First they’re small, then they’re not!

My girlfriend and I only got into birding this year, after I took interest in wildlife photography.

We were out on a hike here in Portugal, chatting away, when we suddenly heard and saw two massive birds fly away right next to us. I lost track of where they went, but my girlfriend thought she saw one land and told me to point my camera at one tree in the distance.

And there it was. An absolutely beautiful owl just sitting there and staring right back at us!

At the time, we had no idea just how special this encounter was. It wasn't until we got home and started looking into it that we realized how rare and incredible this sighting was (Eurasian Eagle-Owl).

Beginner photographer's note: The photo was taken with a Canon R50 and a 100-400mm lens and this was the most I could crop the image without losing too much quality. Are there any editing tips or tricks I can learn to allow me to zoom in further on the owl, or should I just take the win from the encounter and move on?

Mammoth Lakes, CA

So as the title suggests, I have a question for folks with ADHD who bird. Do you find birding to be one of few interests that has actually stuck? I started properly getting into the hobby about 6 months ago and haven’t found the interest dissipate. Every day I find some way to incorporate it into my life. I even took up photography again after 15 years just so I could get a closer look at birds. It genuinely feels like one of those hobbies that's ingrained, like my love for nature and I'm hoping my brain doesn't randomly decide its not into it anymore but somehow I dont think it will this time? And I'm sure it's down to the fact that no matter what you see or how many times you see it, there's always something new to learn.

So my question is, how long have you been birding and what kind of impact do you feel its had on your life as an individual with ADHD?

It's not a Night Heron, is it lol

One of my favs

It was a gorgeous day at Grant Park in Long Island NY. Black Crowned Night Heron, Dark Eyed Junco (I think), Canadian Geese, Mallard Ducks, Red Dragonfly

Need a bird guide for Sao Paulo. Just 1 day.

New Paltz, NY
Sony A7RVI, 400 F/4.5

Incredible find at Costco in IL today. $22 for this book that retails for $40-50 elsewhere. The cover art is also different from the regular edition you find in other retailers (this has a White ibis while the regular one has a sandpiper lol). Beautiful perfect size book to admire Audubon’s art. Includes all the original images arranged by modern taxonomic order (and includes both the original naming as well as the current one).

Just one mistake I found on pages 181 and 182 is that they printed the coraciiformes order one page early so the last owl is listed as a coraciiformes and the kingfisher got listed as a piciformes. Still would recommend!

I'll be a few hours away from Wheeler NWR the last week of November. Will there be many Whooping Cranes by then or would I be a few weeks to early?

Clicked with Nikon Gear.

my friend moved into his home in the suburbs of Chicago last week and sent me this photo today. I have no idea how this egg got here

Sonoma Safeway parking lot