Having gone to the office today (my employer's slowly transitioning away from letting folks work from wherever/whenever), I was late for the train back home, so I took a detour by the river and met this very friendly pair of mallards.
(These are barely-cropped phone shots! Didn't have my camera with me nor a tele lens in my phone – they got really close.)
As some of you know, today is National Hummingbird Day, conveniently scheduled for my birthday this year. So here is another hummingbird, a male Green-crowned Brilliant, from the hummingbird hotspot of the western Andes of Ecuador.
The blue on these guys has to be seen to be believed. He's not quite in full breeding plumage (or he just forgot about the white spots on his chest) but he certainly was keeping very busy chasing the ladies around. White-winged Fairy-wren at Mindarie today #birds#birdphotography#nature
SANTA BARBARA, CA: After an intensive seventeen-year search spanning all seven continents, scientists located and captured high-resolution photographic images of the world's roundest round-borb.
Learning how to be hawks 😍 I’m not sure what happened to their mother but these three hawks,who hatched in my pine, seemed to be left alone to learn everything about adult hawk life. One of the three decided he would teach the others and it was the most adorable thing to watch. Here they are attentively watching a lesson. #backyardbirds#birdwatching#birds#raptor#hawk#nature#wildlife#birdphotography
Last weekend, by pure chance (was looking for reed buntings), I got my second¹ proper shot of a kingfisher – and then another one, right when it blinked.
It's Superb Owl Sunday in the US, and I would normally post a picture of an owl. But I heard that Swifts were more in vogue this year. So here are some cute Chimney Swifts, awaiting their 15 minutes of fame.
Two fledgling Barred Owls (Strix varia) snuggling together on a branch. A video at the end of the linked post shows the "melodic" song they emit when begging mom to come back for a food delivery.
Tonight I had one of the most glorious birding moments of my life. A decade ago I first saw pinyon jays in the Colorado mountains. Ever since I've looked for them in the mountains around Santa Fe on my frequent visits there. I can usually find them, but it takes time and I see just a few.
After massive commercial deforestation and climate-change driven destruction of the pinyon forests they rely on, their numbers are plummeting and they are being considered for the endangered species list. 1/2
Tonight after a great day working with colleagues at the Santa Fe Institute, Joe Bak-Coleman went for a hike. As we headed back to the car, A huge flock of birds headed up Santa Fe Canyon; I knew their squeaky caws before I even saw them. It was a group of at least 100 pinyon jays heading to roost. I've never seen anything like it. I am so happy they are thriving here. 2/2