wings of an egret
Birds are Designed for Flight

Birds are Designed for Flight

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Birds are Designed for Flight, The combination of light weight, strength and shape, as well as precision control, is largely responsible for giving birds their special ability for sustained flight.

Every part gives maximum power with a minimum of weight. The heavier the animal, the bigger its wings need to be. The bigger the wings, the more muscle is needed to move them. (video below)

One of my favorite things to try and photograph are birds in flight, just as their wings touch the water.

Birds are Designed for Flight
Birds are Designed for Flight

And of course, my favorite bird being the Bald Eagle. I do not have one of his wings touching the water, Yet. 🙂 But his tail feathers are almost touching in this photograph.

Birds are Designed for Flight

My second favorite, the American White Pelican. They are all gone now in my area for the winter. I look forward to spring time when they return, but for now the Eagles will be coming back here soon. And I always look forward to that. There is something for every season under the sun.

I like this photo below, he looks like he is waving good by for the year.

Birds are Designed for Flight

This video shows the strength of the pelicans wings as I put it into slow motion when it is gliding over water. You can see his wings just graze the water. That is beauty in motion to me.

Birds are Designed for Flight

by Sandra J

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68 Replies to “Birds are Designed for Flight”

    1. That is true, I never really thought of the title until now. 🙂 That title deserves a duh, 🙂 I should always let my husband read them first, he is like you. He sees things different than I do, but he usually comes up with titles I probably should not use in some cases though. 🙂

  3. the tail feathers of a Baldie create what is called the ” ground effect” when they get close to the waters surface! The tail feathers actually are forced upwards by this effect. It helps stop the eagle from taking a unwanted dip. Having said that,yes they do go into the water sometimes and have to swim to shore. I believe a CDN scientist discovered this effect while seeing If a flying saucer could fly!
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_effect_(aerodynamics)

    1. That is so interesting and makes so much sense. With the pelicans it looks like they are just hovering above the water. And I have noticed that with the Eagles just before they grab a fish, the ground effect keeps them from falling in. Newton’s 3rd Law, I love the science of things.

        1. I have not flown in awhile, but the landing part was when I felt a bit quizzy, because it felt like it was going up and down just before the wheels touched. I loved taking off in a plane, but landing always turned my stomach a bit.

            5. I just punched in your description and the video came up. That is quiet impressive and it is doing exactly what the birds have already figured out. 🙂 And yes, I am sure it is expensive.

  4. Slow motion for your White Pelican on the move was just incredible Sandra- such a large wing span. The other bird photos are also beautiful, especially those with reflections on the water. I can certainly see why you are fascinated with the birds and their wings in particular.

    1. Thank you Linda, I know, there is just something about seeing them glide just above the water as their wings barely touch it. Yesterday the Egrets on the river were giving me a show. They were chasing each other and flying low. Must be the cooler weather.

      1. You are lucky to have seen that Egret show Sandra … probably the cooler weather and the Egrets now have all their feathers from moulting earlier. Everyone is full of energy now with the crisp temps. I really like seeing them dip down so low to the water and like you I am amazed at how their wings tuck up so small and are such a wide span when flying.

    1. Well, if some of them show up where you are looking a little dirty, their feathers ruffled a bit. They have been on the Mississippi River and they don’t stay very white after being here. 🙂

  6. Wow!!! Amazing photos!!!! These must have been really hard to get. I know I have a tough time with the action photos but you’ve done a spectacular job capturing these moments!!!! Simply beautiful 🙂

    1. Thank you so much Maria, it is fun though isn’t it? I always take a chair with me when I try to get shots like this. It takes patience sometimes waiting for them to fly by. 🙂

      1. It is fun. I’m usually on a trip so my photos are unexpected. But I always have my camera ready. I’m glad to hear you have a chair to relax in while you patiently wait. I spoke with another bird photographer who said she built a camouflage area in her yard to get the perfect photos. She’s in Miami and said the heat was terrible because she would sometimes camp out there for a good part of the day. That’s a little too much for me but I really appreciate all the work that goes into getting those amazing shots. Thank you so much for all of your beautiful photos!

    1. Thank you Ted, I have yet to get the Eagle with his wings touching the water. I have had a couple shots but they were to blurry. Maybe this winter though.

  14. ♡ …and The Albatross; off the cliff if I remember correctly and stranded unless placed on a cliff 🤔 ?

    …♡♡♡…

    …♡♡♡…

  23. I watch a television show on Cornerstone network (available on youtube) called Origins. In one episode, a scientist explained the intricacies of the design of a bird in order for them to fly. He stated that the secular scientist say that bird evolved from dinosaurs, but then he pointed out that hundreds or thousands of changes would have to take place at the same time for that to happen. If only a few changes happened, there would be no need for them and the body would reject the change. I think the scientist was a geneticist. He posed that as just one more proof that God created the heavens and the earth, just as is stated in Scripture.

    1. I have watched a few videos about similar things, I will look this one up also. But it always comes down to, one animal cannot evolve or change into another animal. Each one of the many cells in creation are designed for a specific task, it is so amazing to even think about how the cells work.

      1. Indeed. And even at the muscle, tendon and feather level, it is amazing. In one of the shows, they used water fowl landing on a river. I thought of your photos and videos, but they focused on a few feathers near the ends of the wings that twist, acting like the flaps on an airplane to “spoil” the aerodynamics and lose lift so that they could land. It is indeed an amazing world that God created.

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Sandra J

Sandra J

I am a traveling photographer, I like to travel rural America, the roads less traveled when I can. I love the great outdoors, my Photo Galleries contain Landscapes, wild life and a few just for fun photos. Thank you and have a great day.

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