I think it's pretty big, but others don't. Can I get your opinion?

Landed on top of my total station in the middle of the site without a care in the world - we’ve seen him with two others in the trees during our time here, but must’ve come past to say hi.

We are also protecting their trees under professional supervision and advice also - would never want to impact the habitat of this beautiful bird.

Canon R5 at 1/3200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2500. Taken in Quebec Canada.

These guys were a fun find on my trip last month.

Saw a total of 18 new birds!

Note: not all 18 are included in the photos, because some of them I didn't get good pictures of.

It’s my first time seeing a crow (or at least I think that’s a crow?) that just kept squawking like that. Were they trying to tell me something?

Such an interesting looking bird

Birdwatching can help slow brain ageing and is increasingly being used as therapy for dementia patients.

Every week, a group of elderly birders spend hours hunkering down inside a wooden hide in the English countryside, peering through binoculars as they excitedly share what they spot. An oystercatcher's long, bright beak probing the pebbled ground; two great crested grebes bobbing in the water, their plumed heads poised. 

Most of these birdwatchers have difficulty recalling what happened earlier that day, and might struggle to follow a conversation. But they become animated when swapping notes on the birds that fill the sky around Forge Mill Lake in the UK's West Midlands.

Among them is 78-year-old Harold*. He loved the outdoors when he was younger, but more recently dementia has made him withdrawn and anxious. His daughter Lucy* brought him here, hoping that the change of scenery and peaceful lake might be good for him. After an apprehensive start, Harold began smiling when someone pointed out a robin and enjoyed watching the ducks splashing in the water. Blue tits darted between the nearby trees, and Lucy saw Harold laugh for the first time in a long time.

"For that moment in time he was present in the moment, he wasn't worried about his memory or his confidence. That is very powerful, in a gentle way," says Jenny Budinger, a community dementia advisor at Age UK, the non-profit that runs the birdwatching group.

Birdwatching is increasingly recognised as a valuable way for elderly people and dementia patients to spend their time, with groups set up in nursing homes in the UK, Germany and the US. Paying attention to birds, even through the window, can help older people feel more connected to others, experience more positive emotions and boost memory skills. Now new research shows that birdwatching can reshape the brain, much like learning an athletic sport or a musical instrument – and may even help slow the brain's ageing.

(My original photo)

Here's a Northern flicker, the most eccentrically colorful woodpecker in the US. In a family of birds that is mostly black and white with maybe a splash of red, the flicker has a pink, gray, and red head, black throat, black-spotted white breast, and yellow undertail (and there's a whole bunch of different colors on its back that you can't even see in this photo). Also, it doesn't peck wood, preferring to peck the ground instead. Seen at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, NY, USA.

I mean, enough said. Pulled into my driveway in NJ and was extremely puzzled by this little guy just sitting. I don’t have a pond or stream in the back but he hasn’t gone anywhere yet

Bonus funny photo at the end. I spotted a large group of bluebirds looking inside holes in a tree and other larger boxes. There were tons of both male and female bluebirds. Curious what this was? I'd never seen it before.

(be sure to wait for him to turn around and show off his tiny fuzzy buns)

Canon R5 at 1/3200 sec, f/6.3, ISO 500

Always fun when a "common" bird is a lifer. Who knows how many times I've run across one and not noticed, but it is a pretty bird! Love those yellow spots.