Little Bigger Birdies
The last post was the little birdies. This post is sharing birdies a little bigger. 🙂
Belted Kingfisher
Gray Catbird
I’ve only captured one Eastern Meadowlark once before, one photo. So this was a treat to capture several photos with two, then a bit later one of them in flight.
Eastern Meadowlarks
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Meadowlark in flight
And finally, another special treat, having a Northern Flicker posing beautifully for me shortly after sunrise. He spoiled me with wonderful photos.
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted male)
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted male)
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted male)
If you’re not familiar with this woodpecker and wondered ‘where’s the yellow’, the next photo gives you a peek at the yellow under his tail.
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted male)
Once in flight, the Northern Flicker shares his fabulous yellow!
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted male) in flight
There are two races of Northern Flickers in North America: the yellow-shafted shared above that lives in the eastern half, and the red-shafted of the western half. I’ve never seen the red-shafted, I bet that blaze of red in flight is stunning too!
Nice shots!
Thanks Sharon!
Wow, look at all that bright yellow underneath! What a stunner. And I thought the Eastern meadowlark looked amazing with its yellow! Great capture Donna. 🙂
Thanks Sue! I wish I had been more in focus with the Northern Flicker, but it was awesome watching that one fly all around the trees with that flash of yellow! 🙂
Your Flicker photos are truly stunning Donna, you have beautifully represented this very pretty bird 🙂
Thank you, Ashley! I’ve never had one sit still so long before. 🙂
Great images of these birdies. Thanks, Donna.
Thank you, Isabel!
Lucky you…to capture so many birds, Donna!!
Thank you, Indira! Can you tell I am having fun too? 🤗 🤗
Lovely little birds. Gorgeous photos, Donna.
Thank you, Imorgana!
That northern flicker is beautiful! I don’t think I ever seen one before, much less the spectacular yellow shaft and underwings. Great pictures! We have lots of gray catbirds here, we see and hear them all the time. Love the portrait you got of yours.
Thank you, Barbara! I’ve never had a flicker sit so still for me before. 🙂 The catbird was a great surprise too, they are so secretive hiding. Someone had rushed past me on the trail and flushed this catbird out on to a branch right in front of me. Perfect! I’ve never had one so close to me before in full display.
Stunningly sharp and beautiful photos, Donna! Hats off to you!
Thank you very much, Hien!
Impressive photos, a hot spot for ornithologists it seems. The gray catbird appeals to me a lot, beautiful with the shifts of light in the feathers.
Thank you, Hans! Migration has been in full swing flying through the area. It’s been a lot of fun trying to find new lifers. 😉
The Flicker shots are wonderful! I had no idea they had the yellow colouring underneath. What a sight!
The one posing at sunrise was such a treat, I’ve never had one sit still like that. I saw the other flicker another day, I couldn’t even keep up with him with my lens so I just watched him go from tree to tree, the flash of yellow each time was so pretty!
Superb shots! Loved each one of them!
Thank you, Jyothi!
We have the red northern flicker but I the orange/red wings aren’t as bright as the yellow one you have her. It’s beautiful.
Thanks! I hope to see the red-shafted if/when we travel out west next year or two.
Very nice Donna! Nice to see some of the smaller birds! One of my favorites to photograph is the yellow-shafted Northern Flicker! I used to have quite a few in my old yard. Somewhere I have a video of them doing their “courting dance” which was fun to see!
Thank you, Reed! I’d love to see your video of the flickers courting! What a treat to have them in your backyard, the flash of yellow must have been fun to watch.
Love those Northern Flicker photos – nice poses by the bird! 😊
Thank you, Mike! It was a treat for me. My first shots were at a greater distance. I’d move closer, take more, then closer…and closer. Loved that bird and thanked him as I walked away very happy!
That’s funny – I do that too! I say thank you to the butterflies that stay put and sometimes even move into position so that the shot is with them facing away. (I think they look better that way – so I do rotate the images sometimes). They obviously realise that we’re no threat. 😊
Real beauties! Great captures, Donna. 🙂
Thank you, HJ! 🙂
What an obliging flicker and how lucky, once again, that you were in the right spot at the right time.
Thank you, Tom, he got a big ‘thank you’ from me as I left him to the rising sun!
🙂
Very nice! The flicker is shown off beautifully 😊.
Thank you, Belinda! Boy, I loved that flicker staying put for me, he was thanked big time!
Wow, what a pleasure to peruse these photos, Donna. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a meadow lark, might be our topography? We’re mostly wooded hills and not many pastures anymore.
Love those flicker shots, handsome guy! I’ve noticed quite a few migrating through this week. Migration seems to be the only time I see them.
Thank you, Eliza, I am happy you enjoyed these! What was even more cool with the meadowlarks, they were foraging close to the resting Black-bellied Plovers. 😊
A Catbird and Eastern Meadowlarks are still on my list. I LOVE your Northern Flicker images. What a nice bird to greet you first thing in the morning and be so kind as to pose for you too! That would make my day. 😀
Thank you, Deborah! I’ve not seen your Western Meadowlark yet, hoping to someday. The NF most definitely made my day, I was the first to the refuge trail and he flushed out and flew around from hidden spot to hidden spot, couldn’t get him in flight lol boy did I try! And then he landed on that branch. Of course, you know then my adrenaline started pumping. 😉
😀 I know the feeling!
🤗🤗🤗
A Catbird and Eastern Meadowlarks are still on my list. I LOVE your Northern Flicker images. What a nice bird to greet you first thing in the morning and be so kind as to pose for you too! That would make my day. 😀
I appreciate the views of the Eastern Meadowlark. Being from Montana, the state bird is a cousin, the Western Meadowlark.
Thank you, I’ve not seen the Western Meadowlark yet, I hope to some day. I was looking at their differences, they’re almost identical, but their song is completely different.
Gorgeous photos, I love seeing all the yellow under the wings. I have never seen this bird in person. It is so nice to look at others photos taken on nice bright sunny days as these are, when it is rainy and cold where I am. Wonderful photos.
Thank you, Sandra! I am happy you enjoyed them, fingers crossed you’re having prettier days now and in the coming weekend. 🙂
We have the kingfishers down by the creek, but they’re a bit too wary to catch in photos. We had the Western Meadowlarks in our yard in Utah. Loved to hear them sing. I’ve only seeing the western (red) version of flickers here in Oregon. They used to tap on the siding of the first house we lived in here in Oregon. Woke me up way too early.
Your Yellow-shafted male posed so nicely for you! Great shooting there, Donna… as always!
Thanks much, Gunta! As much as we love birds, tapping or in-full song way too early in the morning, it just doesn’t sit too well if it’s often. hehe Gotta still love them though, especially when they finally stop! 😉