Birdy Photography

03/22/2026

Birding trip to Guyana!

What an adventure! So much to tell that I can't fit it all in one post.

After a two day delay (our flight was cancelled with thousands of other flights on Monday, March 16th). We finally restarted our trip on Wednesday morning. After a long day of travel we arrived at our lodging at almost 1 am. After only 2.5 hrs of sleep 😮 we woke early to embark on a 6+ hour ride to Surama Lodge.

Unfortunately, the bird pics will have to come later as I didn't travel with all my tools for editing. But here are some of the moments captured.

02/20/2026

Flapping back to Africa for a moment. 💸

This Malawi guesthouse garden beauty — the White-browed Robin-Chat — was impossible to ignore. With its upright, robin-like posture and bold, flute-like morning song, it quickly became one of my favorite encounters of the trip.

Here it is served up two ways:
A dramatic silhouette as it perched, froze, and studied me...
and that unforgettable fiery orange body with its sharp black mask and bright white brow.

A really good bird. 🧡🖤🤍🩶

02/16/2026

Sweet and unexpected winter encounter with a Northern Saw-whet Owl.

I had only ever heard one before — never seen one. Tucked quietly into the cedars in February, this tiny, highly nocturnal owl felt like such a rare gift. So special.

What a cutie. 🦉

12/13/2025

A curious young white-tailed deer stopped by to investigate a large pumpkin I left out in the yard. 🎃🦌
My pumpkin hasn't been broken open yet, but the local wildlife has clearly started working on it.

12/10/2025

I was heading out for a late-afternoon walk when I heard a ruckus. The chickadees and titmice were irritated and alerting. I thought maybe a hawk, or maybe one of the Great-horned Owls I'd been hearing at dusk. But as I got closer to the driveway, I finally spotted this… a Barred Owl sitting calmly, letting the songbirds fuss around it.
I had just left the house without my camera (of course!) so I ran back to grab it. What a beautiful surprise right before sunset. 🦉✨

#

12/10/2025

We had a visitor in the yard this evening. The titmice and chickadees were definitely irritated. I wasn't. ☺️🦉

11/13/2025

Aurora & Owls — From My Yard
We had a wonderful viewing of the Aurora Borealis here in Massachusetts — and what a night it was! 🌌
I kept stepping outside, not expecting much, and suddenly the sky lit up in a deep red glow right over my yard. And then… two Great Horned Owls began to duet from the trees.
Just wow. Still blown away that I could witness both — an aurora and an owl duet — at the same time. God your world is amazing! 💫🦉

🎧 Best with sound on — you’ll hear the owls calling through the night.

11/10/2025

Just a sweet encounter with a sparrow in a water lily garden.

https://youtu.be/CQpSVJk8O4I?si=GEIhsZeLkNt-U2Cx

“The Sparrow and the Lily” — a tranquil short video filmed in a Japanese-style water garden. A Song Sparrow explores the rocks beside a small waterfall while...

07/29/2025

First up is a familiar face: the House Sparrow.

Native to Eurasia and now thriving across much of the world—including your local McDonald's parking lot—this species is one of the most widespread birds on Earth. I've included a range map: purple shows its native range, while orange indicates regions where it's been introduced. While often dismissed as a "pest" or invasive species, I’d argue that the male House Sparrow is actually quite a handsome little bird— black bib, chestnut nape, and striking gray crown.

For comparison, meet the Northern Gray-headed Sparrow—an African cousin in both lineage and lifestyle.

Though not quite as dapper, this sparrow has a quiet charm of its own. It has a soft gray head and breast that blends into warm brown wings and tail. One subtle but distinctive feature is the whitish throat, framed by a delicate border of darker feathers. You’ll often find this species near human settlements as well, from city rooftops to village gardens, much like its House Sparrow counterpart.

07/28/2025

These may not be showstoppers, but I was glad to spot both of these yellow beauties in Malawi: the Brimstone Canary and Yellow-fronted Canary.

The Brimstone was a lifer for me—perched higher in a tree, but still able to identify! The Yellow-fronted Canary gave me a classic “bird on a wire” moment.

Sometimes it’s not about the perfect photo—just the joy of seeing and documenting new species.

Lifer #531

07/25/2025

Here’s a visual comparison of some beautiful sunbirds I photographed in Malawi:
- The first is an adult male Scarlet-chested Sunbird in full vibrant glory (a lifer!)
- The second, a young male beginning to show his scarlet chest
- The last, I am unsure, but I know that it is a female. Many of the female sunbirds look so similar I'll probably never know.

Sunbirds are Africa’s answer to hummingbirds — feeding on nectar, flitting quickly through the brush, and flashing iridescent colors when the light hits just right.

It was a thrill to get to photograph this new species.

Lifer #530