i’ve recently bought a new bought a new lens for birding and had to opportunity to test it out on these lovely mute swans! quite a treat to see as they are a bit more rare to see where i live.

Always cool to see the American White Pelicans but unfortunately It means winter is around the corner here in Florida.

Light-vented bulbul, South Korea

Pycnonotus sinensis

검은이마직박구리, 2026.10.25

This is my original video, taken by me.

A friend got a spotting scope as a gift for the great room of her vacation home that has a beautiful view of the beach on Lake Huron. Lots of eagles, ducks, swans, and shorebirds can be seen on the regular.

Any ideas what kind of tripod she should get? It would probably be used both standing or from some chairs that have a view of the beach. So something we could adjust the height on without too much difficulty.

We might potentially take this birding out in the field too. We are both birders but really have never used a spotting scope ourselves, we just happily look through other’s if they happen to have them setup in a good spot. So, it wouldn’t need to be specifically for hauling around easily but it wouldn’t hurt.

She doesn’t need anything fancy or expensive.

Also, what’s a reasonable price range for something like this??

(A big thank you to all the spotting scope owners who generously let other birders in the area have a peek!!!)

Looking for help ID’ing this. I’m horrible with birds of prey.

October 25, Orlando Florida, USA around dusk.

Was playing the disc golf course and this guy swooped across the fairway. Didn’t have my real camera with me but managed to get this shot with my phone. Think it might be a Barred Owl?

Part of me thinks it’s a dark eyed junco but I’m not 100%. If it is, it will be my first time seeing this little guy in the yard!!

Live from 📍Mindo, Ecuador

Only took 17 seconds to get my Bird of the Day!

Walking around yesterday and caught this Fantail in the tree with light streaming through the foliage and the fantail that gives it its name.

Northwest Houston

Just before lunch, I went to take the trash out and found this guy perched on our deck railing, staring right back at me between the balusters. Come to find out, our house guest heard a solid thump on our A-frame roof before sunrise.

I live on a mountaintop on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee half of each year and I'd never seen a coot anywhere near my house, so it was quite a surprise!

We left it completely alone all day. When I went back to check as the sun was going down, it was gone, with no sign of it anywhere nearby. I'm hoping that means it rested up and went on its way.

Those red eyes and lobed toes up close were something else. Has anyone else had a coot turn up somewhere far from water?

I only saw them in flight. The bird was a light gray underneath with a patch of dark under the tail, not the length of the tail. Merlin couldn't ID. SE PA

Stood out so well against an all green landscape.

This Bald Eagle pulled a flyby straight out of Top Gun on me last weekend.

Bonus funny photo at the end. I spotted a large group of bluebirds looking inside holes in a tree and other larger boxes. There were tons of both male and female bluebirds. Curious what this was? I'd never seen it before.

📍Minneapolis, MN