Thread by @TheRealHoarse

Everything kind of sucks so I’m just going to post a few bird pics that made me happy this week.

This is a northern harrier. A “gray ghost”. A male.

Striking, beautiful birds.

I’ve seen a gray ghost only once before.

1/?

I literally filled up my computer with pictures this past year.

Was up til 3 am archiving and deleting to make room.

It was a chore but I found a bunch of pics I meant to go back and clean up but hadn’t.

Like this early morning red-tailed hawk.

I think he noticed me.

Serious bird photogs don’t bother going out on shitty light days.

A white sky is the worst. You can’t get good birds in flight pics against a white sky.

I don’t care. I go out anyway. It’s about the activity not the output for me.

That’s a peregrine falcon. Amazing birds.

To be honest, I don’t take a lot of pics of great blue herons wading anymore. I see them a lot. I’ve taken a ton in the past.

There is something about their slow, graceful flight though.

They are prehistoric machines that defy gravity.

I have a growing folder of shots I call “Ones That Got Away”. Eagle asses. Blurry hawks. Halves of falcons.

And then I have ones that aren’t great but make me happy.

Y’all try capturing a fast-moving bird while hand-holding an 8-lb setup. It’s hard.

Juvie sharp-shinned hawk.

And then I have a growing array of “firsts” - birds I had to watch and photograph and then identify from the pic later.

Usually those pics are extra lousy; they’re just for the ID anyway. Who cares.

Sometimes though, they’re lovely. Like this royal tern this week.

On that note, the sun’s out and it looks like a good light kinda day. So, I’m gonna venture out.

Maybe I’ll cart my ass back up to the wetlands where I saw this immature bald eagle.

And maybe I’ll get a better picture or 20 half-blurry, backlit, near misses.

We’ll see.