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The Helpful Birder

Featured Posts General Birding

Where to Find Birds

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Featured Posts General Birding

Not All Blue Birds are Bluebirds

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Featured Posts General Birding

How Nature Reuses Its Resources

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Bird Species Featured Posts

Species Spotlight: Swallow-tailed Kites

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  • How to Photograph Birds in Flight
    Bird Photography

    How to Photograph Birds in Flight

    One of the hardest things to photograph in nature is a bird in flight. It’s a technique that takes both study and practice. If you’d like to improve your bird in…

    February 7, 2022
  • judging the size of a bird
    General Birding

    Why the Size of a Bird is Such a Difficult Field Indicator

    One useful way to identify a bird is by size. Everyone knows an eagle is bigger than a sparrow, a mallard duck bigger than a cardinal. In fact, it’s a great…

    January 12, 2022
  • Where to find birds
    Featured Posts General Birding

    Where to Find Birds

    Birds are everywhere, right? That’s totally true, except when you’re armed with your field guide, a pair of binoculars, a packed lunch, and a camera. Then they’re nowhere to be found.…

    January 6, 2022
  • Eastern bluebird, Flagler County, Florida
    Featured Posts General Birding

    Not All Blue Birds are Bluebirds

    For beginning birders, the easiest way to identify a bird is by color. Northern Cardinals are red, American Goldfinches are yellow, Eastern Bluebirds are blue. (After all, that’s why they’re called…

    January 6, 2022
  • Featured Posts General Birding

    How Nature Reuses Its Resources

    I find it fascinating how resources are reused by nature in many ways. One example of how nature reuses things is a basic hole in a pine tree. I have really…

    August 2, 2020
  • Florida Scrub-Jays
    Bird Species

    Species Spotlight: Florida Scrub-Jays

    Many of us here in eastern North America know and love (or hate) the beautiful Blue Jay. But there are many other jays present in the US as well, and one…

    May 27, 2020
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thehelpfulbirder

I made a perch for birds to use, in the hopes it w I made a perch for birds to use, in the hopes it would make for better backyard photos than the feeders or light strands do. I’m so excited that this Palm Warbler took advantage of it while I had my camera out! The rain storm didn’t seem to bother it at all. The hummingbird was also busy during the showers, but the buntings must have hunkered down. They were nowhere to be seen.

#birdsintherain #palmwarbler #warblersofinstagram #warbler #floridabirds
Vermilion Flycatchers are pretty common in Arizona Vermilion Flycatchers are pretty common in Arizona. I shared the third one in this batch before, but the other two photos are new. Second and third ones are the same individual.

Also from now on I may post all images with an accompanying Phish song…
I’m revisiting some of my Arizona photos from last I’m revisiting some of my Arizona photos from last February. I got busy and then I got derailed. Now all of it is a little mixed up in my head. 

This Neotropical Cormorant was at Freestone Park in Gilbert, outside of Phoenix.

I highly recommend my guide for the day, Gordon Karre.

#azbirding #arizonabirds #cormorant #neotropiccormorant #arizonabirding
The Redwing is a very common thrush in Iceland, wh The Redwing is a very common thrush in Iceland, where you will find this subspecies, the Icelandic Redwing (Turdus iliacus coburni). This particular individual is the first of many that I saw as we made our way around the island. #iceland #pingvellir #pingvellirnationalpark #icelandbirds #redwing
Puffins seem to be the itchiest birds I’ve ever en Puffins seem to be the itchiest birds I’ve ever encountered! iPhone video from Hafnarholmi, Iceland.

#puffins #atlanticpuffin #iceland #icelandbirds #iceland
A majestic elk for this mammal Monday - 13 points? A majestic elk for this mammal Monday - 13 points? I’m not sure how you count them. This guy was huge and he kept everyone in check. Humans included. 

#mammalmonday #elkcountry #ruttingseason
A few of my favorite things! #caterpillars #puffi A few of my favorite things!

#caterpillars #puffins #butterflies #flycatcher
My first encounter with an Arctic Tern in Iceland My first encounter with an Arctic Tern in Iceland - or anywhere for that matter #lifer They’re very common all around the island, and aggressively defend their nesting grounds. I’ll post a story about that too. These birds migrate further than any other species in the world: 44,000 to 50,000 miles (70,000 to 80,000 km) round trip!

#arctictern #icelandbirds #tern #seabirds
I’ll just be gone an hour, no more… back in a jiff I’ll just be gone an hour, no more… back in a jiffy…

Florida Scrub Jay

#birding #birdhumor #floridascrubjay #backsoon #floridabirding
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