Most days, I feel as though I live in an aviary because, everyday and all year round, the trees behind my home are filled with a wide variety of birds. Clearly, it is not an aviary since it is not enclosed, but it feels like one since the trees are always filled with birds that provide endless photography opportunities, and of course, immeasurable enjoyment from just watching them.
This weekend, winter weather finally arrived in northern Virginia, and it was not good for outdoor nature photography. Therefore, I stayed indoors working on previously photographed images, while watching the birds and photographing them from my office. I was able to capture some excellent images and some of them are included in this blog post. Hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I did.
The first few images are of Cardinals. There are at least three pairs that are regularly here.
In the above image, the sun was low in the sky and its warm glow beautifully lit this male Cardinal as it sat on a branch. Below are two female Cardinals.
The following two images are of a Downy Woodpecker. The first is a female and the second a male. They are distinguishable by the red feathers on the back of the male’s head.
The next image is of a Bluejay. The colors of these birds brightened up what was otherwise a colorless winter view.
The next image is of a male House Finch.
The following two images are of a male and female Bluebird.
Finally, below is an image of a Red Bellied Woodpecker that I managed to capture in between some branches that added to the interest of the image.
There were other birds in the trees this weekend, including Chickadees, Titmice, American Goldfinches, and Mourning Doves. I also saw a Red-Shouldered Hawk fly over the trees and an American Bald Eagle across the lake. There also were several Canada Geese on the lake, and I heard ducks, but did not see them. It was a pretty active weekend in my personal aviary.
I highly recommend you watch the video at the following link. It is of an owl flying straight at a camera recording at 1,000 frames per second. It provides an awesome view of the owl as it is approaching the camera and landing. I enjoyed it so much that I watched it several times. http://www.dogwork.com/owfo8/
Stephen L Tabone Nature Photography 
Great week end work. Wonderful pictures. 🙂
There’s a mutual attraction here; you can’t fool Mother Nature with her spectacular display and your ability to capture them on camera. Absolutely wonderful and educational.
Reblogged this on Niltsi's Spirit and commented:
Wonderful bird pictures. A must look at. 🙂
Thank you Francis–your visits, comments and reblogging are much appreciated.
You are having a great winter with the birds both at home and on the road. I’ve seen most of the birds that you show and list in this post, except my favorite, bluebirds. We have them spring, summer, and fall, but they disappear in winter. Keep posting, I always look forward to seeing your great images.
Ernie–As always, your visits to my blog and very positive feedback are appreciated. I am looking forward to seeing what you did with that new lens in Florida.
The level of detail in these photos is fantastic. What lens were you using to capture the images??
Thank you for reading my blog and viewing my images. They were shot with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor 600mm lens.
The eagle owl was an amazing photo–I am no expert as you well know, but I have never seen anything done like that before–you make the winter go by so enjoyably–you really should do something like this again.
I’m jealous of your private aviary! We do have lots of birds, too, in our yard but our windows are not facing those areas. Each bird is a star and I have “pinned” them, too!
Stunning wonderful photos, a joy to behold.
Amazing shots of some beautiful birds! That first “bluebird of happiness” looks pissed off though!
Absolutely spectacular. Loved every picture and the video was simply phenomenal. I can’t believe how many types of birds you get to see. Please never stop sharing those brilliant pictures. 🙂
Thank you Rayya. Your very positive feedback is greatly appreciated. Such comments motivate and invigorate my passion for nature photography and help to get out of bed early for a shoot–like this evening at 0300, I will be leaving for Delaware (3.5 hours drive) to shoot the sunrise and hopefully thousands of snow geese as they blast off in the early morning light to head out to feed.