Winged Wednesday 1/28/2026: Open Theme

[Eric Gofreed]

It’s Winged Wednesday—where feathers, flutters, and flight steal the show! Whether they’re soaring, skimming, stalking, or just striking a pose… birds, bugs, bats, insects, or even airplanes—if it has wings, we want to see it. If it’s got wings, it belongs here.

Because I live in the desert, I’m continuing with Desert Birds, Part 2.
Last week I shared a Costa’s Hummingbird, Crissal Thrasher, Gilded Flicker, Cactus Wren, and a Great Horned Owl—proof that the desert is anything but empty. This week, I’m adding five more birds that call this sun-baked, thorn-studded landscape home. No lush rainforest colors. No dripping moss. Just grit, heat, attitude, and birds that treat cactus like luxury real estate.

I can do Desert Birds, Part 3 or Doves next week. Let me know.

Western Screech Owl – Saguaro Suite
When your house is a cactus, ‘cozy’ becomes a relative term.

Pyrrhuloxia—female
The desert cardinal, proving you can be stylish without being loud about it.

Black-throated Sparrow
Tiny body, bold markings, and the confidence of a much larger bird.

Harris’s Hawk
The desert’s ultimate team player—the only raptor to hunt is groups.

Bridled Titmouse
Small bird, big attitude, and dressed like it just left a masquerade ball.

 

[DES]

Eagle...striking a regal pose.

 

[BlackRockArt]

It’s Winged Wednesday—where feathers, flutters, and flight steal the show! Whether they’re soaring, skimming, stalking, or just striking a pose… birds, bugs, bats, insects, or even airplanes—if it has wings, we want to see it. If it’s got wings, it belongs here.

Because I live in the desert, I’m continuing with Desert Birds, Part 2.
Last week I shared a Costa’s Hummingbird, Crissal Thrasher, Gilded Flicker, Cactus Wren, and a Great Horned Owl—proof that the desert is anything but empty. This week, I’m adding five more birds that call this sun-baked, thorn-studded landscape home. No lush rainforest colors. No dripping moss. Just grit, heat, attitude, and birds that treat cactus like luxury real estate.

I can do Desert Birds, Part 3 or Doves next week. Let me know.

View attachment 87145
Western Screech Owl – Saguaro Suite
When your house is a cactus, ‘cozy’ becomes a relative term.

View attachment 87142
Pyrrhuloxia—female
The desert cardinal, proving you can be stylish without being loud about it.

View attachment 87138
Black-throated Sparrow
Tiny body, bold markings, and the confidence of a much larger bird.

View attachment 87139
Harris’s Hawk
The desert’s ultimate team player—the only raptor to hunt is groups.

View attachment 87143
Bridled Titmouse
Small bird, big attitude, and dressed like it just left a masquerade ball.

Eric, the titmouse is so cute !

Oliver

 

[Eric Gofreed]

Eagle...striking a regal pose.

View attachment 87149

DES, That headshot captures the bald eagle’s power and elegance perfectly—absolutely majestic.

 

[AlanLichty]

I dug around a bit and managed to find some wings in desert settings to fit Eric's theme. While I am well aware there are lots of birds in the deserts I haven't usually been looking for them with my camera in hand so my offerings are bit on the sparse side.

A crow supervising my visit to the ruins at Hovenweap:

A tiny songbird in the Bisti Wilderness area. The bird was a considerable distance from me but its song was the only noise amongst the hoodoo formations that afternoon. Kind of a twofer since it's perched on the wing like cap of the hoodoo. I think its some flavor of either finch or sparrow.

Finally a crow Raven at Bryce Canyon trying to see if I had any food I was willing to share:

 

[Trent Watts]

It’s Winged Wednesday—where feathers, flutters, and flight steal the show! Whether they’re soaring, skimming, stalking, or just striking a pose… birds, bugs, bats, insects, or even airplanes—if it has wings, we want to see it. If it’s got wings, it belongs here.

Because I live in the desert, I’m continuing with Desert Birds, Part 2.
Last week I shared a Costa’s Hummingbird, Crissal Thrasher, Gilded Flicker, Cactus Wren, and a Great Horned Owl—proof that the desert is anything but empty. This week, I’m adding five more birds that call this sun-baked, thorn-studded landscape home. No lush rainforest colors. No dripping moss. Just grit, heat, attitude, and birds that treat cactus like luxury real estate.

I can do Desert Birds, Part 3 or Doves next week. Let me know.

View attachment 87145
Western Screech Owl – Saguaro Suite
When your house is a cactus, ‘cozy’ becomes a relative term.

View attachment 87142
Pyrrhuloxia—female
The desert cardinal, proving you can be stylish without being loud about it.

View attachment 87138
Black-throated Sparrow
Tiny body, bold markings, and the confidence of a much larger bird.

View attachment 87139
Harris’s Hawk
The desert’s ultimate team player—the only raptor to hunt is groups.

View attachment 87143
Bridled Titmouse
Small bird, big attitude, and dressed like it just left a masquerade ball.

Nice shots Eric. That Titmouse is seriously cute for sure.

 

[Trent Watts]

These are shots from a drive I took last week when it was really cold. I saw a flock of Redpolls in a bush so slowly drove by with my car window open and managed to get some shots from inside the car. If I had opened a door I'm sure the whole flock would have taken off. The images have an overall soft look that I could not remove. I think it comes from some effect of having the camera in a warm environment and it is so cold outside and there is a thermal turbulence that distorts. Anyway my excuse for not great images!
I had seen way more than normal Common Ravens as well and as I drove further I saw many ravens and magpies hanging around a farmyard, so presumably there was a food source of some kind.

 

[Comet Hunter]

Eagle...striking a regal pose.

View attachment 87149

WOW, what a pose/capture

 

[Comet Hunter]

It’s Winged Wednesday—where feathers, flutters, and flight steal the show! Whether they’re soaring, skimming, stalking, or just striking a pose… birds, bugs, bats, insects, or even airplanes—if it has wings, we want to see it. If it’s got wings, it belongs here.

Because I live in the desert, I’m continuing with Desert Birds, Part 2.
Last week I shared a Costa’s Hummingbird, Crissal Thrasher, Gilded Flicker, Cactus Wren, and a Great Horned Owl—proof that the desert is anything but empty. This week, I’m adding five more birds that call this sun-baked, thorn-studded landscape home. No lush rainforest colors. No dripping moss. Just grit, heat, attitude, and birds that treat cactus like luxury real estate.

I can do Desert Birds, Part 3 or Doves next week. Let me know.

View attachment 87145
Western Screech Owl – Saguaro Suite
When your house is a cactus, ‘cozy’ becomes a relative term.

View attachment 87142
Pyrrhuloxia—female
The desert cardinal, proving you can be stylish without being loud about it.

View attachment 87138
Black-throated Sparrow
Tiny body, bold markings, and the confidence of a much larger bird.

View attachment 87139
Harris’s Hawk
The desert’s ultimate team player—the only raptor to hunt is groups.

View attachment 87143
Bridled Titmouse
Small bird, big attitude, and dressed like it just left a masquerade ball.

All are great, but I love the owl. Blends right in

 

[Trent Watts]

I dug around a bit and managed to find some wings in desert settings to fit Eric's theme. While I am well aware there are lots of birds in the deserts I haven't usually been looking for them with my camera in hand so my offerings are bit on the sparse side.

A crow supervising my visit to the ruins at Hovenweap:

View attachment 87153

A tiny songbird in the Bisti Wilderness area. The bird was a considerable distance from me but its song was the only noise amongst the hoodoo formations that afternoon. Kind of a twofer since it's perched on the wing like cap of the hoodoo. I think its some flavor of either finch or sparrow.

View attachment 87154

Finally a crow at Bryce Canyon trying to see if I had any food I was willing to share:

View attachment 87155

I love these Alan. Any chance the last one could be a Common Raven.. It has such a large bill.

 

[AlanLichty]

I love these Alan. Any chance the last one could be a Common Raven.. It has such a large bill.

Thanks Trent - you might be correct about this being a Raven instead of a Crow. The one at Bryce doesn't quite look like the endless crows we have around my area in the Pacific NW.

 

[Eric Gofreed]

I dug around a bit and managed to find some wings in desert settings to fit Eric's theme. While I am well aware there are lots of birds in the deserts I haven't usually been looking for them with my camera in hand so my offerings are bit on the sparse side.

A crow supervising my visit to the ruins at Hovenweap:

View attachment 87153

A tiny songbird in the Bisti Wilderness area. The bird was a considerable distance from me but its song was the only noise amongst the hoodoo formations that afternoon. Kind of a twofer since it's perched on the wing like cap of the hoodoo. I think its some flavor of either finch or sparrow.

View attachment 87154

Finally a crow at Bryce Canyon trying to see if I had any food I was willing to share:

View attachment 87155

Hugh marks, Alan. Your crow at Bryce is a Common Raven. I have wanted to do the Bisti Badlands, but my legs forbid it. I am standing and giving you an ovation!!!

 

[Eric Gofreed]

These are shots from a drive I took last week when it was really cold. I saw a flock of Redpolls in a bush so slowly drove by with my car window open and managed to get some shots from inside the car. If I had opened a door I'm sure the whole flock would have taken off. The images have an overall soft look that I could not remove. I think it comes from some effect of having the camera in a warm environment and it is so cold outside and there is a thermal turbulence that distorts. Anyway my excuse for not great images!
I had seen way more than normal Common Ravens as well and as I drove further I saw many ravens and magpies hanging around a farmyard, so presumably there was a food source of some kind.

View attachment 87159View attachment 87160View attachment 87161View attachment 87162

That soft look actually works for me. It feels like cold air, like winter breathing between you and the birds. If photography is about atmosphere as much as anatomy, you nailed the atmosphere. I’d much rather see this than a technically perfect photo of a bird doing absolutely nothing. And your explanation is dead-on. Warm camera, cold air, turbulence, condensation—nature adding her own diffusion filter. That’s not an excuse, that’s physics collaborating with art.

Also, the raven and magpie gathering is classic winter intelligence gathering. If corvids are clustering, something edible is happening.

 

[ProCaliberTraveler]

I have a black swan from New Zealand.

 

[Eric Gofreed]

I have a black swan from New Zealand.
View attachment 87167

That’s a stunning headshot. I love how the water droplets add a touch of sparkle and bling to this already elegant bird!

 

[Roger Bailey]

Black oystercatcher Hunting for food

So Two days ago I witnessed something that made me rethink what I thought I knew about birds. This Oystercatcher was digging in the sand, seagulls nearby, house finch in the bushes, blue heron near a building, pigeons on the pier and ducks on the bay. A lone Western gull on a rooftop called out in a way that even I took note of. All of the birds, every species, in the area took cover. The reason, a Bald eagle soon appeared over the top of the building. We have many Bald Eagles here, but I had never witnessed a lookout making a call that every bird recognized and acted upon. Awesome moment to witness.

 

[Trent Watts]

Black oystercatcher Hunting for foodView attachment 87189
So Two days ago I witnessed something that made me rethink what I thought I knew about birds. This Oystercatcher was digging in the sand, seagulls nearby, house finch in the bushes, blue heron near a building, pigeons on the pier and ducks on the bay. A lone Western gull on a rooftop called out in a way that even I took note of. All of the birds, every species, in the area took cover. The reason, a Bald eagle soon appeared over the top of the building. We have many Bald Eagles here, but I had never witnessed a lookout making a call that every bird recognized and acted upon. Awesome moment to witness.

I love that story Roger. I'd pay for that one!! Great image too.