For some reason the bath was extremely popular yesterday. Me, I'm mostly astonished that ffmpeg managed to crunch this 156 megabyte original video clip down to 3.96. I've posted single photos that weigh more than that.

Well, that's what Merlin tells me, and given it was amongst reeds (at Dinton Pastures, Winnersh, Berks., UK) I'll go with that. First time I've decided one of my photos is of that species (claiming it's the first time I've seen one would be pessimistic).

Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800

Assorted Grebe photos from my trip to Dinton Pastures, Winnersh, Berks., UK. The more knowledgeable amongst you will have guesses the overly green one was a shot partially obscured by a branch - alas it was the only one with the classic heart shape from a courting pair.

Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800

My neighbor is a baker. Not like how everyone somehow became a "baker" during COVID or whatever, but rather he owns and operates a commercial bakery.

Naturally as a result of this we wind up with prodigious amounts of bread. Due to some ham-fistedness on my part I wound up tearing this slice in half, which isn't much good when you're about to make a sandwich out of it. So I tossed it out the kitchen window and it seems like it was met with approval by the local critics. Our nestling house finches were all over it in seconds.

It certainly didn't take them long to devour the entire thing.

Every European (and I guess non-Europeans as well) can vote what our next Euro design will be: https://surveys.ecb.europa.eu/10b/neweuro/

About ten different designs are available and about half of them feature birds instead of boring people.

I really like the bird designs as they symbolise freedom without borders. Hope one of them gets chosen in the end.

From a few weeks ago. The neighborhood's red shouldered hawk decided to stop by and hang out on our porch! Then he decided to scream (as one does), and left shortly after.

Probably young (other, even poorer, photos show a fluffy underside) and probably male (the crest tending to orange)

Prospect Park poking around a large conifer, Reading, UK

Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800

Where: Mississauga, ON
When: 2026-07-23 6:43pm
Gear: Sony A6700 + Tamron 18-300mm

A pair of American Robins made a nest in the tree right outside our kitchen window.

Here's another one from 4 days earlier (12:37pm):

I keep running into this bird in my neighborhood. (Coastal Suburb of Tampa Florida). Unfortunately I have my dogs with me so I can't get close. I think it's a chicken, or turkey possibly. Merlin, which is usually great, seems to ignore my location and keeps suggesting "Red Junglefowl".

Any expertise you have to share is appreciated in advance. If it's helpful, this is the only one of these I've seen since I've lived here, and I spend a lot of time in preserves looking for animals. So either domestic fowl or something unusual going on.

Slightly shaded (ISO4000) and a little further away than ideal, but still, the first Goldfinch I've seen for a while.

Prospect Desert, Reading, UK

Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800

So many, but they all took off except this one!

Great Lakes region, USA. 15 July 2026.

I took these alongside that set of killdeer I posted recently. There were probably ten or so of these lesser yellowlegs. They ranged from young to full adults. They were all feeding and I took some time to admire them.

Really liked the contrast between the white, green, and blue for this one.

Taken with my XH2S & Tamron 150-500mm

Great Lakes region, USA. July 2026.

Since spring I've been trying to get a marsh wren. They have such a unique call, but always stay hidden in the reeds. I'm not a fan of playback, but I admit I used it to coax this one out.

Rutland, UK.

They never let me get close enough for me to see their red heads with the naked eye. Then my first time out with an actual camera and this guy was kind enough to stay still for ages.

Blows my mind that these are a close relative of kingfishers, clearly the extrovert of the family group.

Taken with my xh2s and Tamron 150-500mm, fair bit of post processing to deal with the bars as best I can. I can normally punch through them with a long enough lens but these were pretty tightly spaced. :::

Puffin!

Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica)
Olympus OM-1, Panasonic 100-300 II
300mm, f/7.1, 1/1250s, ISO 1250

#bird #BirdPhotography #darktable #photo #photography #puffin @birding

https://zaktakespictures.com/puffin/

Great Lakes region, USA. July 15 2026.

Another set I took when the smoke was at its peak.

I took this picture today at Mud Lake in Ottawa, Ontario

So many lovely owls at this Sanctuary, well worth a visit.

Taken with my XH2S & Tamron 150-500mm

Great Lakes region, USA. July 2026.

I took my camera, my kayak, and an N95 mask and hit the river. The wildfire smoke was quite intense. Luckily the wildlife seemed to be coping. These killdeer were one of the highlights of the trip. I was surprised at how close they let me get.

After some trial and error with the positioning, I finally managed to get some nice videos with the wildlife camera on my balcony. This jay seemed to have felt particulary talkative today - never heard one do these kinds of vocalizations.

Bonus crow

Germany, July 2026