That was actually one of mine too! I saw a bird I had no idea what species. I took a picture and I thought if this bird can exist what others are around! I also saw a Bobolink with a grasshopper which helped. I would say seeing my first Red-wing blackbird and then learning how abundant they are was huge. Not to mention the winter I saw Blue jays and Northern cardinals hanging out. I supposed for me it was gradual and next thing I knew I was a birder.
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That is a really cool shot!
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Mine is probably the Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo. It’s such a beautiful bird!
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Yesterday I saw my first Musk Lorikeets in the wild! It was really awesome, there was 4 of them in a tree across the road from my house. The first time I saw Musk Lorikeets was when I went to the Canberra Walk-in-Aviary in November last year. But now I’ve finally seen them in the wild! Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take any photos.
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Not sure I had a spark bird, my dad was into birding and there was always a bird book in the car. When we went on long trips I would just read it and look at the pictures.
Probably the bird that got me back into birding as an adult was the Pacific Baza. Such a cool looking bird, stripes and a crest.
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Thank you!
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I love Pacific Bazas! They’re such a unique bird of prey.
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The Black redstart.
In 2018, when I moved to a county house, (now the city took the village that used to be there) there used to be a pond over the road that used to attract birds. Even though there were loads of woodpeckers, herons and other birds, one small, cute buddy catched my eye: the black redstart.
These little singing birds are one of my favorites, even though many people would say my birding addiction started with the eurasian magpies, because I kept the redstart secret a while becaude I thought they’re some sort of rare birds (they aren’t). In that time there were few houses and people in that area, so birds were friendlier to strangers. Now any noise can spook them, but black redstarts keep coming close to us, despite the roaming cats.
I like saying that they are little, but curious and rather brave birds.
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https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/277639328, Gyor, Hungary
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/261452247
And
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/266912129, both in Hințeşti, Romania
For the photos.
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I apologize for the poor quality of the photo, but these birds were far off and moving fast! This is a juvenile Bald Eagle catching a Bonaparte’s Gull in mid-flight. It was an amazing sight. The eagle caught the gull but then dropped it in the water and had to circle back and scoop it up. I have a whole series of equally poor photos, but it’s something I’ll never forget!
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Not a bad shot actually! For me anyway.
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Thanks!
This bird is in the Solomon Islands
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Ikr?! If I got this photo I’d be proud of it X-D
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I can barely get a photo in flight, let alone an action one!
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Veery mid call.
Ruby-throated hummingbird hanging out in the rain.
Yellow warbler singing
One of my best Red-wing blackbird photos mid call.
A fareway photo of what appears to be a Baltimore oriole and a a Red-shoulder hawk (I think) hanging out.
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I have not seen birds chasing but I did see an interesting interaction between two American robins. They would fly up facing each other nearly touching and settle back down. Almost looked like courtship? This did not appear to be fighting because they hung out together afterwards.
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The hawk is a Red-tailed Hawk, note the orange tail, and too white of chest. Red-shouldered would be a reddish-brown.
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Today I saw a ruby-throated hummingbird chasing another off the feeder. Challenge of the week completed. Hummingbirds always chase each other!
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