Portraits
No, these are not paid models, nor are they done in any studio as we normally think of “portrait” photography. Some of these are “head shots” that I imagine the bird could use on LinkedIn and some are full body “portraits” but all show a more inactive bird more or less “posing” for a still shot by me. Here are some of my favorites. I highly recommend clicking on any image to view it larger.
Hawks
Red-Tailed Hawks are plentiful here in Colorado and make for beautiful subjects, especially in the soft evening light that some of these were captured in. This block of images is enabled to allow you to scroll through all the images and each image will expand to full size.
Eagles
These eagles below are all considered “juveniles”, meaning they are not fully-formed adults which in eagles usually occurs at about 5 years of age. Juvenile eagles have more brown feathers and lack the recognizable black and white of an adult. The three on the left (first three below on mobile) are the same juvenile eagle obviously.
Herons and Egrets
L and R (below on mobile) - Great Blue Herons
Below - Far left and far right - Great Egrets photographed in Texas; middle - Snowy Egret photographed in Colorado
Swans
Below Left (first image below on mobile) - A rare Tundra Swan leisurely floating on a local lake; Below Right (bottom two images on mobile) - A rare Trumpeter Swan on a local lake
Ducks
Below -The showy male Wood Duck makes for a beautiful subject when gliding across the water
Below -The male Mallard has a stunning array of colors that are especially shown off well in close-ups
Small Birds
Below - The difference in sex in Belted Kingfishers is easy to tell. The male on the left has a plain white breast while the female on the right has a rust and white-colored breast. This is somewhat unusual in the bird world in that here the female is the more colorful of the two sexes.
Top image below - A Tree Swallow guards its house. I wasn’t sure if this was a nest so the image is actually taken from a long distance using a long lens and heavily cropped. He seemed to be patrolling against other birds swooping nearby
Bottom image below - A Violet-Green Swallow sits on a branch by a local lake. Their colors really are stunning
Below - Both images are of Bohemian Waxwings. These are rare birds that had previously only been seen in Colorado ten years prior to when I found them. They are a “cousin” of the more common Cedar Waxwing.
Left and Right (below on mobile) - Both images are of Dark-Eyed Juncos, a breed that seems to absolutely love my back yard!
Below - Three images of a Broad-Tailed Hummingbird. The one on the far left shows the bird with its tongue extended, a lucky catch. It had just gotten some nectar at a feeder and appeared to be “slurping” the sweet taste afterward.
Other Birds
Below - Wild Turkey
Below - American Magpie