A male pileated woodpecker is perched on an old stump and looking up in the sky like he’s getting some info from God.

Last weekend I biked down to a bird sanctuary here in Victoria and got photos of eight bird species I’d never captured before! It was all within such a tiny area and I mostly found myself just creeping along taking photo after photo. What a magnificent place to live!

The pileated woodpecker above seemed like it was posing for me, taking his time hopping around various trees and logs. I learned today that the red cheek distinguishes him as a male.

A female belted kingfisher viewed from the back as she perches on a wooden railing. Her head is turned to the side and she’s looking intently into the water.

I’ve seen a belted kingfisher hunting from the same spot a few times now, and it’s always really delightful. I just love that big beak and messy hair!

The biggest treat of the day may have been this osprey who glided through, dove into the water, and landed several times, giving me a really incredible show!

An osprey at the top of a tree covered in cones stretches their wings so you can see all the beautiful brown and white stripes in their wing feathers.

An osprey soars away from the viewer in front of a forested background. Their talons are enormous.

And it wasn’t lost on me that I got my first duckling pictures on mother’s day. We witnessed this mama mallard defending herself and her chicks from male mallards and generally trying to live life. What we saw ended well and hope they do ok. The ducklings were so adorable!

A female mallard walks away from the viewer next to her duckling. They’re waddling along a seaweed-strewn beach.

A tiny and adorable fluffy mallard duckling is swimming amongst reeds. Their mother is hidden in the grasses nearby watching.

A mother mallard is facing her duckling like she’s giving them some really solid life advice and they’re really listening.

A female mallard glides in calm water with two ducklings, one in front and one behind her. The water is so smooth you can see their reflections.

We saw some swallows near the kingfisher hunting spot and they really have some pretty silly expressions. I’m very proud of the ridiculous photo below. This is a violet green swallow.

And it was exciting to get to see both a trumpeter swan and a mute swan! I’ve never seen both so close together. My favourite swan picture was the trumpeter one below, but I’ll probably share some mute swan pictures in the future too.

A male violet green swallow is perched on a wire looking straight at the camera with an extremely goofy cross-eyed expression.

A trumpeter swan glides gracefully in green water looking elegant like a medieval fairy tale.

I saw two different sandpipers, the least sandpiper (they really are tiny) and the greater yellow legs. I’d never seen the yellow legs before and their proportions cracked me up. They look like they’re on stilts! And their feathers are like some kind of hand sewn quilt.

Finally, here’s a female hooded merganser. I love her hairdo and if you zoom in, this photo shows her tiny “teeth”! I was excited about this because I’ve seen them in the water, but this is the first time I’ve gotten the change to photograph one on the shore.

Side view of a very fancy-looking female hooded merganser as she’s wading in the water.

I’m pretty new at bird photography, so most of the time when I go out I see something I’ve never photographed before, but this was a particularly good day! I only keep a casual list in my mind, but maybe I’m becoming a real birder because I do get very excited when I see something new!

Tell me about the birds you’ve been excited to see lately in the comments!

If you like these images, you can follow my nature photography on Instagram.

A Good Bird Watching Day

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