Happiness is catching raindrops.

Thick-billed Euphonia

Number 7 in my "Sing your heart out" series

"Always tough to get a beautiful orange metal post shot, and then get photobombed out of nowhere by a passing bird, oh well." jt893x"

Adult male

Raindrops keep falling on my head.. back and everywhere.

The third photo in my Columbian tanager series

Yellow-headed blackbird-08821-Edit

This small tanager is endemic to the mountains of Colombia.

Male yellow-headed blackbird foraging for bugs in the grass and white clover.

I found a four-leaf clover in a patch of poison ivy. I developed a rash of good luck

Número nueve en mi serie Colombian Tanager

Honeysuckle

Multi-flash Hummingbird Setup: www.flickr.com/photos/egofreed/45147025232/in/album-72157...

Leroy: Falconer's bird

Number 14 in the "Take Wing" series

Although the Red-breasted merganser is the fastest flying duck (100mph) they still require a running start and a long runway to reach take-off velocity.

Number 8, Head-on Series

Not quite head-on but he's banking toward me

Composite

Four of a kind: Black-chinned hummingbirds

Multi-flash Hummingbird Setup: www.flickr.com/photos/egofreed/45147025232/in/album-72157...

Number 10 and the end of my Columbian Tanager series. I will post more Tanager photos as I get to them.

The fastest duck in flight at 100mph. Canvasback second at 72 mph

I think she off to an audition with Bolshoi production of Swan Lake

Spotted towhee

Female. Notice the tip of the bill, perfect for cutting holes at the base of flower, accessing the nectar and failing to pollenate.

Second in my series of uncolorful but interesting birds photographed in Columbia. From yesterday's comments, I need to clarify that the birds in this series have limited colors when compared to the gaudy-colored birds of the tropics and the previous 15 bird photos in my stream.

International Ornithological Committee, split the magnificent hummingbird into two species, Rivoli's hummingbird and Talamanca Hummingbird.

Close Encounter of the Bird Kind

Common name: Goblin Blanket Flower

Botanical name: Gaillardia Goblin

Patagonia, Arizona

Number 3 in my "Sing your heart out" series

While not as energetic looking as the previous few songsters, he is indeed calling for a mate. The Field sparrow song resembles a ping-pong ball bouncing on a tabletop until it speeds up to a stop.

Field sparrow-02017

Sixth in my series of uncolorful but interesting birds photographed in Columbia. That upswept bill with a hook at the tip is designed to pierce the base of a flower, gaining access to the nectar, and thus avoiding pollinating the flower.

Common merganser hen and the smaller hooded merganser hen

There's no bee in Rose! There is in this one.

The Rufous hummingbird is taking a close look but the bee wasn't happy about that and went after the him. I'll post a chase series soon.

Multi-flash Hummingbird Setup: www.flickr.com/photos/egofreed/45147025232/in/album-72157...

Leroy: Falconer's bird

as the female Rufous hummingbird takes nectar from the penstemon, she triggers the anther and pollen is stamped on her bill

Multi-flash Hummingbird Setup: www.flickr.com/photos/egofreed/45147025232/in/album-72157...

a small hummingbird with an exceptionally long tail

Torrent Ducks ride the rapids and explore the eddies in search of a meal. " Torrent Duck lives in fast-flowing mountain rivers, streams and torrents. The year-round territory includes rapids, boulders, waterfalls and gorges, but also wide areas of quiet waters. This duck is visible from sea-level in Chile, up to 4500 metres of elevation in the Andes."

Birders frequently refer to sparrows as LBRB, Little Brown Round Birds. While their earth-tone colors understate their beauty, their songs are interesting and wonderous. The Vesper Sparrow's love song is a musical jumble consisting of slurred notes, whistles, trills, and ending with a buzz.

If you listen to the following recording from Cornel Labs, imagine their song repeated several times in a row.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Vesper_Sparrow

Number 8 in my "Sing your heart out" series

Vesper sparrow-01876

Happy New Year!!!

Out with the old and in with the new. Do something you've always wanted to do in 2024.

Third in my series of uncolorful but interesting birds photographed in Columbia. Photographed in extremely low light. Handheld, 1/160 sec, ISO 10,000. Topaz DeNoise salvaged this photo.

BTW, I'm on Jury Duty for 3-5 days. I'll eventually catch up on returning comments

Michele with Leroy her Harris's Hawk