iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Being out in the freezing rain (unfortunately, literally) to pick up a new lifer. Rough conditions but still counts! :) #birds #birding #photography

A single canvasback sitting on a dark pond with the reflection of snow in the background and rain/snow falling around it.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Additional photos from this weekend, untagged, because I feel like I'm spamming up feeds at this point. Enjoy! :)

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

An unexpected visitor while sitting at the reservoir counting the geese and ducks (but mostly geese, let's be honest lol). #wildlife #fox #photography

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

I'd be inclined to go with lesser scaup. The (very) peaked head is a pretty good indicator for lesser, sometimes you can tell from the sheen too (greater is only purple, not green). The bill looks smaller and pretty narrow as well! Great photos!

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Reposted by Kevin

Photography by Eric Hwang @travelwitheric.com · 27/01/2025

This beautiful barred owl 🪶 in our side yard was sizing me up. It probably didn't know what to make of the camera. After hearing about owl attacks in our area, I wasn't sure if I should have been afraid or not. 🦉 🇺🇸 #photography #birds #birdphotography #owls

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

I've met some people the last few months that work with state wildlife agencies (I basically live in 3 states) and I'm trying to talk them into letting me join them for bandings (falcons, owls). I am still a little terrified of the murder claws they have, but my curiosity is greater than the fear 😅

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

I can only imagine what they think - I watch the house sparrows all the time and wonder what they're fighting about. The falcon took off and was shouting as it chased the RTH down, which the RTH promptly got the heck out of there. The mate of the falcon just sat there and watched too...

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Thank you! Right time, right place lol I have two more with the falcon above and next to the RTH, but it was twisting and looks incredibly goofy. It took me a second to wrap my head around what happened.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Waited around for an hour with a pair of peregrine falcons waiting for something to happen - the red-tailed hawk arriving was the key! I wish I were closer, buuuuut I'm happy with having the opportunity to see the dive. #birds #birding #photography

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Reposted by Kevin

Michelle Olmstead Photography @molmstead.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

National bird day and a perfectly camouflaged great-horned owl. The wind was blowing sideways, but he held his ground. They are built for extreme weather. #wildlife #birdphotography #photography #nature #naturephotography #birds

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

Thank you! I always try to get the best spot, but was a little limited in my yard. I need to focus on what I did get and not always needing to be perfect. Thanks for the reinforcement :)

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

Good morning all, hope you're doing well! Someone has been hanging around my feeders lately looking for their own meal. I wish the one photo was less obscured, but I like it anyway. #birds #birding #photography

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

Early morning light this weekend; feels great after all the overcast and windy days. I hope all of you have found the same success! #birds #birding #photography

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

It was frigid today and I didn't keep a single photo - so here's a kingfisher with her fresh catch! #birds #birding #photography

A female belted kingfisher flying low over a pond with a small fish on her bill.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Absolutely exceptional. Amazing shot! Well done!

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Sometimes the fog does a lot of the work for you. GBHE, marsh, fog, done. I didn't even really need to switch it to b/w. note to self: clean sensor 🙃 #birds #birding #photography

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Thank you; the atmosphere in your photo though! Also an amazing shot! I need to get better at finding them - I had a few run-ins with barred owls this year, but no one else.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Thanks for the share! Very appreciated :)

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Happy New Year! Good luck to everyone this coming year :) This was my first encounter with an owl - I was standing in the woods for 3 hours waiting for some flight... worth every minute. #birds #birding #photography #owls

A barred owl taking off from a branch with wings and feet at full stretch.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Not feeling so bad for my first year - having only really started in May! #ebird #birding

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Great capture! Does the lower mandible have more pale/yellow coloring similar to the lore? I would think juvenile black-crowned with that in combination with the browner crown.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Absolutely phenomenal capture! I hope we see some more through the year!

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Kiwi, enjoying her family time this year. #dogs

An all black dog sitting on a sand-colored couch with a big smile and Christmas lights draped around her.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Merry Christmas! I took this photo today while checking a few spots back home. I don't know if it was the light fog, striated-overcast sky, elevation difference, or what, but it looks like a painting. This will likely be a print. p.s. northern pintails are beautiful #birds #birding #photography

A male northern pintail duck in grey, rippling water with patches of dull and broken plant stems in the foreground.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Thank you! I didn't even realize it was so great until I was home and reviewing all the photos - I've had several interesting shots appear that way 😅

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Amazing! Thank you so much! Now to find something as good as yesterday's to post 😅

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Bird story time! There has been this female hooded merganser at the local park that has been alone with the mallards for months. I stopped by to check the water today and was pleasantly surprised! I'm not saying it's a Christmas miracle, but... I'm not saying it isn't. #birds #birding #photography

A male and female hooded merganser standing together on the ice of a pond.

A male hooded merganser resting on the ice of a pond, with one eye watching the camera.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Great shot! I had almost exactly the same photo on Saturday! Unedited (for obvious reasons in mine lol), but my other ones in the group even had the female in the background

A photo of a bufflehead duck flying low across the rippling water of a large river.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Good morning! Yes, that would be wonderful!! I really appreciate you considering me for that. I'm relatively new to BS, so please let me know if there's anything else I can do to help out or share!

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Lucky! They haven't found my feeders yet - it's mostly house sparrows and juncos for me. On a warmer day, I think I'll sit out there and see if I can get them to eat from my hand. They seem to tolerate me in the yard already as long as I don't get too close.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Thanks! They're really grown on me this year; I've gone through all the phases, "what are all these birds", "okay it's just common stuff, what/where are these other birds", and now the appreciation for all of them. People ask my favorite bird and I genuinely have no answer, just all of them.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Thank you! I mostly do it for ebird/id and to share with friends, but I'm happy to have found such a welcoming place here. I need to slow down and be more purposeful with my shots like I was with this one. Hopefully more to come!

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Thank you so much, I truly appreciate that! (I was also following her!) I need to spend more time looking through profiles, the talent here is exceptional.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Thank you! I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome - it was very amenable to me wandering around trying to get the light on the correct side without scaring it away 😅

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

That's a pretty fun fact! I've spent most of my time learning songs and visual ID, but not nearly enough with attributes and behaviors. I need to get to that next year!

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Found a photogenic bluebird on a nice walk through a nearby park. Is there a tag for birds levitating because... I want more of this lol #birds #birding #photography #birdslevitating

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Reposted by Kevin

Bernadette van der Vliet @bvdvl.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

After all that work to get a decent meal, you can't even enjoy it in peace! At the coast of Rhode Island. #birds #birdphotography #photography

A gull with a crab in her beak being chased by an other gull.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

The house finches are so fun to watch! I usually just have a dozen house sparrows determined to eat/spill 3 cups of seed a day and the juncos clean up what they miss.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Excellent! Thank you! The place they were at this year has some good sight lines and I was able to consistently find them for almost 2 months. Now that I have a better grasp on identifying birds, I should start to learn more behavioral traits.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Isn't that the truth! I'll go months without seeing or hearing one, then find the same one (always a barred) a few times in two weeks. Someone had an ebird list two days ago with 5 owls so I tried yesterday, no luck lol. I bet had I sat at the picnic table they would have come to me!

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

I want to enjoy the winter, but I'm really looking forward to spring and new little birds... Do barred owls return to the same spot? It would make them a lot easier to find next year 😅 #birds #birding #photography #owls

Two barred owlets sitting together in the crevasse of a sycamore, staring directly into the camera.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Great work!! Have a goal for next year? Going for top 5 FL overall? (I looked at the #1 count lol) I only started in May this year so I'm hoping to rise in my state considerably more than # 69 CL/99 sp - though living so far out in the panhandle makes it difficult! Only 84/130 of my CL's are in WV.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Spark bird! It was mine as well. I liked photography, but hadn't really found the genre for me. I was walking along a canal and saw one fishing - I sat for... 35 minutes or so just watching it eat fish, forgetting I even had my camera. That was it for me, I need to find all the birds now.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Found a surprise group of wilson's snipe today; despite the rain and fog, I managed to snag a decent photo! I hope your week is going well! #birds #birding #photography

A wilson's snipe flying from right to left over a shallow pond. The bird's stomach is turned away so that the entire back, wings, head, and very long bill are visible.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

My first thought was yellow-rumped (myrtle) - seems like a good guess.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Do you think the creeper sees that bug too? #birds #birding #photography

A brown creeper climbing a lichen covered tree. There is a small gnat in the corner of the photo the creeper appears to be looking toward.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Hungry cedar waxwing. Also, how delightful is the birding community on here? It's fantastic. #birds #birding #photography

A young cedar waxwing hanging upside down on a vine reaching down for a purple berry out of a small cluster.

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Never too late to start! The merlin app will help a lot if you need help identifying or figuring out the sounds of each too!

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Kevin @kdo538.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

I've seen a lot of great work from the Olympus m4/3 sensors (OM-1, 5, 10). They're small and you can pick up a longer lens for them (e.g. 100-400) without breaking the bank. Should have a decent selection skipping DSLR and going right to mirrorless. Also have seen good shots w/ Nikon P1000 locally.

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