My Mom’s been getting visits from Painted Bunting, a legitimately rare bird in Virginia.
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The migration of Winter waterfowl has landed here! Lots of great birding over the weekend, and I saw my first Snipe. Here are some pics.
American Coot
American Wigeon
Bald Eagle
Gadwall
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Wilson’s Snipe
Wood Duck
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Very nice! I saw a cormorant standing on the pier today at work. I thought it was really odd since I usually only see them in the water or on a small island nearby. I had never seen one on the pier before. I didn’t have time to stop and take a picture though.
The snipe is really cute 
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Interesting. I’ve gone on a few hunts back in my youth, but never seen a snipe before.
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Latest trail cam pics:
Saw this while out getting the SD cards, I’ve been debating setting up a camera to see what lives there.
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Kitty!! 
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Got a pair of Lesser Scaups this year. Sometimes they show up with the similar-looking Ring-necked Ducks, and sometimes they don’t. Got lucky this year.
Also got to watch two male Hooded Mergansers displaying against each other for the attention of the lone female. They held their crests high and flicked them, while clattering their bills and making low groaning sounds.
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These are so gorgeous! Maybe you already answered this but what type of camera did you use for these shots?
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I have a Canon EOS Rebel T6i. Honestly the lens is a big part of it, as the newer telescopic lens I bought has vastly superior optics and produces much better photos than the stock lenses. I didn’t realise how important lens quality was before and always assumed it was all down to the base camera. Now I know better! 
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The marine mammal monitoring dept has a camera with a lense so big we call it the Bazooka Camera.
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True, but it’s dispiriting to spend over $1000 on a camera (I have a Nikon D750) and then realize to maximize its potential you need a $3800 lens 
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I hear ya! It really is a three-tiered field - hobbyist, amateur, and professional - with drastically different costs between them. I put myself firmly in the middle category. I’ve sunk thousands into equipment over the years, and I still don’t have National Geographic level hardware. 
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That’s the biggest reason I never got into photography.
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Yay, the Redhead Ducks have arrived! Like the Lesser Scaups, sometimes they come and sometimes they don’t. This time they did, to my delight.
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Had a Wood Duck come very close this weekend, which is unusual for these shy ducks. Normally they hide as fast as they can.
Also saw what I believe is a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk. It’s been a banner year here for this raptor.
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Amazing photos, and they’ve got me thinking: do any mammals perceive infrared light? I’m wondering if the mountain lion/opossum walk past the camera at night and notice bright light shining from it.
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I can’t think of any mammal off the top of my head that detects infrared, but they may exist. A few do see further into the violet than us (i.e., ultraviolet). A good number of reptiles detect infrared, most famously the pit vipers. It’s possible some mammals do, and if so my first guess would be those dwelling in low-light conditions, like moles or mole rats.
Got a pair of Ruddy Ducks in the lake in front of my house. This is unusual, as they are quite shy and prefer the larger, less peopled lakes in the park. This is the male with his bill in its famous blue phase.
And here’s a male Gadwall who is showing his dominant coat patterns and red crest. Usually they aren’t here long enough for me to see them in full glory.
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