Bird Photography Archives • Into the Light Adventures %

By Sandra J

My Second Favorite Bird

By Sandra | November 18, 2024 | Comments 10 comments

My Second Favorite Bird – The Great Blue Heron photographed in South Carolina at a National Wildlife Refuge

My Second Favorite Bird Have a great week ahead

By Sandra J

Birds

By Sandra | November 5, 2024 | Comments 12 comments

Birds – Starting to see some birds other than the blue jays from home.

First the Double Crested Cormorant known for those striking blue eyes. One of these days I would like to get a close up photo of this birds eye. So unique.

The Little Killdeer bird. Always fun to see in the spring time.

But very fast birds, it was very hard to get a shot of this one flying.

This photo below was from last spring, just cute as is. Two goslings.

Birds

By Sandra J

A Majestic Marvel of Nature

By Sandra | October 8, 2024 | Comments 12 comments

The white pelican is a majestic marvel of nature, embodying a blend of grace, power, and beauty in its wingspan. As it spreads its wings, the sheer expanse is nothing short of breathtaking. With a wingspan that can reach up to nine feet, the white pelican commands the sky. Its presence is almost regal.

The beauty of the white pelican’s wingspan is remarkable. The contrast of its pristine white feathers against the vast sky accentuates this beauty even more.

As sunlight filters through the feathers, they can shimmer with a soft, iridescent glow. When the pelican soars, it casts a striking silhouette against the horizon. Its wings form a dramatic, sweeping arc. This captures the eye.

A Majestic Marvel of Nature

By Sandra J

He Sticks the Landing

By Sandra | October 7, 2024 | Comments 10 comments

He Sticks the Landing, nothing prettier than watching a pelican land on water. My favorite bird to photograph.

He Sticks the Landing

By Sandra J

Cooper’s Hawk

By Sandra | October 4, 2024 | Comments 28 comments

Cooper’s Hawk – here it is. A small hawk, but he can move. He was chasing the blue jays in and out of the trees so fast. It was hard to get a photo of it.

He would chase one and then it would escape through the trees. It would wait for one to move and at it again.

The blue jays are just as fast and can zip in and out of the tree branches as well.

I never did see the hawk catch one bird. I did see the blue jays chase it off many times. But it would come back a few days later and try again.

Nature taking its course. Oh, and when the blue jays are warning everyone around that the hawk is here. All the bird species take cover. The chickadees stay hidden until the coast is clear.

Have a great weekend.

Cooper’s Hawk

By Sandra J

Little Known Fact

By Sandra | October 3, 2024 | Comments 15 comments

Little Known Fact about the Blue Jays, or maybe others do know this about this colorful bird.

They work together when danger is close by. I have heard others say that blue jays are a pest. Mainly because they kind of hog the bird feeders. Well, they do that, yes. I have seen them, but other birds can be pushy as well, like the grackles and morning doves.

I saw for the first time a Coopers Hawk hanging around my bird feeders this year. It just doesn’t seem right that a bird will eat another bird. Coopers hawks do just that.

We knew when the hawk was in the area because all the blue jays give out warning calls. All of a sudden the hawk is flying after one, as the blue jay gets away. All the blue jays start chasing the hawk.

I will have photos of that tomorrow. I was pretty impressed how these blue jays stuck together to try and chase it off. More tomorrow.

Little Known Fact

By Sandra J

There Are 4 of These

By Sandra | October 2, 2024 | Comments 5 comments

There are 4 species of nuthatches found in North America. They are the red-breasted nuthatch, the white-breasted nuthatch, the brown-headed nuthatch, and the pygmy nuthatch. 

While they have distinct physical features, these tree-climbing birds share habitat, food, nesting, and foraging behaviors in common.

I photographed two of them this fall here at my place.  The white breasted and the red one.

Plus I included some more Chickadee photos. I can’t resist taking their photos when they practically come right up to me.

There Are 4 of These

By Sandra J

Little Birds in Slow Motion Video Link

They May Be Tiny

By Sandra | October 1, 2024 | Comments 23 comments

They May Be Tiny but they are fast little birds. Here’s to some of the prettiest tiny birds this fall from my backyard.

Watch this video on YouTube.
Sandra J's Photography

They May Be Tiny

By Sandra J

Perfect Landing Blue Jay Slow Motion

5 Ds of Dodge Ball

By Sandra | September 30, 2024 | Comments 9 comments

5 Ds of Dodge Ball – Dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge

These blue jays have the moves of the old Dodge Ball Game. Do you remember that game. I do, we played it in gym class. I don’t think they play that one anymore.

I just bought that old movie Dodge Ball, it is a classic for me.

Dodge

Duck

Dip

Dive

Dodge

Watch this video on YouTube.
Sandra J's Photography

5 Ds of Dodge Ball

By Sandra J

Birds on a Table Video Link Here

Go Pro Photos

By Sandra | September 27, 2024 | Comments 16 comments

Go Pro Photos. I was experimenting with the go pro camera at my bird feeding table last week. I normally just use the camera for videos. But I thought I would try the photo menus and see what happens.

It is not bad if the subject isn’t moving to much. Mainly because you can not control the shutter speed when you have the camera running on auto.

There is a little blur with wing movement, which I knew would happen. A fun little experiment though.

Watch this video on YouTube.
Sandra J's Photography

Go Pro Photos

Have a great weekend.

By Sandra J

Discovering the New Bird Sanctuary

By Sandra | September 24, 2024 | Comments 22 comments

Discovering the New Bird Sanctuary near Paducah KN. I just looked at the map and saw a green area not far from us. So we took a drive to see what it was.

This area had a nice size man made lake with a road that you can drive all around it. Plenty of habitat for a lot of birds and people out fishing on the lake as well.

We discovered this new bird walking along the shore line.

Dozens of Egrets in the trees and on land. I will definitely be visiting this park again to see more birds.

Discovering the New Bird Sanctuary

By Sandra J

Just One Shot

By Sandra | September 20, 2024 | Comments 14 comments

Just One Shot is all I get of these sand hill cranes. They landed in the field next to our place. You can hear them easily in the mornings, as they make their bird calls.

This particular morning they flew right over my head and landed the next field over. I went out there to get a photo of them and only snapped this one before they took off. They were quite far away as well.

I never realized they have red eyes like the black swans until I looked at this photo.

Just One Shot

Have a Great Weekend

By Sandra J

Shake Shake Shake

By Sandra | September 13, 2024 | Comments 10 comments

Shake Shake Shake. After eating its fish dinner, time to shake off the water.

Have a great weekend. 😉

Shake Shake Shake

By Sandra J

Heron Fishing

By Sandra | September 12, 2024 | Comments 20 comments

Heron Fishing today and this one is having some good luck. Catching big fish and eating them right away.

Before we left the small lake, heron tried again for a fish and came up empty handed. 🙂

Watch this video on YouTube.
Sandra J's Photography

Heron Fishing Video Link

Heron Fishing

By Sandra J

Blue Top Hat

By Sandra | September 11, 2024 | Comments 5 comments

Blue Top Hat. Molting seems to be done with the blue jays. They have their crown of blue feathers back. There are always plenty of them to photograph this time of year.

By Sandra J

These Little Guys are Back

By Sandra | August 22, 2024 | Comments 24 comments

These Little Guys are Back – and lots of them. They are just so precious and friendly.

I made some holiday cards of this little bird. Chickadees and snow scenes go together so well. 🙂

These Little Guys are Back

By Sandra J

A Dazzling Jewel

By Sandra | August 6, 2024 | Comments 13 comments

A Dazzling Jewel – The male cardinal’s brilliant red plumage is nothing short of breathtaking, resembling a vivid splash of crimson against the soft green foliage backdrop. His striking color radiates with an almost fiery intensity, making him a dazzling jewel amidst the muted tones of his surroundings.

A Dazzling Jewel

By Sandra J

Spring Bird Family Vacations

By Sandra | July 25, 2024 | Comments 10 comments

Spring Bird Family Vacations – or lets call it the bird resort here at our place. This is the baby update of these 4 birds who have nested around our place.

The Raven is here every year all year. This couple had 2 babies this year. I have been trying to get a photo of all 4 of them together, but not easy to do. The 2 babies follow mom and dad everywhere still wanting to be fed by them. I just love watching how birds take care of their families.

I had mentioned in an earlier post that the Eastern Bluebirds had 4 babies. They have all left the nest and I am really going to miss these because they eat a lot of bugs. One baby somehow landed in a bucket I had outside, I took him over by the bird house and he wondered out of the bucket and than flew off.

I hope they come back next year.

The beautiful Tree Swallows had 4 or 5 babies. It is hard to count these because they fly so fast. They have all left as well. I looked up on the internet to find out where do they go after fledging. It said they usually find a group of their own and all hang out together until they fly south for the winter.

My northern Flicker residence are still here and they had 2 babies as well. I still see them flying around as a family for now.

If I can get any new photos of the kids, I will surely share them with you.

Spring Bird Family Vacations

Love of Bird Photography

By Sandra | July 24, 2024 | Comments 19 comments

Love of Bird Photography – Some of my favorite shots this summer so far.

Eastern Bluebird on the Fly, update on these birds nesting in my purple martin house. They had 4 babies and I saw one fly out of the bird house with its parent. The other 3 would take turns coming out of the nesting box and sit on the little porch. That is a small space for 4 baby birds so they are all probably about ready to test their wings and fly to a tree.

Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird stopping by the feeder.

Shore bird after a dip in the water

Oh and my favorite, the White Pelican in flight. Nothing I love more than photographing these beautiful birds as they fly right over top of me. It is very hard to hold the camera in a complete vertical position but so worth the efforts. 🙂

Love of Bird Photography

By Sandra J

Eastern Bluebird with Take Out

By Sandra | July 23, 2024 | Comments 13 comments

Eastern Bluebird with Take Out – just grabbing a bite to eat on the run.

Eastern Bluebird with Take Out

The Ruby’s

By Sandra | July 15, 2024 | Comments 24 comments

The Ruby’s – Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, Ruby, Emerald, Touch of Safire. This tiny bird has all the royal colors from creation. In such a small package, a tiny little heart that keeps this bird going. I am always amazed to watch hummingbirds, how fast they are and to know how many miles they fly a year is a wonderous thing. Truly a gift to witness the strength and tenacity of this living thing.

The Ruby’s

By Sandra J

A Colorful Surprise

By Sandra | July 12, 2024 | Comments 17 comments

A Colorful Surprise this year at home. Eastern Bluebirds have decided to use my bird house this year to raise their babies. I have never seen an eastern bluebird up here. Matter of fact I have only seen a couple of them over the years, so I feel that it is a treat to see them at all.

Their beautiful colors of blue and tan and a wonderful song they have as well.

I put two bird houses up to try and attract Purple Martins. Over the last couple of years, the only birds using this house are tree swallows. They are interesting birds because they will put nesting material in every spot so other birds think this home is occupied.

Come to find out, eastern bluebirds do the same thing. There was a slight battle between the bluebirds and tree swallows. But they seem to come to an agreement. Tree swallows took one house and bluebirds took the other.

This could have been a great shot of the tree swallow in flight, they are super fast birds. Very hard to photograph in flight. This couple had 3 or 4 babies this years. Yesterday they all came out of the house for a fly around the place. I counted 5 or 6 flying around.

Both birds eat lots of bugs, so they are a wonderful addition to our home this year.

A Colorful Surprise – Have a great weekend.

By Sandra J

Feathers From Heaven

By Sandra | July 9, 2024 | Comments 16 comments

Feathers From Heaven – In many spiritual traditions, feathers are also associated with the concept of spiritual ascension and the idea of rising above one’s earthly troubles. For example, in some traditions, feathers are thought to represent the connection between the physical world and the spiritual world and are seen as symbols of spiritual growth and enlightenment.

I do pick up feathers when I find them. On this particular day, I actually saw this fall out of the Northern Flicker bird as it flew overhead. Last week I posted a photo of the Flicker flying and showed what pretty yellow feathers it has. Than it flew over me and one landed right in front of me. So I had to pick it up.

Quite extraordinary it is. Such a beautiful yellow.

This is the tree the bird flew to, you can barely see him at the top of the pine tree.

The red on the back of the head is a good way to identify it. I have a pair that nest here in my yard. They also love taking dirt baths in my garden. So fun to watch.

Feathers From Heaven

By Sandra J

Rose Tinted Glasses

By Sandra | June 21, 2024 | Comments 12 comments

Rose Tinted Glasses – The idiom “rose-tinted glasses” signifies a perspective that is overly optimistic, highlighting the positive while often ignoring the negative aspects of a situation.

This phrase popped into my head when I look at this Rose Breasted Grosbeak bird and the flower below. I am a very positive person, for me it is because I trust in our Lord.

I hope this splash of color brightens your day and have a wonderful weekend. 🙂

Rose Tinted Glasses

By Sandra J

New Bird in Mississippi

By Sandra | June 12, 2024 | Comments 12 comments

New Bird in Mississippi – this little one is named a Warbling Vireo. I have lost count exactly how many birds I have photographed. I do know it is over 250. I might have to start a new list.

New Bird in Mississippi

By Sandra J

Northern Flicker

By Sandra | June 11, 2024 | Comments 33 comments

Northern Flicker – capturing birds in flight photography is a way to see birds in a entire new light. I did not notice all the yellow on these birds until I saw this photo I took of this gorgeous bird.

By Sandra J

What’s Up

By Sandra | May 22, 2024 | Comments 13 comments

What’s Up – with a little head tilt up as this heron fly’s by looking at me. I can just picture it doing the heads up nod that people do to say hay.

That is what I did to him. 🙂

You know what the head nod is? We do it a lot when driving out on country roads. When a car approaches and the person waves at you, you either raise your first finger up as a wave back or the head nod. The shorter version of a wave.

What’s Up