Here be birds

In 2017 I started taking photos of birds. Why not take a gander? Header by @monedulac on Instagram

[avian-persuasion]

Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) — Newcastle upon Tyne, England

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Update~

Been a hot minute since I posted stuff regularly, huh? I'm hopefully finishing up with university and some other stuff in the next while, and I've a decent audience here so I would like to get back into the swing of posting my photography. Birds of course remain the OG but I'm also somewhat keen on showcasing some of my other nature photography I've done as well! I'm not sure how well that meshes with the blog name but we'll see how things go. I'll probably start tagging anything relevant with '#not birds' or something, if you're particularly keen on filtering that out.

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Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) — Newcastle upon Tyne, England

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Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) – WWT Washington, England

I've been dying to get out somewhere natural with lockdown boring me to tears. Finally got an opportunity to head out to WWT Washington a little ways outside of Newcastle, they have a wonderful variety of birds and this woodpecker was flitting about between the trees and feeders outside one of the hides.

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Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) – Hull, England

Moving once again to a new city, I thought I’d drop by the park to meet the locals. This mallard’s signature green breeding plumage is just starting to come through from his eclipse phase.

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Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) – Whitley Bay, England

Crows are usually pretty shy, so imagine my surprise when I had my camera pointed at a lighthouse and heard this one sneaking up behind me.

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I love your blog, there are tons of drawing references and just charming photographs. Thank you for your work!

Thanks for your kind words! I'm glad my photos have been helpful for your drawings!

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Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) – Leazes Park, Newcastle upon Tyne 

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Canada goose (Branta canadensis) – Leazes Park, Newcastle upon Tyne

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Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) – Leazes Park, Newcastle upon Tyne

There’s an endless grace to the form of a swan in the water, and it’s only enhanced by the soft light of the setting sun in early winter.

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Black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) – Leazes Park, Newcastle upon Tyne

Huge swarms of these gulls often descend on park lakes. As opportunists, they will waste no time nabbing seeds or bread humans throw for other species.

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Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) – Leazes Park, Newcastle upon Tyne

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Eurasian coot (Fulica atra) – Leazes Park, Newcastle upon Tyne

These sophisticated-looking birds can be found in many a park pond. Even if you don’t catch sight of their stark black plumage and white facial ‘shield’, you might still hear their sharp chirps.

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Canada goose (Branta canadensis) – Leazes Park, Newcastle upon Tyne

Geese have something of an aggressive reputation, but I find the ones in my local park have no problem with letting me get up close.

[monedulac]

Magpie in autumn

Digital work of a Eurasian magpie perched on a branch. Commissioned for the photoblogger @avian-persuasion, who kindly collaborated with me to create the background. Your sycamore is splendid.

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Thanks so much for doing this for me! I absolutely love how it turned out.

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Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) – Leazes Park, Newcastle upon Tyne

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Black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) – Castlewellan, Northern Ireland

Despite their name, black-headed gulls spend much of the year lacking the signature dark head of feathers; but they can still be identified by the dark patch behind the eye and the stark orange-red legs and beak.