birding

It was both cold and misty in Prospect Park today, and this fluffed up robin seemed to be feeling it too ... that appears to be frost on its tail!

Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800mm

And a sharper picture, but to me a little less interesting, of another robin a little further on.

A downy woodpecker, Dryobates pubescens.

This is not my suet feeder. My feeder somehow only attracts starlings. En masse.

Full sizes here and here.

I thought this was the same woodpecker as the last one. It is not.

It's a red-bellied woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus, sticking out its tongue.

Full size here.

Southwestern USA, Jan 2026

The heron I see every day at the same spot in my frequent searches for an elusive kingfisher. Nothing special about this picture, but I like how the back plumage stands out.

Source:

Trying out different ways to crosspost to Pixelfed and Lemmy, nothing really works as I hoped until now…

I hope you enjoy some simple shots of a robin in various poses :) I like how cloudy days let the colors pop

Source: https://pixelfed.social/p/LucaPero/914475114515075522

January 2026 in Germany

Technical Details:

Lumix G85 + Lumix 100-400 F/4-6.3 II @236 mm

• Shutter: 1/2000
• Aperture: f/7.1
• ISO: 3200

This is not a snow goose

Greylag goose (Anser anser)
Olympus OM-1, Olympus 12-40
40mm, f/2.8, 1/1250s, ISO 3200

#bird #birds #darktable #geese #goose #photo #photography #UrbanWildlife #wildlife @birding

https://zaktakespictures.com/this-is-not-a-snow-goose/

January 2026 in Germany

Technical Details:

Lumix G85 + Lumix 100-400 F/4-6.3 II @400mm

• Shutter: 1/640
• Aperture: f/6.3
• ISO: 6400

A new lifer for me. Didn‘t expect it so close to the city center near a small Creek.

Cormorant on the River Thames (Cormorants in SE England are prone to this whitened head.

Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800mm

Oh, and .... Dive!

This poor Redwing knew something was wrong, there was this strange thing far too close who wasn't there before... it spent a while puzzling over this until flying off.

Reading, UK, with a Canon R5MkII + RF200-800mm

Oh, and a bonus shot of the same bird

Just a simple backyard shot that turned out nicer than expected

Since my last picture of the bald eagle spawned such an interesting wave of negativity, maybe this guinea fowl is more of everyone's speed.

Despite the existence of a unit of currency called the Guinea, I still don't think anyone is in a big hurry to stick these guys on a coin. Perhaps there is some obscure international denomination which I wasn't able to find on the internet.

Full sizes here and here, respectively.

Haliaeetus leucocephalus, as I'm sure I don't need to specify to anyone.

I got this profile, also:

The full body shot is less impressive, because I could not convince him to get further away from the fence nor could I get any closer than where I was:

I decided to focus my 2025 birding on my own backyard (Missouri, USA). Here are some of the results.

Total species: 86

• Species variety heatmap
• Radial bar chart

Slowest month: Feb (27 species)

Biggest month: May (46 species)

Biggest day: 24 May (19 species)

Species observed for more than 100 calendar days:

• Blue Jay - 347 days
• House Finch - 294 days
• Northern Cardinal - 279 days
• American Robin - 246 days
• Black-capped Chickadee - 215 days
• House Sparrow - 182 days
• Eastern Bluebird - 164 days
• Red-bellied Woodpecker - 140 days
• Carolina Wren - 136 days
• Downy Woodpecker - 127 days
• Dark-eyed Junco - 125 days
• Cedar Waxwing - 116 days
• American Goldfinch - 111 days
• Northern Flicker - 108 days

Notable Seasonal Species:

Other bird notes:

• A Swainson's Thrush showed up in late April and sang almost nonstop for 2 weeks
• Red-breasted Nuthatch is not a common bird in my area. But after coming to my yard in early September, these 65 observations represent about 6% of all historical county records of the species. White-breasted Nuthatches are generally more common, but I only had 18 observations in 2025.

Methodology notes:

• I submitted at least one checklist to eBird everyday. The vast majority of these checklists were tagged "incidental" since I added species to the list throughout the day
• "Early" = days 1-10, "Mid" = 11-20, "Late" = 21+
• Charts were generated by downloading my eBird data and processing it with some of my own terrible Python code

My thoughts:

• No, I didn't add a lot to my life list, but that wasn't the goal.
• I've gained a deeper appreciation for the everyday birds. I've never been one to chase rarities & vagrants anyway.
• Consistent observation over time can be immensely rewarding.

Either this summer or last, all on the Youghiogheny.

Midwest USA. September 2025.

Olympus E-M1+ Oly 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 @ 75mm, f/5.6, 1/1000s, ISO-500.

I took these a few days after posting my last heron photos and didn't want to spam here. A few months went by and I forgot.

I love these birds. They're so fun to watch wade around and hunt. It would truly be terrifying to be a small fish when this thing has you in its sights.

Midwest USA. December 2025.

Olympus E-M1+ Oly 75mm-300mm f/4.8-6.7 II @ 252, f/8, 1/80s, ISO-640.

Did I find an IRL shiny? Is this leucism? It's rare that I see a chickadee with white feathers in its cap.

Midwest USA. December 2025.

Olympus E-M1 + Oly 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 II @ 252mm, f/8, 1/200s, ISO-640.

Not exactly an uncommon bird, but a hard one to photograph because they only want to scavenge on the ground and they're wary of humans. Still a cool sighting and it looks cool perched on that tree.

This Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) was sparring with another osprey in the area

Taken with an OM System OM1 Mk II & M.Zuiko M.300 F4.0

Location: Southwestern USA

December 2025

Location: American Southwest

December 2025