Flight Delights

Hanging out on my balcony watching Osprey pair, Bella & Beau, is never boring. There is always something to practice shooting.

Many of you know, I love the challenge of flight. Guarantee, if it’s flying by, I’m going to try and capture it.

Hang on, we’re going flying!

Mallard

Great Blue Heron

Double-crested Cormorant

Barn Swallow

Canada Goose

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron Close-up
(check out his tongue!)

Laughing Gull

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow swooping down to snatch something from the water

Yes, I’ll practice on anything in flight….

F-16 Fighting Falcon screaming pass (oops, not a bird!)

Canada Geese

Double-crested Cormorant

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallows

Great Blue Heron

Mallard

Wasp (to be silly)

Green Heron

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Our home is reflecting.

Three boats in the marina in front of our home.

Bubbles
(click to enlarge for reflections)

Great Blue Heron

Double-crested Cormorant

“Such a delight to the day to enjoy birds on the way.”
~ author unknown

Tags: barn swallows, bird, Birds, bubble, cambridge creek, canada, Chesapeake Bay, cormorant, duck, Eastern Shore, F-16, falcon, fighting, flight, fly-by, flying, goose, great blue heron, green heron, jet, laughing gull, mallard, Maryland, photography, photos, sillouette, wingspan

71 thoughts on “Flight Delights”

Jane's Heartsong on 05/25/2019 at 10:26 PM said:

Great series, and I agree, good practise. I was coming back home after shooting blossoms in the neighbourhood and a crow flew by right at my eye level and I just admired it. I had my camera with me but didn’t use it.Huh.,

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 7:05 AM said:
  
  Thank you, Jane, I must admit the Great Blue Herons were flying by so often this past week, I too just stood and admired their graceful glide over the creek. 🙂
  
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Jane's Heartsong on 05/25/2019 at 10:27 PM said:

I wanted to say that I admired your shot of the comorant “on the turn.”

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 7:06 AM said:
  
  Thank you, Jane, he was hooking a turn for a landing, I don’t know if I’ve ever got an angle on a Cormorant like that before. 🙂
  
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Stephen Talabac on 05/25/2019 at 11:27 PM said:

Great collection of flight shots Donna! I suspect the Barn Swallow may have been going after an insect on the surface of the water. As I’m sure you know, they are incredibly fast can change direction in a split second, making them especially tough to capture in flight. Nicely done!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 7:08 AM said:
  
  Thank you, Steve! Yes, they are grabbing insects, they do it all morning and all evening. They are so darn fast too. I think they toy with me….. 😉 LOL
  
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blhphotoblog on 05/25/2019 at 11:48 PM said:

Nice collection, I rather like the wasp 😃

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 7:09 AM said:
  
  Thank you, Brian, that one’s for you! 😉
  
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  - blhphotoblog on 05/26/2019 at 11:27 AM said:
    
    I should add on the last day of my holiday one stung me in the neck! Three days later back home one snuck into my shoe and got me on the bottom of the foot!! No hard feelings though.
    
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    - bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 6:37 PM said:
      
      OH NO! 😲 Sorry for the painful reminder, my bad! 😉
      
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Chris Riley on 05/25/2019 at 11:57 PM said:

Donna, your photos have me saying wow! And interrupting Paul from whatever he’s doing as I pass across my iPad to show him some of them, more than any other blog that I follow. You truly are very gifted at bird photography. I always find it difficult to choose a favourite. Today your introductory photo and the third one of the cormorant had me wowing – then the duck with the bright purple on his wings, and the Canadian geese, honestly I couldn’t pick a favourite.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 7:15 AM said:
  
  Awwwww…..thank you so much, Chris! ❤ Now you know why I shared so many this post, I couldn’t pick a favorite from them all either. 🙂
  
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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 7:48 AM said:
  
  Oh, I meant to mention to you, too, no B&B hatchlings as yet…..so tomorrow might be the day! 😉
  
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  - Chris Riley on 05/26/2019 at 8:12 AM said:
    
    Fingers crossed
    
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    - bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 6:02 PM said:
      
      Nothing yet…. 🙂
      
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aussiebirder on 05/26/2019 at 3:31 AM said:

Beautiful series of water birds Donna!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 7:28 AM said:
  
  Thank you, Ashley!
  
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Indira on 05/26/2019 at 6:00 AM said:

Excellent series of flight shots, Donna!!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 7:29 AM said:
  
  Thank you, Indira!
  
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Ted Jennings - TPJ Photography on 05/26/2019 at 6:36 AM said:

Wonderful series !! I do love birds in flight 🙂

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 7:32 AM said:
  
  Thank you, Ted! We both do love that challenge! 🙂
  
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neihtn2012 on 05/26/2019 at 6:40 AM said:

Great flight shots! I enjoyed and admired every one of them.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 7:33 AM said:
  
  Thank you, Hien!
  
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Welcome to Wales on 05/26/2019 at 6:56 AM said:

A great series of images of birds in flight, so well captured. I haven’t got the hang of that yet. Well done.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 7:36 AM said:
  
  Thank you! I’ve been ‘practicing’ for ten years, and I still don’t always get a focused shot. Birds can be so unpredictable at times!
  
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Ellen Jennings on 05/26/2019 at 8:08 AM said:

Great collection, Donna, and how wonderful to have such a variety right outside your window!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 6:00 PM said:
  
  Thank you, Ellen! I am so thankful for what I am so lucky to see so darn easily. I’ve already got several ‘new’ flights I’m excited to share. It gets to be overload, LOL, I am so spoiled to boot….. 🙂
  
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Irene on 05/26/2019 at 8:11 AM said:

Wow! Loved every single one. 😊

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 6:01 PM said:
  
  Thank you, Irene! ❤
  
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creatingmindblog on 05/26/2019 at 8:50 AM said:

Amazing shots! The Great Blue Heron ones are my favourite!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 6:05 PM said:
  
  Thank you! There must be several GBHs that come and go every day here along the creek, I see them often. I love it, they are a favorite of mine. 🙂
  
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Jet Eliot on 05/26/2019 at 9:24 AM said:

I thoroughly enjoyed flying alongside everyone here, Donna. I heard myself gasp several times, and when I got to the enlarged bubbles an “Oh God” came out of me! Flight photos are so difficult, it is easy to see you have been practicing for a very long time, to have become so skilled. I have watched mallards, for instance, fly, and their wingbeat is so fast, getting a graceful pose like you have is very difficult. The GBH close-up with the tongue is truly astounding. Green heron silhouette very cool. Cormorant from above (#3) is stunning. The boats and your home in the bubbles is other-worldly. Got a smile out of the fighter jet and enjoyed the wasp too. Fantastic!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 6:26 PM said:
  
  Thank you so much for your lovely comments, Jet, my smile is as wide as can be. 😊 I have been shooting birds for about ten years now; I took a couple local community college Photography 101 classes to learn the basics and have been having fun ever since. Three and a half years retired from a stressful, long-hours’ 30 year contractor business, I’ve finally gotten a chance to slow down and enjoy nature. I have found a hobby that I adore, hubby will probably say obsess, lol. He’s a champ for sure with my birds! I finally figured out where the bubbles were coming from because I didn’t know, there weren’t that many, couple kids along the marina were blowing them, some had climbed up into the sky. We all just love the ‘right place, right time’ opportunities, don’t we?!! ❤
  
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Tiny on 05/26/2019 at 10:23 AM said:

Wonderful flight delights, Donna! I have to say I much prefer the natural ‘flying machines’ to the man-made ones 🙂 Great captures!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 6:27 PM said:
  
  Thank you, Helen, I just had to slip in a couple ‘others’ hee hee. 🙂
  
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sir albertus on 05/26/2019 at 10:48 AM said:

Bubbles can fly too! Brilliant collection Donna!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 6:35 PM said:
  
  Thank you, Al! I aim to make as many of you smile as I can! 😊
  
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H.J. for avian101 on 05/26/2019 at 12:08 PM said:

This is a lovely and well shot gallery! Kudos, Donna.
Your home is situated at the right height to shoot these beauties! Thank you my friend, I enjoyed this post very much. 🙂

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 6:43 PM said:
  
  Thank you very much, HJ! I am indeed lucky and very thankful as well, I had no idea the variety as well as opportunities with birds I’d have when we rented this condo. Who knew with such a busy creek full of humans! (I knew hubby would love it and the boats, lol.) It’s been very rewarding and came at a perfect time as I’ve gone thru my 2nd year healing from my total knee replacement. You are so welcome, my friend, you have been a long-time birding inspiration to me. Thank you!
  
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quietsolopursuits on 05/26/2019 at 2:22 PM said:

Great photos of the birds and other subjects in flight! It requires a lot of practice to be able to shoot shots like yours.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 6:45 PM said:
  
  Thank you, Jerry, following your site for years has really inspired me to do the best I can do with my bird shots! 😊
  
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Reed Andariese on 05/26/2019 at 2:32 PM said:

Nice Donna! Fun to see the wide variety of birds!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 6:45 PM said:
  
  Thank you, Reed!
  
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belindagroverphotography on 05/26/2019 at 2:39 PM said:

Wonderful series. I particularly like the cormorant!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 6:46 PM said:
  
  Thank you, Belinda! I love Cormorants, they have their ‘own’ beauty, including that turquoise eye! 🙂
  
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tootlepedal on 05/26/2019 at 4:59 PM said:

A splendid selection. Although it wasn’t the sharpest, I liked the barn swallow picture best because of the extraordinary background.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/26/2019 at 6:53 PM said:
  
  Thank you, Tom. I had to include that Barn Swallow shot just because of the background, which is sailboat masts reflecting on the water. 🙂 I am positive those swallows ‘toy’ with me (there are probably 50-60 living under the marina docks, with babies soon to be flying), I am still trying to get the perfectly sharp photo of one of them in flight. 😉
  
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Eliza Waters on 05/26/2019 at 7:26 PM said:

Wonderful captures, Donna! The feather detail is amazing and I love the strange reflections in the first barn swallow shot – very cool!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/27/2019 at 5:44 AM said:
  
  Thank you, Eliza! The barn swallow background is a boat mast reflecting in the mirrored water. 🙂
  
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montucky on 05/26/2019 at 8:08 PM said:

Enjoyable to see those wing shots!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/27/2019 at 5:45 AM said:
  
  Thank you, Terry!
  
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The Hinoeuma on 05/26/2019 at 11:46 PM said:

Heh. Love your sense of humor. Stunning shots. My red blur is a poor comparison (and dumb luck). I had to laugh at the wasp, the bubbles and the F-1. The F-1 has been called a bird, before and an aircraft carrier referred to as a ‘bird farm’.

I wish I had your skill…and equipment. But, sharing makes me smile.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/27/2019 at 5:54 AM said:
  
  Thank you! I was going to call the post “Winged Delights” which would have still worked for the F-1 & wasp, but left my bubble shots out. 😉 I love to hear I made someone giggle with my silliness! 😊 Laughter is so good for our soul. 🙂
  
  Cardinals are one of my top five fave birds! Have you heard the saying, “When a Cardinal appears, an Angel is near”? Since my Mom passed almost five years ago, I always think of her when I see one now. ❤ Your share included!!
  
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  - The Hinoeuma on 05/27/2019 at 1:30 PM said:
    
    Yeah. Bubbles don’t have wings…🤔
    
    I don’t recall the Cardinal saying but, the sentiment is lovely. 🌹 They certainly are charming birds. I routinely try to capture them, either a still or recording their songs.
    
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The Hinoeuma on 05/27/2019 at 12:36 AM said:

Not to be picky but, your F-1 looks a lot like an F-16 Falcon. F1 Mitsubishis were retired in 2006 (Japanese) and F1 Dassault Mirages (French) were retired in 2014 (limited use). I can’t find any other F1 fighter jets in use… There are F-16s at JB Andrews.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/27/2019 at 6:11 AM said:
  
  Thank you for your comments! I always appreciate a correction, and someone keeping me on my toes!! I don’t know anything about planes, so I had asked someone what they thought. 😉 I’ll make the correction, good eye! There were two, they were headed in a northwest direction from me towards Andrews. Also in that direction is NAVAIR at Patuxent,
  
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  - The Hinoeuma on 05/27/2019 at 2:27 PM said:
    
    I’ve been around a lot of military guys for years. I was married to the Corps for 12 years, my SO is a VN Seabee & a two close friends are retired Navy men. I hear about planes, ships, weapons & ammo all the time. My SO looked at your plane photo & said “That’s not an F1. F1s are from WWII.” I started digging. He was thinking about an FJ-1 Fury but, it pointed me in the right direction.
    
    I thought about Pax River, too but, couldn’t find an aircraft list. They are an NAS but, Falcons are, normally, Air Force.
    
    Judging by this:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Base_Andrews
    
    You captured an F16D that is part of the 113th D.C. Air National Guard stationed at JBA.
    
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    - bayphotosbydonna on 05/28/2019 at 6:59 AM said:
      
      Excellent info, how cool is that! Thank you for the link, I’ll check it out. 🙂
      
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      - The Hinoeuma on 05/28/2019 at 11:08 AM said:
        
        Welcome! LOL! Everything you always wanted to know but was afraid to ask. 😁😉🤓
Tofino Photography on 05/27/2019 at 12:48 AM said:

beauty shots Donna……you’ve got just about everyone in here…….except a Baldie.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/27/2019 at 6:15 AM said:
  
  Thank you, Wayne! My one-legged Eagle received ‘his’ own post two back! 😉
  
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  - Tofino Photography on 05/27/2019 at 7:38 AM said:
    
    “Peg-Leg”,yes I saw him. Have you seen him recently?
    
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    - bayphotosbydonna on 05/28/2019 at 6:44 AM said:
      
      No, I haven’t. I even went back through photos from the past six months of Eagles flying over our creek but didn’t spot him. Hmmmm…..
      
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thelocalsandbeyondii on 05/27/2019 at 2:37 AM said:

looks like you need air-traffic controllers there.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/27/2019 at 6:25 AM said:
  
  That’d be me….. 😉
  
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Gunta on 05/28/2019 at 7:06 PM said:

Marvelous flight shots! I do envy you your perch!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/28/2019 at 7:53 PM said:
  
  Thank you, Gunta! It a pretty awesome perch for this bird lady!
  
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circadianreflections on 05/29/2019 at 11:06 AM said:

Wonderful in flight images, and variety! Your balcony is the place to be!! Loved the wasp silly shot. 😉

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- bayphotosbydonna on 05/30/2019 at 5:55 AM said:
  
  Thank you, Deborah! I need to have a balcony photo op bloggers party! 😉
  
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Rolling Harbour on 06/01/2019 at 6:30 AM said:

Are the Falcons resident, migratory, or is this a vagrant?

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- bayphotosbydonna on 06/02/2019 at 6:56 AM said:
  
  😉
  
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