Rhonda Howard

For @alan678.bsky.social alt #BirdOfTheDay theme of #LightAndShade a Green Heron stalking its next meal. I also happen to think these guys are #photogenic

A small brown and white killdeer chick stands in shallow water, with its reflection below. Some patches of green marsh plants dot the mudflat in the background.

Baby killdeer #StandingInWater for #BirdOfTheDay

Big leaps for tiny birbs… 🥹🥰

Ugh, misspelling on my part: Tricolored (no hyphen) Heron, but no edit option here yet…

Tricolored Heron - eBird Slender, medium-sized heron. Slaty-blue overall with a white belly and white underwings. Extremely long bill. In breeding plumage, look for buffy plumes on the lower back and orange tones on the throat and foreneck. Juveniles are stained rusty on the neck and shoulders. Fairly common but with restricted range in the southeastern U.S., mainly along the coast. More widespread in Central America and northern South America. Occurs in shallow wetlands, marshes, and mudflats. Often forages actively, darting around erratically and chasing after fish.

Here's a page with photos at different stages: ebird.org/species/triher

This was taken in November; I think it’s much closer to adult feathers now. And yes, this was at Bolsa.

Bird with chestnut color on neck and a slate blue body; both neck and body have white on the underside. The bird has one leg raised as it steps forward on a sandy trail through some pickleweed. This young Tri-colored Heron now has much more blue on its neck & is starting to look more like an adult.

For @alan678.bsky.social 's #BirdOfTheDay theme #SteppingOut here's a young Tri-Colored heron.

Male nuthatch (dark crown and nape; female has gray crown and minimal black "half collar") upside down on a tree trunk. His upperparts are a blue gray, underparts are mostly white but with rusty red on his lower belly. He is glancing at the viewer. There's blurry sky and some blurry green foliage in the background.

Happy Friday everyone! Here's a White-breasted Nuthatch in a classic upside down nuthatch pose. #birds

Numbers have been dropping in SoCal since March 1, if that helps…

Plus herons show up “magically” when baby mallards hatch. You’re right, the turtles are outta control.

🤣

YW!

Baby borb!! 🥰

Beautiful shot!!

Late to the thread: baby geese please!! 🐥🐥🐥

Thank you, Steve!! It was years before I noticed that the bill color is a little different. Black below the eye (or not) is easier for me.

YW! 🙏

Thank you, Rob!! They are a local “odd couple”.

Thank you, Chris!!

For @robcrank68.bsky.social theme of #MixedPairs for #BirdOfTheDay here’s a Western grebe and Clark’s grebe. 🪶

Great shot, Mike!!

What a cute subject, and great set of shots!

Wonderful shot!

Love the grackle shot!!

Awesome shot!

Tiny Egyptian Goose (i.e., a gosling), shown in profile against a blurry and dark background. The subject has fluffy beige and brown feathers, and its bill is open.

Baby gosling with something to say. #birds #babybirds #spring

Fabulous composition!! Love this shot, so well done. 🙌

Happy birthday!! 🎉🎈

Two tree swallows at a nest box. One is already standing on the box, giving an unfriendly greeting to another swallow trying to land. The swallow trying to land has its wings up and swept back a little. Both have iridescent teal on their upperparts with dark wings, and white undersides. The nesting box is painted a sky blue color and the background is blurry coastal sunflowers in bloom.

Who cleared you to land?!!! #Twosday dust up between a couple of tree swallows, who are currently fighting over nest boxes, mating, etc. #birds #flyday

It's been so hot lately that we already have heat haze by 9AM... hoping it cools a little soon.

Call your congressional representative!!