Great Blue Heron

I really love this bird. I always see these guys alone, near water. They are quite large and stoic and strikingly photogenic:

American Coot

American Coot - Seattle, WA

A few more random birds...

American Crow - Seatte, WA

Northern Flicker - Seattle, WA
I was so excited when I first saw this bird in our front yard - I thought it was a woodpecker of some sort. It is not, but it is a tree-clinging bird. We see these birds pretty often. They eat from the feeder and forage around on the ground. They are about the size of a crow and have a striking appearance.


Red-Winged Blackbird - Seattle, WA


Red-Winged Blackbird (immature) - Seattle, WA


Gray Jay - Issaquah, WA
This guy is perched on Silvie's hand. The picture was taken on the summit of Tiger Mountain, where the jays get mighty close to people, often pecking seeds from outstretched palms.

Barn Swallow - Seattle, WA

I used to see these guys quite a bit at South Lake Union Park while on my lunch breaks. I would sit on a bench at the edge of a field and watch them flying around in circles, close to the ground, looking for insects. They would swoop down, change directions suddenly, and generally put on a great show.

Oregon Junco - Seattle, WA

I snapped this guy at Lincoln Park in West Seattle. Even though he hopped around for a while at my feet, this was the best shot I got of him.

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Barred Owl

I saw this guy in Lincoln Park in West Seattle, hanging out on a low tree branch in a little grove where I used to go quite a bit.

Bald Eagles

When Sil and I lived in West Seattle, I used to see eagles quite often at Lincoln Park. They would be perched on certain tree branches with commanding views of the sound. Once in a while I'd see one swoop out over the water on the hunt. But mostly I'd just see them sitting stoically on the high branches, alone or in pairs.

Ducks

Mallard (Male) - Bellevue, WA

Mallard pair - Bellevue, WA

Cinnamon Teal - Seattle, WA


Bufflehead - Seattle, WA


American Wigeon - Seattle, WA

Eurasian Wigeon - Seattle, WA

Gulls

There are dozens of gull species in the world, and here are four that I've photographed:

Herring Gull - Alcatraz Island, CA

Red-Billed Gull - Morro Bay, CA

Thayer's Gull - Seattle, WA


Glaucous-Winged Gull - Seattle, WA

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Woodpeckers

Downy Woodpecker (Female)

Downy Woodpecker (Male)


Red-Breasted Woodpecker


Pileated Woodpecker

The three shots at the feeder were taken at my house in Pittsburgh circa 2003. I used to get sparrows and wrens at that feeder (and squirrels and raccoons as well). I also used to see a lot of cardinals in that small backyard. They always showed up in mated pairs and the male would stand guard while the female ate from the seeds on the ground. For some reason I never took any pictures of the cardinals, and it wasn't until I moved out west that I learned that cardinals don't range out this far west, except for a little in extreme Southern California and Arizona. But, anyway, back to the woodpeckers. I was so thrilled to be able to watch these birds in action. The Pileated Woody was snapped in Welches, Oregon at a nature preserve.

American Robin

I think this was the picture that inspired me to put together a bird book (or blog!). This was taken on my mom's back porch sometime in the early 2000s. It seems reasonable to start with one of the most common birds, and I was fortunate to catch this great moment with mama robin feeding her youngster.

Bird Photos Galore!

I have a backlog of bird photos, and so I thought why not make yet ANOTHER blog! This one wil be devoted entirely to birdies because they are way cool.