Taken in Silves, Algarve, Portugal, this Male Stork lifting off to return to its partner and family on the nest

Razor sharp., unforgiving., but necessary for survival., those talons are 'Lethal weapons'

If you landed from another planet this one picture would tell you everything you needed to know about a bird of prey

And if you landed from another planet and were only six inches tall., then it may be a case of 'ET to go home!

A few weeks ago we posted a picture of a Kingfisher on a stick with a dragonfly nymph in its beak

This is the same Kingfisher fishing one out of the water., not sure if it was the same nymph we pictured earlier., but I have a feeling there will be a few less dragonflies around this particular pond next summer!

Wild Turkey

Common Buzzard., Common colours., Commonly seen

Perhaps there's something about their 'raw' appearance that makes them (for me) so appealing

No nonsense raptor ., that does exactly what it says on the tin!

Phoenicurus ochruros / Mrka crvenrepka / Black redstart (female)

Thanks to everyone for your visiting, favs & comments :).

egret running

Beautiful wing stretch

As always, many thanks for taking the time to view, fave and comment. That's very much appreciated

Stay safe!

We went to Leighton Moss to see the Purple Heron. Last one recorded there was in 1996. Wonderful to see this beautiful bird so close. Unfortunately the light deteriorated when it did a fly by

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Thanks for viewing, faves and comments

A trick of the camera of course

But at first glance this really does look like a two headed Godwit!

They were having a fight and got tangled into all sorts of shapes and positions., this particular moment I had to look at twice!

Long-tailed tit / Aegithalos caudatus / Dugorepa sjenica

Thanks to everyone for your visiting, favs & comments :).

Good to go.

Wild Turkey

A couple days ago, I posted a photo of a female snowy owl preening. She stayed on the post for over well over an hour relaxing, scanning for prey, preening, and having a quick nap (and revealing its white, feathery eyelids). Then the owl flew away. This is the best frame from the short sequence before it disappeared out of my view. I was photographing from inside my vehicle, so fairly limited in tracking it as it flew down low to the ground, out over a field, and eventually perching on a willow that was well out of camera range.

I took a few images while the snowy was on the post, but the real enjoyment was in watching and learning, and enjoying her beauty.

good to go

wild turkey walking by unafraid between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

(56/365)

Red-backed shrike / Rusi svračak

Thanks to everyone for your visiting, favs & comments :).

good togo

Lafayette, Colorado

Wishing everyone a fabulous sun-filled Friday, enjoy =)

Best viewed large.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird perched in the garden.

Though it looks like this osprey is coming in for a landing, it's a young bird just figuring out how to use his/her wings. There was no need to travel far into the back woods to find this nest as it is on top of a light pole in the middle of a Trader Joe's parking lot! It's sibling had already figure out the secrets of flight and made its way to a nearby light pole.

Nashua, New Hampshire.

Lanius collurio / Red-backed shrike / Rusi svračak

Thanks to everyone for your visiting, favs & comments :).

These diminutive birds are such charming little characters, with their striking markings and busy behaviour. It's always a pleasure to catch up with one, like this little fella at Lower Sabie in the Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Thanks for viewing, and for any faves or comments - they're always very much appreciated.

One from my archives of a Great Grey Owl ...note the nictating ( second eyelid) , an instinctive reaction when there is a possibility of eye injury as when landing on a perch...

www.flickr.com/photos/104002621@N02/galleries/72157651736...

www.flickr.com/photos/loewenkind1946/15381242834/in/pool-...

www.flickr.com/photos/loewenkind1946/galleries/7215765176...

Such majestic birds, we were very fortunate to encounter this African Harrier-Hawk close to the road within the Kruger National Park on safari with Wild Wings Safaris. Awesome.

If a mysterious trill catches your attention in the night, bear in mind the spooky sound may come from an owl no bigger than a pint glass. Common east of the Rockies in woods, suburbs, and parks, the Eastern Screech-Owl is found wherever trees are, and they’re even willing to nest in backyard nest boxes. These supremely camouflaged birds hide out in nooks and tree crannies through the day, so train your ears and listen for them at night.

Owl Habitat: Wooded canyons, desert mesquites, farm groves, shade trees. Found in a wide variety of wooded or semi-open habitats, including forest edge, wooded suburbs, canyons, mesquite groves and saguaros in the desert, streamside groves in arid country. Mostly in deciduous or mixed woods. Avoids extreme desert situations and higher elevations in mountains.

Composite of 2 images. First image - the cormorant and a dull clear blue sky. The sky is removed to separate the bird with Select by Color Tool. The bottom layer is a more interesting cloudy sky image. The result is not a perfect one but I expected much worse result. Software - Gimp.

Thanks to everyone for your visiting, favs & comments :).

A grebe takes her little humbugs for a ride.

Had a very enjoyable few hours with this youngster last Tuesday. He has been around nearly three weeks and during my time there he managed to catch and consume three fish.

In celebration of the little bit of rain we've had this week, this is a shot from the last evening rain. Parking lot outside Buffalo Wild Wings. The blue is actually Aspen Dental, so you can go get the wings cleaned out of your teeth.

and then things go downhill...