Favorite Bird Pics of January 2025

“He taught me the difference between casual “birdwatching” and the more intense, focused “birding,” and urged me to go beyond identifying birds to noting their actions and behavior.”
― Jennifer Ackerman, The Genius of Birds

White-breasted Nuthatch

White-throated Sparrow

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Chipping Sparrow

Pileated Woodpecker

Ruddy Duck

Pair of Hooded Mergansers

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Cedar Waxwing

Northern Flicker

Pine Warbler

Hermit Thrush

Great Blue Heron

Brown Creeper

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Let Israel be glad in his Maker, let the children of Zion rejoice in their King! Psalm 149:2

Favorite Bird Shots of October ’24

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (female). An unusual visitor to my backyard as they only pass through in the spring and fall. I saw a juvenile male the next day.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Red-headed Woodpecker (juvenile)

Red-bellied Woodpecker (looks like he’s holding a Chee-to, but I suppose it’s not).

Wood Ducks (female)

Pine Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Northern Flicker

Red-Shouldered Hawk

Red-Headed Woodpecker

Northern Mockingbird

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (juvenile)

Blue Jay

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Cedar Waxwing

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Monarch Butterfly

I exalt You, my God the King, and praise your name forever and ever.” Psalm 145:1

Favorite Bird Pics May ’24

“On a day like this, I can’t imagine anything better that might happen in a person’s life than for them to start paying attention to birds—to become aware of this magical world that exists all around us, unnoticed by many but totally captivating for those who know its secrets. This kind of spring day, with its bountiful myriads of colorful sprites just arrived from tropical shores, has to be one of the greatest gifts of life on Earth.”
― Kenn Kaufman, A Season On The Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration

Wood Duck Mama and Five Ducklings

Prothonotary Warbler

Red-shouldered Hawk baby

Summer Tanager

Scarlet Tanager

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Pine Warbler

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (I’ve had some with white spots coming for several years now. I’ve decided it must not be the plague).

Hummingbird Wars

Cedar Waxwings

Another male summer tanager

Gray Catbird

Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawks

Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawks (from a different nest)

Indigo Bunting

Black-crowned Night Heron (juvenile).

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron

Favorite Bird Shots of April ’24

Pileated Woodpecker

Wood Duck ducklings

Ducklings and Otter

Wood Duck pair

Red-winged Blackbird

White-eyed Vireo

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (male)

Red-headed Woodpecker

Great Blue Heron (notice the fishing line around his legs)

Solitary Sandpiper

Red-shouldered Hawk on nest (I paid for this shot. When I turned my back, she dive-bombed me and hit me on the top of the head. I thought a coconut had fallen out of the tree).

Red-tailed Hawk

American Redstart

Mother Mallard and a few of her (at least) 14 ducklings

Prothonotary Warbler

Pine Warbler

Barred Owl Fledgling

Mama Wood Duck plus three

Eastern Kingbird

Favorite Bird Pics of February ’24

Pair of Wood Ducks checking out a potential nesting box

Brown-headed Nuthatch working on a new home

Great Blue Herons and Mallards Ducks–I think these mallards hired the herons as sentinels. The herons never moved the whole two hours I was there while the mallards slept or paddled around.

Hermit Thrush–I’ve seen and heard these birds quite a bit this winter. They will migrate north in the spring, so listen for them while you can.

Belted kingfisher (female)

Golden-crowned Kinglet–These little guys spend their summers nesting and breeding the high elevation spruce-fir forests of Appalachian North Carolina. They grace us here in the Piedmont with their presence during the winter months.

Red-shouldered Hawks–He brought her a snake but she didn’t seem interested.

Eastern Bluebird (male)

Pileated Woodpecker

Cedar Waxwing

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Red-headed Woodpecker

Pine Warbler

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Jesus; Matthew 6:26)

Bird Pictures January ’24

Pine Warbler

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Great Blue Heron

Tufted Titmouse

Ruby-crowned kinglet

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Hooded Mergansers

Pair of Hooded Mergansers

Goldfinch

Hermit Thrush

Blue-headed Vireo

Double-crested Cormorant

White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Red-bellied Woodpecker (male)

Downy Woodpecker (male)

The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. Psalm 24:1

October ’23 Birds

“seeing that bird, which might take off at any second, has taught me to sit still, to relish the moment.”
― Julia Zarankin, Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder: A Memoir

American Redstart (male)

American Redstart (female)

Northern Parula

Pine Warbler

Hairy Woodpecker

Blue Jay

Red-Headed Woodpecker

Red-Headed Woodpecker (juvenile)

Red-Bellied Woodpecker (male)

Palm Warbler

Red-shouldered Hawk

Trio of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers

Cedar Waxwing

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Yellow-rumped warbler (female)

Unidentified Ducks (Hope to figure this out soon!)

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Bird Photos from May ’23

Male Wood Duck and Solitary Sandpiper

Blue Grosbeak

Cedar Waxwing

White-eyed Vireo

Mallard Family

Wood Duck Pair

Barred Owl

Cooper’s Hawk

Great Crested Flycatcher

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Eastern Towhee

Red-shouldered Hawk chicks

Pine Warbler

Mother Downy Woodpecker feeding fledgling

Great Blue Heron