A bird species may look very different depending upon lighting (dusk, cloudy, full sun), age (hatchling, juvenile, adult), behavior, whether it is in normal or breeding plumage, and if the feathers are wet, dry, or worn.  Lisa Willnow, in May, from a boardwalk, photographed this breeding Tricolored Heron actively fluffing its feathers.  This bird looks…

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A touching moment: Ms. Sandhill Crane watches over her offspring. Photographer Sam Fried writes,  “A pair of sandhills usually nests on a nearby small island, allowing close proximity without bothering the birds at all. Quietly, I spent many hours watching the pair incubate the eggs, the chicks hatch, the adults feeding the young and then…

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The Barn Owl’s unique characteristics are designed for silent hunting in darkness.  This photo by Crystal Samuels, using a Nikon D3000 with zoom lens, excellently depicts the Barn Owl’s very large head swiveling around to peer over her back at us. In her shady palm tree roost, she doses during the day and leaves to…

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What an opportunity! JR Williams’ photograph, taken with Canon 50D, EF 100-400 mm zoom lens, has allowed us to see this Common Nighthawk close-up. Their feather coloration has evolved for camouflage.  The beautiful barred pattern below and speckled feathers above disguises them in the early evening, the time of most hunting activity, when mosquitoes and…

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