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Happy #FeatheredFriday! This Cooper's hawk was lurking in a tree above a pond. A teal flew in, saw the hawk, and just sat in the water, quacking at it until the annoyed hawk flew off 😂 Anyone else have tales of #BirdDrama? 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #Flyday

Rear/side view of a Cooper's hawk perched on a branch amid green and yellow leaves against a blue sky. The bird is looking down at a green-winged teal in the pond below (out of shot) that is persistently quacking, giving away the hawk's hiding place.

Side view of a green-winged teal in a pond streaked with patches of bright green duckweed. It might be my imagination but the teal appears to be wearing a smug expression after persistently quacking at a Cooper's hawk (not pictured) until it flew away.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #JKLM and the alt theme is #grey. This mockingbird found a nice spot to display its gray feathers against a bright blue sky. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #backyardbirds #gray

View from the side and below of a Northern mockingbird perched on a bare branch, its gray feathers contrasting against a bright blue sky.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay alt theme is #UrbanBirds - birds in urban settings. Warblers are migrating through NYC at the moment. I found this blackpoll warbler hanging out on my stoop! 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #nyc #WingedWednesday #WarblerWednesday

Side view of a blackpoll warbler standing on the edge of a concrete step.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #ShoreBirds - any bird on the shore. This great egret was standing on the shore at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #nyc #WingedWednesday #WaderWednesday

Front view of a great egret, its head turned to one side, standing on the edge of a lake, with blurred green plants in the foreground and blue water in the background.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay themes are #LookingDown and #LookingUp. This yellow-rumped warbler kindly posed for photos while looking down and up, so I've put them together. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #Twosday

Split image. Top: side view of a yellow-rumped warbler perched on a thin branch amid green foliage; the bird is looking down. Bottom: side view of a yellow-rumped warbler standing on a dirt path, looking up.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay alt theme is #blue, any bird with blue in its plumage. Here's a great blue heron winging across the water. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #BlueskyMonday

Side/rear view of a great blue heron flying low across a lake, its wings outstretched. In the background are tall reeds and the hunched forms of egrets and gulls at the water's edge.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Brown, any bird with Brown in its plumage. Here's a Cooper's hawk coming in to land (a little awkwardly) in a tree. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #BlueskyMonday

Side view of a Cooper's hawk coming in to land (a little awkwardly) in a tree. Its wings are spread, curving downward, and its tail is fanned.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

#BirdOfTheDay today is #Green, any birds or backgrounds that have green in them. 🐦 Here's a Northern parula showing off the green patch on its back among green leaves. 🌿 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #SmallBirdSaturday

Rear view of a Northern parula perched on a branch among green leaves.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Waders. 🪶 Here's a spotted sandpiper, not wading but frowning (at me, as I take a picture of it). 📸 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #FeatheredFriday #Flyday

Side view of a spotted sandpiper standing on a bleached dead branch overhanging the water.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BirdSupermodel - any bird captured looking like it's posing for a magazine cover shoot. ✨ Look at that strut! This young red-tailed hawk certainly has the model walk down ✨ 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #TalonTuesday

A juvenile red-tailed hawk poised with legs in a broad stance, talons clutching onto a slightly-bending branch, as if the bird is walking along it.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BlueSkies - any bird against a blue sky. Here's an osprey keeping an eye out for fish as it soars over the water. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #BlueskyMonday

View from below of an osprey soaring against a blue sky

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is celebrating birds with the #BestBeaks! The common grackle's beak has a kind of downturned frown. Combined with those glaring yellow eyes, they always look grumpy. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #FeatheredFriday #Flyday

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Black&White. Black and white transforms this great blue heron into a malevolent lurking presence... #spookybird #b&w #monochrome #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography 🪶

View from side and behind of a great blue heron standing by the edge of a lake fringed with leaves. The bird's neck is hunched into an "s" shape, below the level of its shoulders, as it glares into the placid water.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #bestofthemonth. My best is this ruby-throated hummingbird, pausing between sips of nectar at Brooklyn Botanic Garden as she makes her way south for the winter. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #WingedWednesday #Brooklyn #NYC

Front view of a female ruby-throated hummingbird perched on a thin branch in front of golden-yellow flowers and lush green foliage. Her head is turned slightly to the side, her long, thin beak pointing to the left side of the photo.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #EFG. Here's an Eastern kingbird, the Northeast US's chonkiest flycatcher, regarding us from a bush. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

Front view of an Eastern kingbird perched on a branch amid green foliage. The bird has its head turned to one side and is regarding us with one eye.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Since today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BokehBirds (any bird captured with a soft, muted or blurry background), I'm posting another photo of this black-and-white warbler! 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #backyardbirds #BlueskyMonday

Side view of a black-and-white warbler perched on a bare branch in front of blurred green foliage.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay alt theme is #Green: photos with green in the backgrounds not on the birds. Here's a black-and-white warbler in front of late summer green leaves and dappled light. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #SmallBirdSaturday #Lights #BlueskyArtShow

Front view of a black-and-white warbler perched on a bare branch in front of blurred green foliage.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

We're celebrating #TheDivers for #BirdOfTheDay today. Here's a double-crested cormorant, telling you how big the fish it caught earlier was. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

A double-crested cormorant balancing on a dead branch overhanging calm lake water. The bird is facing us, with its wings outstretched to dry, and its head turned to the left. In the background, there's a recently felled tree, its branches, with green and orange leaves, trailing in the water.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

For #BirdOfTheDay theme #Redheads, here's a red-whiskered bulbul, seen in Hong Kong. Its red cheeks give the bird its name but I'd say its pointy crest is a more distinguishing feature. (Also note it has a larger red patch at the other end 😆) 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #photography #birdphotography

Front view of a red-whiskered bulbul sheltering from rain on a branch in a bush with large green leaves, speckled with raindrops. The bird has its head to one side, showing the red patch on its cheek that gives it its name.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

For #BirdOfTheDay theme #LightAndShadow, here's an Eastern kingbird poking its beak out into the sunlight. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

Front/side view of an Eastern kingbird perched on a branch amid green foliage and pink/purple flowers. Most of the bird is in shadow but it's beak and part of its head are in sunlight.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Here's a ruby-throated hummingbird looking #elegant with her nose in the air among #golden flowers, for today’s #BirdOfTheDay and #BlueskyArtShow. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #SmallBirdSaturday

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #ODG, any Owl, Duck or Goose. I can't manage an owl (I'm amazed by all the photos of owls! Where do you find them?) but here's a barnacle goose, seen in Stockholm this summer. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

Side view of a barnacle goose standing at the water's edge

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme, #50ShadesOfGrey, here's a common gull holding court from a rock in an inlet in Stockholm, Sweden, with immature gulls and a crew of barnacle geese in attendance. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

Side view of a common gull caught in evening sunlight on a small rock in an inlet of brackish water, with two immature gulls swimming in the water behind it and to the right, and a ten barnacle geese swimming further back in the background. Another immature gull is poking its head into the frame in the bottom left.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Warblers, so here's one of my favs, the yellow-rumped warbler, AKA "butter butt" 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #backyardbirds #FeatheredFriday #Flyday

Front view of a yellow-rumped warbler perched on a bare branch; blurry buildings and another bare tree behind it

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

For #BirdOfTheDay themes #AtOneWithNature and #Raptors, here's a pair of Cooper's hawks (the female noticeably much larger) in their element. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

A pair of Cooper's hawks (the female noticeably much larger) sharing the thick, lichen-covered branch of a tree, with mottled light coming through the green foliage behind them.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #NoBranchWood, birds on wooden things that aren't trees. I've just been to Sweden, where jackdaws seem to be everywhere, including on this wooden picnic table, eyeing an ice cream pot. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #WingedWednesday

A jackdaw standing on a wooden picnic table, next to a cardboard ice cream pot with a spoon in it.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Thanks, @robcrank68.bsky.social, for today's #BirdOfTheDay theme, #EgretsAndHerons - my camera is full of them at the moment 😂 Here's a great egret I saw at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #FeatheredFriday #Flyday #nyc #Brooklyn

Side view of a great egret standing by the water's edge, its neck in an 'S' shape as it looks out over the rippling water

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

#BirdOfTheDay today is #MultiColour (or #MultiColor). Magnolia warblers are one of my favorite spring visitors. This was the best photo I was able to get of one this year - a bit fuzzy but those colors stand out ✨ 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #WingedWednesday

Side view of a magnolia warbler perched on a branch amid a tangle of other branches and green foliage

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Every so often it would stretch its neck down and snatch a small fish from the pond!

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #EmeraldBackdrop, images where the background colour is green. Here's a green heron (which isn't really green) perched rather precariously while fishing against a backdrop of green pond water. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

A green heron precariously perched on a thin, low-hanging branch over green pond water.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Grey (or #Gray). On a walk in the park yesterday, I found this black-crowned night heron sitting quietly above me in a tree. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

Side view of a black-crowned night heron perched amid green foliage.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #EyeOfTheWild, eyes as the dominant feature of the photo. The first thing that came to mind for me was this black guan I met in the Monteverde Cloud Forest a couple of years ago. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #FeatheredFriday #Flyday

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #TantalisingTextures, smooth soft feathers of any bird contrasted with rough hard surfaces. Here's a fluffy American robin perched on the rough-grained trunk of a fallen tree. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #WingedWednesday

An American robin with fluffy feathers, backlit in bright sunlight, perched on the rough-grained trunk of a fallen tree. There are tall green-leaved plants in the background

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

#BirdOfTheDay alt today is #BlueSky. I'd love to see a blue sky outside but right now it's yellow with wildfire smoke - so I'm casting back to a bright, cold day in January, and this mockingbird. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #FeatheredFriday #Flyday

View from front and below of a Northern mockingbird perched at an angle on an upward-tilting branch of a bare tree, against a clear blue sky.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme, #AmongTheRipples (birds on water), here's a wood duck, making just a few small ripples. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #Quiet #BlueskyArtShow #Stunday

A male wood duck swimming in gently rippling water

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

#BirdOfTheDay alt theme is #BirdsILove, birds you love to see. The Osprey is my spark bird and these days I see them far more often than kiddo me could've dreamed of... (See Alt text for the heartwarming story 😆) 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #WingedWednesday

View from below of an osprey perched on a bare branch against a blue sky, streaked with plane vapor trails.

As a kid in the English Midlands in the 80s, I dreamed of seeing an osprey in real life and badgered my parents into taking me to Scotland to see the ospreys at Loch Garten (home to one of the few confirmed breeding pairs in the country at that time). We were rewarded with a distant view of the birds diving into the loch which is still firmly imprinted on my memory. These days, ospreys are thriving: there are breeding ospreys at Rutland Water, close to where I grew up. I live in New York now and see them often at Prospect Park, but I'm never any less excited to see them.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

#BirdOfTheDay theme is #Lifer, captures of the last new to you bird you’ve seen. Two lifers for me during NYC's hectic spring warbler season this year: worm-eating warbler and Wilson's warbler. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #WingedWednesday #WarblerWednesday

A worm-eating warbler perched on a thin, downward bending branch, with dappled green foliage in the background.

View from side/below of a Wilson's warbler perching on a thin branch, its bright yellow plumage contrasting with the green leaves of the tree behind it

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Orange, any bird with any shade of orange on it. This year, I learned that a Baltimore oriole from below looks a lot like a mango with a head and tail 😂 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #WingedWednesday

View from below of a Baltimore oriole perched among green leaves in a tree

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme, #Ebony&Ivory, here's an Eastern kingbird surveying its domain. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #stunday

An Eastern kingbird perched on the curving twig of a bush, with mottled green foliage in the background

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay alt theme is #peekaboo. Here's a magnolia warbler, checking that I definitely haven't seen it hiding behind this leaf. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #SmallBirdSaturday

A magnolia warbler on a branch amid green foliage, partially obscured by a leaf

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme, #quackers, here are three mallard drakes, one of whom has something important to say. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #duck #FeatheredFriday #Flyday

Three male mallards gathered on a rock by the side of a lake, the water green with lily pads and algae. Two drakes on the left of the photo have their backs to us, facing the water; the nearest drake, on the right of the picture, is turned toward them, beak open in a quack

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #QuietReflection, birds paused in thought. Here's an American robin pondering life, the universe, and everything. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #backyardbirds #Thrushday

Side view close up of the head and upper body of an American robin, its head slightly turned towards the camera. Green foliage and branches in the background.

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John @birdingjohn.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme, #TheArtOfSurvival, birds finding food, avoiding predators, enduring weather or raising young, here's a mother wood duck guiding her chick through the reeds. 🪶 #birds #birding #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #duck #Twosday #TalonTuesday

A female wood duck turns her head to check on her chick as they swim between reeds in lake water dotted with duckweed

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