Author Archives: birdsinmyviewfinder

I was able to photograph two marsh birds together that are rather hard to spot even on their own. They are fairly common but often stay somewhat hidden. The Bittern, for example, can be hidden in plain sight due to its ability to blend in with the reeds and vegetation. This was a very opportuneContinue reading “Bittern and Gallinule”

Spoiler alert and just a friendly warning, arachnophobes should skip this post/email! You can encounter all sorts of companions on the trails as you search for birds to photograph. I was photographing birds near the Rio Grande in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The area was a typical semiarid bosque (forest) environment that is common alongContinue reading “Found in the Clutter – Unusual Companion”

Sometimes a bird will appear somewhere far, far from its normal range. These are known as vagrants. Although I think adventurer has a nicer ring to it. An Ash-throated Flycatcher has been staying at a town conservation site consisting of a bit of a farm, community gardens and walking paths. The farm is about 1Continue reading “Rare Visitor: Ash-throated Flycatcher”

We are in the middle of a week of stormy weather with localized flash flooding, tree damage and power outages. There isn’t much chance of getting out with the camera for a while so I have to make do with reminiscing about drier times. A duck photograph seems very appropriate in this situation. These areContinue reading “Snapshot – Muscovy Duck”

This impressive looking bird with an impressive name is a relative of the Northern Cardinal. These photographs were among the many I took on a trip to New Mexico in January 2018. We stopped for lunch at a little roadside place in Caballo to dine al fresco and this male came and perched in aContinue reading “Found in the Clutter – Pyrrhuloxia”

I don’t have to say much. It was a clear case of robbery and the thief got his snack. (Disclaimer: We were on an observation platform overlooking the beach so we did not have the opportunity to save the poor person’s lunch!)

I found this photo of a Peregrine Falcon taken in Salisbury, Massachusetts in 2018. They are a fairly large falcon and catch their prey in the air with amazing high speed dives. This one is perched on a utility pole near a large open marsh waiting for a duck or other marsh dwelling bird toContinue reading “Found in the Clutter – Peregrine Falcon”

The Pied-billed Grebe is a small, very compact water fowl. It has virtually no tail. I was once told to look in the reeds along the edge of a waterway for a duck with no butt. That would be a Grebe.

This is the time of year when Tree Swallows gather in flocks of thousands of individuals on the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. It is quite a spectacle and I have posted photographs from the event in the past. These are a few from this year. This is a small portion of a flock thatContinue reading “Tree Swallows Flocking”

I take some photos that don’t lend themselves to a theme post so I think I will just post some individual photographs that catch my eye and not try to have a theme with multiple photos or a lot of information. The first of these “snapshots” is a Least Bittern that is stalking its preyContinue reading “Snapshot – Least Bittern”