Atlas Insider
Atlas Insider: Neutrality Wins!
Each MDK Field Guide comes together over a period of many months.
We spend a lot of time on hypothetical speculation: What’s going to be fun? How will folks interpret a design? And, especially, how will a design look in different colors?
For Field Guide No. 22: Grace, Joji Locatelli specified a dialed-back palette of neutrals and grays. Her choice was quite deliberate—she wants to let knitters choose their own colors, to have their own experience with color.
Or not!
We’re laughing because a lot of folks are clearly loving Joji’s neutrals just as shown in the Field Guide. We get it—we love neutrals too.
The current knitalong for Joji’s designs gives a glimpse of what’s on the needles. Beautiful! Subtle!
Click through the gallery above to see some of the works in progress of intrepid Joji knitalongers.
And then there’s this chirpy thing: the Fancy Beanie made by Lounge Knitter 2LittleTime. The yarn here is our Fancy Beanie Bundle in Bluebird.
A Giveaway!
The prize? A Fancy Beanie Bundle and a copy of Field Guide No. 22: Grace.
Dove and Flamingo Fancy beanies pictured here.
How to enter?
Two steps:
Step 1: Sign up for our weekly newsletter, Snippets, right here. If you’re already subscribed, you’re set. We have a new option for texting, so if you’d like an occasional text from MDK, click on that link to sign up—and you’ll get a coupon code good for 10% off your next MDK order.
Step 2: What’s your most memorable bird-sighting story? Let us know in the comments.
Deadline for entries: Sunday, November 6, 11:59 PM Central time. We’ll draw a random winner from the entries. Winner will be notified by email.
My most memorable bird sighting was Bald Eagles in trees right by my parents old house. I had never seen eagles that close before.
Hummingbirds at a cabin we used to have in the mountains in New Mexico. They would throng to 7 feeders on the front porch, for Hummingbird Happy Hour. We would watch them till the light faded. Went through bags and bags of sugar!
My mother’s health was failing. But she loved watching out the window. One cardinal kept coming and pecking on the glass. It was lovely to see this bird’s beautiful red coloring. It calmed my mother and that was so sweet. This is my most recent memory of bird watching.
One of the most memorable moments was while visiting a friend in Australia where we saw about 6 Cuckatoos hanging out in her yard. She lived near a nature preserve so we walked down to search for more sightings and listen to the various bird sounds. It was wonderful.
A few years back, I foundan old nest in the woods. I brought it home to use as porch decor, nestling some marble eggs inside it. What a surprise the next spring when a robin decided it would be a perfect home for her to take over. We tiptoed in & out of our front door all the while she hatched her eggs & raised her brood. A small miracle, up close & ersonal.
My most memorable sighting was in a cloud Forrest in Ecuador in 2008 while traveling with my adventurous daughter. We stayed at a camp in the mountains where we saw hundreds of hummingbirds of many varieties. The birds felt so safe that some would come and lite on your finger! My favorite was the Pufflegs. They have beautiful coats and their feet and legs look like they are wearing furry pants or fuzzy white boots.
A roadrunner speeding through Palo Duro Canyon with a lizard hanging down on either side of the beaker. Classic.
My most memorable bird sighting was yesterday. Paddling up to Piedmont NY through the marshes, we spied a great snowy egret standing on one foot up in a tree. When we came back to the same spot over an hour later, it was still there. Just standing on the other foot.
A Baltic eagle swooping the back deck of our cruise ship in alaska
Bald eagle
A hawk in the tree outside my window – in Brooklyn NYC!!!!
I love the hope of a Cardinal on a dreary winter day or the joy of the first Robin in spring.
The flock of 11 turkeys leaving their roosts, one at a time, behind our house to clumsily land on our front lawn to look for acorns. What a sight at the crack of dawn!
Piedmont, NY
My most memorable bird sighting story is watching my friend, who has become an avid bird watcher and identifier, stop to peer through her binoculars repeatedly. Her joy and glee at making her sightings was infectious. My heart swelled seeing happiness.
Doves presented to the 8 daughters of my dear aunt to release at the cemetery. The doves flew up and down in a spiral, in a soulful display as we tearfully watched.
A turkey at a stoplight/ cross walk 🙂
So many birds as I’m a regular birder. Almost every day I walk to the neighborhood park in the suburbs to see what’s there. I’ve seen bald eagles, GH owls, a cattle egret once! But before I became intentional about looking for birds, I was walking through the park when a tiny bird with a bright red spot on top of its head flew right toward me. I asked my mother, a long time backyard birders, what it could have been. She said, “ruby crowned kinglet”. Of course I see them lots now, because I actively look. In my mind I call them “ruby kings”. My mother is gone now, so not only is this a memory of a bird, but also of her. It’s also a plug for birding your neighborhood. You may be amazed at what you see!
Mine was a turkey at a bus stop!!! Just standing next to the bench – so odd!
Just spent a whole day birding outside Lisbon and the best bird of the day was a hoopoe!
My granddaughter sitting on the dock watching a heron a few feet away
While involved in a bluebird study we sometimes were able to hold recently hatched birds. Truly a spiritual experience.
I love to see geese flying overhead in their beautiful formations and remember my old friend Judy who passed away saying it meant good luck!:)
A white pelican being chased by a bald eagle.
A large blue heron flying overhead that pooped directly on my minivan , I mean from front to back all over the car…
That’s a winner!
A red cardinal on a blue spruce covered with snow
Eagles flying over The Grand Canyon.
I was sitting at my desk and felt someone staring at me. I looked up (out the window) and saw an owl in a tree peering down at me. He was breathtaking!
A Cooper’s hawk chasing a kingfisher all over the surface af a lake, the kingfisher darting all over to evade the hawk.
Last Spring, my walking pals and I spotted a bald eagle scoping out the pond on our daily route – very unusual in Southern Rhode Island!
Watching an eagle pluck a fish from a river in Yosemite.
Do Turkeys count? We had a flock of turkeys walk right by our house, I saw them right outside our kitchen window, and fly across the canal in front of our house. I never thought of turkeys flying till I saw this. And we didn’t outside of town either.
Baby Robins in nest in pear tree out apartment window New York ny
A tie… A Cooper’s Hawk sitting in the tree with all the song birds. I thought he was kinda big for all the feeders that were around, but it was winter, and it was cold…… and then I learned he was prob there to snack on the song birds.
And then watching dozens of Bald Eagles near the reservoir in Manhattan, KS. They came to winter there. Just beautiful.
My husband and I spent hours watching a pair of woodpeckers taking turns feeding their babies in their nest while we sat in the middle of the Mayan ruins at Ek’ Balam Mexico. I – of course – was busily knitting away. We only left because we had to get back to our own children who hadn’t accompanied us to the ruins that day.
My most recent memorable bird story involves the mockingbirds that live in the holly tree next to our deck. There has been a pair laying claim to that tree since we planted it 12 years ago. They chase off ANY bird that gets too close. For them “too close” includes our entire 1 acre backyard. They will frustrate and “attack” anything: robins, doves, ravens, even a large hawk or themselves. One of them has been flying around to the holly on the side of our house and attacking his reflection in the window. This drives our two cats nuts since the bird is a paws distance away and they can’t get him.
A huge pileated woodpecker on the suet feeder 6 feet outside my window making the unforgettable cackling call. Prehistoric!!
A magnificent blue heron! He looked like a prehistoric beast up in the sky!
We looked high and low for a road runner in New Mexico with no luck. We stopped at a grocery in Albuquerque and saw one running down the alley.
An osprey couple tending their nest while I was out kayaking with my oldest son.
A roadrunner running right down the road in our subdivision when we first moved in.
I live in Western NC on a migratory path – so sometimes when I’m just out in the yard if it’s the right season – Spring or Fall – I see warblers. Sometimes just a pair flitting thru the undergrowth sometimes flocks. And I’m in awe.
I spend a lot of time biking and see many birds while moving slowly through various terrain. I’ve seen bald eagles, osprey, blue jays, egrets, herons, swans, and many birds I can’t name. My favorite are the red winged blackbirds. I just like the beautiful coloring.
I saw a bird in the trees behind our house that looked like a variety of duck. It had a longer neck than a duck and had a strange call that sounded like a cat meowing. So far no luck identifying what it was.
Could be a green heron! Check YouTube for the sound of the call. We have them in our woods next to ponds here in upstate NY.
A bald eagle flying to its nest while kayaking on Lake Marburg.
Actually, even more memorable, a hawk that flew up out of the woods when I was on a morning walk, then backtracked with his big wingspan when he saw me and flew back into the woods. He was beautiful!!!
Great horned owls bounce in the top of the Canadian hemlock in the front yard early mornings before sunrise. We know it’s their home. We’re just visitors.
We were walking in a Maine coastal neighborhood and could see a male bald eagle having fun soaring and diving on the ocean breeze. We wondered aloud, “Where is his mate?”. She was glaring down at us about 15ft up in a tree right above our heads.
This summer at Black Butte Ranch, Oregon. My youngest grandson’s destination wedding. As the ceremony ended a bald eagle flew over the couple as they stood before the Three Sisters peaks and the lake. What a beautiful sight!
My husband built owl boxes in the hope that we would get barn owls. Oh boy did we! Some of the most fun was sitting outside in lounge chairs waiting for dusk and mom and dad to come feed the babies! The excitment of watching the kids test their wings and practice flying from branch to branch was often hysterical as they resembled little drunk sailors trying to get used to hanging on the branch!
These bird stories are such fun to read! Here’s mine: I was in the back yard gardening (here in southern Maine) when a Bald Eagle appeared, flying low over the trees. It was actually a pair, flying together – then both turned sideways, grabbed each others’ talons, and spun together like a pinwheel! After a few spins they released and calmly glided off together. Surely they were doing this just for the fun of it…An incredible bird-watching thrill for me!
Lucky you. That’s part of their mating ritual. I have yet to see it myself. Have you heard bald eagles vocalize? Much different than sound than expected.
Eagles over the Grand Canyon. Breathtaking.
Mourning doves are lovely birds but perhaps not the brightest. Every year we have a pair try to make a nest on the blades of the ceiling fan on the front porch. They make us laugh as we watch them go round and round.
Listening to the flock of Canada geese fly over my house each evening in late August to land in the bay just beyond our back yard. Amazing how it is almost the same to the minute each time…I think they are partying after a summer of raising the babies…and discussing their preferred route south for the winter.
Watching a pileated woodpecker excavate a stump beside my driveway
My most memorable bird sighting was watching my son read stories to our 100 day-old chicks so they would learn his voice and follow him around the yard like our older birds followed me.
A Painted Bunting! I thought it had escaped from a Disney movie.
Years ago, I was walking on a path at LaPaloma in Arizona early one morning and came upon an eagle sitting in a tree at my eye level about a foot away. Amazing creature, and I was so in awe I just stopped and stared at him. Probably not the best decision, but he flew off after about 15 seconds, right at the person walking a few yards behind me. Startled him as well!!
A pileated woodpecker in the woods in my yard. They are around here, but it was the first time I ever saw one up close. Beautiful bird.
A huge Red Tailed Hawk sitting on the very top of a pine tree of the house next door. We were all out in our yards looking at him while he checked us out.
A pileated woodpecker on the feeder just outside the kitchen window; and eagle watching at a nearby nature reserve.
My husband and I have taken up birding and have seen all manner of wonderful birds. The most magnificent we’re pre birding. We were driving down highway 1 near Big Sur in California. We pulled over to see a magnificent pair of condors just a few feet below us. A once in a lifetime event!
My most memorable bird sightings were on trips with special friends in Arizona and Texas. We flew in from around the country to be together and find birds. The birding was fabulous, Elegant Trogon, pigmy owl, elf owl, the list goes on and on but the best part of the trip was being together, seeing and sharing it all with friends.
The other day as my hubby and I saw on our back patio with our late afternoon beverages (wine for me; coffee for him), a gorgeous hawk flew down and landed on a branch in our apple tree – maybe 8 feet away from us. Of course, my phone was in the house, so no picture.
Sat on our patio…not saw….
A murmuration of starlings while kayaking – an amazing experience, also the bald eagles that nest at our lake cabin. We get to watch them all season, fly, fish, raise their babies.
My son (age 5 at the time) and I went for a walk. We spotted a great horned owl sitting on top of the swing set at our community playground as we passed on the sidewalk. We stood still and after a few minutes it then took flight to land on the ground-6 foot wingspan. It was breathtaking!
While living in Tucson and taking daily walks just before sunrise, we frequently saw owls. The neighborhood had several, each taking separate space—just like the houses occupied separate lots. I loved the “hoo hoo” chorus from the trees.
in the midst of a very windy storm, watching an adult eagle trying to encourage an eaglet to fly! boy was the eaglet noisy…
I’m positive the same male hummingbird returned each spring for several years!!
I love to feed the hummingbirds and it’s so much fun when you’re sitting by the feeder and they come in and hover right in front of your face to say hello!
This year, for the first time, the Sandhill cranes have picked the bay in our lake to spend some time in the early evening. They are so big and sometimes loud!
Do flocks of pigeons count? There are pigeons aplenty here in NYC, feeding off crumbs from folks eating on the run (and a few that specifically feed them).
The evening after my son had to say goodbye to his father, he was standing outside on the deck. As I watched two hummingbirds came fluttering around his head. It was a magical, peaceful sight, just what he needed that day.
I was part of a group being given a tour of the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Being more interested in birds, I wandered off to get a look at a cactus wren. The tour guide was not amused, but I was thrilled to get a Life Bird for my list!
The large hawk that swooped down and took the favorite hat right off my walking companion’s head. My companion’s soundtrack has not been included in case any children are reading these comments!!
We used to live in a third-floor/top-floor apartment and somewhere nearby in the neighborhood lived a red-tailed hawk we named Howard Hawk.
The most memorable bird sighting: an eagle building a new nest nearby. I saw the bird grab a large high branch on a dead tree, bend it until it broke, and carry it off to use in the building process. As it flew over our house, the branch broke again and part of it crashed onto our roof and bounced onto our deck, just missing my husband. We loved watching that bird and the enormous nest the pair built for several years. The nest is still there, unoccupied, though a new pair has arrived in the area a couple of miles away.
I was in Alaska in September, and was thrilled and agape at the huge number of gorgeous bald eagles. (Also at the mama otter with her baby, and while not birds they ere part of the thrill.)
A family of bluebirds lighting on our fence one by one: papa, mama, 2 kids. Spring!
There is a gorgeous hawk that circles the corner field next to our house, most memorable was when the hawk was perched on the end of our barn, and we got a good look at how big and beautiful this bird is!
Probably the hawk who settled in the tree in our front yard to eat its “lunch” (something furry, but already too torn apart for us to identify) . A group of people slowly gathered to watch, while the hawk ignored us all
On our cruise to Antarctica we made stops at the nesting areas of penguines and were able to walk among their nests while they were collecting stones to add to their nests. I never dreamed I would be in that area of the world.
A snowy owl sitting on a power line post by my mailbox. Second place, a raven stealing a big block of mozzarella cheese out of the back of a pickup truck (that was in Juneau, Alaska!).
Cardinals outside my kitchen window
Most memorable bird sighting? Yellowstone National Park, late spring, watching a squadron of pelicans take off from the Yellowstone River, fly up, loop around in the air, come back to the river in formation, land in the same stretch of water, calmly float a way down the river, and then do it all over again. Air Force scramble drill repeated around a dozen times!
Watching the Nene birds (a type of geese) while on the golf course in Hawaii. Two other bonuses – I’m golfing and I’m in Hawaii!
I witnessed the spectacle of tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes flying into the wetlands of Sulphur Springs Valley in SE AZ in the mid ’90’s. I then lived in AZ for nearly 20 yrs and never tired of seeing this every year.
I have always loved kingfishers, but only once, actually seen one, on the river in Bradford upon Avon in the UK, It was thirty years ago but it was mesmerizing and I remember it like it was yesterday
I was walking along the bike path when I startled a Great Blue Heron that had been fishing in the creek. Watching that magnificent bird take off and fly away was simply awe-inspiring.
Watching a Cooper’s hawk chase a belted kingfisher all over the surface of a lake. The kingfisher was darting all over and eventually got away
It’s more of a “lots of birds sighting” when we drove to Nebraska to take in the Sandhill Crane migration. Oh my, SO MANY birds! it was a bucket list item and totally worth it.
In Edisto River having a pelican dive for food a few feet from where I was paddling in the water
My very young granddaughter said look at the pretty blue bird (we were in the car at a stoplight near a wooded area). Sure enough it was a bluebird ! The only one I have ever seen !
My mother loved hummingbirds. She even had a heated bird feeder for the winter months for them. Ever since she passed, I always think of her when I see one!
A heron that landed right on the edge of the lake at the house we rented was quite a sight. Stuck its bill in the water, came up with a fish, threw its head back, and swallowed the fish whole. Amazing and gross at the same time.
A mama duck made her nest right outside our front door. Baby ducks so cute!!!
Coming over a hill on a gravel road, we surprised a very large bird which rose vertically from the ground in front of the car. I don’t know what kind of bird it was, but its wing span was wider than the windshield.
Having a loon come up within ten feet of me, while swimming at the cottage.
During Covid, I put up 2 bird feeding stands and have loved watching the diversity that comes and feeds from the variety of seeds/suet/food that I put out. My favourite time is in the spring when Baltimore Orioles come and feast on the oranges, grape jelly and nectar, as they migrate north.
Try hanging out apples for them! I find orioles like them better than the oranges, and as a bonus the red bellied woodpecker loves them too. And the catbirds.
Seeing a particular fancy bird from a far away place when it wasn’t even in our bird book. One of those quirks in birdwatching that you get to have .
Just yesterday I saw a great blue heron about 20 feet away take off from the edge of a pond and land 30 feet up on a tree branch. Breathtaking!
I love this hat!!! We saw Bald eagles in Chincoteague, va on the eastern shore. Along with the wild ponies, it was spectacular
The first time after moving to Florida that white Ibis filled my front yard. I was enthralled by the sight and sound of them.
While looking out my window I noticed a bird’s nest that I hadn’t seen before. On that day I witnessed two young birds moving out of the nest, little by little. As the minutes passed, they went further and further, testing their wings, until finally they flew to nearby trees and then out of sight. I never saw them again.
I gave my cousin plastic lawn flamingos as a wedding gift. We had been exchanging the tackiest flamingo kitch long before it was cool or popular. Her spouse (soon-to-be at that point) was horrified. Eleven years later, I opened the exact same flamingos at my own rehearsal dinner, to the merriment and glee of all.
Canada geese all over the golf course the last time I played. We tried our best to avoid them, but they didn’t make it easy!
Oh my! This immediately brought me back to our trip to the Galapagos Islands many years ago. We saw bluefooted boobies dive-bombing to catch their fishy meal. We saw an albatoss lumbering toward the edge of a cliff to hurl itself off into graceful flight. So many wondrous sights!
My husband and I honeymooned in Australia and New Zealand. The highlight of our Australia trip was an overnight in the Capertee Valley with birding at dawn, and the wildlife we saw there was magical. But the best bird sighting was when we were hiking up a mountain near Wollongong: we saw a lyrebird! That was a bird my husband was really interested in, and hoping we’d see. And we did!
An old friend who was a bird-lover mentioned to me not long before she died from glioblastoma that she’d seen some cedar waxwings. They’re beautiful little things but I live in a different part of the country than her and I’d never seen one before. A few weeks later I came upon one having a bird bath in a puddle at the end of my driveway. I felt like it had been sent by my friend!
For 3 years running we had a pileated woodpecker show up in our backyard, every morning, he would spend several hours tearing apart the stump of a tree that had been cut down. The last time we saw it it was most disappointed, there was nothing left of the stump, it had completed torn it apart, so after not seeing it for several weeks we covered the pitiful remains of the stump with topsoil and tossed some grass seed on it. We did so enjoy watching him show up for breakfast.
while riding my bike along the arkansas river, i looked up & over to find a bald eagle sailing with me just above the treeline ~ then in a flash, there were TWO of them!!!
i hollered out ‘WHOOHOO”!!
BEST RIDE EVER
2 sightings: a hawk sitting on the fence near my door and our 3 dogs (brave bird) and a blue heron flying over our urban yard
oh, Roadrunner sightings here in Texas are always so fun!!!!
There are so many amazing bird sightings in my memory portfolio! We had hacked our way up an unmaintained trail in the Smokies,and I, five months pregnant with my first child, was exhausted but determined. We happened upon a clearing on the mountain side, with a wide flat rock. After a snack,I rested looking up at the clear blue sky.A huge white hawk flew low right across the sky, and I instantly knew that I carried a daughter,my White Hawk, who would be born and live a blessed way. She’s almost 45 now- and her spirit guide remains as always.
Turtle doves that nested every year in my mom and dad’s fake hanging plant. My parents watched over those eggs as vigilantly as the parent birds.
Watching an osprey fishing. It took it’s catch back to a nest for either chicks or a mate
I had Merlins nesting in our trees last year and had daily views of their habits.
I used to live in a house with a large front porch. We supplied the obligatory hanging ferns, not knowing that they were prefab housing for local birds. Every year a pair of nesting robins moved in, always into the plant farthest from the front door, and mere feet from my dining room window. Every spring found me coffee mug in hand, standing by the window for hours on end, watching the babies grow and fledge, all the while monitored and encouraged by their anxious, very engaged parents. Best show in town.
I have been a bird admirer for decades. From enjoying the wrens make a nest in our geraniums on our deck and seeing the fledglings hatch and eventually fly, to the grand pelicans patrolling the shoreline in California, to the heartwarming sounds of my youth and the red-winged blackbirds that loved our pond area, and the red-tailed hawks that soared over our farm, and the majestic bald eagles right outside my dorm windows, and the forest full of colorful parrots in Australia…. I could go in and on! I miss the sweet black-capped chickadees that are so plentiful in Wisconsin, but instead marvel at the many bluebirds at our new home in Virginia. Yes, I find beauty in all of them — I’m in awe of their abilities and fortitude.
I went on a group hike with a naturalist up in the Pocono mountains. We saw a pileated woodpecker and heard a ruffed grouse. The naturalist was then pointing out ducks on a lake, but a second look through binoculars revealed they were decoys.
A few years ago a young American Eagle was perched in the tree across the street from my house (about 50 ft). He was the most beautiful bird I have ever seen. It was quite a thrill.
Driving past miles of bald eagles at a sanctuary in northeastern Nebraska, set to the tune of some Jan Hammer ethereal music, with the family packed in the car.
We found a baby barred owl when we were doing spring cleanup in our backyard. It looks like it was old and dying, but it turns out that was a defense mechanism. It had probably been encouraged out of the nest and wasn’t yet able to fly. So we jury rigged, a box in the nearest tree, put the baby in, and when we checked a couple of hours later, it was gone
My grandmother’s pet crow that would visit us on the porch.
I saw 2 bald eagles fighting over a fish while camping near the Missouri River!
When we lived in Houston. I was excited to travel to SE Alaska because we would see bald eagles. We did, and there were hundreds in the trees on the coast! I now live on 6 wooded acres 80 miles west of Houston, and we basically have a bird haven here. We see many migrants – a broadwing hummingbird (rare for our area) has been hanging around the past few days. And we see bald eagles often 🙂
Sorry, that’s a broadtail hummingbird (not broadwing). I guess I was still asleep…
Flamingos. Lots and lots of flamingos.
Yesterday, there was a huge hawk in my front yard. It had just caught a chubby squirrel and had it in its grip when it flew away.
A red tailed hawk and a bald eagle, having a serious battle about 40’ above my head. The hawk successfully drove the invading eagle away, but it was quite the fight. Who knew raptors could fly upside down?
Last winter there were two bald eagles sitting on opposite ends of an electric post having a conversation. Probably about all the crazy humans walking around a lake on a cold winter day!
My baby brother’s first word was “bird.” We were driving across Alabama and he looked out the window of the car, pointed his fat little finger out the window and clear as a bell said, “Bird!” My mother turned around and stared at him as he did it again. He’s never been one of many words but that one was memorable.
A handsome mallard that found it’s way to my very small (5’ x 5’) backyard pond in Colorado Springs. Boy, was the dog excited!
While I was walking in Central Park on day, I noticed some bones and feathers under a tree. I looked up and sitting on a low branch, I saw an enormous red-tail hawk, who obviously had just finished a meal! It was shocking and awesome at the same time!
Not a sighting per se. I was hiking on the Appalachian Trail, mimicking a bird call and the bird was responding in kind. Some fellow hikers caught up and said, “did you hear that bird?!”. I sheepishly admitted that it was my whistle not some exotic bird.
We were eagle watching in Alaska. We saw an eagle swoop down and snag a fish, then fly into the woods. Seconds later there was all sorts of noise and out comes the eagle, still holding the fish, being chased by other birds (crows I think) who wanted the fish. Just amazing!
Nothing spectacular, but I have a large front window facing the woods with hydro wires, and there are birds all day long in the trees, sitting on the wires and on my lawn.
Opening a wood duck box to clean it and finding a sleeping screech owl.
We were moored in the Vero Beach City Marina and over a few weeks saw Swallow-tailed kites fly by. Lovely, graceful birds.
An Indigo Bunting. Beautiful!
Wild turkeys feeding in the fields in the fall. Walking across the roadways. Roosting in the trees.
Definitely when I was in Bethel AK and first heard the sound made by the wings of the common snipe. Then I had to ask tons of people what that sound was and then finally saw one! Silliest looking bird, but so fun for me to identify!
An emu and ostrich farm in Brittany, France!
What a sight to see them running around after each other!
We brought back egg shells, and they are still intact.
Walking on a street I could see and hear two crows angrily cawing and flying at each other. As I passed under them I got hit on the head with a sharp rock that actually drew blood. A person on the other side of the street said one crow had pitched it at the other.
the fallen leaves in my front yard are about 4 inches deep right now — yesterday morning I watched 2 Stellar’s Jays in the leaves like ducks on a pond — seeing alternating heads and tails above the leaves as they were “fishing” for whatever tasty morsels were available there in the leaves
A Pleated Woodpecker
I love the hummingbirds outside my kitchen window.
I can still remember looking into my mom’s backyard more than 15 years ago and seeing several turkeys flying up to our wooden fence and then over. Their flying was crazily awkward & I didn’t even know they knew how to do that!
My boyfriend and I were just going out for a walk, when a bald eagle swooped down 10 feet in front of us to scoop up a squirrel that had been killed by a car. Closest I’d ever been to a wild eagle, and I felt so honored!
Unfortunately my most recent bird sighting is the chickadees flying into our windows. They typically just sit for a moment while they get their sh*t together and then fly away!
You can get reflectors – I use Window Alert. They are inexpensive and easy to put on and really work. I see birds fly right at my windows then veer away. Windows are the main cause of death in songbirds, worse than cats by far.
First thing that comes to mind: a HUGE eagle’s nest at Cape Canaveral.
My memorable sighting was just this morning when I looked out to see if there was frost and instead saw a beautiful cardinal sitting on my fence
Watching a pair of cardinals hatch and raise a clutch of babies in a bush just outside my home office window. Both parents participated in feeding them. Then one day I saw one of the chicks on a nearby branch, the rest were gone. He sat there all day then was gone by morning. I choose to believe they all flew off to start their own families!
Sacred Heart Church, Melrose Park, Illinois, daily Mass for school children. One can only imagine the chaos this caused.
I love in a small city; I was sitting at a red light, & saw a bald eagle gliding by. It was the first time I’d ever seen one live, & it was the coolest thing ever!
A hummingbird flew into the window and knocked itself out. We weren’t sure if it would survive but we put it into a box covered by a cloth. In the morning we took the cloth off and it flew up, paused in front of us as if to say thank you, and flew away.
My most memorable bird sighting was seeing bald eagles on the Flambaeu River. Amazing!!
Two summers ago I walked down to my pond to discover dozens of snowy egrets in the trees. The pond attracts lots of birds, but this was my first and only sighting of this particular bird.
I love seeing cardinals in the wild.
My husband was an avid bird watcher. After he passed away I liked to believe that he would “send” birds as reminders of our joyful life together. Although we have never had bluebirds at our feeders, one morning last spring I woke up to an entire flock feasting outside my window!
I had an old house in inner city Pittsburgh. I put in a small goldfish pond, about 3×5 feet. Looking out the window, there was a great blue heron standing in the water happily eating my goldfish! How he found that little pond in all that urban sprawl, I’ll never know.
Seeing Earl, our resident Baltimore Oriole, return to our yard recently! Named for a former manager of the baseball team!
Thirty years ago, a peacock made our rural Michigan home his for a year. Mr Cock, as the kids called him, was a most magnificent site. Perched on the roof of my minivan, up in the tree, on the roof of the two story home. I still have the remains of beautiful tail feathers he left as a reminder of those days.
When my son, now 23, was about 3 years old he was looking out our living room window, and became very excited because he wanted me to see the “red jay” a/k/a cardinal he was watching in our front yard LOL
I was fishing from a kayak in the Adirondacks, so just drifting along the edge of the lake. All of a sudden a loud fluttering happened right behind me and an egret flew right over my head! I was startled but amazed. This lake also had numerous loons, so love watching them dive.
Watching the parents of a fledgling raven bring it food and help it learn to fly over a period of 3 or 4 days. The launching pad was a tree in my yard.
Despite living in an established suburban community we have lots of wildlife visit and eat our gated garden. The latest is a family of ten wild turkeys. We’ve watched the nine chicks and mama grow and prosper spring, summer, and now into the fall.
Yesterday morning I was annoyed at having to commute to work on a Saturday for a short but critical task. Then I realized I could stop at a wetlands trailhead on the way home, something I’d never do on a weeknight. It was a beautiful walk straight out from the highway, with blue sky and clouds reflected in the shallow water on either side. There were white herons landing and sitting all around, some slowly stepping their way across the water. I took their cue and took my time walking to the very end of the trail, and marveled at this vast space I had driven by thousands of times without stopping.
Ten years ago, hiking the Torres del Paine circuit in Chile, we climbed a very windy and long trail to John Gardner Pass. The wind was so powerful it lifted me off my feet and tossed me about more than once. We thought about turning back, but after a short rest at a rock shelter made a final push to the ridge. As we crossed, we looked up to a rainbow and… condors! Six enormous condors circling above. It was surreal and those birds, brought back in some places from the edge of extinction, gave us the energy to continue a long and difficult hike.
Coming from a native west-coaster…a red cardinal sighting in my Florida panhandle yard is always magical! Especially a single bird in an otherwise monochrome landscape
Last Friday , hundreds of common blackbirds swarming around our house and neighborhood for almost an hour. Gathering before the head to other parts for the winter. Haven’t seen that before in the 30 years we have been here!
A bald eagle!
Pileated woodpecker in my backyard.
In college I walked 200 miles to raise funds for Bald Eagle habitat. We walked our spring break to a Bald Eagle sanctuary. When we arrived, staff brought out a captive Bald Eagle that was too injured to return to the wild. We were up close to such a magnificent creature!
A robin used to come when my mother put grated cheese out. We thought it maybe looked like works to him, but he just loved it!
A snowy white owl perched on my mailbox!
My most memorable bird sighting was a month or so ago. Actually it was bird’s sighting. We have 4 bird feeders on shepherd crook iron posts. One of them is a double hook- right and left side. I was washing dishes and glanced out and saw two giant red tailed hawks – one on each hook of the double feeder! They were eagerly awaiting a bird or two and also probably eyeing a rabbit hole near the base. An angry mocking bird started dive bombing them and chased them away up the hill!
Bird sighting story? We have red-tailed hawks living in our woods. My mother was walking her teeny-tiny Yorkie and the hawk started circling. I shouted at my mother to pick up her dog, because the hawk was clearly looking to grab the dog up and swoop away. Not a good memory, but a bird-sighting story for sure.
We were just hanging out & enjoying coffee one morning & a hawk swooped into our back yard, picked up a small snake & flew off with it in its mouth. It was wild.
You are going to get a bunch of answers on this one because who doesn’t like birds? ONE of the most memorable is seeing a family of Sandhill Cranes, complete with babies!
A turkey vulture hanging out on the corner in my neighborhood.
Many bald eagles in a tree in front of the Governer’s mansion in Alaska. Perhaps they were looking for…..another country?
It was in 1980, at Lake Nakuru, Kenya. The lake was covered with greater and lesser pink flamingos, which was expected and common at that time. It was a sea of shades of pink in the Rift Valley lake…a breathtaking sight! I have read that, at some point, when the water level began to rise, flamingos no longer flocked to the lake, but now have returned.
I was sitting on our porch one evening reading and a big beautiful hawk landed on the railing. For a second I wasn’t sure what to do. Stay or get up slowly and go inside. The hawk flew away before I had to decide. It really was incredible seeing it so close up.
My most memorable bird sighting was a hummingbird that was right next to me, seeming to be inspecting my left hand before deciding the flowers were more interesting and flying over to the garden.
Blue footed boobies in the Galapagos. They were beautiful!
We have so many great bird stories! Choosing one from yesterday…we look forward to the loons returning to our lake every year. They aren’t “supposed” to be at our location in Alabama, yet here they are. They should have already returned by now, so we went out on the water to look at fall color and see if we could find any in deeper water spots. Wouldn’t you know we looked up and spotted a singular loon far up in the sky. It did a long spiral down and flew a wide circle around us, then off to “big water.” Maybe just arriving today and in search of friends. 🙂
A bald eagle on a snag at the edge of the pond in our back area—such a BIG bird!!
When my girls were little my husband found a baby robin in the grass. Our youngest was outside with him. He was able to scoop up the bird to sit on her finger for a few minutes before it flew away. The look of joy on her face still warms my heart
Maybe 2. We were walking at Couchville Lake outside of Nashville and a Hawk was on the trail just in front of us. We passed, and he flew by us to land in front. He did this 2 times more. One afternoon, we were sitting on our deck and a woodpecker landed on the bird feeder.
When the ice was just going out on the lake and the birds were migrating north in the spring. We saw a bunch of birds stopping at the lake on their way north, including some beautiful swans.
My hubby heard a hummer hit our window. He picked it up thinking it was dead. He put the poor little guy on a flat surface and returned to his yard work. A little while later he walked over to look at it. It suddenly was awake, flew up to my husband at eye level and hovered. It was like the hummingbird was saying thanks for not burying me. I guess the little guy just needed a rest. Best bird sighting for us.
Just last week saw large winged span bird thru curtains. We’ve been having trouble with a hawk killing birds near our feeders. I hurried to door to chase it away only to discover it was a wild turkey. I’m still laughing.
One of the things I missed sorely when we moved from our rural house/big backyard with many, many birds to the 2nd floor of an apartment in a big city was birds. But one day last summer, a hummingbird came to visit on our city porch while we were sitting there drinking coffee! Next year, I’ll get a feeder to give them a drink!
On a snowy night in December 1979 I saw a Snowy Owl swoop out of a church steeple in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I’ve never seen one since.
A condor at the Grand Canyon with a big number painted on its wing.
There are many memorable bird sightings where I live now. Trees filled with goldfinches, scores of hummingbirds, egrets, owls – but the most memorable of all has the be the bald eagle I saw recently, right around the corner from my home. My neighbor says she saw one on our front lawn, but I didn’t see it, so I can’t claim it.
I got a new camera and we went to the beach on an unusually warm December day. And there among the dried golden grass was a march hawk
Bird geek here. Visiting an albatross colony in the Galapagos Islands was amazing. Birds that have a lifespan of 50 or more years, maintain lifelong social monogamy with a mate (some philandering on the side at times), and can spend months at sea without landfall. The colony was teeming with birds and some were reuniting with mates after not seeing each other for a year. Such joy in that return. I will never forget it and still brings tears to my eyes.
Closer to home….a dozen cardinals at the feeder on a snowy day.
My most memorable bird sighting was seeing a great horned owl perched on our railing 10 feet from my bedroom window. He looked like a large cat sitting there….-and then he flew off and his wing span was incredible….a beautiful early morning sight!
Cedar Waxwings in our backyard cherry tree.
Beautiful, stoic blue heron in the marshes of Eugene, Oregon
I was walking along a back road, pushing a baby carriage. We must have startled a golden eagle who flew directly overhead with a writhing snake in its beak. The sound of the air displaced by their wings and the silhouette of the large bird and snake against the sky — unforgettable
The occasional pigeon would enter my old house via who knows what opening. Sometimes it would leave but sometimes not and I would have to pick up a dead bird in the room I had closed off. So glad I sold that house.
An osprey landed with her fish in her talons on the sand not 2 ft away from me at our local beach. What a view of this gorgeous raptor! After a minute rest she tried to take off again but couldn’t manage the fish and dropped it back onto the sand leaving it for another lucky predator.
When my husband went fishing and caught a bird.
Blue Footed Boobies! Nah, I wish. The only way I could have one is to knit the pattern on Ravelry!
Looking out my back window to see the blue heron couple standing on our pier – it always makes me stop and admire them for awhile.
Many years ago my sister and I were on a trail in a conservation area near home. We had stopped for a minute and suddenly I was aware of a slight swooshing sound and thinking that something had just passed us overhead. We looked up in time to see a Great Horned Owl sailing back into the pine trees. The wingspan was awesome.
Most exciting every year is the first Robin of spring!
The first sighting of swallows in the spring! Makes my heart soar!
Last spring, walking through a park in downtown, spotted a red headed woodpecker! Unusual to see one where I live. Got some great videos.
When I was a kid we went rafting in Wyoming. The guide pointed out a bald eagle swooping nearby. I’d never seen one before in the wild, and remember it was a magical feeling.
While driving on the back roads of Northern Michigan at night a huge white bird was sitting in the middle of the road enjoying some road kill when we came upon it. It promptly spread its wings and swooped up over the hood of our car scaring the bejeezus out of us
When I first moved to the Northwest Territories (East of Alaska) there were 3 or 4 golden eagles sitting in a tree by the ferry crossing. It was the first wildlife I saw there and the first time I’d seen an eagle other than a bald eagle.
One day in April we had a late snowstorm that snarled the city. Looking out my living room window into our carbapple tree, I could see about 15 cranky looking male robins. They were the first of the year and they showed up on a snow day.
At least 50 cedar waxwings enjoying the service berry tree at our library garden — I’d only seen two before in my whole life.
We have many different kinds of birds that visit our feeders and suet stations, but the most exciting visits have been from the Pileated Woodpeckers … whoa, those birds are really prehistoric in appearance and size. They are extremely shy, so I only see them if I am already sitting still in a chair that looks out onto the deck where the feeders hang. Any motion by me in my chair and they are GONE! They are so big that they can stand on the deck rail and reach the suet cages (something the squirrels can’t do!). They’ll demolish a suet block in just a matter of minutes and then knock on the deck rail for more.
Hummingbird visiting my garden.so lovely and so many cheerful colors.
Robins in the neighborhood park – a true sign of Spring!
Most memorable local sighting — Indigo bunting. But seeing bald eagles and blue footed boobies and the mark of an owl in the snow in other parts of the world. All wonderful memories.
Just last week. I was watering and as quick as a wink, a Nuthatch lit on the edge of the dirt bowl scooped around my newly planted Ninebark. So not to frighten him away, I stopped watering. And stood very still. He drank until the water sank into the soil. Moving hardly a muscle, I gently poured more water and he drank form the steady stream — right from my watering can.
There was one morning I was watching a huge owl sitting in a tree in my yard. It was sitting at the very top of an old birch tree, looking all majestic. I was talking to my dad about it on the phone, and he agreed it was cool, but owls like to eat ducks and he told me to keep any eye on my little farm. Luckily, the owl flew away, and didn’t come back to try and eat one of my ducks.
A hawk eyeing its dinner and the speed at which it was all over… a wonder to behold
When I was a kid, we were vacationing on the coast of Florida. There was a big pelican on a sea wall who had a fish caught sideways in his neck bag. He was really struggling. He let my dad open his mouth and put the fish in in the correct direction. I was close enough that I could see that he closed his eye lids from bottom to top. This made sense. It protected his eyes when he dove into the water. 60 years ago, and I still remember it so clearly.
I love the Steller’s jays that we see here in the PNW. And flickers, that my brother called BBBs, Big Beautiful Birds.
Floating and reading in the pool, not moving, glancing up to see the hawk swoop down to check me out (lunch?). Eye contact and an unforgettable moment!
Once when I was sitting on my couch – knitting, naturally – I noticed a lot of movement just outside the window, and looked up. There was a hawk on our boxwood, looking totally baffled. I suspect he’d tried to snag a smaller bird on the boxwood, which escaped, leaving him perched precariously on a bush that wasn’t really designed to hold such a large bird, and frankly it was hilarious. Best spontaneous-bird-sighting ever.
Owls on my early morning walks in my closest park. Can’t see them very well because it is still pretty dark but I can hear them
A hawk sitting on my back fence watching my husband and I clean up the yard.
Seeing the bald eagles in Coeur d’Alene in December. The birds are so majestic and fierce looking.
Seeing the California Condor with their immense wingspan flying over us at the Grand Canyon.
I was cat-sitting for my son at his home in North Carolina. One side of the subdivision was on a lake, and there was a large natural area in the middle with a sidewalk that went around the natural area. I was taking a walk and heard a commotion in the trees and brushes. I stopped, and a very large eagle walked out of the undergrowth, looked at me and took flight.
Memorable and recent. We visited the coast last week. The weather was cool and blustery, as it can be on the Oregon Coast in any season. We only had a few days, so we were out and about anyway. We went down to one of our favorite tide-pooling beaches just as the wind and rain really got going. The rocks we’d meant to explore were covered with birds. As we scrambled down onto the beach the only other souls on the beach ventured a little too close. Suddenly the whole flock of (huge) brown pelicans seemed to rise up into the wind, and then, as the people veered away, settled back onto the rocks as if they were just sitting back down, letting the wind blow them back again.
Last summer our yard was visited by a two beautiful Stellar’s jays. They are not the typical jays we see here. They stayed around our yard for several days, to the delight of our grandkids.
We used to live in Washington state and had a small lake behind our house. Osprey and bald eagles would catch fish there. Once the fish was too big for the eagle and it actually swam to the shore with the fish.
Walking outside at my college graduation and seeing an eagle flying over. It was flying low enough to see such great detail. It was huge and beautiful.
The cutest thing was a mother quail followed by her 4 baby quail walking along the side of the road.
We had a coopers hawk nesting in one of our trees. It was so fascinating to watch its comings and goings! We lost that tree in a windstorm long after the hawk left, but that’s another story…
my most memorable sighting was a non-sighting in Panama where we (I) went to see a Toucan, we could hear him but not see him. dang bird
Sandhill cranes by the 1000s. They settle near me in the early fall on their way south.
After we moved back home and before I had started a real vegetable garden, I had several pots of tomatoes growing on the kitchen deck. While sitting at the table outside, a hummingbird perched atop one of the tomato stakes and proceeded to flick his tongue out, over and over, like he was cleaning his tongue, or maybe catching little bugs that were too small for me to see. He was so close I could easily see that long thread-like tongue, twice the length of his beak, and I watched for the longest time until he flew away. So amazing to witness it!
There are barred owls on that island where we live on an island in Puget Sound WA. I was out in a trail in the woods and came around a curve, and met one mid-flight. They’re BIG, and so silent.
Every year dozens and dozens of Canada Geese gather at an urban wetland pond near my home. They’ve raised their goslings all summer at various places but come to the pond to “stage” and practice so the young ones know what they’re doing when it’s time to head south. One year I was there watching the practice take offs and landings when one – coming in for a landing – flew so close over my head that I could see its underside in amazing detail, and hear the whoosh of the wings as it steered its way toward the pond. I could literally feel the “wind beneath its wings.” It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. I felt like I’d almost been flying right along with it.
The first time I saw a pileated woodpecker. He sitting on the clothesline in Tallahassee, Florida. That was when I bought my first bird book and became a birder.
In June, my family rented a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. My sister and I were using the Merlin app to identify birds we were hearing from the deck. The app said there was a scarlet tanager nearby. We looked around and actually spotted it in a tree! It was a first for both of us.
A friend of mine and I were out driving in mid October one year and I looked over and saw a turkey vulture in the bushes. Knowing the bird wasn’t supposed to be around at that time of the year I pulled over, got an old blanket out of the car, and draped it over the bird. We drove 30 miles to a vet who in turned called a wildlife specialist. The specialist said the vulture had injured a wing and rehabbed the vulture over the winter. The bird was released the next spring! He would have starved to death if he hadn’t been rescued.
I had an owl that nested in the palm tree above my front yard. I loved watching her teach her babes how to fly. She would bring them one by one down onto the lawn and they would flap around up and down to the our roof line which was quite low at that point of the house. Then she would take them one by one back up to the nest. Always at dusk. They were so precious.
For several years I have watched Harriet and M15 (Ozzie passed on) on SW FL Eaglecam, they live in North Ft Meyers. Ian had destroyed their nest and most of the cameras watching them. And yet nature has prevailed, they are rebuilding and that is the gift for us. Never give up!
Winner right here. Hope for everyone.
A Bald Eagle having his salmon breakfast on my dock.
1. The gannets, puffins and the rather scary skuas of St. Kilda, (a tiny group of islands way off the western coast of the Outer Hebrides). It’s a birder’s paradise. Thousands of birds everywhere you’d look.
2. A great blue heron who serves as the gopher erradicater for the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Seeing that bird snatch a gopher out of it’s tunnel, give it a little toss in the air, then catch it and swallow it whole is a sight you’ll never forget.
3. A leucistic (sp?) fox sparrow who spent three summers in our backyard. We were so disappointed that he or she didn’t make it that fourth summer. But very grateful for the three.
I love watching the birds at our bird feeder. A few years ago we had a Rose Breasted Grosbeak family who visited often. The juvenile male had a bright pink heart shape on his breast. It was such fun to watch for him. We didn’t see him again after that summer but I still find myself looking for that beautiful bird!
My most memorable bird sighting was when I was driving to a contra dance in New England some years ago at night and a snowy owl swooped right across my windshield.
I walked by a group of sandhill cranes early one winter morning. The sun was rising behind them and then, when one. made a vocalization, I saw the cold vaporized breath coming out of its’ beak. In that moment I felt so connected to these birds through our mutual experience of our breath!
In Tacoma WA, I was riding my bike to work. I heard a “whoosh whoosh” of wings…big wings…right above me. I quickly looked up, (not wanting to wreck on my bike) and not 10 feet above me was a bald eagle going the same direction as I was. I will never forget that moment.
I was on a horseback riding trip in Provence when we went galloping through a marsh and disturbed a flock of pink flamingos. They took off and were flying all around us. I’ll never forget that sight!
As a life-long Arizona birder, I have many breathtaking bird sightings. However, my most memorable is feeding ducks on our lake with my 2 year old grandson & hearing him excitingly yell “Ducks coming! Mo’ ducks! Ducks coming!” as whole winter flock of Mallards swam towards us.
It would have to be the time I slammed into a turkey with my car! I saw it in the road, but I couldn’t hit my brakes because there was a car right behind me. And I couldn’t get over because there was another car right next to me, so I knew I just had to hit it. It was so gruesome – and did $1500 worth of damage to the car. Definitely something I won’t forget!
We have Sand Hill Cranes in my area (near the Wisconsin River in north central Wisconsin), and every fall it is a magnificent sight to see whole flocks -sometimes hundred of birds – gleaning the corn fields that have been harvested and plowed under.
The most memorable sighting happened recently. I had heard that a pair of bald eagles lived near our rural home, but I had not seen them. One day, as I was at the computer, two very large birds swooped near the corner windows of my office. The bald eagles. I saw one later in a tree as I drove to town.
We were driving to Hana on Maui and a huge tropical bird flew in front of our stopped car. Our driver was a Hawaiian native and told us about the bird and how rare a sighting was. Spectacular.
Brilliantly colored lovebirds in the wild, here in the greater Phoenix area.
A great blue heron in the pond next to our condo! Magnificent!
This is kind of gross but I watched a blue heron stalk and grab a gopher and then saw the poor gopher going down the gullet. It’s a vision I can’t get out of my brain.
An amazing huge owl on a snowy night watching over my house!
A great horned owl in the oak tree in our backyard being mobbed by a murder of crows. Finally took off never to be seen again by me.
I love seeing birds of all sizes – from hummingbirds at the feeders to the great blue herons that frequent the creek in the back yard. Cardinals in evergreens or bluebirds at a red birdhouse create fleeting, colorful memories – never quick enough with a camera!
I see blue herons all the time at my cottage. Such beautiful creatures
The first time I saw bluebirds in my yard was so very memorable! I immediately bought bluebird houses an put the up.
Living in the Sierra Nevada mountains I’m lucky to see lots of birds (and other wildlife). For a couple of years now I have been watching Bald Eagles and Osprey with their offspring near a small lake where I often walk. The first time I spotted the nest was a thrill and then seeing the fledgling! Honorable mention to the rarely spotted Western Tanager (love the bright yellow color) and hummingbirds visiting flowers on my deck. The first time one flew up to me and paused a few inches away was a different kind of thrill.
My bird sighting story has two parts – 1) at age 10 sent by by myself to see The Birds which set me up with a fear of all birds 2) first day of my new job commuting to Philadelphia, underground station ceilings are very low, pigeons flying around – I was 10 again.
Eagles! There is nothing like an eagle soaring.
The first time I saw Pileated Woodpeckers on the trees in my backyard. They are large and have a noisy sound.
Four Sandhill cranes on the lawn outside of my front door.
I waked out of my office a few years ago, and saw a huge male turkey aggressively pecking at a car in the parking lot. Maybe saw his own reflection on the car and thought it was another male turkey!?!
I’m not a birder but my close friends are. Since the start of the pandemic they’ve been walking daily in a neighborhood park. Occasionally I join them to get outside for a couple of hours and enjoy their enjoyment of the birds.I can rarely spot what they see in the trees, but one time I was surprised and amazed as we came around a bend to find a great white heron standing by the path near the pond. It was stretched to its full height, which was taller than me (!) and seemed completely unfazed by the human passers-by.
A huge owl by Quemado Lake, New Mexico. Numerous families of quail running around my sis-in-laws house in Tucson. Just so cute.
A pair of cardinals returning to our yard in early spring.
Bluefooted boobies on Galapagos Islands
The first time red-winged blackbirds showed up at my bird feeder. They’re hilarious, and get here sooner than robins. I love them!
Brace yourself – sappy story ahead! My mom turned 87 last June and is living alone now after my dad passed away two years ago. She is intent on clearing out the house in case she needs to downsize or move for any reason, so of course she doesn’t want any new knick-knacks. She likes sitting by her back window to watch the birds and deer and everything that comes into the yard, so I got her a couple of pretty glass bird garden stakes. They are solar powered so they twinkle in the sun during the day and then light up when it gets dark. What a lucky find – she loves them! Says they make the yard feel more friendly and she enjoys the touch of color, since she doesn’t get to garden much these days.
A falcon (I still don’t know which flavour) caught a rabbit (we’d never seen a wild rabbit here at that time) right outside our dining room window while we were eating supper! The kids were still young, so probably 15 years ago. I ran out to call my cat in, the falcon dropped the rabbit, the rabbit played dead for a bit, then the rabbit happily hopped away. We’ve seen wild rabbits may times since then but never a bird like that one!
Watching a great horned owl work the bats flying out of Carlsbad Caverns.
A robin built a nest on a windowsill at my parents’ home. We had a view of the eggs, the baby birds being fed, etc. My mom was an elementary school teacher, and she took pictures every day and made a bulletin board/story board of the experience.
I love birds & watch them all the time.
I’m a informal bird watcher. I love that pelicans fly in a straight line while Canadian Geese fly in a V., but my most memorable memory is our owls, big barn owls. They talk to each other most nights & if you are very still in the dark, you’ll feel the brush of their wings as they fly by in the still darkness. It’s such a thrill.
Wild turkeys in Pittsburgh. Driving home through the city, they were crossing the street in front of my car so of course we slowed down and I snapped a few pictures. There was a fawn with them but it ran away.
Several years ago I was taking Amtrack from Kansas City to St. Louis. As we were traveling along the Missouri River I saw TEN bald eagles within about half an hour.
Several years ago my husband and I were walking through Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico, and what ran across the path in front of us? A real life roadrunner! So cool!
I love to watch birds. My most memorable bird sighting was when I discovered that I can see warblers in the oak trees in my own back yard! So now, each spring (mid-May here in SE Michigan) I will spend time just sitting in my backyard with binoculars looking up into the trees to see these beautiful little birds. The males are so colorful; like little flowers. They are challenging to watch, since they constantly move as they eat insects, but well worth the trouble. One of my favorites is the Blackburnian Warbler.
A hummingbird swooped down over me in downtown Santa Cruz, hovered at some flowers in a storefront pot long enough for me to take pictures, then swooped back over me, up and away 🙂
A great blue heron, standing majestically as if for a photo session. Gorgeous!
Seeing an owl in our bottlebrush tree.
so many fun stories!
One of my most memorable bird sightings was years ago when my husband and I were new birders. We were in London walking through a park, when a bird lit on the path in front of us, and slowly hopped around in a circle, showing us all sides. We novice birders were able to correctly identify a Blue Tit. Now when a bird consistently eludes us, we wish it would “cooperate like that Blue Tit!”
An osprey landing in a Douglas fir 30’ from our kitchen window with a flounder in its talons and devouring it.
The first time I saw a Red Tail Hawk. It swooped out of nowhere just a few feet in front of me and I loved the close up view. Breathtaking. I still skip a breath when one flies by.
We found a sparrows nest in a hanging planter on the front porch this summer. We watched the birds fly to and fro, saw the babies fledged.
I have a bird bath and work from home so I have many bird sightings. I have blue jays and the pair are quite interesting. He is not afraid and does not look around. She looks like him but smaller. She waits but he stands guard when she is in the bird bath. I do keep a wooden ramp to the bird bath that the squirrels use but they are afraid of the blue jay too.
A bald eagle flew over my house. Not a common sight where I live
About 40 years ago in mid December I was running at daybreak before work. I heard some noise and looked up and saw a large gathering of cardinals in a pine tree. In the early morning light the shimmering on so many wings looked like twinkling Christmas lights. I will always remember that magical sight with gratitude.
Like many others, a bald eagle sighting was my most memorable – it was in a tree right next to us!
Stopping my car to let a Great Blue Heron amble across the street. Not sure why it didn’t want to fly, and I also don’t know why it crossed the street. Must have been to get to the other side…
One particular summer day several years ago I had 4 indigo buntings at my feeder. I’ve only seen a couple single indigos since then. So it really was a special day. I am an avid backyard birder. I have had lots of terrific sights.
so difficult to pick just one memorable bird sighting…
my first bald eagle, on the fourth of July, with a fish in its talons above the LaCrosse River, or, the sand hill cranes flying south, or roosting in the wet meadows near Lodi, California, or, the teal blue streak: a European kingfisher flying straight under a bridge in southern France.
A couple of weeks ago, I was rowing on the Connecticut River, near Holyoke, MA. I saw a pair of Bald Eagles in a tree on the bank. One of them flew down and caught a fish maybe 30 feet from me. It was amazing to get a “river surface” view!
Out walking the dog in Tucson years ago, he ‘treed’ a roadrunner into the pipe-cleaner-shaped cholla cactus, which was a cartoon-like ending. The roadrunner had grabbed a skinny, inadequate stalk with each foot, which instantly wiggled and bent. Our hound was on a leash and the roadrunner actually was in no danger, we had just surprised it!
Ducks waddling through the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis.
A flock of quail, probably hatchlings with parent, crossing the yard while I sat in a deck chair. SW Washington State.
I was feeding sparrows on my back porch one cold, snowy morning when a Cooper’s Hawk swooped down and claimed his breakfast from among my tiny diners.
Up close examination of a hummingbird. Love them!
My most memorable bird sighting was in Ely, MN. Super hot summer day, had taken the kids to the town beach and there were at least a dozen bald eagles just lazily floating around overhead. We had to take turns watching the kids so the other adults could watch the eagles!
We were driving down a back country road near Salinas, California – me, my husband and a birdwatching pal. Suddenly we all three looked at the same spot on the road and simultaneously shouted BEEP BEEP! at a little brown bird running down the road just ahead of our car. A roadrunner! And our first absolutely positively first-try instantaneous bird identification. We have not had as easy a one since!
Parrots in the trees in San Francisco
Hundreds of white-faced Ibis (a huge wading bird/shorebird) at the salt flats of Summer Lake wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon. Later that day I went in to the gift shop at the hotsprings & a local gal was selling hand dyed yarn in the particular shade of those Ibis in the noonday sun: glossy deep purple. Life! You can’t make this stuff up.
I’ve had lots of wonderful bird sightings but the one that comes to mind first is paddling in Snake Bight near Flamingo and seeing a flock of reddish egrets fishing in a shallow arm of the bay.
It happened just last month while visiting Vermont. We were driving from southeast Vermont to middle Vermont on a very dark back country road when all of a sudden there was a rather large owl sitting in the opposite lane!! It has been on my bucket list to see an owl in the wild (other than the tiny burrowing owls I’ve seen in Florida) so I get to check that off the list! Good thing the road is not very traveled. Hopefully they grabbed their dinner and flew up to the tree top dining room!!
I was sitting on the patio when a hawk flew by squawking very noisily. I happened to look to the right and right there on the lawn was another hawk looking at the squawking hawk. After a minute or so it took off in the opposite direction with some prey in its claws! It looked so big on the ground…..it was protecting its prey under its claws.
A Cooper’s hawk decided to land on my back porch just outside my kitchen door.
Also a giant great blue heron on Longboat Key beach. 5 ft tall fishing at the waters edge. Oblivious to me just 3 feet behind him.
Bald eagles nesting in Alaska!
This summer, I had a juvenile bald eagle fly over me so close that I could hear the creaking of its wing feathers. They’re HUGE birds!
Mine would be the Martins flying to the Martin house in the evenings, because my Daddy would be setting in the garden watching them. I wish I could see that one more time!
We took a trip to Alaska and while on a bus ride through Juno we saw so many bald eagles, they are so majestic!
At age 11, first glimpse of my pet parakeet
Saw a loon on the lake and then watched it swim beneath our boat
Along the Mississippi, seeing 17 bald eagles at once!
Yreka, CA = Bald eagle sightings in the woods – so majestic, along with the foggy pine tree smells …. such a treat for a southern gal.
About 40 years ago we were camping in the Florida Keys. We’d gotten up very early one morning and were delighted to see a group of Roseate Spoonbills wading in the shallow water of a quiet waterway. Ever since seeing them they’ve been my favorite bird!
My most memorable bird sighting was the condor I saw soaring over the South Rim of the Grand Canyon – they are so rare!
Six turkey vultures spent the afternoon at the top of the pine tree in my backyard as they passed through the neighborhood.
Yesterday I saw a crow taking a bath in a mud puddle. I’ve never seen that before.
My most memorable bird sighting was visiting a hummingbird sanctuary in Arizona, where dozens of various species were flitting about.
Last month I saw a white-eared hummingbird at the Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson Arizona! It’s rare to see north of Mexico.
During the pandemic we did Zoom Church from the back deck — one Sunday morning during the service, three pileated woodpeckers spent about 20 minutes moving through our backyard and our neighbor’s yards on their way somewhere!
My most memorable bird sighting was a bald eagle couple in the middle of Dallas!
My story goes back to the early 1960s in Southern California, where I was born. I was about 6 years old when I walked to my neighbor’s house one day and was horrified to see what I thought were giant bees in the hibiscus (high biscuits!) at the side of the house. I screamed and ran to the neighbor’s house in tears, afraid the giant bees would follow me. The neighbor looked out the window and explained to me that the bees were actually hummingbirds.
Seeing a bald eagle perched on a fence post in our pasture. 2nd best – actually seeing/finding a hummingbird nest in a tree, with a hummingbird sitting in it.
Waiting for hummingbirds at the feeder or planter each summer and celebrating the first!
A young hawk landed on the pear tree in my yard. I watched from the window as a squirrel bated the hawk, climbing up the tree, chattering at the hawk, scampering down and then up again. It teased the hawk which kept moving from branch to branch. Finally the hawk left I’m sure realizing there was no chance of dinner this time. I imagine the squirrel was laughing as the hawk flew away.
We are close to the spring migration path for swans who touch down, rest for a few days and continue their flight north. They are such a welcome sight that local conservation authorities have it up simple buildings which offer a good view of the swans. While watching, I saw a great blue heron stalking through the shallows. I had seen them on rivers, but never so close. Dreadfully windy and cold but very satisfying.
Kayaking on the Stanislas River in California. We stopped along the shore for a bit and when I looked up, a Bald Eagle was on a branch right above my head.
We were a bit “under the weather” one morning in Patagonia, Arizona having stalked the great Jim Harrison in his watering hole The Wagon Wheel the previous evening. We learned that morning that birders at the campground we were staying at were all hoping to spot the glorious Elegant Trogon, which had recently been seen. We tromped around, resting at every bench along the trail. Never spotted Jim, not the Trogon. But had great fun nonetheless!
Wow – how timely! Just this afternoon I saw TWO bald eagles. I live on the central coast of California and I didn’t even know until a few months ago that we ever had bald eagles here. They were high up and I wish I had some binoculars but they were unmistakable. One took off and soared over my head.
Several families of geese walking across a busy 4-lane road from one drainage pond to another to introduce their hatchlings to the neighbors. Momma at one end and Pappa at the other, several groups. Of course it was during the height of evening rush hour, and all 4 lanes stopped and waited as the families crosses safely.
I have never been able to find the proper words to describe this experience. I was standing alone in s field in the Negev in Israel. Suddenly, columns of storks, drifting in immense spirals overhead in updrafts, passed silently overhead on an ancient migratory flyway between Africa and Europe. It seemed as though they should be accompanied by beautiful spectral music. Then they were gone.
I love all birds! A favourite site was a beautiful Bald Eagle gliding close by the window at a rooftop restaurant, here in British Columbia, Canada.. He/she was magnificent. I’ve since been delighted to witness more Eagle and Osprey sighting near the beach hunting for their meal. I love how the Osprey’s dive straight down into the water to snatch n unsuspecting fish
At first I thought it was drowning, but I saw a bald eagle swim to a dock, hoist itself and a giant fish up, and proceed rip into it.
OR, the other thing is when I was driving on the highway in Minneapolis, and a truck full of turkeys pulled up next to me and stayed next to me. Those turkeys were staring right at me and I reached for my phone to take a picture, and it died right then. The next turkey truck I saw was empty…
A Blue Heron standing tall on top of a very tall. Pine tree. It was spring. The Blue Herons we’re back and this one the first I saw. It was like he was announcing “I am back!!! Let spring begin!”
My most memorable sighting was a red tailed hawk that decided to sit on our gate about 15 feet from us. He chilled for a while, then launched off at an amazing speed.
A great blue heron
A pileated woodpecker enjoyed whatever was in a log at the curb in front of my house. Quite a few years ago but it was a impressive bird.
I saw a squawking hawk in a tree outside a museum in San Francisco.
I looked out the window at a relative’s house. There was probably 100 black birds in the yard. Periodically they’d fly away and then land again in sync.
Walking out of a tiny convenience store in northern Massachusetts and seeing a bald eagle perched in a nearby tree. I could not believe my eyes! For a girl raising in Manhattan, NYC, it is a sight I will never forget.
While waiting on the Merrimack River at the start of a regatta, a bald eagle was circling over us. All 8 rowers and coxswain felt the power and beauty of that before we rowed out hearts out.
Kayaking off Friday Harbor(San Juan Islands) and seeing several nesting Bald Eagles
I saw a gorgeous piliated woodpecker while hiking alone one early spring day in the peace and beauty of Glacier National Park. It took my breath away.
Canoeing a river, around a corner a great lue heron was standing in the water close to the the shore. We just stared at each other.
Most memorable bird sighting was an Elegant Trogon seen in the only area of the U.S. that it comes to nest: Cave Creek Canyon in southeastern Arizona.
My fiancé took up bird watching during Covid lockdown and we would go and bird watch on a walk we live in Ontario Canada so bald eagles are not bird that is normally here but we saw a nest of two juveniles and we went to another location and saw a family of 5! 3 babies and the two parents. I will never forget this as we had brought our puppy with us and they eyed him up like he was a snack lol.
A bluebird in my front yard. I planted a tree that I hoped would attract them, and it did!
I’m a bird lover. I’m also a 70’s kid, so I get excited every time I see an eagle. Living in MN, the sight has become more common, but I still get excited every time. Probably my favorite all-time bird sighting, though, was a sky battle between a peregrine falcon and a red-tailed hawk over the Minneapolis skyline. The hawk was an intruder and there was swooping and diving and sky-collisions. It was like Top Raptor Gun. Amazing.
A Cooper’s hawk chasing ring necked pheasants on the ground! I’m not sure if the hawk really thought it could catch one (the pheasants were about the same size as the hawk) or if it was just having fun!
The many small birds that come to our deck fountain for a drink or bath are a treat, but the hawk that filled up the entire fountain and sat there for several minutes looking at me through the window was astounding. Then there was the hawk that swooped up a small bird at the neighbours feeder and proceeded to eat it ALL while we watched, the eagles that fly by our house, the hundreds of eagles that come to nearby rivers during the salmon run, and at the other end of the spectrum is the hummingbird that sipped nectar from a fuchsia while I was right there watering it.
whiffling geese stopping to drink on their migration southward.
Once on a long drive I saw three bald eagles feeding on a carcass beside the road.
One morning, Sadie the 20 lb chihuachua mutt was barking furiously at the living room window, which was odd because she couldn’t see out & our 5th floor apartment window looked onto treetops and the ballfields across the street. I raised the blind to see a red-tailed hawk perched on the railing of the fire escape mere inches from my face. Thank goodness the window was closed! He extended his wings (which must have been a good 4 feet or more!) looking right at me and I told Sadie there was no way she’d survive a fight with that guy.
While floating down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, I saw Condors floating way over head…
Living in the country I’ve had many memorable bird sightings, owls, hawks, jays, woodpeckers, roadrunners, and even cranes. One of my favorites is watching the quail coveys running across our driveway. Such sweet and silly bird parades to watch.
We have a small hawk that visits our backyard birdbath. It is amazing to see this large bird just sit in the water for 20 minutes or so. I didn’t know hawks lived in Los Angeles suburbs. More proof that we are a very diverse community. I hope some flamingos move in.
One spring when I was in high school – we had a bald eagle that would roost on a fence post near our house (we lived out in the country – 14 miles from the nearest small town). It was a sight to behold – the wings span was almost to the next fence post on either side.
Boating down a river in Alaska where people were fishing for salmon., there were bald eagles perched everywhere! I’ve never seen so many majestic, beautiful birds in one area.
A Screech Owl feeding her babies, they were VERY demanding
We saw a flock of Tundra Swans while canoeing. Several had been banded, so I wrote to US Fish and Wildlife and received a list of all the sightings and banding locations.
Years ago when we were in a rented cabin, a beautiful red cardinal repeatedly pecked at our windows-it was a gorgeous bird.
Bald eagle so exciting every time
I was staying with my sister-in-law, after her husband, my brother-in-law, passed. I looked out her living room window and saw a bald eagle sitting in a nearby tree, and then watch it take flight. To this day I believe it was my brother-in-law showing us he was fine.
Oh my goodness! In 2013 there was a baby / young owl hanging around the neighborhood. For about a week we reliability saw him (her?) as we left the neighborhood. Wish I could attach the photo I have. It was so cool to see him sitting on the same tree branch just watching us go by. 🙂
I was excited to see scissor tailed fly catchers in my area- they aren’t supposed to be located in north central Arkansas- they are a beautiful bird.
A bald eagle in my front yard one morning! Magnificent!
I was stunned last week when I was watching a sparrow fluttering at my living room window when a Cooper’s Hawk dove down out of nowhere and snatched him out of the sky.
We have a pair of bald eagles that visit every year. They come and sit in the same tree for hours – when they show up, it becomes an impromptu party with all the neighbors.
It’s a colorful toss-up between the bright yellow finches at our friends’ suspended high feeders in New Hampshire & the light blue footed booby on the Galapagos – all so beautiful!
We had so many cool sightings bird watching with my son and my mom during Covid. I think my favorite was the nesting osprey!
Turkeys in my city backyard.
It was a hot summer Sunday afternoon in Wisconsin. We were on our pontoon boat with our two dogs and we had dropped anchor in a little cove to hang out and read. I put some lunch out. All of a sudden a great big bold heron swooped in and made off with a sandwich! I hope he enjoyed it.
Bald eagles while we canoeing in Iowa. One was a juvenile!
We had had a terrible season of loss, and grief, and on top of it all, our house was damaged in a terrible storm–our roof failed, mould started to appear, it was pretty bad. Our nephew and new bride were moving across the country, and called, Could they stay with us one night, en route? Well, of course. The mould remediation was finished, we tarped the roof, cleaned up the guest room, had a barbeque, gave them the cook’s tour of our home town, and saw them, and their tiny u-haul trailer off the next morning. As we said good-bye and turned back to our house, a tiny hummingbird flew into view, a beautiful iridescent green bird with a white breast and red throat, and flew right at our eye level for a few seconds, then took off. We had not seen a hummingbird in our yard before or since.
My friend and I were enjoying a box lunch, sitting at a picnic table in the shoreline park in Pacific Grove, CA. All of a sudden, a seagull swooped down and grabbed my entire sandwich right out of my hand! I’d only taken one bite before it was gone, and I was left with a bag of chips, a pickle and a banana for my lunch.
We have whopping cranes that come every year to a wildlife reserve near me.
Fishing with my Mom n Dad on their boat at Lake Don Pedro, CA. My Dad showed me to always look up and enjoy as the views are often not viewed. The craggy trees and cliffs that soared high above waters edge revealed more. The Eagle is often spotted. By days end I caught sight of one. The magnificent Bird so high . I did not see him in-flight that day but gazed in amazement. My Dad died this April ‘22. It is a sweet memory of times shared and makes me smile.
Seeing a majestic eagles nest on top of a telephone pole. Huge nest for a huge wingspan!
I was opening the door to let the dog out on a brisk spring morning. It was near freezing. On our large barn there is a metal beam above the door. Perched on the beam were 7 bluebirds, warming themselves as the sun warmed the beam. I was actually able to capture a photo of most of them in their fluffy cuteness.
I saw a pair of sandhill cranes crossing the street in the crosswalk – so graceful and beautiful.
most memorable in recent years: a bald eagle seen from an Amtrak train in the Hudson Valley, NYS.
Yesterday I went birding and we had a clear view of a goshawk. We think it was migrating.
This was a first for me for a bird that prefers forest and remoteness.
We were in the adirondacks near Minerva on Blue mountain rd.
I was lucky to be with Joan Collins who is a guide and owns her own birding business in Long Lake, NY
I live watching the little absolutely common sparrows flitting around the bushes just outside the windows next to my kitchen. There is nothing grandios or memorable about it, but it gives me so much joy!
Has to be the bald eagle that flew past my home office window, between our tightly-packed homes in outer suburbia! It was quite a surprise.
I saw California condors being released into the wild at the Grand Canyon many years ago
My most memorable bird sighting was an owl right after we moved to our first home. The home is right next to a nature reserve. Seeing the owl just blew me away. So beautiful.
20 bald eagles resting in a tree that I saw driving home from work in Courtenay B C. One evening. Incredible beauty.
The time I was walking from the car to the office and a bald eagle, chased by two gulls and a crow, flew less than 20 feet over my head.
An American white pelican sighted on a small lake in Florida. It looked magical.
Watching a blue heron fly over the ocean at sunrise in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Magnificent!
We live in New Mexico and each summer we have a road runner who returns to run around on our deck and spend hours knocking on our doors. They are such a fun bird to watch as they run or make short flights to float down into the yard.
A sunbittern in Costa Rica. The only member of its family!
A week ago yesterday I made good on a belated birthday gift to my dear husband with a private tour provided by the staff naturalist at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN. An afternoon of sighting bald eagles and other wildlife on a picture perfect autumn day was what I’d hoped for him, and it was exactly that.
The gang of Blue Jays that show up at my feeding stations in the back yard, every day on schedule
After a bad storm we lost a big branch from a hardwood tree. The next morning there were about 10 large pheasants on the limb soaking up the sun.
I was dating an ornithologist and the first time he took me birdwatching, we saw a peregrine falcon capture and kill a bird mid-air. Where was the peace and serenity I had been promised?
There’s a flock of turkeys that roosts in a huge oak tree in my yard. I can’t get enough of watching them run, take off and land in the branches each evening. It makes my day.
My parents’ house is in the woods down a dirt road. One winter night I was driving up a hill on the road and my headlights lit up an enormous owl that took flight right as my lights hit it. It was beautiful, amazing and just a bit spooky.
I visited Homer, Alaska a few years ago. I was shocked and delighted to see oodles of bald eagles. Bald eagles:Homer::pigeons:literally any other town or city on Earth.
My most memorable bird sighting story… I grew up in Alaska and I took a boat one day out to a bird rookery called the Beehive Islands (they’re like enormous sea stacks). The puffins were flying all around us, fast as bullets. It was so beautiful and their tiny bodies and enormous beaks are so outrageous to see.
Seeing a Sea Eagle on a birding tour on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. WOW!
My DH & I were standing at the top of a lookout tower on an Island in Lake Michigan when we heard a lot of “squawking” from a sharp-shinned hawk, followed by more squawking from a second hawk. We saw the two hawks fly at each other at an alarming rate of speed! Then, just 15 feet from our heads, the first hawk rapidly slowed its approach to the second one, swung its talons towards Hawk #2, and passed a mouse to it! A birder friend thinks this was a mom feeding one of her offspring who had recently been kicked from the nest.
My most memorable bird-sighting happened in northern Michigan where I am very blessed to live. Driving along the lakeshore I saw a bald eagle flying above the water that swooped down to catch a fish and fly off with it, so amazing!
A baby ish bald eagle was just sitting at the edge of my patio. In Indiana! Nobody believed me until a newspaper article told there was a family now living on the river somewhere. Now everyone sees them
One spring we saw a baby owl freshly booted from his nest. Above in the trees sat the parental owls keeping watch. It was a special gift to see the owlet learning to fly. We did not dare venture out into the yard for fear the adult owls would be protective and swoop down at us. I have always thought the sighting of an owl or hearing the hoot of an owl in the night as a sign of good luck.
I’ve seen beautiful bald eagles in Alaska and Colorado, but really love watching the hummingbirds at our feeder here in Western Colorado.
I was walking on a local trail along a river with my sister and we saw a bald eagle!
My sister planned a family daytrip for me 6 plus hours in a car plus lunch to see bald eagles, in Wabasha,MN. It was the old days, no organized siteing or vision aided watching. Dots in trees on an island. When I drove into my yard, an eagle took flight from the white pine 10 feet from my house.
We often hear grouse thumping in the spring in NH. It’s a mating call and sounds like a John Deere tractor starting up. One morning the thumping was REALLY close. I looked out the window and there the grouse was, thumping it’s wings on the dead tree just outside the window! A rare sight indeed!
An eagle landing in a tree approximately 15 yards from our living room windows.
Owls in my mother’s backyard
Bald eagles visit the tall pines across the creek from my deck. Wilderness is the best! Next to knitting, haha.
here on Long Island, in Centerport, we get eagles every year,,,very cool!!
A few miles from my house there is a tree with an eagle’s nest that has been occupied for most of the last 10 years. I always check to see if the residents are home when I drive past.
I recently got to experience the release of a rehabilitated young bald eagle, up close and personal! I made a donation to the local raptor rescue center in my late father’s name, a place he had volunteered and loved for many years, helping to release the hawks and owls as they recovered from various injuries. A bald eagle was a rare and special treat and they arranged this release in Dad’s honor and allowed us to witness the release in person. It was very moving, to watch “Lucky” the bald eagle fly high, in Dad’s memory.
We saw and heard thousands of sandhill cranes returning to Crex Meadows for the evening.
Bee-eaters in Malawi. All the birds there actually. 🙂
Bee-eaters in Malawi, Africa. All the birds there, really. So beautiful!!
A hawk savoring a ‘breakfast bird’ in my neighbor’s back yard.
There are so many wonderful birds near my home on the Outer Banks of NC. Lots of birdwatchers can be seen on the Duck (yup, my town in named Duck) boardwalk by the sound with binoculars and cameras with long lenses. I don’t have a super memorable siting, but my favorite seaside birds are the pelicans I see flying low in formation at the beach.
Opened the front door during a winter evening to retrieve a delivered package. In flies a wren that was roosting for the night in our holiday door wreath. We finally (after much running around and performing silly human tricks) captured it and released it outside only to discover that a second bird had flown in with the first! Rescued and released #2 (phew!) and now we always knock on the door from the inside before opening it to scare any would be ‘roosters’ off. We have a little metal sculpture of a wren sitting on our window sill to remind us of the evening we had wrens in the house! Such a memorable story in our family lore! Brings laughs every time we tell it.
My most memorable bird sighting was a Cooper’s Hawk in our backyard. It sat on the top of the fence, letting us take pictures amazingly nearby. It was like the bird was posing for us!
We saw an eagle diving to grab a fish from the water. The size and grace of the bird was magnificent!
Best bird sighting ever was a Bald eagle and a juvenile eagle that flew right through our back yard and landed in our mighty black walnut. I couldn’t figure out what that big blackish bird with the serious beak was until I looked up a photo of juveniles. Amazing and profound.
A snowy owl in a field on a cold Vermont morning.
We went to the National Arboretum and seeing an indigo butting! It was a wonderful surprise on a beautiful autumn day.
When we go ice fishing, there are bald eagles that will come land on the ice and wait for us to catch fish. We usually will throw one their way at some point during the day. Such a gorgeous bird,
We’ve had many great bird sightings this year. We saw 2 bluebirds fledge. We’ve seen Cardinal babies, yellow finch babies, blue jay babies, purple finch babies and nut hatch babies.
We went to the national arboretum on a beautiful autumn day and saw an indigo bunting female!
Roseate spoonbill herons feeding in the marsh on Sanibel Island.
My husband and I were walking through the woods one day and up ahead, maybe 30 feet in front of us on this wide cleared path, an owl swept down out of a tree, turned and flew directly toward us. We stopped in our tracks and, slack- jawed, watched as he flapped his huge wings, seemingly holding eye contact with us. He flapped once, twice and silently rose and flew above our heads and away. We felt as if we’d been blessed.
A couple of decades ago, it was unlikely, living in New Brunswick, Canada, that one would ever see a vulture. Driving away from my in-laws one day, I slammed on the brakes and my husband and I grabbed our cameras. We watched a vulture, a huge creature, demolishing unrecognizable, bloody, road kill. We were close, got great photos and got to stun all our friends.
Two young bald eagles ‘playing tag’ soaring and diving on the wind currents
hawks on the hunt
While drifting along near the shore of a lake, I witnessed an epic battle between and eagle and a Canada goose. They fought on the ground and it was protracted—for at least 20 minutes, they attacked each other. Ultimately, the Canada goose was the victor, with the eagle flying away in retreat. This happened over 30 years ago and it is still a vivid memory—and has made Canada geese my favourite bird.
I’d never seen a scarlet tanager and was longing to when I ran by a woman in a park in Maryland gazing into a tree with her binoculars. “What do you see?” I asked her. She handed me her binoculars put I finger to her lips and pointed up.
A Scarlet Tanager sat watching us in all its glory
A Great Horned Owl in a tree on the side of a road in British Columbia, Canada. When he flew away, weaving through the Lodgepole Pines, it was a spectacular sight.
Roseate spoonbills in Florida.
Hummingbirds sipping from the feeder on the front porch continually amaze me. Grace in action.
When I was about 6 years old I was playing in a large (for a 6 yr old) Honeysuckle bush. I looked up and saw a Hummingbird. It was eating nectar from the many blooms on the plant. I’d never seen one before and was mystified and entranced. After a few moments of watching it I very slowly lifted my hand and tried to touch it, and it disappeared. I’ve never forget his bird sighting because it was magical!
My most memorable sighting began with the noise of huge flapping wings.
As I drove, two enormous great blue herons soared over my car!
Most memorable? Has to be a beautiful wood duck perched on my deck railing. So cool and such an unexpected moment.
This may not be what you intended but it is the first thing that popped into my head. As a young adult I was thrilled to be going to a folk concert at Salt in Newport.I got all ready in my bell bottom jeans and favorite bandana. Clearly dating myself with the references. While waiting in line with my boyfriend (and trying to look cool) a seagull spotted me and decided to deliver a little present on my favorite bandana and hair! Made it much harder to look like a cool hippie chick!
We had a pileated woodpecker hang out in our city front yard long enough for everyone in the family to come out and see it. It was huge! Amazing. Almost as cool as the great horn owl we saw a block or two away, in daylight. We see a lot of amazing birds in our city neighbourhood.
I love seeing the geese getting ready to fly south for the winter. Just yesterday, there was a huge flock of Canada and Snow geese flying together, making a cloud of black and white.
I have to add another “sighting”—last week a wild turn flew into my husband’s windshield while he was traveling at 60 mph. He was fine, no injuries, but the car was out of commission for 1-1/2 weeks.
It always makes my day to see Bald Eagles soaring
My family and I were all eyes when a hawk landed in our backyard and left with some dinner.
In 1984 when my daughter was a toddler I opened the shutters in her room and saw a ruby
throated hummingbird outside the window at an azalea flower. It was the first time I had seen one. It was fascinating and has led to many years of putting out feeders. We even had a Rufous hummingbird overwinter with us last winter.
A pileated woodpecker on the maple tree in our front yard.
A Great Blue Heron flying 2’ above my windshield down a back country road for long enough for me to really enjoy a good long
look!
Best bird sighting? A large horned owl in rural Michigan as a child. There’s a longer story — my grandmother outside in an old, oversized cardigan trying to scare the grandchildren camping out in a tent, like she was a bear. And then the owl surprised us all.
We saw the very rare Puerto Rican Parrot in Puerto Rico while staying at a frightful place our last night on the island. We were kind of stuck, so we stayed, walked the grounds, and saw two parrots! Incredible experience really.
This summer we had a regular hummingbird come to our feeder. One afternoon I noticed it would feed at the feeder then fly up into a nearby oak tree. I got the high-powered binoculars out, sat in a chair and watched it as it sat on the branch preening for a while and then coming to feed. I’d never seen a hummingbird sit still for so long…an enchanting moment.
Canoeing the boundary waters, we saw a huge eagle perched on a limb take a giant poop on the shore right next to us before taking flight! Epic 😉
Mine is when we were kayaking in Alaska and saw three bald eagles on a broken tree branch. It was so lovely!
Hummingbird nest built in a tree outside our upstairs bedroom window. The babies were SO tiny. Our cat spent hours laying quietly on the bed, watching intently.
A great horned owl sitting on the porch rail outside my kitchen window. Just sitting there looking at me. I tip-toed over to grab my phone and quick quick tip-toed back to the window. That majestic owl was still there. It looked about two feet tall, those golden eyes staring right at me. Snap, snap the pictures. Then feeling bold and all owl whisperer, I eased open the kitchen door just a smidgen and got another shot of that beautiful face. A minute or so later it turned towards the yard, took silent flight and grabbed a mouse out of the grass.
Sitting at the end of the dock getting checked out by a family of loons. They were only a few feet away.
Last spring I saw a bald eagle in a park I usually walk in. This was the first time I could easily see the bird was a bald eagle without binoculars. I found out later the bald eagle’s mate was caught in some wire nearby. Both birds are fine now.
most memorable may be the most ordinary, but I love the chickadees that come to my bird feeder in the winter (yes, it is winter here in Alaska now ;). I love it just because it is right outside my window and am content to just appreciate them. Also, we can’t have bird feeders up all year due to the bears.
The birds I saw in the Everglades. Cannot remember their name but they were majestic.
I have never paid much attention to birds aside from Blue Jays and Cardinals, but this summer, my niece was rooting around in my mom’s flower pots looking for toads. Instead, she found three baby birds. We were careful not to touch them, but seeing the tiny little alien-looking creatures up close was definitely memorable.
The first time I saw a spotted owl up close!
Although I haven’t spotted a pileated woodpecker (remember the cartoon character Woody the Woodpecker?) I still hear them in the woods around us on occasion. One of my favorite birds!
Giant raven pair that remained quietly alert on the ground at a campsite, allowing grandchildren the opportunity to watch them.
My most memorable bird sighting was on a beach in Aruba. Flamingos walked the beach freely, never mind the people. My fiancé was able to take a picture of me right next to one! As long as we didn’t try to touch them, they were content to mingle with the beach goers.
In Acadia National Park, I was on a run and stopped near a pond. Suddenly a blue heron rose directly from the water like a pterodactyl, about three feet from me!
The roadrunner who used to visit a giant juniper shrub at my former house in Albuquerque. Snow or shine, it was there, running about. That was the only good thing about that dang bush!
My most enjoyable bird sighting (this year) was a ruby throated hummingbird couple in my garden, so busy with the flowers that they didn’t mind my presence.
My most memorable bird “sighting” was the bird who pooped on my head at the SF Zoo. Fortunately, my son was a baby then so we had copious quantities of baby wipes. My hair did NOT look good after baby-wipe treatment, but at least it was mostly bird poo free. I do not remember that bird fondly . . .
Snowy owls in dunes on the Washington coast – a snowy owl irruption from Alaska! We could get quite close to them – magical!
We have a cute little roadrunner that often runs up and down our long driveway. I love watching him get his exercise. The bluebird color is my favorite.
The first bald eagle I saw. I was in Yellowstone national park and seeing that majestic bird in that incredible setting was beyond amazing!
I was watching a Turkey Buzzard in a tree in the yard. I tried not to take it personally when it leaned over to eyeball me and hissed…loudly! Who knew they hissed!!??
Watching a Bald Eagle eating a dead fox in the middle of the road
My most memorable bird sighting was when a bird flew into my in-laws’ pool and drowned right in front of my son, who was about 10 at the time and a bit afraid of birds…definitely left an impression.
We have two pairs of red-tailed hawks and many bald eagles who stop by our house every day for a treat that DH throws for them. Such beauty, strength and grace! We are also home to several Pileated Woodpeckers whose preference seems to be for the suet . We live on a remarkable PNW island that is blessed with so many amazing creatures!
I’m fortunate to live where I often see swans, pelicans, egrets, great blue herons, etc.
on my walks.
Ring tailed Pheasants and chicks holding up traffic on a Kentucky state route.
I live in a wooded subdivision, and exiting my driveway one time I inched my car past an owl more that a foot tall sitting on my mailbox and eying me from about three feet away at eye level.
blue footed boobie, in Galapagos
My parents lived in the hills of the Bay Area for awhile and in November would see turkeys wandering around the hills. Always a shock!
We lived in a big city and only saw the usual city birds- robins and crows and such. But we went on vacation to South Dakota and it was the first time I’d seen bluebirds and western meadowlarks. I just loved hearing them both.
I love birds….especially cardinals. My most memorable bird sighting was when we lived in Illinois and a mother and baby cardinals had a nest outside my kitchen window.
Circa 1981 I was driving next to Lake Cuyamaca East of San Diego when suddenly a Bald Eagle swooped down just above the water quite near me. So exciting I almost ran the car off the road!
After the hawks in the neighborhood tree had their babies, I had two of them perched on top of the stop signs at the corner, calling out with their high pitched sound.
Watching crows or blackbirds chasing a hawk
My sister lived in Pike Lake near Duluth, MN. Their address was in Hermantown, MN. They had a pair of golden eagles who nested on the lake edge and graced us with their presence daily. Such an amazing sight.
Seeing eagles on an Alaskan cruise!
Probably the most unique (to me, at least) bird-sighting was last summer when four sandhill cranes were walking in that kind of weird loping gait around my car while I sat in my parking space at my apartment building. Saw one of them really very close up.
Visiting the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL in January when egrets are nesting. It was amazing!
With the arrival of the hummingbirds every spring, I am reminded of my mom who loved these beautiful tiny birds.
My most memorable bird sighting was on a bucket list trip to the Galapagos and seeing the Blue Footed Boobies. Their feet really are that shade of blue – amazing!
Birding is a complex passion if you live in a temperate climate. Colourful birds are so much easier to LOVE. But one of my favourite birding moments was the VERNAL Equinox while I was walking by the sea and an Anna’s Hummingbird paused on a treetop, a harbinger of SPRING.
Four of us girlfriends went into Yellowstone Park early spring before last. Two are real birders. We spotted at least 30 different species and Robin spied one to add to her never-before seen list!! In a perfectly long day we also added a bison giving birth, elk, 3! different bears, coyote, mountain goat, antelope, otter, wolf from afar and more!! Topped off the incredible day soaking at Chico Hot Springs, Pray, MT. Unforgettable!!
Always bald eagle sightings, all around our home here in SE Minnesota, where we get up close to some of the nesting sites when kayaking on the river and streams here.
Saw a hawk land on one of our tree branches only to depart after a pair of smaller birds started chattering agitatedly at it (presumably protecting a nest).
Just a few weeks ago there was a large vulture camped out on my street, leisurely eating a dead thing and slowly walking out of the way of cars
I saw a red cardinal in Texas. I just know it was my friend Natalie telling me she was all right.
Near the start of covid a pair of hawks moved into the neighborhood and while riding my bike home one of them was snacking on a small bird right in the parkway between the sidewalk and the road. The stare I got when he didn’t even budge upon seeing me come near was not a warm welcome, it was a dare. I lowered my eyes to his power and he went back to dinner. Wow.
A baby hummingbird took flight from the nest 4’ above/off of my Mom’s deck as I was looking up at the nest.
In the middle of our pandemic lock down, one afternoon, mid summer, the birds in our back yard started twittering like mad. We’d noticed more birds — maybe because there was less traffic, or maybe just because we got outside more, taking walks. But this was a racket! I looked out the back door and there was a huge red tailed hawk on our fence, all the birds making a warning racket. We live in Chicago, in a bungalow neighborhood, houses close together, small backyards divided by chainlink fences. Never seen anything like this before.
So many birds, so much fun! Watching the birds cruise by at eye level at the Kilauea lighthouse on Kauai, and osprey on a nest in FL, and the sandhill cranes coming in to land by the thousands at Whitewater Draw in NM.
After my friend lost her husband in a bike accident she went to see a psychic who told her that when she sees a bluebird it will be her husband sending her a message. She saw bluebirds when her son announced his engagement so she knows her husband approves of the marriage
I’ve experienced many memorable bird sightings, the most recent of which started with the “croaking/rattling” calls of Sandhill Cranes overhead. As the clouds opened up I was able to watch them migrate towards the southwest; two ragged ‘v’ formations on their way towards their winter habitat.
Sandhill cranes dancing!
I moved into my neighborhood about 6 years ago. There were signs that indicated a bluebird trail. But it wasn’t until I was on a run through the neighborhood one morning that I saw them. Vivid, bright blue birds alighted from a neighbors yard into a tree right in front of me. Since then, we installed a bluebird box in the back yard and have hosted many clutches with fresh meal worms. The bluebirds were the nicest surprise.
My most memorable bird siting occurs every time I see a cardinal. I remember the joy in my oldest daughter’s eyes the first time she would see one each winter.
We have a bird feeder in our kitchen window and sometimes there will be 20 tiny little birds on it, eating and chirping away.
1975 on a hill in southern Iceland watching a colony of puffins swoop into the sea and return to their nests with fish.
An eagle grabbing a fish out of the river, just 50 yards from our campsite. Amazing!
5 eagles on the ice in front of my home on Lake Erie.
We had a very old church building with lots of unused areas that we would gradually reclaim as needed. We had a new staff member starting so we reclaimed an office and fixed it up for her. The office had a door with a large window in it that led to some unclaimed areas of the church. Her family visited before she started and I was giving them a tour of her office when a large flock of birds loudly flew past the aforementioned door.
Seeing a painted bunting on our bird feeder! Such a beautiful bird. I haven’t seen one since. Second most memorable would be when we were in Arkansas and stopped at a gift shop. The back wall of the shop overlooked the hills/mountains and they had hummingbird feeders set up. There were 20+ hummingbirds flying around.
Bald eagle in the neighbor’s tree or my first quetzal sighting in the jungles of Guatemala – hard to decide.
Watching bald eagles over the Mississippi River on a bitterly cold January day. There must have been 5 or 6 of them. Amazing to watch them glide over the river and grab a fish. How do they do that?!
My most memorable bird sighting was an adolescent bald eagle sitting near the top of an oak tree in my neighbor’s backyard.
Every Thanksgiving the cousins get together and go to Staten Island in the California Delta to watch the Sandhill cranes fly in at sunset. They’ve been gone all day, returning to the flooded rice fields for the night. You look off to the southwest and start seeing smudges, then more and more cranes become visible, and then you start hearing their honks. Finally the sky is full and they start to land, their wings whooshing. Sometimes we were lucky and got to see them dance. I’ve seen other birds, but the sheer number of the cranes is unforgettable.
My favorite bird sighting is the hawk that sometimes swoops through our backyard and rests on our fences in the mornings. The first time I noticed it, it was standing on the decorative molding of our house right by the garage, and was less than ten feet away.
After chickens can to live with me, we spotted a hawk roosting in a tree that could be seen from our kitchen window!
When I was in college in the early 1980s , an owl decide to make a very tall pine tree in my parents’ backyard his home for the month of February. It was a frigidly cold winter in the city in upstate New York where I lived. He was a huge, light colored owl. Maybe some kind of snow owl. He was gorgeous and we were all in awe of him. We took it as a good omen that he decided to live in our yard, albeit, temporarily. We never had seen owls of any kind our yard – let alone , one this magnificent. I have never forgotten him.
Driving on some dirt roads in Joshua Tree National Park and we startled a massive golden eagle out of the brush.
Last week I saw a beautiful red-headed woodpecker. He was larger than any woodpecker I have ever seen before.
Seeing a pair of great horned owls and their three babes tetingnon a tree branch!
My husband and I saw a pair of eagles do a downward spiral with locked talons while kayaking in the Inside Passage.
One of my favorite bird sightings was at home when a bald eagle flew over a barn and across the back deck where I was enjoying some outside knitting. I noticed his shadow and quickly looked up to catch him in silent flight a mere 6 feet above my head!
The other day an Anna’s Hummingbird hovered around my head and face. It must have been curious because I was wearing a very bright orange raincoat with a hood. I felt like time stopped. It was so cool!
I once saw an eagle fly over the road where I was driving! I flew so low that I could clearly see it’s beak and eye. It was amazing!