Thread by @timakimoff

I tend to shoot photographs more for studying birds after the fact. So, my top 12 for ‘21 are not about birds so much as bird moments.

#1 Posted this as something other than a purple finch, and #BirdTwitter corrected me fast. It made watching them after more enjoyable.

#2 I have a soft spot for turkey vultures. Saw this one sunning itself and drying out wings on a road trip to California early in the year.

Didn’t see a lot of orange-crowned warblers this year, but this one made a lasting impression.

Watching the Western Canada geese compete for breeding areas at the wetlands is one of my favorite things. I call this one spittin’ mad.

Seeing Bullock’s orioles is always a treat. Watch a Bullock’s oriole female watching two males tussle is a super treat.

Baby bird season is always fun. Finding where the Northern flickers nest is even more fun.

Bought a yellow bird topper for my feeder setup this year, and the yellow boys didn’t quite know what to make of it.

These two crack me up all year. Usually he sits on the swing and tolerates her for about 2 nano seconds. But she turned things around here.

I didn’t get to do much birding on our trip to Central California this year. I wanted the family to feel like I wasn’t off doing my own thing. But I ended up finding a bunch of wading birds on the way home. I just loved the front-facing profile of this one.

I’ve been fortunate to see this or other Townsend’s warblers all year. When you can really watch them, they are very acrobatic.

White-crowned sparrows are always fun for much of the year. Bit late fall, they seem to connect with the landscape in a way that makes me think they’re posing knowing the backdrop makes them look good.

I watched this song sparrow playing on the ice for a half hour. It foraged along the thin ice, seemingly delighting in the change in a way that we might.

Happy New Year, Tweeps!