Pigeon

Calliope

Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis), male calling and displaying, family Ardeidae, order Pelicaniformes, India

photograph by PinakighoshPhotography  

[https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/154378836] Mourning Dove || Zenaida macroura Observed in United States Least Concern in location of observation

"Maybe if I sit on this branch and look heroic, no one will suspect me of murdering all those people."

(tufted titmouse)

Rock doves navigate via Earth’s magnetic field, allowing them to return to their home territory even if released in a new location.

(Rock dove or pigeon)

omw to get those seeds

(mourning dove)

✧ A Mothers Revenge ✧

A kestrel seeks revenge on a European Starling after it kills and eats her chicks. In the U.S, European starlings have a devastating impact on our native ecosystems in the entire United States. This species is known for their aggression towards other cavity nesting birds, outcompeting native species for nesting spots and food sources. They’ve been known to kill many native species from bluebirds, to woodpeckers, to kestrels. They are violent towards competing species, destroying their nests, and pecking holes in eggs laid by other birds. Not to mention, they also destroy crops and devour multitudes of grain each year.

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I wanted to portray something intense to kind of grab people’s attention to this problem. Most people don’t know how horribly invasive they are. While they’re pretty birds, they’re not meant to live in the United States. I wanted to use colors like red (to represent anger, sadness, revenge, betrayal) to portray what native species have to endure every year towards a bird that was never supposed to even come in contact with them. And colors like yellow (to represent wrongfully perceived innocence and guilt).

The spills of blood can be represented as the successful revenge the kestrel has, or, the multitudes of blood spilled from native species by European Starlings.

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Did you know? All the European Starlings in North America descended from 100 birds set loose in New York’s Central Park in the early 1890s. The birds were intentionally released by a group who wanted America to have all the birds that Shakespeare ever mentioned. It took several tries, but eventually the population took off. Today, more than 200 million European Starlings range from Alaska to Mexico.

Hummingbird nesting on cactus, Living Desert Gardens in Palm Desert, California.

A blackbird struts his stuff!!

Eurasian nuthatch/nötväcka. Värmland, Sweden (April 27, 2019).

Comfortable being sat on by his large wife

shoutout to this random-ass guy who had this incredibly rare bird sighting

The four stages of becoming a birder:

🪹Nestling Phase: You start with a casual interest, peeking out of your cozy comfort zone to notice the birds around you.

🐤Fledgling Feats: You spread your wings, equipped with binoculars and guidebooks, ready to explore new habitats and spot diverse species.

🐦‍⬛Perching Proficiency: Your skills sharpen as you learn to identify birds by their calls, habits, and plumage, and feel a sense of accomplishment with each new sighting.

🦅Masterful Migration: Finally, you soar confidently, traversing landscapes near and far, sharing your passion with others. In the end, the true joy of birding lies in the journey itself—every chirp, flutter, and waddle along the way.

Happy National Go Birding Day!

Large-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus), family Caprimulgidae, order Caprimulgiformes, Singapore

photograph by Johnny Wee

"Thank you, blessed seed tube, for these seeds I'm about to eat"

(black-capped chickadee)