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Bird Bites

Birds spend a lot of time shopping for meals, eating left-overs, and snacking. Some, like eagles and ospreys, look for fresh, grab-and-go fish while vultures scan for whatever is dead, and smaller birds whoof down bugs.

Be sure to click/tap on photos for a closer view. And check out Kids, Beauties, Flyers, and Antics.

Eagles

Ask photographers how they shoot eagles, and their answer is likely to be, “early.”  Then, when you see an eagle slowing in flight, steady your telephoto lens (tripod helpful), burst-shoot and pan with the bird as it dives, snatches a fish, pushes to take off, and makes its way to a nearby tree to devour its prey while watching you take photos.

Vultures

Turkey Vultures (the redheads) smell carrion — a rotten-eggs odor —  while Black Vultures spot a meal in open areas often by watching other vultures circling and then dropping. 

Wood Storks

Wood Storks like to swish their beaks back and forth in shallow and often muddy water to stir fish and other eats. Sometimes their success can be difficult to swallow.  And sometimes they have to show up at a fast-food place if it’s been a bad fishing day.

Brown Pelicans

Gliding across the ocean surface until spotting a school of fish, the Brown Pelican then climbs upward 30-plus feet, banks left, and plummets head first at 40-mph into the water when its glands expand to absorb the shock. Scooping the fish (maybe) and then tipping the bill to drain the gallon or more of water, it’s time to swallow dinner.

Other Eaters

Want to see more birds?

Bird Antics

Some birds are a bit whacky or mayb I see them differently than other humans.  Maybe a mixture of both.

Bird Flyers

Flying is easy:  lift your wings, push off hard, flap like crazy, and believe you can rise into the sky. Oh yeah, then there’s landing.

Black crowned Night Heron Baby in nest

Bird Kids

Bird kids are cute in their own ways, always spunky, always hungry, often demanding, sometimes sleepy.

Eagle flying with open talons

Bird Beauties

Shooting to capture “the moment” with birds is a challenge.  Larger birds sometimes pose, smaller one are twitchy. But they’re all beautiful.