Dee

A shiny black bird with a feather crest and red eyes perched at the top of a bush at Rock Hound State Park in New Mexico.

Knowing that holiday related art projects take time, I will point out that the phainopepla (aka goth cardinal (despite being a silky flycatcher and not a cardinal at all)) mainly feeds on mistletoe berries. Making it thematically appropriate for a certain upcoming holiday season.🪶

A pile of supplies thread, a WIP cross stitch, and the paper pattern of a leopard with some squares colored in to signify that I've stitched those.

Current mess that I'm working on....along with 4 other things.
This was a crossstitch kit I bought AGES ago at, possibly fabric depot (which is sadly dead). It's on 18 count fabric too, and I'm used to working on 14.

IDK what I'll do for November. Maybe play catch up on the Hawaiian bird cross stitch project.
Also maybe put a dent in the tea stash that occasional gets bigger because 'oo that combination sounds good when added into hot water'.

Andean Condors. The male has a caruncle on his face, and the female is in front (she's kinda turned away so you can't see her face or her red eyes) San Diego Zoo

Black-capped chickadee Tualatin River NWR

Ae'o, Hawiian stilts Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge

Lark bunting Eastern Montana

#Birdtober day 31, the last day! Is black and white!
Big thanks to @kaylafiskbirds.bsky.social for putting together the prompt list! It was a lot of fun to dig through all the pictures!

YouTube video by KeepCalmAndCarrionNapping Sleepy Hippo, Hungry Hippo

Albuquerque BioPark Zoo gained a baby hippo on October 14th, earlier today she was doing some napping on mom's snacking hay.
youtu.be/eVghpyCYIIk

Peregrine falcon, very pointy wings Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area

Northern Harrier Steigerwald Lake NWR

White-tailed kite Moss Landing, CA

Elegant Tern (I think!) San Diego, CA

#Birdtober day 30 is Long Thin Wings!
Another headteacher kinda, since I didn't want to duplicate too many birds! Some may be broader than others.

American dipper with a snack in some fast flowing water Yellowstone National Park

American dipper standing on top of a rock with prey in beak Yellowstone National Park

American dipper dunking its head in the surf looking for bugs Yellowstone National Park

American dipper foraging for insects by dunking its head into the fast flowing water Yellowstone National Park

#Birdtober day 29 is unique foraging technique.
American dippers are aquatic songbirds, so they're hanging out in high flowing streams with lots of exposed rocks. They'll snatch up aquatic insects form the rocks, it's a lot of fun to watch these busy little birds.

One way to get yourself to take a break from embroidery is to stab yourself REALLY good with a needle because a spider crawled across your desk....Super bad luck as I was coming UP the fabric and not doing something else.

Great-tailed grackle Phoenix, AZ

Western Meadowlark Antelope Island State Park Utah

Bullock's oriole Great Falls, MT

Crested oropendola San Diego Safari Park

#Birdtober day 28 is Icterid, the blackbird family. For being called the blackbird family there are way more than just blackbirds.

I want oneeeeeeeeee

Snowy egrets These guys also make some GOOFY noises during nesting season. I need to go back and get sound next time I'm in the San Diego area. San Diego Safari Park

Common murres Yaquina Head Natural Outstanding Area

Dalmatian pelicans Phoenix Zoo

Taveta golden weavers Woodland Park Zoo

#Birdtober Day 27 is colony nester! There are advantages and disadvantages to nesting in a group. Could have more eyes for predators, but predators can also see your giant grouping.

American bittern. They're a little more hidden with the grasses are brown. Ridgefield NWR

Brown creeper. You can usually hear them before you see them against the tree bark Ridgefield NWR

Tawny frogmouth and similar species look like tree branches. Denver Zoo

Female Edwards's pheasant. The females tend to have plumage that helps them blend in while the males have the feathers to show off. Woodland Park Zoo

#Birdtober day 26 is cryptic plumage!
I swear there are bird pictures here. Honest.

Pokemon Legends ZA is done.
I'm ready for Gen 10 now. Give me the turn based combat back and normal catching mechanic.

A common raven flying against a white sky

A common raven rolling in the snow. They get plenty of snacks in the form of 'food meant for bears' and are pretty safe from predators (unless they wander into the wolf exhibit, sometimes the wolves catch the ravens). So you get neat behaviors like snow rolling.

Common ravens interactions with one another. A lot of the birds in the winter are teenagers, so they get to work out social dynamics with each other. Usually involves yelling at each other.

A large group of common ravens in the bear exhibit.

#BIrdtober day 25 is another free bird space!
So here are some more ravens! Grizzly & Wolf Discovery center has year round ravens that are a joy to watch. You can see some really interesting behaviors from play, to interactions with other birds & the bears and wolves.
#Photography #birds #raven

Great gray owl. Yellowstone National Park

Lorikeet ABQ Biopark Zoo

Greater Roadrunner Bosque del Apache NWR

Ladder-backed Woodpecker New Mexico

#Birdtober day 24 is xygodactyl!
I'm super sad I don't have more feet pictures for this! BUT trust me, these birds have interesting feet (this is such an odd post)
#Photography #birds

Heermann's gull San Diego, CA

Western Gull San Diego CA

Crap I forgot what tern this was. I think it's a royal tern. Also forgot where I took this. I'M GREAT AT CATEGORIES

Common Tern Bozeman, MT

#Birdtober Day 23 is Gulls & Terns! Gulls are some of the most abundant bird on the coast, which makes them good photo subjects. Especially in flight. WAY easier than the tiny birds.
....if you are looking for an easy ID, uh, maybe not gulls. They can be more tricky.

Long-billed curlew. These birds use their curved beak to poke through the dirt and sand for snacks Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

Golden eagle. Sharp pointy beak used for picking out pieces of flesh from their dinner Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center

Hyacinth macaw. Possibly one of the largest parrot beaks. Use for secure food. Also they open up shelled nuts REALLY quickly. ABQ Biopark Zoo

Curve-billed Thrasher. They use their beaks to toss up leaf litter while looking for bugs. (I forgot where I took this. But it was most likely New Mexico somewhere)

#Birdtober day 22 is curved beak! There's a lot of different bird beak shapes out there. Here are a few with a curve.
#Photography #birds

Female andean cock of the rock. Males are bright orange. Woodland Park Zoo

Female red-winged blackbird. Males are all black with red wingpatches Bozeman, MT

Female common eider, the males are mostly white with black feathers Woodland Park Zoo

Female Phainopepla, the males are a silky dark blue/black. Both still have the red eyes. Bosque del Apache NWR

#Birdtober Day 21 is 'Female plumage' A lot of lady birds get overlooked because they're not as flashy as the males (most of the time, there are exceptions!). But they are still just as pretty!
#photography #birds

A photo of a photo of a pair of American kestrels nestled in a roof that's missing its shingles.

So.
This is our roof. I guess it's their home now too???? At least they won't make more holes vs the northern flickers that have investigated.
The yard does have a lot of giant grasshoppers in a pesticide free area. IDK about the neighbors tho.

Anna's hummingbird. During breeding season males make big showy flight displays. The wind rushing through their feathers make a sharp 'BEEP' noise. Seattle, WA

Nighthawks make booming sounds when they fly at high speeds. Very unnerving if you duno what that noise is at 5am when you are trying to do bird surveys, or so I've heard. Bosque del Apache NWR

Wilson's snipes make 'winnowing' noises when they fly around. Three Forks, MT

Downy woodpeckers. Woodpeckers are pretty obvious, especially if you have a northern flicker and a metal roof/chimney flew. Bozeman, MT

#Birdtober day 20 is 'Birds that make non-vocal sounds'
Here's a few noisy birds, but they can make noises using something that's not vocal chords.

Photograph of a raven looking towards an out of focus foreground bear at the Grizzly & Wolf Discover Center.

On this Scavenger Sunday, have you considered stealing from a bear?

Happy Ace Week! 🖤🩶🤍💜

Least bittern, the smallest species of heron. Bosque del Apache NWR

Demoiselle crane Idaho Falls Zoo

Little blue penguin ABQ Biopark Zoo

Abdim's stork San Diego Safari Park

#Birdtober Day 19 Is Smallest of their Family. I had to brain storm and ask for help with this one!!!!
Here we have the smallest heron, crane, penguin and stork (storks and cranes are already pretty big so kinda hard to picture).
#photography #birds

A top down view of broccoli cheddar chicken soup in a serving bowl and soup spoon.

Broccoli cheddar chicken soup was made and consumed... Maybe consumed too much. Gonna splode now.

Brandt's cormorant starting to show off their breeding floofs La Jolla, CA

Grey crowned crane Pueblo Zoo

Ruby-crowned kinglet Bandelier National Monument

Secretary bird. Denver Zoo

#Birdtober Day 18 is Crest/Plume! Birds sure have some fancy plumage! Here are some ~fancy~ birds.
#Photography #birds

A White fronted bee eater with, a BEE. These birds are very acrobatic and are able to catch flying insects. If it's one with a stinger, they'll scrape the stinger against a branch to dislodge it. San Diego Zoo

Lorikeets are small parrots that have specialized tongues to feed on plant nectar. Nectar cups in free flying lorikeet exhibits have been popular in zoos (not sure if it is as popular now) Oregon Zoo (quite an old picture as OZ does not exhibit lorikeets anymore)

Common mergansers have slender bills with little itty bitty 'teeth' to grasp onto wriggly fish as they hunt for them. Yellowstone National Park

Palm nut vultures are the oddball out. A lot of their diet is fruit (palm nuts, dates etc.) and are rarely found at a carcass like all other vultures. Their heads are also quite feathered compared to other vultures. Zoo Boise

#Birdtober Day 17 is Specialized Diet. You can tell a lot about bird diets by looking at their beaks/bills.
#Photography #Birds

Three male African wild dogs standing in profile in a line on a rock in an outdoor yard.

Happy 8th birthday to Zoo Boise’s African wild dog brother trio, Cassius, Dax, and Teddy! 🎉

These remarkable canines are the most successful hunters in all of Africa, known for their teamwork, speed, and strong family bonds.

📸: Zoo volunteer Karla

I made breakfast, and @dwmmphotography.bsky.social learned that one of the mugs we have is not microwave safe.
Successful morning so far.

Falcated duck San Diego Zoo

Nēnē, a Hawaiian goose Haleakalā National Park

Crested Screamer Phoenix Zoo

Trumpeter Swan Yellowstone National Park

#Birdtober Day 16 is Waterfowl! It's a pretty diverse group of birds, both big and small.
#Photography #birds #waterfowl

A little fluffy gremlin sits on a piece of graph paper with notes on it. A map of a Metaphor dungeon is on the laptop screen featuring a door puzzle.

Cat. Sir. Smallest Gremlin.
I need that paper to figure out the rest of my door puzzle.