Birds - At Home and at the Minnesota Zoo

For this swap on Swap-Bot, the focus is on birds and photographing three images of birds in the wild or in captivity. 

The first image is of a red-winged blackbird at one of our suet feeders. The red-winged blackbirds came back in mid-April this year and there was not a lot of food available for them. They flew from our pond to the backyard to eat seeds and suet. I always like seeing and hearing these birds because they are often the first signs of spring.

This is a Common Shelduck that is at the Minnesota Zoo. They are commonly seen in Europe, Asia, and the northern parts of Africa. Young shelducks are able to fly at only seven weeks old. 

These are Lesser Flamingos that commonly live in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. Although they are the tallest birds at the Minnesota Zoo, they are the smallest ones among flamingos. In the wild, Lesser Flamingos travel at night in a V-formation - just like Canada Geese.

Back to yard photos. These aren't great photos, since they are taken from a distance on my phone. That being said, this one is of two orioles - a male (by the orange on the feeder) and a female (waiting on the top of the metal pole). I am so happy to have the Orioles back again this year. They have beautiful songs and are such colorful birds.

This is the Pileated Woodpecker. It is the largest woodpecker in Minnesota. Comparing this bird to the Red-Winged Blackbird in the first photo is a good way to see the size of these birds. 

These photos are not my best work in terms of photography. With working multiple jobs, I have not had the time to take my camera and spend time photographing the birds around our yard. Hopefully, with the school year ending, I'll have more time to take better photos.