Got out this chilly New Year’s Day to do a little birding and picked up my 294th species for Johnson County, Iowa: Townsend’s Solitaire.
This bird is typically found in the mountainous regions of the western United States so it’s pretty unusual for Eastern Iowa. Hoping it’s a good sign for 2026!
A small, dark brown bird with barred flanks and a stubby, cocked tail perches on a large branch as it forages among the underbrush of a woodland in eastern Iowa.
A Winter Wren forages among woodland underbrush as it passes through Iowa on its way to wintering grounds in the southern United States.
#birds #wrens #nature #wildlife #photography #iowa
Midday moment of zen.
Looking for birds during a rainy lunch break.
A Ring-billed Gull, a white-headed gull identified by its light gray mantle, yellow bill with black subterminal ring, and yellow legs, sleeps on a sandy beach strewn with rocks and patches of seaweed near Seal Harbor, Maine.
A Ring-billed Gull catches a midday nap on the rocky coastline of Mount Desert Island, Maine.
#birds #birdsky #nature #wildlife #maine
Patience, and taking about 50 photos hoping one turns out ok 😉
Thanks!
Who can resist? Not me. QP/post your photo of hummingbirds.
An immature Rufous Hummingbird sips nectar from a Rocky Mountain Bee Plant in Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park.
#hummingbirds #birds #birdsky
A pronghorn doe keeps a watchful eye while her fawn nurses.
📍Pawnee National Grasslands.
#mammals #babyanimals #colorado #coloradowildlife #grassland #nature #naturephotograpy #wildlife #wildlifephotography
#pronghorn #mammals #mammalsofbluesky #babyanimals #colorado #coloradowildlife #grassland #pawneenationalgrasslands #nature #naturelovers #naturephotograpy #wildlife #wildlifephotography
Nick in a green t-shirt, ball cap, and sunglasses, me in a light green hooded sun shirt, glasses, and a Patagonia hat, and Luna struggling to escape picture time, crouching in front of a sign for the Alfred M. Bailey Bird Nesting Area. Pine and spruce trees fill the background.
Just finished a morning hike along North Rock Creek #46 into the Alfred M. Bailey Bird Nesting Area. The combination of birding and Luna sniffing everything in sight kept the pace nice and slow.
#birding #hiking #colorado #dogsofbluesky
A Monk Parakeet, a jay-sized parrot that is green overall with a gray face and breast, long pointed tail, and a pink, hooked bill, perches in a tree that is just beginning to leaf out.
The Monk Parakeet is a jay-sized species of parrot native to the temperate and subtropical regions of South America. Some kept as pets have escaped to establish populations as far north as Chicago, Illinois and parts of Northern Europe.
📍Hidalgo, Texas
#birds #birdsky #parrots #nature #wildlife
Things are looking good for the Johnson County, Iowa spring migration count tomorrow!
#birding #birdcast #globalbigday #cornelllab #migration
The cerulean blue of a Lazuli Bunting shines like its namesake gemstone amidst the desert hues of of Tucson, Arizona.
#birds #birdsofbluesky #nature #wildlife #arizona #tucson #desert #lazulibunting
Happy Earth Day! ❤️ 🌎
#earthday #earthdayeveryday
Executive order to sunset Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, Marine Mammal protection act.
Speedrunning ecological collapse to maximize shareholder value in an economy that is also collapsing.
A male Pyrrhuloxia at Catalina State Park outside Tucson, Arizona.
#birds #birdsofbluesky #nature #wildlife #arizona #desert
Three life birds? And on a Monday??
Johnson County, where the U of Iowa is located, went 68% for Harris. So no, we didn’t vote for this.
Their research supports regulations to protect the public from exposure to air pollution and hazardous chemicals, along with guidance on how to confront climate change. This potentially eases regulation of the chemical and fossil fuel industries and puts the health of Americans at increased risk.
Thanks @tjc05.bsky.social! Can’t take credit for the find though as this was a very well-documented bird that had been hanging out in the resaca for several weeks and been sought out by many birders. He did post up nice for me in a flowering huisache though, which made for some nice shots.
Coming up on the one-year anniversary of seeing this famous juvenile Roadside Hawk in south Texas. They are a rare sight north of the Rio Grande and a coveted addition to any birder’s US life list.
#hawks #raptors #rarebirds #birds #birdsofbluesky #birding #wildlife #nature #texas
Thanks!
I love them too! One of my favorite families of birds (although it’s hard to pick favorites haha).
We’ve had a Snowy Owl being seen off and on near Iowa City the last couple of weeks but I haven’t had a chance to go out and look for it. I’ve seen them a couple times here in Iowa but I never get tired of seeing them or any other type of owl!
Thanks!
A Barred Owl perches on a small branch amongst the newly emerged spring leaves.
Happy Superb Owl Sunday!
Barred Owl. Hickory Hill Park, Iowa City, Iowa.
#birds #owls #nature #wildlife
That’s awesome you’re getting into birding. I love it!
January thaw on the Missouri River just downstream of Omaha, Nebraska.
#winter #nature #ice #rivers
Thanks! And yeah they are more common in the west side of the state but fairly rare on the east side.
