This post is going to have a ton of variety and some really beautiful birds! A lot of people might not agree, but I think that Turkey Vultures are incredibly cool and so beautiful. They’re extremely large and have a really striking bald red colored head. My first photos of a Cooper’s hawk aren’t the greatest but just check out those red eyes. Kestrels are a bit of a nemesis for me, it was extremely difficult to get this photo. The orange plumage is absolutely stunning, however!
Turkey Vulture, Cooper’s Hawk, American Kestrel
A lot of my early bird photos came from watching my bird feeder in my front yard. Mourning Doves are a pretty frequent visitor when the weather is nicer. one of my favorites is the White-breasted Nuthatch. They have a lot of fun little behaviors they do when at the feeder, such as hanging upside down. A little bird had come to the feeder I had never seen before, and it was a Harris Sparrow. Since the first time I’ve seen one, I’ve had a ton of them come during The winter and they are so cute.
Mourning Dove, White-breasted Nuthatch, Harris Sparrow
A few birds I found while out adventuring were an Eastern Phoebe, a Fox Sparrow, and Northern Flicker. The Phoebes seem to be relatively unbothered and came to my feeder quite a bit during the early spring. Fox sparrows are quite beautiful and I hope to find more to improve my photos of them. My favorite of these birds is of course the Northern Flicker. They’re a pretty large sized wood pecker and they tend to feed mainly on the ground, unlike moist of their cousins.
Eastern Phoebe, Fox Sparrow, Northern Flicker
These next few birds I photographed while on vacation in Fort Bragg, California. It’s one of my favorite places to visit and this was my first time birding there. On the beach I came upon a Whimbrel and was able to get a really great shot. I found a White-crowned Sparrow while walking on a boardwalk to view some seals, and lastly a stunning Barn Swallow posed for me on a light wire at the Wharf.
Whimbrel, White-crowned Sparrow, Barn Swallow
The last three birds of this post will be the Double-crested Cormorant, Great Egret, and Ring-necked Pheasant. I had just got my new Sigma 150-600mm lens when I found the cormorants. They were so unusual and I had never seen them in my life before, but it was the perfect shot to test my lens and the photo is one of my favorites. The Great Egret happened to show up on the same day, and was so unbothered by my presence and I got so many beautiful photos. I’ve discussed in a previous post on my feelings of the Ring-necked Pheasant. To this day he remains my nemesis but I’ll never stop trying to get that perfect photo!
Double-crested Cormorant, Great Egret, Ring-necked Pheasant
