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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Today’s alternate #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Vivid; any bird with bright colors. the white-faced ibis' colors are certainly vivid, but they're not "bright", they're iridescent. Details in the alt! #EastCoastKin #birds #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

white-faced ibis - it gets its iridescent plumage from light interacting with the feathers themselves. The feathers cause wave interference that changes based on viewing angle - that's why the colors shift as you move.

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

the #BirdOfTheDay theme is #EFG, birds beginning with any of those letters (1st name). these are fresh out of post! Great egret landing Great egret with a side of mallard #EastCoastKin #birds #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

great egret looking off to the distance while immature mallard duck flies by.

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

late entry for #BirdOfTheDay theme: #BokehBirds - any bird captured with a soft, muted or blurry background and alt: #AwkwardAvian - any bird captured in a silly, clumsy or strange position! snacking goldfinch. #EastCoastKin #birds #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSKy #shotoncanon

goldfinch hanging upside down to eat a drying flower

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Seabirds- any bird found at sea or the coast The alt. is #Airborne- any bird in flight. brown pelicans diving with a grace and precision that belies their often ponderous mannerisms. #birds #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #pelican #shotoncanon

brown pelican diving for a fish at bolsa chica ecological reserve in southern california

brown pelican diving for a fish in morro bay, california

brown pelican diving for a fish in dana point, california. a person riding a jet ski leaves a water spray in the background

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The #BirdOfTheDay theme is #ODG, any Owl, Duck or Goose. burrowing Owl northern pintail Duck buncha snow Geese #EastCoastKin #birds #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncannon

burrowing owl on a post in the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge

Northern pintail duck in flight at San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve

flocking snow geese at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

#BirdOfTheDay alt them is #BirdyLongLegs Any bird with legs that look way too long for its body! black-necked stilt legs look even longer when they sit. #EastCoastKin #birds #birding #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #ABCD, any bird name beginning with any of these letters. Alt is #RSTU, any bird beginning with any of these letters. I'm #doubledip cheating with "R"ed-winged "B"lackbirds - flocking and fighting #EastCoastKin #birds #birdsky #birdnerd #PhotographersOfBlueSky

a large flock of red-winged blackbirds flying past a tree

two red-winged blackbirds engaged in aerial battle

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme challenge is #BirdBuddies Alt. #BirdsInGreen Any shade of green on a birds plumage #doubledip green headed northern shovelers and their pals: cinnamon teal, black-necked stilt and maybe one or two others. #birds #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

a pair of northern shovelers (ducks) flying over a crowded lake filled with cinnamon teals, black-necked stilts and I think one or two other species.

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Marina Mueller 🇨🇦 @marinamueller935.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Great Blue Heron 🪶 has captured a nice, light snack.

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

9/6 is World Shorebird Day! Celebrating with some of my favorite SoCal regulars: - black-necked stilt - American avocet - stilted sandpiper - long-billed curlew Share your faves in the comments! #WorldShorebirdDay #birds #avocet #stilt #sandpiper #curlew #birdsky #birdnerd #PhotographersOfBlueSky

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Alan H @alan678.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Good morning. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Going to see a friend who lives a few hours away so won’t be about until evening. Be good. 😊 Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #InFlight, any bird in flight. Alt #Grounded, any bird on natural ground. #birds #photography #ECK

A grey heron flies low over the grass, its long neck stretched forward and broad wings raised dramatically above its body. Its yellow eye and long pointed bill stand out sharply against the softly blurred green background.

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Cordoba Luis Photographer @cordobaluis.eurosky.social · 02/09/2026

This is my new account, would love a follow here!! Highspeed capture a hummingbird in mid-flight. High shutter speed freezes the fanned iridescent blue tail and green plumage, perfectly isolated against a soft, creamy background bokeh. #luiscordobapharchive #birds #hummingbird #birdoftheday #eck

Horizontal orientation high-speed wildlife photograph titled "Swallow-tailed Hummingbird in Flight". The image features a vibrant blue and green hummingbird suspended in mid-air with its wings spread vertically and its fan-shaped blue tail fully expanded. Crisp sharpness details the metallic sheen of the plumage and individual tail feathers. The background consists of a smooth, out-of-focus soft green bokeh that isolates the bird in motion. Optimized for hummingbird in flight, high speed bird photography, iridescent plumage, swallow-tailed hummingbird, wildlife macro action, and bird bokeh background indexing

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

#BirdOfTheDay is #BirdNaps; any bird caught snoozing, napping or just looking incredibly tired. Or maybe they're just really, really high. #EastCoastKin #birds #birdnerd #birdsky #birding #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon #heron

immature yellow-crowned night heron yawning

juvenile yellow-crowned night heron with eyes partly closed

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

For today's #BirdOfTheDay it's #BirdsUpClose Any bird at close range. White-faced ibis fresh out of post (like yesterday!). #EastCoastKin #birds #birding #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

white face ibis in bright light. you can see the iridescence in their plumage

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BestOfTheMonth, so any bird captures you admire the most out of your August 2026 Collection. red-shouldered hawk at Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve #EastCoastKin #birds #birdnerd #birdsky #raptors #PhotographersOfBlueSky

red-shouldered hawk perched in a tree and facing camera

red-shouldered hawk perched in a tree and looking down

red-shouldered hawk perched in a tree with back to camera and looking left

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay is #NaturalSeeds - birds snacking straight from the plant, crop, or tree. male (1) and female (2) scarlett-rumped tanagers sitting in a tree. E-A-T-I-N-G. #EastCoastKin Bocas del Toro, Panama #birds #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon #panama

male scarlett-rumped tanager in a tree feeding off seeds

female scarlett-rumped tanager in a tree feeding off seeds

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

The #BirdOfTheDay Alt theme is #ReflectionsAndShadows, any capture of a bird with an accompanying reflection/ shadow. great blue heron great egret least sandpipers black-necked stilt #EastCoastKin #birds #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

side view of a great blue heron with reflection

side view of a great egret striking at a fish in the water. Its head is submerged

flocking least sandpipers over water with reflection

black-necked stilts in water with reflection

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #Simple; any bird against a simple background Terns in flight at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Southern California. #EastCoastKin #birds #birding #birdnerd #birdsky #tern #PhotographersOfBlueSky

tern in flight from behind. its head is visible looking down

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

The #BirdOfTheDay alt them is #Herons&Egrets and the #BlueSkyArtShow theme is #Chaos You want the egret chaos? You can't handle the egret chaos! #EastCoastKin #birds #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon #egret

snowy egret with head feathers flared chasing another snowy egret

snowy egret with head feather flared chasing another snowy egret

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #BirdInABush; any bird in a hedge/bush. Alt. is #FlyingHigh; any bird flying high in the sky can't #doubledip here, so I'll just go for one of each! #EastCoastKin #birds #birding #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

a scarlet rumped tanager each seeds off a bush in Panama

black and white image of a red-tail hawk floating in the sky

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Does taking pictures of birds count? I'd rather be doing that! 😁

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Iridescence, any bird with colour changing plumage. The Alt theme is #Mothers, any female bird. #doubledip - female anna's hummingbird singing and itching a scratch. #EastCoastKin #birds #birding #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

anna's hummingbird on a tree branch with mouth open

anna's hummingbird on a tree branch scratching her neck. her head is twisted back away from the camera

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Donna Feledichuk Photographer 🇨🇦 @dfphotography.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

If the #BirdofTheDay theme is #StrikeAPose I have to post this one - still my favourite great grey owl photo. A hawk had dove at it and it was taking a defensive pose. The lyrics to Madonna’s Vogue comes to my mind every time I see it! #greatgreyowl #owl #greatgrayowl #wildlife #wildlifephotography

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HLK @hlkfotos.com · 17/08/2026

Caption this. #BirdOfTheDay #StrikeAPose 📷🌿🪶

A photo of two purple martins (Progne subis) perched on a metal pole against a blurred green and blue background. On the left, a juvenile with mottled brownish-purple and pale gray plumage stretches one wing out as though pointing accusingly at the other bird while looking into the camera. On the right, an adult male with glossy dark blue-black plumage perches upright, with its face turned away from the other bird and its beak in the air.

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Brett "Solidarity 2026" Banditelli @banditelli.org · 17/08/2026

Last week I had drove 4 hrs, shot 2723 shots over 7 hours with 2 cameras, hardly slept, then drove back to LA, had a dentist and doctor's appointment Worth it This is the Perseids Meteor Shower over the Milky Way in Mt Pinos with 100s of my newest friends 🌌 PDFs: drive.google.com/drive/u/0/fo...

A foreground of dozens of cars, including a camper right in the middle, and someone on the right side with their parking lights on, in front of a mountain and trees. above that is the milky way with air pollution which fades into a larger star field, that looks like old pictures of space. That star field was taken with a nikon lens from the 70s so it gives a different sense, and the milky way was taken with a new 20mm lens, 14 shots, merged. the retro sky is 2 shots. there are 14 meteors that mostly focus on the center of the picture, but these aren't where they were in the sky. I shot 8 to 10 different areas of the sky that night. All meteors but one were with my new camera and new lens.

The Milky Way has a flare on the stars due to moisture on my camera lens, which I kept given the chaos of the situation. It took me 50 minutes to capture 14 usable milky way pictures because so many people had car lights on. 60 second exposures on the milky way, tracked in move shoot move, 10-15 seconds on the meteors.

This took about 8 hours to edit.

Milky way light pollution processed in GraXpert, foreground stitched in lightroom, milky way stitched in Kolor Autopano Giga, saturated and recolored in lightroom; everything finalized in photoshop, including the meteors. In total 19 layers and about 33 final shots used of the original 2723.

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

AVP Manhattan Beach Open I love sports photography - pro beach volleyball is a lifer! #EastCoastKin #sports #volleyball #beach #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

beach volleyball player trying to block a spike from another player who is visible from behind the net

beach volleyball player who never, ever, ever misses a leg day (ever) spiking the ball.

beach volleyball player celebrating a block and point

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #UnusualPlaces Alt: #SereneBirdScene fresh out of post - this is the first time I've seen a great blue heron on this particular dam....and s/he was just chillen! #EastCoastKin #birds #birding #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

great blue heron on a dam at the LA River in Southern California

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Fossilized Tree Resin @jamberee13.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I will never tire of sunsets over water

An orange yellow sunset with blueish clouds over a large lake

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Brett "Solidarity 2026" Banditelli @banditelli.org · 15/08/2026

I was legit sitting in my van crying it was so good!!! 😭 😭

The sun setting over the Pacific Ocean and behind the city of Long Beach california, there's a cloud layer above the city and you can see the Sun Rays jetting in front of the clouds which is very cool and not something you see often

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay Alt theme is #Ducklings, any Duckling will do. Wood ducklings and hen were lifers on a recent trip. #EastCoastKin #birds #birding #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon #duck

wood duck hen and ducklings swimming in a lake in warm light

wood duck hen and ducklings swimming in a lake

wood duck hen looking at camera with two ducklings in the foreground; all swimming in a lake

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The #BirdOfTheDayTheme #AtOneWithNature Celebrating birds in their natural environment. No manmade objects. Alt theme: #Raptors Any Raptor I got that. Hawkin it up. #EastCoastKin #birds #birdnerd #birdsky #birdsofprey #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

cooper's hawk perched in a tree and looking at the camera

red tail hawk perched in a tree and looking away from camera

roadside hawk perched a tree and looking just off camera

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme from me is #NoBranchWood any bird on wood, that is not a branch! 😊 Alt theme: #BBirdName any bird whose common name starts with the letter B. #doubledip with the bluebirds - eastern and western. #EastCoastKin #birds #birding #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky

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Colm B @beara318.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Fota's darwin's rhea playing #PeekABoo through the trees. #BirdOfTheDay #BOTD #birds #nature #photography #ECK

A darwin's rhea looking directly at the camera from behind several branches.

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #PeekABoo; birds peeking out at the camera Fresh out of post: red-shouldered hawk is NOT amused #EastCoastKin #birds #birding #birdnerd #birdsky #raptors #birdsofprey #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

closeup of a red-shouldered hawk looking at the camera from behind tree leaves and branches

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #RunningFromTheLaw, any bird that is moving fast on land or water. Fish thief makes a quick getaway (see alt text). #EastCoastKin #birds #birding #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

the cormorant on the left caught a fish but struggled to swallow it, which attracted the attention of the other cormorants. the one on the right stole the fish and escaped scot-free.

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Kort Duce @kortduce.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

A killdeer chick pauses while wading along the shoreline of a pond at a nature area in Longmont, Colorado. #BirdOfTheDay #DownyFeathers #bird #birdphotography #ECK #birds #photography #birdsofbluesky #BirdsSeenln2026 #nature #wildlife #wildlifephotography

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Still have a few hours on the Left Coast for today's #BirdOfTheDay theme: #DownyFeathers - any bird showing soft, fluffy down feathers. Canada goslings are about as downy as you can get! #EastCoastKin #birds #birding #birdnerd #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

closeup of a canada gosling with mud on its chest

a pair of Canada goslings swimming in a lake close to mom

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #LittleBrownBirds; time to show love for the small brown birds in your life Alt. is #Busted; birds looking directly at camera The song sparrow made me! #EastCoastKin #doubledip #birds #birdnerd #birding #sparrow #birdsky #PhotographersOfBlueSKy #shotoncanon

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Mike Dixon @socal-miked.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #LongLegs, any bird with long legs. Black-necked stilt and chicks - you can really see how long their legs are when they're sitting down! #EastCoastKin #birds #birding #birdnerd #birdsky #birdwatching #PhotographersOfBlueSky #shotoncanon

black-necked stilt sitting on a patch of grass in a stream with 3 chicks nearby

black-necked stilt chick walking along the shore of a stream

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