#BirdInABush If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed bro, it’s just this cute White-throated Sparrow. (apologies to Led Zeppelin) Saw this beauty on a neighborhood trail in late March, so she is def not the May queen—but still lovely. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Shiny Pair Two Common Grackles, side by side, illustrate how plumage #Iridescence can reflect the same light differently—one purple, the other blue. Found this pair sharing the tip top of a backyard tree on a cloudless mid-June afternoon. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Hold that Head Tilt This Red-shouldered Hawk was hunting from a high dead branch in late afternoon on a cloudless but gusty day. As I waited for the bird to #StrikeAPose, the raptor tilted his or her head just a tad and looked straight at me. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

First Feeder Visit? This young House Finch still has the #DownyFeathers called tufts or “horns” on her head that disappear within days of fledging. She is staring tentatively at a feeder that will require elbowing some sibling aside. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Big Sound, Tiny Singer Carolina Wrens are one of my favorite #LittleBrownBirds. Usually heard before seen, the males blast a wide repertoire of trills and buzzes. This one near a backyard suet feeder let me get quite close to capture fine details of his plumage. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Refueling Flight? A Great Blue Heron, with his/her #LongLegs trailing, flies a short hop between treetops. When herons in flight don’t tuck their landing gear, they remind me of Air Force mid-air refueling tankers. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Shiver or Migrate For today’s theme and alternate: A Northern Mockingbird puffing up to stay warm on ice-covered branches that are #RedOrDead. And a Green Heron that migrates here to breed—one of our #SummerVisitors. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Not Just Standing Around American Flamingos at the Fort Worth Zoo, Texas, blaze in the bright sun as they joust for dominance with their beaks. These #FabulousWaders crowd a small pool but move enough to make counting difficult—about two dozen in the enclosure. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Fly, Baby! A Northern Cardinal urges her fledgling to fly, but it could not join two siblings in the woods before a cat appeared. Among my #Firsts, this photo, made with a Panasonic P&S in 2007, from a basement window, cemented birds as my favorite subject. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

A Bully’s Softer Side This Northern Mockingbird chased all others birds away before using our birdbath. Then he hid in a bush, drying and preening. For my #BestOfJuly, I caught him looking more like Fluffy the Toughie than Mocker the Shocker. #BirdOfTheMonth #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Longing to Fly “If somewhere #OverTheRainbow, bluebirds fly high, why then, oh, why can’t I?” a nest-bound eaglet wonders as he/she waits for fresh fish. Shelley and Raleigh, resident Bald Eagles at Shelley Lake, Raleigh, NC, raised this one in 2025. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Losing the Light A Great Blue Heron works the sunny side of a pond as the mid-April sun dips below the trees and shadows grow. He/she kept foraging after the light was too dim for my purposes. #EgretsAndHerons #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Almost Perfect “Yeah, you caught me with one feather out of place, but am I not as pretty as that cardinal guy? Why not make me #YourChoice for today’s post?” Caught this House Finch, singing on a wire at Isle of Palms, SC. I couldn’t tell him no. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Mallard Moment A male Mallard Duck stands on a shoreline stump silently observing Lake Lynn in Raleigh, NC. With his yellow bill, orange legs and iridescent greens and blues, he meets the #Multicolour and #DucksOutOfWater criteria. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Catch Me If You Can Barn Swallows move fast—I captured this guy in flight only after he stopped on a railing and took off again. He cooperated on three shots: open beak, evil eye, and wings flapping, all against an #EmeraldBackdrop in this late April encounter. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

The Catbird Perch Gray Catbirds are mostly #Grey (however you spell it), making their dark heads and bushy tails really pop. This one paused on a shepherd’s hook holding a water dish but carrying a mouthful of bug had to pass up a drink and hurry home. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Still as a Statue In the right light, a Double Crested Cormorant’s plumage reflects bronze tones, making still birds resemble statues. This one with beak raised, at Lynn Lake in Raleigh, NC, seemed to be listening or sniffing for something. #CHE #Cormorants #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Finch Frenzy Houses Finches are having a prolific summer by the flocks draining our feeders. For the #OneTwoThreeFour challenge, I subbed a new fledge sporting “horns.” If you want six finches in one shot, I got ‘em. That seems the official limit at our birdbath. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Rapt Raptor This Red-shouldered Hawk a dozen feet off the trail seemed intent on everything but me, offering up its #EyeOfTheWild as if posing for a portrait. When a mate called out from a distance, it broke the reverie, and the hawk disappeared in a flash. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

The Cold Seat A Great Blue Heron is #SittingDownOnTheJob on ice-covered ground after a mid-January night of freezing rain and sleet. When this local pond freezes over briefly, the herons often disappear a few days, and then return. Where they go I don’t know. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

#TantalisingTextures A female Downy Woodpecker forages on a dead tree trunk marked by decay, fungi, lichens, cracks, and holes made by her and her kin. A reminder she is but one tiny part of a complex natural cycle of life, death and renewal. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Last Laugh Another beach shot from our trip to Isle of Palms, S.C., where Laughing #Gulls were abundant. They’re so used to people you can walk close before they run or fly. I got the last laugh with this flight capture right after liftoff. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Sandy Snacks It took this #SummerLovin Common Grackle only minutes to find tasty crustaceans in a tidal pool at Isle of Palms, S.C. If I’m shooting birds on the beach, it’s also a sign that I’m lovin’ summer. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Three’s a Crowd House Finches here have had a banner breeding season, and activity at our feeders has been frenetic at times. These #Triplets illustrate their comings and goings as they jockey for spots. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Great Blue Flyby This #ScreenFiller is a Great Blue Heron that came flying toward me unexpectedly and broke the frame—we’ve all been there. Sometimes, cropping can save the shot. Other times, not. I kept this one for the rim lighting. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Contented Crows A couple of American Crows perch quietly together on a high bare branch to soak up the late February sun. I usually hear crows before I see them but noticed these distinctive silhouettes from my kitchen window. #corvidae #BlueSky #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Flap Harder, Faster! This bossy young Mockingbird orders his siblings to practice hard if they want to join the #SingersAndWingers club. He’s already mastered the Mockingbird motto: “I was here first!” #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

A Walk in the Clover A pair of sibling months-old juvenile Canada geese wander among clover in mid-June, not far from their watchful parents. This field, by a community pond, is mowed periodically, which happened the very next day. #BirdsAndFlowers #NewLife #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Peg Leg Preener An example of #PerfectPoise balance and posture: A Great Blue Heron stands on one leg high in a tree, during golden hour, to get in a little preening time. (Almost used this guy, a regular at a nearby pond, for the butt shots/open beak themes.) #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography

Finch Kiss I believe these two House Finches kissing on a wire score a twofer for today’s themes: #ButtShotts and #OpenBeaks. Caught this pair engaging in a bit of PDA at Isle of Palms, S.C., in late June. #birds #BirdoftheDay #photography