow that appears to have found some small berry-like thing to eat. Oct 2025 in Illinois (Fitchie Creek FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

A couple mid-October photos of #AmericanGoldfinch going towards their non-breeding plumage but still looking fantastic in the fall landscapes. Oct 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

When life gives you interesting lighting, take photos! Aug 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight #RubyThroatedHummingbird

This juvenile #CoopersHawk flew right by me, letting me get a good look at its majestic-ness. Oct 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

The #LincolnsSparrow has eluded my photographic capture for too long! I got my chance when they landed in my backyard during migration, no doubt for a brief stop. The fine streaking is really something to observe! Oct 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

A few photos of the breeding (definitive alternate) plumage #AmericanGoldfinch that plopped down on a tree. In this plumage they really live up their gold moniker! Aug 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

Some female eclipse #WoodDuck captured through some brush. Even in eclipse plumage they are pretty birds! Aug 2025 in Illinois (Burnidge FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

A busy night led to some western subspecies #PalmWarbler taking a break in the shore area behind my house. Their subtle yellow rump is quite pretty when it isn't bobbing up and down! October 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

No reason to feel blue when the #BlueJay is around to keep you company! Sept 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

The last of the #CommonNighthawk I saw as they were flying south during migration. Glad to get a few more good snaps in of these pretty birds! Sept 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

It will be hard for me to forget this juvenile #CoopersHawk that was darting about over head. It stayed close enough that I could ample good photos from pretty much every angle! Here are three of its gorgeous back and shoulders Oct 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

A #SongSparrow singing its favorite tune. Aug 2025 in Illinois (Fitchie Creek FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

Warbler fight! This #CommonYellowthroat did not care for this #NashvilleWarbler, although I imagine the NAWA was merely passing through so the COYE could probably have let it chill. Sept 2025 in Illinois (Coral Woods FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

Some Fall Big Day photos of this HY/SY #RedTailedHawk flitting about. The juvenile borealis subspecies dominant in my area tend to have banded tail feathers that turn to the namesake red-tail with less banding as they age. Oct 2025 in Illinois (Fitchie Creek FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

A fun sequence of a #BlackThroatedGreenWarbler going from perched to jumping to flight. Sept 2025 in Illinois (Burnidge FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

The #CaspianTerns in early fall were frequent water visitors. Gracefully, if not always successfully, catching some fish to eat. Aug 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

A shot/chaser set of photos. Sometimes an #Osprey wins and gets the fish. Sometimes it misses out, shakes it off, and then goes back at it. Persistence will win the day! Aug 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

A contemplative #EasternWoodPewee. Likely thinking of its next fly to catch. Aug 2025 in Illinois (Burnidge FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

A #CaspianTern that is either coming or going, depending on how one interprets the image. Okay, in practice it is only going because a CATE does not come into water like this. I guess the philosophical debate must wait another day! Aug 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

A borealis #RedTailedHawk soaring over a prairie. Aug 2025 in Illinois (Fitchie Creek FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

A juvenile #EasternPhoebe. Adults have an all black bill, but juveniles can have some reddish-orange present. In this location I observed some adults diligently catching food earlier in the year, so perhaps this is one of their offspring! Aug 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

These #EasternKingbird had it with each other! Seemingly a friendly-ish spat as they flew in and out together on good terms. Aug 2025 in Iowa #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

An adorable juvenile #EasternBluebird perched above me. Aug 2025 in Iowa #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

The #AmericanWhitePelican was a nemesis bird for me. Sure, I had seen plenty of them -- they are big, white, and hard to miss! But I had no photos of them! My long nightmare finally ended along the Mississippii Aug 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

HONK! #CanadaGoose flying around. Sept 2025 in Illinois (Burnidge FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

Even more #CaspianTern in flight -- ever graceful and their large size makes spotting them quite easy! Aug 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

A few #CaspianTern shots from summer. Simply glorious birds! July 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

An #Osprey that is about to acquaint itself with a tasty fish. Aug 2025 in Illinois #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography #birdsinflight

A stoic #GreatBlueHeron. Given the looser looking feathers and rusty-brown tinct, I would assume this is a juvenile in first basic plumage based on the description in Birds of the World. Aug 2025 in Illinois (Fitchie Creek FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography

A female #MagnoliaWarbler jumping into flight. Sept 2025 in Illinois (Coral Woods FP) #birds #birdnerd #birdphotography