Birders birding

I’ve been venturing out to the river on my bike on various morning and evening trips the past couple of weeks to see if I can spot any kingfishers, but mostly to no avail.

I decided to try the middle of the afternoon today for a change, and from a good 100 meters away I figured I had made the right choice. Can anyone guess how I knew?

A small crowd of five photographers with varying massive lenses pointed down over a river. — Hunters

Yes, all those people and all that camera gear could only mean one thing: there was a kingfisher lurking.

We all took… Jeez, probably a couple hundred pictures each (burst shot on a digital camera really burns through a memory card), but hey, what else is several thousand dollars worth of camera and lens for?

A common kingfisher perched on a reed and illuminated in a beam of sunlight. — Hunted

Once our prey disappeared into the reeds, we all scattered without so much as a “See you.” Ah, such is life. Nice afternoon, though.

Across the sea

I stepped out of the gym and the sky was on fire. I had to race to the beach to get an unimpeded shot.

A shot over the sea of a brilliant red and orange sun setting over an island. There are clouds blotting out much of the sky. — Seto sunset

On today’s walk

Two sparrows perch on a metal guardrail. The one in the forefront is looking to the side. Its beak is smeared with seed residue. The one in the background has a water droplet hanging from its beak. — Sparrows with dirty faces

Two small fish are swimming in a stream. They almost appear to be swimming around each other in a yin/yang shape. — Round and round

Three ducks, brown and gray with black beaks that have yellow tips, are swimming on a river. — Trio

A few recent pictures

I took a few pictures that I like recently, so here you go.

A couple of the crops are unconventional, but these aren’t for printing, so who cares?

Winter birds are best birds

The weather here has turned—well and truly, finally—to winter. Which means both dusky days, and winter birds.

Many of the birds I associate with winter, like white eyes or long-tailed tits, are present year round but are more visible because of bare branches. Others, like the ducks that stop on the rivers, are just passing through. All are welcome sights, though, making the cold walks worth it.

Here are some I spotted today, December 21, 2024. For the record.

A small, round, white and black bird perched in a bare tree. — Long-tailed tit outside the library.

A small duck with dark green patches on its face taking flight from a brown river. — Long-tailed tit outside the library.