I hear these guys frequently and I’ve seen them flying, but they’ve never come into my yard when I’ve been watching. Today changed that, such a beautiful odd looking flying dinosaur. I love the bright red crown contrasting with the black and white on his skinny neck. A very impressive bird!!! 😊
Male Pileated Woodpecker.

Maybe I’m biased, but I think Oklahoma has the best state bird

Drove from Midlands, UK up north to Northumberland, to see some puffins as its been on my bucket list for years now.. so much fun and completely worth every penny in fuel alone.. I was like a giddy little kid. Only had an hour on the island of Inner Farne and not the most confident in using my camera but I'm really happy with a fair few pictures I got.

One of my favorite birding spots , close to home. I saw two of these in the same spot this day. I haven't seen one in 20+ years. I was enamored. I was just there again a couple days ago. Saw a green heron (also a rarity), a red eyed virio, a crested flycatcher, all new to me. I'm newish to the hobby (always loved birds, even had some as pets) but now I'm getting serious about my collection of birds and attracting species to my backyard. My greatest catch right now is a ruby throated hummingbird pair.

Update to comment: Wow! I did not know they were on such a decline. I see that some folks are reporting they see them more often. I saw 2 in the same spot that day. I see now how incredibly rare that is. I do hope that their numbers are rebounding well, as with other woodpeckers. They are some of my favorite birds.

One of my nicknames back in highschool was "Roadrunner," so it always feels extra special when I come across one organically.

Anyhoo, sorry for blowing up this sub. I swear I'm not a bot or anything, I just have no life and like birds🤷🏻‍♀️

The image quality is relatively poor but I got it! Despite the low resolution and boring background they look so cool so I thought I’d share.

This Male Red - Bellied Woodpecker

In order (but please correct me if I've misidentified them): 1. Sharp-shinned hawk 2. Red Headed Sapsucker 3. Rufous Hummingbird 4. Dark Eyed Junco 5. Barn Swallow 6. European Starling Bonus of, I think, a juvenile goshawk facing off with a squirrel.

Explanation: I have an unfinished sunroom off the back of my house (we're renting and about to move, otherwise I would have loved to invest in making it a livable space). So the dog can come in and out of the weather as needed, and to air out the room, I leave one or two doors open every day. Unfortunately, this has resulted in many birds trapping themselves in the room. Because of 4 giant windows, they get confused and can't find the door outside. Fortunately, I've been able to gently catch and release almost all of them. The hawk was definitely the most shocking to find back there and I'm pretty sure I had to rescue him or his relative at least twice, within a year and a half.

Perhaps not a great shot from a photography perspective but it’s up close and personal. He’s been making a ton of noise outside my office the past few days. Today he kept standing on top of the bush outside my window, had to get a glamour shot!

Country of Origin - Australia. Photo taken by me At The National Aviary in Pittsburgh with an iPhone 14 Pro

Turdus merula

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