ALL MY PHOTOGRAPHS are ALL RIGHTS RESERVED and are COPYRIGHT © solely to me. Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way. Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. Thank you.

After all that splashing, a bit of preening was in order.

Male Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos)

Rowlett Creek Nature Preserve Greenbelt, Garland

My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com

Glossy ibis preening its neck

keeping those beautiful feathers in top condition .. seen at papermill lock .... :)

Down for a rest :)

Mute Swan preening on the River Don, Aberdeen

A Herring Gull cleaning it's feathers.

This Lesser Goldfinch was seen preening in the Herb Garden at the Los Angeles County Arboretum, Arcadia CA

It can't be easy using that long bill to reach one particular feather. Looks like it is using the other wing to keep balance.

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com

Snowy egret

Egretta thula

This was my first sighting of Black Skimmers so even though they didn't fly, it was very exciting to see them. Taken in Fort de Soto Park, Florida.

Many thanks for your visit and comments. They are very much appreciated.

Image shot with a 500mm manual focus mirror lens.

A decade-old photo of some Trumper Swans. Wintering on a Norman, OK lake. Their heads are stained red indicating the lakes they spend summer on have iron deposits. Likely MN. Our beautiful world, pass it on.

Going through some old stuff, shot in the spring of this year.

Pied billed grebe preening its feather

a good clean always feels great

I wish I were a hummingbird, flitting to and fro;

A tiny bird with lightning speed, how quickly I'd come and go.

I wish I were a hummingbird, traveling near and far;

Glittering in the sunlight, yet reaching for a star.

I wish I were a hummingbird, sipping nectar from a rose;

And wearing pretty feathers instead of these plain clothes.

I wish I were a hummingbird, soaring high and free;

If I could be a hummingbird, how happy I would be.

Member of the Flickr Bird Brigade

Activists for birds and wildlife

Full from fishing it's preening time.

The kingfisher was absorbed in her grooming routine. As ever this is a wild bird.

Gadwall drake

Toronto, ON

Ardea alba

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

"First brought to North America by Shakespeare enthusiasts in the nineteenth century, European Starlings are now among the continent’s most numerous songbirds."- Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Siskiyou County, California

Captured while visiting 'Winter' the dolphin at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Clearwater, Florida

Winter is a bottlenose dolphin, widely known for having a prosthetic tail. She is the subject of the book Dolphin Tale, and the 2011 film of the same name.

I actually had problems choosing these few to publish on Flickr. I haven't been active here for such a long time but I haven't stopped taking pictures.

Bempton

It's rare that I get a decent bird shot (mostly secondary to my lack of patience, although a better telephoto lens would help as well), but I thought this showed how pretty even a common mallard can be.

Found this one that I took a few of years ago. It was taken with a Nikon D70 using an 80-300 G Series lens. The exif data is gone from computer abuse by myself, but knowing myself it was probably set around 5.6 so I could shoot at a higher shutter speed. I do know that this was my first trip to Wakodahatchie Wetlands and was the beginning of my adventure into this birding.

Many thanks my dear flickr friends and I wish you a very happy week : )) x

Humber River, Warren Park, Toronto ON 14 May 2021

Bay City State Park - Bay City, Michigan