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Bat Falcon (Falco rufigularis), family Falconidae, order Falconiformes, Atlantic Coastal Forest, Brazil

photograph by Javier Zurita

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Brown Fish Owl (Ketupa zeylonensis), family Strigidae, order Strigiformes, Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, India

photograph by Anjan Lal

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Rainbow Starfrontlet (Coeligena iris), male, family Trochilidae, order Apodiformes, Ecuador

photograph by Javier Zurita

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Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca) BORBING!, family Passerellidae, order Passeriformes, Locust Valley, NY, USA

photograph by Ash van der Lay

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can we see eat a tasty berry?

YOU LIKE A TASTY BERRY?!?!

Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula), male, EAT A TASTY BERRY!!!, family Fringillidae, order Passeriformes, Poland

photograph by Zver a Príroda

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Guess whose crown is growing in straighter this molt?

It's still a party in the back, but the front is coming in even and straight for the first time!

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Striated Bulbul (Alcurus striatus), family Pycnonotidae, order Passeriformes, Sikkim, India

photograph by Uday Wandkar

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This bird can fit so many pomegranate seeds she's never getting out of Hades

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i need everyone to see the funniest fucking pigeon rescue in the world

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why is it white

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Desire

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This crow is in trance. It has reached Samadhi.

Aaskrähe (carrion crow) am Max-Eyth-See, Mühlhausen.

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My 2024 Top 10 Favourites.

On Melancholy Hill Tumblr's and my absolute favourite. There isn't much to say. I just remember turning around while counting geese, and there it was - an idyllic scene. A crow extraordinarily relaxed, loafing on a nice spring afternoon. I came a bit closer thinking I *really* hope it stays. Then I crouched fearing the same, but the crow, watched me attentively and stayed. I was blessed - the luck of photographing birds more used to people. The slope gave me the perfect height for the shot, and the crow just chilled there, looking like something was occupying its mind. I got what I wanted and left. The crow stayed there, but it also stayed with me forever.

Sweet mommy's love It was Graugansito season and fortunately I was right in time to see the very little ones. This scene was beautiful, and obviously the geese just chill by the lake and all you need is a perfect moment to capture. This one stood out for me. And I can neither confirm nor deny whether there were more goslings hidden under mommy's wing.

Europe's angriest bird This picture was taking by cheating. So call me a cheat. It is nice, but I cheated. And even worse, I made a little guy angry. Yes, I did play playback (even though I believe that's wrong) in this one because I had seen a pair of goldcrests here the previous week and I was very curious to see if they were genuinely staying and breeding in this place. The male came and sang immediately –that's how I got him nicely close to me–, but the best thing about this encounter wasn't the pictures - it was realizing that the bird seemed to know there wasn't another bird. That I was the source of the goldcrest song. That I was his enemy. I haven't managed to make a bird love me, but that day, I managed to make one hate me.

The light of duckling This pond lends itself to high contrasts and you can play a little with that. I didn't have much time, and the ducklings were all over the place, but I got lucky (otherwise, this post wouldn't exist). As I was leaving I took one last shot with the settings I had for a different spot - and it turned out well. Some of my favourite photos are those that transmit emotions when you look at them. I think this is also one of them.

Spring has arrived It's easy to forget you don't have to be very close to the bird to get a nice photo. In any case, here I was taking a photo out of excitement at seeing Hausrotschwanzkehlchen back, before getting closer to the bird. I never intended it to be anything more than a 'proof' shot, but sometimes those turn out way better than expected.

Is this fluff real? It was peak migration, sunny late afternoon, Schwanzmeise flock and there I was, trying to capture this so-called product of my imagination. It was difficult to get the right angle as the sun was behind them and I had to avoid the backlight, but the good thing about them is that they don't seem to care much about your presence. I got this one really really nicely, and right after they left, I saw my first black storks in the sky. Last September was good.

One more shot As I focus on birding and photography comes second, sometimes I might just leave with zero nice photos to post. That day was no different, but that day I was also thinking: "I'm running out of current photos to post." So I gave it an extra shot, overstayed, and tried to find a subject. A big Blaumeise bunch showed up, many of them, busy foraging, and (I think it was always the same) one came so close that allowed me to take some cute photos.

The pose There's little challenge in taking photos of the coots in this pond. If that wasn't enough, the light was nice that day and someone had thrown a pallet in it. The coot was standing on it and I thought the opportunity was too nice to ignore. Then it even started stretching, giving me the chance to capture this nice pose. The poop is just extra.

The babiest Wacholderdrossel As I was leaving the S-Bahn station, coming up the stairs, I saw this baby perched on a handrail. I could barely believe it, so I emerged, went there, and took my camera out. The baby was going nowhere despite people walking right in front of it. I took some photos, in awe, and I don't know what everybody else contemplating us thought, but I thought that I was so damn lucky to have such a cute photo without even having started.

Just a moment If you're learning photography, nobody is going to tell you "just shoot at whatever you see," but that seems to work sometimes. It's not my intention, mind, because here I saw a little bird perching above my head and I really needed this shot to indeed confirm I was seeing Fitis and not Zilpzalp. But look at that little face, that smoothness... I guess when you take thousands of shots while going places, a few might also be nice. It's never easy to decide, but here's my selection with some background/behind the scenes. As usual there isn't much to it. Mostly just press the button. Let's hope 2025 brings us more bird joy to all of us!

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And what do you wear to sleep?

Mandarinenten ♂️+♀️ (mandarin ducks) am Pfaffensee, Stuttgart-West.

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Longing for Rotkehlchen Studies in Ornithology and Borbs, after months of investigative work and research, is proud to present you with intersex mandarin duck. 🤩

Mandarinente (mandarin duck) ♀️☿ am Pfaffensee, Stuttgart-West.