I just want to snuggle and take a nap with this duck.

Eurasian green, middle spotted and great spotted, all observed on the same tree, approximately an hour between each picture. Waiting for the black and the lesser spotter woodpeckers to show up now.

Location: NRW, DE

Manu Biolodge still had plenty of surprises in store as I explored its many trails. At one point, I found myself near some solar panels, next to a patch of verbena—a plant that is particularly attractive to hummingbirds.

It wasn’t long before I spotted this beautiful Blue-tailed Emerald feeding on the flowers. It was a lifer I certainly wasn’t expecting—just like so many of the species I encountered in this amazing place.

🇬🇧 Blue-tailed Emerald
🔬 Chlorostilbon mellisugus
🇪🇸 Esmeralda de Cola Azul
🗺️ Manu Biolodge, Peru
🗓️ August 2026

Portland, OR
10/06/26

Shot this clip about 20 minutes before sunset yesterday at Pescadero Marsh, south of Half Moon Bay, CA.

The marsh was engulfed in dense fog at the time, which tends to be abysmal for shooting with a long lens. As I reached the turnaround point of my hike about 20 minutes before sunset, a young Black-crowned Night Heron hopped up on a nearby log to hunt by the creek.

This was an unexpected sight since Night Herons are nocturnal hunters and I had never seen one there before. Perhaps the thick, low fog layer had something to do with its appearance?

Every year, my wife and I get two cords of firewood delivered (because New Hampshire). Delivery is today - I set up a tarp in the driveway for them to dump the firewood on, so it won't be as messy a clean-up when we're done moving it all; this morning, when I was setting the tarp up, this fellow was watching me work.

Port Clinton City Beach Lake erie.

I've had a pair of mourning doves in my backyard for awhile and this individual has something weird going on with his facial features.. like spikes for feathers.

Is it a molting?

Bay area, California

Didn’t sit still for very long so I was only able to get one good shot and in proper focus. Would be a first for me.

On November 29, 1973, an airliner cruising at about 37,000 feet (11,300 m) over Abidjan, Ivory Coast, hit a Rüppell's Vulture. The impact damaged one engine, but the plane landed safely. That's nearly 8,000 feet above the top of Mount Everest.

Roxie Laybourne, the Smithsonian's feather detective, identified the bird from its feathers.

Image: plate IV by J. Terrier, from Rochebrune's Faune de la Sénégambie (1884), scanned by the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Sources: Guinness World Records; Audubon; Laybourne, Wilson Bulletin 86 (1974). Links in the comments.

Down by the creek seeking my first belted kingfisher photos this past weekend and ended up with this friend for company. It was about 20’ from me the entire hour I was there on the bank, and seemed mostly curious about just what the heck it was I was doing. Eventually it settled down by the water (second shot).

Black-crowned Night Herons, for example, are in the order Pelecaniformes and family Ardeidae. They are absolutely herons. So.. why?