Another wonderful evening with the Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus) of Miller’s Ponds near Pymatuning Lake, Northwest Pennsylvania. #birds

Special visitor to our yard this morning. COHA#11. Cooper’s Hawk (Astur cooperii), Northwest Pennsylvania. #birds

Happy #superbowlsunday for all those that celebrate. This #shortearedowl certainly is superb! #birds 🪶

I just missed focus on this shot. I’d normally bin it but I really like the story it tells. First Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris) of the year! Northwest Pennsylvania. #birds 🪶

NOHA#4. A Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) rolling right along on a Saturday afternoon. Pymatuning Lake Area, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds #northernharrier

VATH#1 & 2. This Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius) is one that you would most often encounter on the west coast of North America. But somehow it has found its way to Butler County, Pennsylvania. What a treat! #birds #birdphotography

The light was great this evening! CAGO#28. Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), SGL214, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds 🪶

The stillness of winter. Conneaut Marsh, Pennsylvania. January 2026.

NOHA#13. #northernharrier (Circus hudsonius), Pymatuning Lake Area, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds #birdphotography #birdsinflight #birdportrait

An ode to spring. In this dark winter in which we find ourselves, remember that if we stand together change is possible. Her name was Renee Nicole Good. AMGO#12. An American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) feeding on a sunflower in our pollinator garden last summer. #birds 🪶

Our rare visitor whom we’ve taken to calling “Foxy” continues to hang about the yard today! FOSP#7. Red Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca iliaca), Meadville, Pennsylvania. #birds 🪶#foxysparrow!

Not the first bird of the year (that was an American Crow calling early this morning) but certainly the coolest of the new year (so far!). Red Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca iliaca), Meadville, Pennsylvania. #birds #yardbird

SWPS#5b. Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) photographed in the Conneaut Marsh, Crawford County, Pennsylvania in June 2025. #birds

RLHA#16. This Buteo has got her eye on you! Rough-legged Hawk ( Buteo lagopus). Northwest Pennsylvania. #birds #birdsphotography #birdoftheday #birdsofprey

CAGO#27. I find this image of a deceased Canada Goose mournfully moving. The area where I found it has been hit with avian flu & this poor fella was most likely a victim of it. The arch of the neck & the layer of frost draws me to this tragic, sorrowful & yet graceful cycle of life image. #birds

A real first for me. Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus) in broad daylight! Usually I’m shooting with an ISO in the thousands at dusk with these special birds. This was at ISO 250 with a shutter speed of 1/2500. Such fantastic detail. State Game Land 214, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds 🪶

RLHA#12. A Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) preparing to pounce on an unsuspecting vole. Pymatuning Wildlife Management Area, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds 🪶#birdphotography #BirdOfTheDay

RSHA#11. Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), Conneaut Marsh, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds 🪶 #birdphotography #birdoftheday

RTHA#3. Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania. #birds 🪶#birdphotography

SEOW#17. Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) , State Game Land 214, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds 🪶

Coming in hot! SEOW#15. Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) , State Game Land 214, Crawford County, Pennsylvania #birds

RLHA#11. Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus), Pymatuning Wildlife Management Area, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds 🪶#birdphotography

Ran into these silly gooses this morning. Snow Geese (Anser caerulescens), Pymatuning Wildlife Management Area, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds 🪶

The Gray Ghost rides again! One of my very favorite birds. NOHA#12. Adult Male Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius), Pymatuning Lake Area, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds

GBHE#22. A Great-blue Heron (Ardea herodias) in winter, Crawford County, Pennslyvania. #birds #birdoftheday #birdphotography

A Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) takes flight, Goshen, Ohio. #birds

I didn’t see the Brown Pelican up at Presque Isle State Park today but I did get some decent shots of the locals: Female Greater Scaup, portrait of a Ring-billed Gull, and a Herring Gulls amongst a sea of RBGUs. #birds

I am thankful for winter visitors! Red (Taiga) Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca), Goshen, Ohio. #birds

And here’s the final clip (I’ll put the full quality 4 minutes on YouTube eventually), as the Yellow-crowned Night-heron finally gobbles up the neutralized crab whole. Quite a bit of time required for prey-handling but I bet the crab is nutritious enough it’s worth it! #birds

BAEA#13. An autumnal setting for this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), Pymatuning Lake area, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds

BAEA#12. Immature Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) on the prowl at State Game Land 214, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds

RLHA#8. Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus), Miller’s Ponds, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds

RLHA#7. Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) nibbling on a vole at Miller’s Ponds, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds

RLHA#6. Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) taking flight over Miller’s Ponds near Pymatuning Lake, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds

AMCO#3. American Coot (Fulica americana) having a nosh at Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania. #birds

RNEP#3. Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), Lancaster, Pennsylvania. #birds

Made a quick trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania today to look for the vagrant Gray Kingbird (Tyrannus dominicensis) spotted there recently. Favorite photos from the day were the common birds I saw along the way: Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) and House Sparrows (Passer domesticus). #birds

BEKI#4. Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland. Photographed in 2022. #birds

Photo credit to Paul Riss #birds

Happy Owl-oween!! Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) photographed in January 2025 in Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds #owls

LBHE#8. Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) on the hunt in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, June 2022. #birds #birdphotography #littleblueheron

NOGA#4. I’m home sick today and looking through some older images. This is a #northerngannet (Morus bassanus) breeding colony on Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland. There is so much going on in this shot! I photographed these lovelies in 2022. #birds #birdphotography

Three Sandhill Cranes (Antigone canadensis) at dawn over Miller’s Ponds (SGL 214), Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds 🪶

Ran into this lovely Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) on the Pymatuning Lake causeway between Pennsylvania and Ohio early today. #birds

KILL#3. Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), Presque Isle State Park, Pennsylvania. #birds

A late Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) skulking around at Fry’s Landing earlier today. Presque Isle State Park, Erie County, Pennsylvania. #birds

BASW#13. A Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), that I bumped into on Presque Isle this past summer. #birds

GBHE#18. Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), Hartstown Marsh, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds

SWSP#5. A Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) joining the dawn chorus along the Conneaut Marsh, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds

YRWA#5. A Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) I recently stumbled across at Woodcock Lake, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. #birds 🪶