My first 35 birds in 2020

Male and Female Wood duck

There are over 40 million birders in the United States. Those people that try to find, identify, and record lists of their bird sightings. I was quite surprised at the number. Aside from a few common species like sparrows, cardinals, bluejays, and a handful of others it was not something I had thought about and was astonished at the variety. There are close to 2000 species in the USA and many times more around the world. In fact tropical birds are so colorful, varied, and beautiful. With COVID happening in 2020 it was by chance that I came across some instagram accounts just on birds. That was when I decided to try and find some on my walks this summer. It was a good way to keep social distance and pass the time. Then I tried to photograph them and then it became a bit of an obsession to find and identify birds. I thought I would share what was out there in our backyards, neighborhoods, and on nature/hiking trials and parks. The majority of these are in Texas and close to home. I have always enjoyed photography and this is just a new use of the medium. Many times birds don’t sit still for long and it is with photography that one can see and appreciate more detail… I have identified 145 bird species now in about 5 months. Note that some birds are around all year and others migrate and are here only part of the year. Below I have images of some of the birds I have found. Hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I do. Bringing awareness also helps with conservation efforts so I hope to reach as many people as possible. In addition all images are available as prints including many others not in this article. The link to see and or order prints/wall art is below. Some of the proceeds will go to wildlife conservation efforts. Most of the ones listed are commonly found all over the USA. The painted bunting is an exception and found mainly in Texas.

Female Kingfisher, can be difficult to get close. They dive into the water to catch fish with a decent amount of accuracy.

Ruby throated hummingbird. If you are interested in ordering prints see bottom of the page.

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Indigo bunting

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red headed woodpecker

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painted bunting

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lark sparrow

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western kingbird

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Sanderling

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Wilson’s warbler

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Nashville Warbler

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Eastern Bluebird

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carolina chickadee

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roadrunner

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blue-grey gnatcatcher

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american avocet

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snowy egret

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scissor tailed flycatcher

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great white egret

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ring billed gull

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mississippi kite

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red shouldred hawk

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female baltimore oriole

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yellow warbler

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cardinal

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cormorant

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Costa Hummingbird

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carolina wren

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little blue heron

Hooded Oriole-this one was in Arizona

Below are a few variety of hummingbirds in different poses. The costa and broad winged were in Arizona and the rest were in Texas. The female because they lack the color on the throat like the males can be hard to distinguish without closer examination of tail feathers, Again without the photo image we would not be able to see the detail with our eyes as they are tiny and zoom around at a high speed.

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black chinned hummingbird

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Costa hummingbird

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Broad winged hummingbird

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Rufous hummingbird

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ruby throated hummingbird

There are some great books, websites, and apps to help with identification and for descriptions. My book with over 170 bird species which I photographed will be published soon. ebird.com run by cornell labs has an app as well, the audobon society(website), and sibley’s field guide (a book) to name a few good ones. More nature inks are under the resource tab.

I am on instagram as traveltales100, so follow along. I have been posting pictures for the last few years of birds, landscapes, and flowers. There are many people that post just about birds and so is a good source to see what is in different parts of the country and the world.

https://ebird.org

https://www.audubon.org

Happy birding. You get some exercise and you are mentally present when using your attention to find birds. Of course, the fresh air and nature are a great way to spend time that can also be good for your health.

All images are copyright Tanuja Reddy, @Traveltales100. If you would like any prints or as wall art, you can view some of my favorite work on fine art america

Don’t see the one you like, let me know if you have something specific in mind. I have many more and continue to add my new sightings. In addition there are butterflies, flowers, and landscapes. Any of the photos on this website are also available. If you want a digital image for a nature project, company advertising or marketing please message me…

#birds #birding #texas #hummingbirds #photography