Today we have some photos by Doug Hayes of Richmond, VA, famous for his “breakfast crew” series of birds.  But today he recounts a birding trip to a local swamp to see egrets. Doug’s captions are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them.

A trip to the swamp

My neighbor and I took another trip out to the Chamberlayne Swamp to see the Great Egrets (Ardea alba). The swamp is about 9 miles outside of Richmond, VA. During the daytime the egrets spread out all along the James River and surrounding counties, then gather in the swamp around sundown to roost for the night. It is mating season for the egrets, so many of the birds are displaying their long, delicate breeding plumage, or aigrettes. The birds put on quite a show, swooping into land on delicate branches and gathering in huge numbers. We arrived around 6pm and stayed until just about dark.

When we arrived, there were only two egrets around:

This solitary green heron (Butorides virescens) stayed on this perch for over an hour, drying its feathers and preening after a day’s fishing:

One of the first arrivals, staking out a spot to spend the night:

Getting photobombed by a common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula):

More egrets begin to arrive:

Even the most pecarious perch is no problem for these surprisingly graceful birds:

The early arrival is joined by a friend:

Another tricky landing:

As the sun sets, more and more birds join the flock:

Near dark, the group begins to settle in:

A smooth landing as it gets darker:

Ready for bedtime. Even though it was pretty dark at this time, I was still able to get useable images. Camera technology has really improved since film days when pushing black and white Tri-X to 1600 or 3200 was hit or miss!:

Camera info:  Sony AR7V body, Sony FE 200-600 zoom lens, camera set to Auto ISO with a range of 80 to 5,000 ISO, iFootage Cobra II monopod and Neewer gimbal tripod head. Photos shot above 1,200 ISO processed for noise with Topaz Photo AI.

Reader Mary Rasmussen has some lovely photos of birds found in Chicago backyards, though I haven’t seen many of these.  Mary’s captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge her photos by clicking on them.

Chicago Backyard Birds 

These are some common birds in late winter and early spring in my small Chicago backyard. Migrants have been arriving and I’m very happy to see them. The male Red-Winged blackbirds usually arrive in late February. Their call is one of the first harbingers of spring. Soon the Juncos will be departing for their northern nesting grounds. Cowbirds and a variety of sparrows are moving through and soon warblers will follow.

These are all common birds in the Midwest. I’m looking forward to the big northward migration which usually brings a few more unusual birds through my yard.

Male House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus):

Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea):

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) warming its foot on a frosty morning:

Male Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater):

Male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus):

Close-up of a Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata):

Close-up of a female Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis):

Male Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens):

Female American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis):

Male American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis.) This is his spring molt and you can see some of his new bright yellow breeding plumage:

Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula):

Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter cooperii) surveying my yard:

Today we have some noshing birds by reader Thomas Stringfellow. His captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them:

The photos were taken in July 2011 below the dam at Lake Barkley in Kentucky, and feature our old friend the Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax mycticorax) having lunch at the all-you-can-eat buffet. This is a remarkable place for many species of birds, and photographing them is made easier because they are largely habituated to humans.

Camera details: Nikon D3 camera shot in aperture priority mode, Nikkor 400 mm f/2.8 telephoto lens with a Nikon 1.4x teleconverter.

We are back with photos, but I beseech readers to keep sending in their good wildlife pictures.

Today Uwe Mueller is back with some new bird photos from Bergisches Land, Germany. Uwe’s captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos to enlarge them.

A Carrion crow (Corvus corone) looking curiously at the guy kneeing in front of it:

A female Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) in its typical pose, showing her beautiful wings with the characteristical blue-white pattern:

A Common blackbird (Turdus merula) singing its song. And they do it really loudly:

Eurasian chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs):

The Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius) with its raspy voice can often be heard in our local forest. Seeing it is a lot more difficult:

Common chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita), a small bird that can easily be confused with the √ (Phylloscopus trochilus):

Eurasian nuthatch (Sitta europaea), for once not in its typical pose sitting head down in the bark of a tree:

A Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) landing in our local pond:

This Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) was photographed by me just yesterday [JAC: Last Saturday] …

… as well as these two juvenile Grey herons in its nest, together with one of its parents. The juveniles look a bit disheveled and have what I call the “Jurassic Park stare” much more than the adult birds. Well, they can’t deny that they are dinosaurs.

Photos may come and go, but I know we can rely on John Avise for a weekly selection of bird photos.  Today we have some birds from Germany; John’s IDs and notes are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.

Birds in Germany 

In 2007, I was invited to offer a several-day mini-course on evolutionary genetics for the general public, at a special retreat in southern Germany.  In between lectures, I found a bit of time to take the following avian photographs near the meeting site.  And, as luck would have it, one morning there happened to be a team of bird banders (or bird ringers, as they are called in Europe) near the site, manning their mist-nets and capturing small birds for banding.  So, several of these photos are of “birds-in-the-hand” caught by the ringers that morning.

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), adult in basic or non-breeding plumage:

Common Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), adult:

Common Gull juvenile:

Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), adult:

Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), male:

Bearded Tit, now known more often as the Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus), male:

Bearded Tit female:

Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) in basic or non-breeding plumage:

Dunnock (Prunella modularis):

Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus), male:

Eurasian Siskin female:

Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus):