Good morning. 🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛

1 February 2026

Well, we made it through January—more or less. I must have, anyway, because here I am at zero‑dark‑thirty typing about anything that isn’t politics. Believe me, I have plenty of thoughts on that front, but this isn’t the place. This is the quiet corner where I sort out life’s small quirks. The trouble is, my life has been pretty uneventful lately—which, truth be told, is exactly how I prefer it.

Take yesterday. The big excitement was a new coffee grinder arriving on the porch. The old one had stopped doing the one job it had, so I ordered the same model again. No learning curve, no surprises. Charlie and I walked down to check the mail. I took a couple of naps. I even planned to drag my dumbbells and bench into the family room to get some exercise, but I forgot. Maybe I’ll get to it this afternoon. Mornings are for coffee.

Out back, the cold weather brought in crowds of small birds—mostly chipping sparrows and goldfinches, with house sparrows, cardinals, chickadees, titmice, and the occasional warbler mixed in. I thought about sitting outside to watch them, but it was colder than I cared to tolerate. Every so often I’d open the back door for Charlie and watch him charge into the yard, sending birds skyward and squirrels scrambling for the hole under the fence.

Maybe “boring” isn’t the right word for days like these. Maybe the better word is solitude—the kind that feels earned, steady, and just right.

“Solitude helps you find peace. Peace helps you find happiness.” — Maxime Lagacé

“A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?” — Albert Einstein

“Be so fulfilled with yourself, that even when you are alone, you feel in good company.” — Irini Zoica

#photo #photography #photographer #photographylovers #wildlife #nature #bird #birds #birding #birdwatching #birdphotograph #morning #AmericanCrow #silouhettes #solitude

"hey, kids, it's #TongueOutTuesday" -- multi-colored tanager (yes a real bird, we had to wait a while but eventually we saw a number of them, both males like this one and females)

#TongueOutTuesday #BirdsOfMastodon #BirdsOfFediverse #Tanager #Bird #Birding #Rare #Endemic #Colombia #BirdPhotograph #BIrdPhotography #Forest #Nature #Biodiversity

Yellow-billed Hornbill

#birdphotograph #birds #bird #birding
#canonphotography #canon #birdsofpixelfed #birdsoftheworld

Sept 2025 - Kruger National Park, ZA
Aaaaannnd CHOMP! Baby frogmouth up to no good. #birds #birdphotograph
not all birds were so happy to be photographed, of course. To be fair, I saw the crow, and then basically whipped my camera around without having time to adjust much of anything, so I'm grateful I got a shot at all.

FujiFilm X-S10, Nikon Nikkor 200mm 1:4

#photography #fujiFilmXS10 #NikonLens #birdPhotograph #crow
A bird who was shockingly decent at being photographed while I tested out my new (old) Nikon lens. To be fair, I was on the ground, and they were not.

Shot on a FujiFilm X-S10 w/ a Nikon Nikkor 200mm 1:4 (the lens is probably from the 70s or 80s, so I'm using an adapter)

#photography #fujiFilmXS10 #NikonLens #birdPhotograph #fiberOpticCable

What is Yellow Belly Sap?

This is a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius).

Explore more chic woodpecker photos by visiting my photo gallery.

https://swede1952-photographs.pixels.com

#photo #photography #photographer #photographylovers #wildlife #nature #bird #birds #birding #birdwatching #birdphotograph #woodpecker #YellowBelliedSapsucker

Big Bully

A not so little Little Egret chasing off a little Little Ringed Plover

Egretta garzetta
Little Egret

Thinornis dubius
Little Ringed Plover

#Birds #BirdWatching #Twitching #Nature #BirdsOfMastodon #Bird #Photo #Photograph #BirdPhotograph

Once Bittern, Twice Shy...

Botaurus stellaris
Eurasian Bittern

The Bittern is a secretive bird, seldom seen in the open as it prefers to skulk in reed beds and thick vegetation near water bodies.

#Birds #BirdWatching #Twitching #Nature #BirdsOfMastodon #Bird #Photo #Photograph #BirdPhotograph #Bittern