Ben's Birds and Stuff
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notabeignet.bsky.social
Ben's Birds and Stuff
@notabeignet.bsky.social
2K followers 940 following 300 posts
Amateur wildlife photographer, grateful for the engagement. The devil’s in the etceteras.
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAjp9F
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notabeignet.bsky.social
Hello, BlueSky!

I’m taking a brief hiatus to experiment with architectural photography, but I’ll be back soon with more bird pictures.

Monarchs and Blue Porterweed
(A composite of three photographs)
Miami Beach Botanical Gardens
December 27, 2024
#photography #nature #insects #butterflies
A bright orange and black Monarch Butterfly gathers pollen from a tiny purple flower, the lone blossom on a thin green stalk of Blue Porterweed. A second Monarch, pictured three times in this composite image, flits around the first. The background of the photograph is a blur of green hues.
March 10, 2025 at 11:46 AM
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Laughing Gull
Miami Beach
December 29, 2024
#photography #nature #wildlife #birds
A Laughing Gull’s Tail. The merit of this photograph, if it has any at all, is entirely up to the observer. The Laughing Gull stands on a sugar-sand beach against the light turquoise backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean. Only the back half of the bird is visible. Its black legs rise parallel to the right side of the frame. It’s gray hind parts and spotted black tail sweep in the form of a triangle across the middle. Maybe it’s abstract. Maybe it’s comical. Maybe it’s just weird.
February 20, 2025 at 1:41 PM
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Yellow-Bellied Slider
Miami Beach Botanical Garden
December 31, 2024
#photography #nature #wildlife #turtles #reptiles
A Yellow-Bellied Turtle with a striking green eye. This photograph offers a close headshot of a Yellow-Bellied Slider. The turtle, facing left, has dark green—almost black—skin with several thick yellow stripes. Its eye is also striped, black across the light green iris. The background of the photograph consists of the brownish-green hues of the turtle pond.
February 19, 2025 at 12:55 PM
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Monarch Butterfly
Miami Beach Botanical Garden
December 31, 2024
#photography #nature #wildlife #butterflies #insects
A Monarch combs a leafy green plant. Photographed here in profile, this monarch is a bright orange butterfly with black and white markings. Here the butterfly, facing the left of the frame, has perched for a moment on a leafy green plant. The background of the photograph consists of dark green and black hues.
February 18, 2025 at 1:30 PM
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Laughing Gull
Miami Beach
January 3, 2025
#photography #nature #wildlife #birds
A Laughing Gull lifts its wings. In this photograph, a Laughing Gull raises its wings high above its head, as if trying to catch the wind coming off the Atlantic Ocean. The gull has a speckled brown breast and a speckled gray crown, which together suggest that this may be an immature bird. The gull stands on a sugar sand beach. The background of the photograph is a light sea-foam green.
February 17, 2025 at 12:54 PM
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Chicken
Miami Beach Botanical Garden
December 28, 2024
#photography #nature #birds

(Who can identify the breed and gender?)
A chicken struts through the Miami Beach Botanical Garden. This chicken has an orange breast, a speckled brown-and-white cap, a small red comb, and prominent yellow feet. Here, it pecks its ways along a trail canopied with green plants and trees. The ground is covered in dry leaves and mulch.
February 14, 2025 at 11:30 AM
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Anole
Miami Beach Botanical Garden
December 31, 2024
#photography #nature #wildlife #reptiles
An Anole sits on a park bench at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden. This photograph offers a closeup headshot of a small Anole lizard. It has a dark eye and its skin is speckled light and dark brown. Here the lizard sits on the metal slats of a park bench, facing the left of the frame but looking back toward the camera. The background is a blur of green, pink, and brown hues.
February 13, 2025 at 3:27 PM
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Palm Warbler
Miami Beach
January 2, 2025
#photography #nature #wildlife #birds
A Palm Warbler walks along a wooden fence rail. This photograph is a study in muted browns and light grays. The warbler walks along a bare wooden board, from the left to the right of the frame. A small bird, the warbler has light brown plumage on its head and back, a dirty white breast streaked with tan feathers, a distinctive white eye line, and a hint of yellow on its lower belly. The background of the photograph is a blur of soft browns and grays.
February 12, 2025 at 12:45 PM
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Sanderling
Miami Beach
December 29, 2024
#photography #nature #wildlife #birds
A Sanderling walks along Miami Beach. A small, stout ocean bird, similar to a Sandpiper, this Sanderling has brown and black feathers on its back, white feathers on its belly, a black eye, a black bill, and black legs. Here, the bird pauses in the sugar sand of Miami Beach. Stray pieces of twig and kelp are scattered about the bird. The background of the photograph consists of the pale turquoise of the Atlantic Ocean.
February 11, 2025 at 12:21 PM
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Cape May Warbler
Miami Beach Botanical Garden
December 31, 2024
#photography #nature #wildlife #birds
A Cape May Warbler catches a glint of sunshine. This Cape May Warbler is a small bird. Its bright yellow breast is streaked with black. Its cap and wings are gray and black. A few chestnut feathers have appeared on the bird’s otherwise gray cheeks, which suggests that this bird is an immature male that will soon acquire its adult feathers. Here, the warbler, which has been drinking the nectar from the flowers of a large Jamaican Poinsettia, pauses to take in the sunlight dappling from above.
February 10, 2025 at 12:24 PM
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Laughing Gulls
Miami Beach
January 1, 2025
#birds #photography #nature #wildlife
Laughing Gulls sleep on Miami Beach. In this photograph, three Laughing Gulls lie in the sand, bathing in the sun. These gulls are mostly gray birds with black tails and white necks. Presumably for warmth, they have tucked their beaks under their wings. Their eyes are mostly shut. The background of the photograph is a blur of sand and other gulls.
February 9, 2025 at 4:16 PM
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Map Turtle
Miami Beach Botanical Garden
December 28, 2024
#photography #nature #reptiles #turtles #terrapinstation
A Map Turtle shows off its stripes. This photograph offers a profile, in closeup, of a Map Turtle facing the left side of the frame. The turtle is visible only from its neck up and across its right forearm. The turtle’s dark green skin is covered in yellow lines that curve and bend but never intersect. The pattern calls to mind the contour lines on a topographical map. The turtle has a hazel eye, a waxy upper lip, and five long yellow claws on the end of its hand. There seems to be moss growing on what little of the turtle’s shell appears in the frame. The background of the photograph consists of natural green and dark brown hues.
February 7, 2025 at 3:58 PM
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Green Heron
Collins Canal Park
Miami Beach
December 28, 2025
#birds #photography #nature #wildlife
Perched on an overhanging limb, a Green Heron looks out over a canal. This Green Heron is a short, stout bird with burgundy plumage on its chest and dark blue plumage on its head. It has a bright yellow eye and a long, pointy bill. Here, the heron sits on a long, dead tree branch, soaking up the sun. This perch also allows the heron to keep an eye on fish and other prey moving in the canal below. The background of the photograph consists of shaded rocks and green space.
February 6, 2025 at 5:27 PM
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Laughing Gull
Miami Beach
January 1, 2025
#birds #photography #nature #wildlife
A Laughing Gull stands on a sun-drenched beach, one leg retracted. The gull photographed here is a white bird with gray wings, gray markings on its head, and a black bill. It stands on a slope of sand, facing the camera, in the right half of the frame, but its head is turned toward the left. The gull is balancing on its right leg; it holds its left under its feathers, out of view, presumably for warmth. The background of the photograph is a blur of brown, orange, and green foliage.
February 5, 2025 at 9:38 PM
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Ring-Billed Gull
Miami Beach
January 1, 2025
#birds #wildlife #nature #photography
A Ring-Billed Gull calls loudly. In this photograph, a close-up profile, a young Ring-Billed Gull appears to make an energetic cry. Shown here only from the neck up, the gull's white plumage is speckled brown, which suggests that it is an immature bird. The bird's beak is wide open and its tongue and frenum are plainly visible. There appears to be a bit of down in the gull's beak; perhaps it has been preening. A lifeguard station and other beach shacks are reflected in the gull's brown eye.
February 4, 2025 at 4:18 PM
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Northern Mockingbird
Miami Botanical Garden
December 28, 2024
#photography #wildlife #nature #birds
A Northern Mockingbird sits on a bare branch, watching the sky. This mockingbird is a gray bird with black and white markings on its wings. It has a light-brown eye and a sharp black bill. Here, the bird sits in profile, facing the right side of the frame. The background is a blur of greens and browns, the colors of the canopy under which it sits.
February 3, 2025 at 4:45 PM
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Laughing Gull
Miami Beach
December 31, 2024
#photography #nature #birds #wildlife
A Laughing Gull strikes a beautiful but curious pose. Turned toward the right side of the frame, this gull has curled its head into the side of its body. All that is visible is the underside of its pointy beak and fluffy neck. The gull appears as a sort of downy swirl, its white, gray, and, black plumage muted against the soft ocean blue in the background.
February 2, 2025 at 2:40 PM
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Pondhawk Dragonfly
Miami Botanical Garden
December 31, 2024
#photography #nature #insects #dragonflies
A Pondhawk devours its prey. In this grisly close-up photograph, a large green dragonfly perches on a slender branch. Facing the left side of the frame, the dragonfly clutches its breakfast, the freshly killed remains of what appears to be another dragonfly. Their compound eyes nearly touch. The tan background of the photograph spreads uniformly out to the darkly shaded corners.
February 1, 2025 at 11:47 AM
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Cat
Miami Botanical Garden
December 27, 2024
#photography #nature #cats
A battle-scarred cat pauses in the shade. This photograph offers a closeup portrait of a black-and white-cat. The cat appears to have survived some scrapes. Its ears are ragged and there are fresh scratch marks on its nose. The cat’s most prominent features, though, are its bright green eyes, which reflect the sunlight streaming through the tree canopy over head. The background of the photograph consists mostly of floral pink and green hues.
January 31, 2025 at 2:19 PM
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Gray Catbird
Miami Botanical Garden
January 2, 2024
#photography #nature #wildlife #birds
A Gray Catbird sings. This photograph offers a close profile of a Gray Catbird. The bird is perched in the right side of the frame facing the left. It has gray feathers on its neck and face, black feathers on its crown, and a dark eye. The bird appears to be singing; at least, its bill is wide open. The bird sits among the branches of a Jamaican Poinsettia. The background of the photograph consists of leafy, dark green hues. Pink petals appear in the bottom left corner.
January 30, 2025 at 12:08 PM
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Green Heron
Collins Canal Park
Miami Beach
December 28, 2024
#photography #nature #wildlife #birds
A vigilant Green Heron. This photograph offers a closeup portrait of an alert Green Heron. The heron faces away from the camera but looks over its right shoulder. The slight crouch of the bird suggests tension or wariness. This heron is impossibly colorful. It has teal-blue plumage on its back, hunter green plumage on its wings, burgundy plumage on its neck, and midnight blue plumage on its crown. It has an orange eye with a large black pupil. Its lower bill is a streak of yellow. The background of the photograph consists mostly of the sandy and white hues of a shallow canal reflecting dappled sunlight.
January 29, 2025 at 12:22 PM
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Laughing Gull
Miami Beach
December 30, 2024
#photography #nature #wildlife #birds
A Laughing Gull hovers over Miami Beach. This photograph captures a Laughing Gull in flight. Facing the left side of the frame, this gull is a bright white bird with gray wings and numerous black accents on its wings, bill, and feet. Here, the bird is stopped in motion, its wings swept over its head. The bird looks down; something on the beach has caught its attention. The background of the photograph consists of the dark green hues of bushes or trees in the distance.
January 28, 2025 at 12:23 PM
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Freestyle
Miami Beach
January 1, 2025
#photography #sportsphotography
#actionphotography
An ocean swimmer glides through the water. In this photograph, a freestyle swimmer reaches over their head, mid-stroke. Moving from the right to the left of the frame, the swimmer is mostly submerged and heavily backlit. They appear almost entirely in silhouette. Few of their features are discernible, aside from the goggles they wear. As they raise their left arm over their head, water drips from their fingertips and glistens in the morning sunlight. The remainder of the frame is filled with gently rippling water, which in this light appears steel blue.
January 27, 2025 at 12:11 PM
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Royal Tern
Miami Beach
January 2, 2025
#photography #nature #wildlife #birds
A Royal Tern looks back at the camera. This photograph offers a close profile of a Royal Tern standing on Miami Beach. A seabird, the tern has light gray feathers on its back and a prominent band of shaggy black feathers around its white head. The band does not cover the tern’s crown, which suggests that this bird is a nonbreeding adult. Facing the left of the frame, the tern shows off its long, pointed, orange bill. It looks back at the camera with a dark eye. The background of the photo consists of the sandy and blue hues of the beach.
January 26, 2025 at 2:58 PM
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Laughing Gull
Miami Beach
December 31, 2024
#photography #nature #wildlife #birds
A Laughing Gull tugs on a feather. This photograph captures in closeup the moment when a Laughing Gull, gently preening itself, pulls a feather through its beak. This Laughing Gull is a white and gray bird with a dark eye and a black bill. Here, the gull looks over its back, facing left from the right side of the frame. It holds in its beak a single gray feather, finely drawn from its back. The background of the photograph is the turquoise hue of the ocean.
January 25, 2025 at 3:27 PM