Category Archives: Uncategorized

This in-flight photo of a Black-bellied Whistling Duck shows all the markings for this colorful duck. There are the pink-red bill, long pink legs, gray face, chestnut body, black belly and big white wing patches. The head is held low while flying, giving the duck a kinked look.

Found this while consolidating and moving some old folders. This photo of a Black-throated Sparrow was taken in Las Cruces, New Mexico in 2018. They like open, shrubby deserts and semi-open areas. They are residents of northern Mexico and in the US along its southern border from Baja to the Gulf of Mexico. Some migrateContinue reading “Found in the Clutter: Black-throated Sparrow”

Color is important in bird photographs…normally. But when I photographed a Purple Sandpiper on an overcast winter day, there was almost no color in the scene. This is expected with a mostly gray colored bird on dark rocks in low lighting. I decided to try something that I haven’t tried before and processed the pictureContinue reading “Snapshot: Purple Sandpiper”

A challenge in learning to identify birds is the variability in plumage between sexes and between adults and juveniles. Here are two examples of age differences in plumage. This is an adult Little Blue Heron. It is mostly slate blue with a little purple on the neck. This is a juvenile Little Blue Heron. Where’sContinue reading “Bird ID and Juveniles”

A nice pose by this colorful winter visitor.

More fun in the snow. My previous post showed an American Robin sitting in a snowbank, probably looking for seeds that got mixed in by a plow. This is an American Tree Sparrow that looks like it is combining seed hunting and some sort of avian winter sport. Birds, like we humans, are just tryingContinue reading “Snapshot: American Tree Sparrow”

My recent posts have been photos from Florida where I traveled to visit with family. New England has been dealing with a very cold and snowy winter and photo ops have been limited here. This American Robin represents all of us long suffering New Englanders. But don’t worry about him. There were plenty of fruitContinue reading “Snapshot: American Robin”

Wood Storks are mostly non-migratory and live in Central and South America, Cuba and southern Florida. Some do migrate further inland in the US southeast during the summer. These are very large birds that stand a bit over three feet (about one meter) tall.

The Turkey Vulture is a year round resident of the southern US, Mexico, and Central and South America. It spreads north as far as southern Canada in the summer. Fun fact. This vulture of the Americas is in a different taxonomic order than the vultures of Europe, Asia and Africa. Convergent evolution has led unrelatedContinue reading “Snapshot: Turkey Vulture”

I don’t need to watch out for these while hiking around here in New England. I saw quite a few American Alligators on a recent trip to Florida though. I’m not that good at estimating size but a conservative guess is that it was at least 10 feet (3 meters) long. It was the biggestContinue reading “Non-Avian Guest: American Alligator”