A Birder
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a-birder.bsky.social
A Birder
@a-birder.bsky.social
1.7K followers 470 following 920 posts
Into birding, nature study, photography, & conservation of nature. Photos are mine. Retired wildlife biologist 💚 I worked in VA & NC 🇺🇲 Protect public lands! iNat https://www.inaturalist.org/people/150629 eBird https://ebird.org/profile/MzgzNjQ4/US 💙
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a-birder.bsky.social
A Birder @a-birder.bsky.social · Apr 14
This Great Egret was looking fine in Big Cypress National Preserve. Cherish our public lands to conserve #wildlife habitat!

🪶 #birds #photography #nature
A Great Egret in a natural setting with brilliant white plumage and long plumes reflecting on water's surface. Its yellow bill, cere, and eye stand out as it looks to the right of the image.
a-birder.bsky.social
It's another beautiful day in #Virginia. Please #vote!
November 4, 2025 at 1:07 PM
a-birder.bsky.social
This photo, taken on September 5th, shows the difference between summer and winter pelage color of white-tailed deer.
🦊 #Mammals #photography #wildlife
This from Google AI: The process for a white-tailed deer to complete the molt of its summer coat (and grow its winter coat) typically takes just a few weeks. Key details about this seasonal change: Timing: Deer generally begin shedding their thin, reddish-brown summer coat in August and September. Speed: The entire process of shedding and replacing the coat is generally described as happening rapidly or in just a few weeks (often cited as two to three weeks). Progression: The molt usually starts at the deer's head and progresses down the neck to the chest and sides, with the haunches and hind legs being the last to change. Factors Affecting Rate: Deer that are in good physical condition tend to molt earlier and faster than those in poor condition. For example, does that are still nursing fawns may shed their coat later than bucks or non-lactating does because lactation is energetically very demanding, and molting also requires significant energy.
October 4, 2025 at 7:49 PM
a-birder.bsky.social
This is not the greatest photo, but one I was so pleased to get. A pair of quail came down mid-morning to a waterhole on a mostly dried up creek near Portal, AZ. I had only heard Montezuma Quail and had fleeting glimpses of them flying before this encounter. 🪶 #birds #photography #wildlife
A male Montezuma Quail showing his harlequin face pattern and bright spotted body plumage. A male Montezuma Quail showing his harlequin face pattern and bright spotted body plumage. The much plainer hen is in the upper right corner of the image.
September 26, 2025 at 10:01 PM
a-birder.bsky.social
I had such better looks at Elegant Trogon this year than I had seen before. This is another species that just barely makes it into the states during the breeding season. 🪶 #birding #photography #wildlife
An Elegant Trogon perched on a branch showing its dark head, yellow bill, red eye-ring, and red belly. This neotropical migrant only comes into the USA in southern Arizona during the breeding season.
September 26, 2025 at 1:26 AM
a-birder.bsky.social
I'm slowly making my way through photos from our western trip. Hummingbirds attract many birders to se. Arizona and I am no exception. This one is the Broad-billed Hummingbird, a tiny one found in the USA only in se. Arizona and sw. New Mexico. 🪶 #birds #photography #wildlife
A brilliant hummingbird perched on a shrub twig showing its red bill and iridescent green and blue plumage.
September 25, 2025 at 12:29 AM
a-birder.bsky.social
From my morning walk today. #Fall is in the air. The leaves are colorful up on the mountain, though you can't really see it in this photo. #landscape #photography
September 24, 2025 at 1:42 AM
a-birder.bsky.social
Congressman Crow Speaks on the Concerning State of US Politics & the Path Forward
YouTube video by Rep. Jason Crow
youtu.be
September 21, 2025 at 10:32 PM
a-birder.bsky.social
Fall #wildflowers ironweed and spotted jewelweed.
September 17, 2025 at 1:31 AM
a-birder.bsky.social
I saw some beautiful loon video while watching YouTube today and then remembered that I had some loon photos from a trip last year. I am seriously behind in sharing photos. I found it in my catalog and here is the result. 🪶 #birds #photography #wildlife
A Common Loon in the water shows its black head, red eye, black and white checkered back, and dark green breast below its collar. A stout bill and strong legs make this bird a fishing catching predator.
September 10, 2025 at 12:31 AM
a-birder.bsky.social
The first Hermit Warbler that I saw was way in the top of a huge conifer on Mount Lemmon many years ago. This cooperative male hung around our campground last May in Cave Creek Canyon. It foraged in a blooming mesquite there for days. 🪶 #birds #photography #wildlife #Arizona
A small warbler with a bright yellow head and black nape and bib perches in a mesquite in Cave Creek Canyon near Portal, Arizona.
September 9, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Reposted by A Birder
breeze420.bsky.social
"Some people think that the truth can be hidden with a little cover-up and decoration. But as time goes by, what is true is revealed, and what is fake fades away."
-Ismail Haniyeh

💙🏡💙 till next time
an old house that is falling apart with an old wood fence. There are 2 trees to the left of it and mountains in the background.
September 4, 2025 at 3:22 AM
a-birder.bsky.social
Rural Retreat birder Judy Moose found American Avocets at Rural Retreat Lake yesterday evening. She let me know as Marsha and I were headed out for an afternoon walk, so we went to the lake and saw these beautiful birds, a rarity here. Thank you, Judy! 🪶 #birding #photography
September 6, 2025 at 2:02 AM
a-birder.bsky.social
I was 13 when I first saw a Steller's Jay while camping at Philmont Scout Ranch. I had seen it in Peterson's field guide and hoped to see it there. Steller's Jay remains one of my favorite jays. 🪶 #birding #photography #wildlife
A portrait of a Steller's Jay perched on a pine branch in Rustler Park near San Simon, Arizona. The blue of the wings and back is not shown in this image, only seen here on its shoulders. Two white stripes of feathers on the forehead lead to a prominent crest on the crown.
September 4, 2025 at 10:44 AM
a-birder.bsky.social
Beautiful light this evening at home, where we are enjoying the nighthawk migration. #goldenhour #landscape #photography
September 2, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Reposted by A Birder
rweingarten.bsky.social
Chicago this Labor Day… Thousands fighting for what #WorkersDeserve
September 1, 2025 at 5:29 PM
a-birder.bsky.social
This Black-headed Grosbeak was attracted to a tub of water that we set out at our campsite. It was quite hot during the day and several bird species visited our"watering hole." 🪶 #birds #photography #wildlife
A Black-headed Grosbeak perched on a twig peers down at me. The heavy bill, orange breast, and striped face are field marks for this species.
August 29, 2025 at 12:32 AM
a-birder.bsky.social
Townsend's Warbler is a western warbler, common during migration in the west but cause for much excitement when one appears in tidewater VA during fall migration. The farthest that I have seen one east was in s. TX. This photo is of a female in May in se. Arizona. 🪶 #birds #photography #wildlife
August 26, 2025 at 2:14 AM
a-birder.bsky.social
Another warbler from Cave Creek Canyon. The Wilson Warblers were everywhere in May. I don't get to see them often back home in Virginia. I see one there every couple of years during fall migration. 🪶 #birds #photography #wildlife
A mostly yellow warbler with a black cap rests on a mesquite branch.
August 25, 2025 at 1:41 AM
a-birder.bsky.social
Cave Creek Canyon is southeastern Arizona is a favorite birding destination. We camped about a week there and saw lots of interesting birds. The mesquite was blooming around camp and we saw many warblers foraging there. This is a female Black-throated Gray Warbler. 🪶 #birds #photography #wildlife
A small Black-throated Gray Warbler forages in a blooming mesquite.
August 24, 2025 at 1:04 AM
a-birder.bsky.social
One of my favorite woodpeckers, Acorn Woodpecker, in Portal, Arizona.

🪶 #birding #photography #wildlife
An Acorn Woodpecker closely inspecting the photographer
August 19, 2025 at 1:14 AM
a-birder.bsky.social
We've been hearing two Great-Horned Owl young of the year calling in the evenings. I have yet to get a decent photo, but here is a nest photo from a campground in New Mexico earlier this year. #owl 🪶 #photography #wildlife
Two young Great-Horned Owl chick look from a nest in a pine to the photographer below.
August 18, 2025 at 5:33 PM
a-birder.bsky.social
Apples are falling, but they do not lay on the ground long.

#wildlifephotography
August 13, 2025 at 1:54 AM
a-birder.bsky.social
Rattlesnake Springs in Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a favorite #birding location. I got several decent photos of interesting birds on my last visit (Olive-sided Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher, and Ladder-backed Woodpecker)

#photography #wildlife
Olive-sided Flycatcher, similar to wood-pewees but larger. The photo shows the bird perched on a branch with white breast and belly, and olive flanks creating a "vest" appearance. Note the unusual head shape and the spotting on the undertail coverts. Ash-throated Flycatcher is similar to Myiarchus flycatchers with rufous in the wing and a yellowish on the belly. This species is paler than many others in the genus. Ladder-backed Woodpecker is similar to Downy Woodpecker, and is found in deserts, desert scrub, and thorn forests in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Note the barring on the tail, undertail coverts, and flanks.
August 10, 2025 at 6:56 PM
a-birder.bsky.social
We discovered Copper Breaks State Park (125 miles NE of Lubbock TX) on our way west in May. There for only one night, and saw some great birds including Mississippi Kite and Painted Bunting. There were more Painted Buntings at this place than I have ever seen anywhere.

#Texas #birding #photography
A Mississippi Kite flying A Painted Bunting perched on a tree stob
August 9, 2025 at 12:20 PM
a-birder.bsky.social
Young Bald Eagles in #Mississippi.

#birding #wildlife
Two young bald eagles sit near the nest where they hatched, seen in the bottom right corner of the photo.
August 7, 2025 at 1:45 AM