birding

Great Lakes region, USA. June 2026.

I've been trying to get a decent shot of one of these for a bit now. I finally got a chance. It's fun watching them dive into the water.

Barn Owl hunting during mid morning, guess it has young mouths to feed.

Shot at Bempton Cliffs on my xt50 and 150-500mm

Great Lakes region, USA. June 2026.

I'm still trying to figure out the proper settings for these birds. A few of the photos turned out alright.

Never appreciated how green these were till I saw the sea going cousin of the Cormorant in person.

Taken from a (fast moving) boat by Bempton Cliffs on my XT-50 & Tamron 150-500mm

Saw these guys on my commute home, snapped it as I was walking so apologies for the meh focus.

Amazing to think the RSPB started with just 19 breeding pairs and now has over 10k, amazing success story.

Took on my Fuji xt50 & Tamron 150-500mm

... have this lot head towards you ... happily passing to my right but way too close - only a couple of yards, if that.

First time I've seen a (presumably) honey bee swarm on the move, and I've no idea what prompted them. The photos on the left are blown up segments of those on the right.

Prospect Park, Reading, UK

Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800 (at 200mm in this case)

Bold color (for a Plover) probably a male.

First onto a submerged stick and then onto a closer sawn off branch - very kind.

What struck me was the depth of yellow in the plumage - I'd normally expect paler.

Kennet Canal, nr. Reading

Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800

Kennet Canal, nr. Reading UK

Just pleased to catch the sequence at all

Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800, 1/1000s

Southwestern USA, June 2026

In a cloudy Reading, UK

Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800

Spotted in Northern Virginia

Pretty sure this is an American Robin but I'm new to this.

Great Lakes region, USA. June 2026.

I was surprised at how close this redstart allowed me to get. He just sat there watching intently. A very pretty warbler IMO.

(Technically, it's a crest that they sometimes raise, but since this one was just after berries or buds, it had no obvious reason to)

Having found an event in the park I thought was just yesterday actually covered today as well, I didn't expect to see any birds - instead I saw more than I've seen on several recent visits! This was taken on a dull day in the shade, resulting in an ISO12800 shot at 1/1000s, so I'm particularly pleased it turned out OK.

Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800

Great Lakes region, USA. June 2026.

I was walking a breakwater and noticed this beautiful great egret during the hunt. I was able to get quite close without spooking him. Good times and good looks.

Wikipedia

Taken Spiny Forest, Ifaty, Madagascar. CC-BY-4.0

Great Lakes region, USA. June 2026.

I was admiring some geese when out of the blue a flash of black and orange. The male red-winged blackbird started its attack. I've never seen a Canada goose run in panic so fast. It cowered away with its head down while the blackbird pursued. This chase lasted about a minute resulting in the complete domination of the goose. Pretty ironic if you're familiar with Canada geese.

Red-winged blackbirds are incredibly territorial during breeding season. I've seen them attack any breed of bird including birds of prey.

Just found out that this little bitch bird is killing all the other small birds that lived for years on the trees next to our house.

I noticed lately that the usual birds sounds are gone for the past three weeks, it appears this fucker is killing them

Southwest USA

Bonus: Find the parent: