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You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road / Albatrossity / On The Road – Albatrossity – Spring plumage portraits – 1

On The Road – Albatrossity – Spring plumage portraits – 1

by WaterGirl|  July 12, 20229:00 am| 24 Comments

This post is in: Albatrossity, On The Road, Open Threads, Photo Blogging

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On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.

From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.

Submit Your Photos

Sorry about the hiccup yesterday.

It’s Albatrossity Monday on Tuesday this week!  Then we see some gorgeous flowers from Nancy on Wednesday, and PAM Dirac brings us home with a 2-day European tour!

Albatrossity

The next 2 weeks for this series will feature close-up portraits of many birds you have seen here in the Spring 2022 Flyover Country posts. The idea is just to showcase the subtlety and complexity of spring plumage in a variety of birds. Minimal commentary and pretty pictures. I hope you enjoy these!

On The Road - Albatrossity - Spring plumage portraits - 1 8
Near Manhattan KSMay 12, 2022

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

On The Road - Albatrossity - Spring plumage portraits - 1 6
Near Manhattan KSMay 3, 2022

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis), male in alternate (breeding) plumage

On The Road - Albatrossity - Spring plumage portraits - 1 7
Cheyenne BottomsApril 25, 2022

Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca), male in alternate (breeding) plumage

On The Road - Albatrossity - Spring plumage portraits - 1 3
Near Manhattan KSMay 16, 2022

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), male

On The Road - Albatrossity - Spring plumage portraits - 1 4
Elk City KSMay 7, 2022

Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)

On The Road - Albatrossity - Spring plumage portraits - 1 5
Cheyenne BottomsApril 25, 2022

Willet (Tringa semipalmata)

On The Road - Albatrossity - Spring plumage portraits - 1 2
Quivira National Wildlife RefugeApril 25, 2022

Wilson’s Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor), female in alternate (breeding) plumage

On The Road - Albatrossity - Spring plumage portraits - 1 1
Quivira NWRApril 25, 2022

Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)

On The Road - Albatrossity - Spring plumage portraits - 1
Near Manhattan KansasMay 9, 2022

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas), male in alternate (breeding) plumage

On The Road - Albatrossity - Spring plumage portraits - 1 9
Cheyenne BottomsApril 25, 2022

Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus), male in alternate (breeding) plumage

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Reader Interactions

24Comments

  1. 1.

    eclare

    July 12, 2022 at 5:14 am

    The plumage is impressive, but I am always amazed to see the birds’ expressions up close.  I have definitely had days where I felt like that Chipping Sparrow!

  2. 2.

    raven

    July 12, 2022 at 6:40 am

    Great stuff. My bride has been battling squirrels in her bird feeder but nothing seems to work!

  3. 3.

    Laura Too

    July 12, 2022 at 7:11 am

    Lovely photos as usual! Thanks for sharing your amazing talent,

  4. 4.

    KSinMA

    July 12, 2022 at 7:17 am

    Very cool photos. Thanks!

  5. 5.

    Rob

    July 12, 2022 at 7:21 am

    I feel like that Yellow-headed Blackbird right now.

  6. 6.

    zhena gogolia

    July 12, 2022 at 7:53 am

    Love these. Sparrows are really pretty, aren’t they? I look at our local sparrows differently thanks to you.

  7. 7.

    SteveinPHX

    July 12, 2022 at 8:00 am

    Thank you again. Wonderful photographs!

  8. 8.

    OzarkHillbilly

    July 12, 2022 at 8:02 am

    Beautiful pics, as always.

  9. 9.

    JeanneT

    July 12, 2022 at 8:26 am

    So lovely! Fun to think that the dinosaur ancestors might have sported such colors in their mating seasons.

  10. 10.

    Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    July 12, 2022 at 9:11 am

    These closeups are great as usual! I love looking at details of “common”* birds.

    *I wish Phalaropes migrated past my house :-(

  11. 11.

    Chat Noir

    July 12, 2022 at 9:18 am

    Love these pictures! We have many of the same birbs here so it’s nice to see them identified by name.

  12. 12.

    mvr

    July 12, 2022 at 9:24 am

    Great photos as usual.  I did in fact miss them yesterday, but Tuesday is just as good!

    Also, Thanks WaterGirl for the continual labor of putting these together and getting them posted.

  13. 13.

    Madeleine

    July 12, 2022 at 9:37 am

    Morning birdies!! Thank you,Albatrossity! Such remarkable close ups!

  14. 14.

    Yutsano

    July 12, 2022 at 9:57 am

    BIRBS!!!

    I find myself attracted to the willet out of all of them. There’s some stated grace there.

  15. 15.

    Marcus from Minnesota

    July 12, 2022 at 10:18 am

    Thanks for these great pictures of some real beauties.  Here’s a project for another “Albatrossity”:  Post photos of the basic (or is it prebasic?) — anyway winter/boring plumaged birds right next to their alternate (breeding) plumages.  I find it amazing that feather wear, not a molt, reveals the gold of a goldfinch and the bright contrast in the plumage of breeding males in many species.

  16. 16.

    No One You Know

    July 12, 2022 at 10:25 am

    Just gorgeous. Hope is indeed the thing with feathers!

  17. 17.

    stinger

    July 12, 2022 at 10:34 am

    I look at that Chipping Sparrow and I don’t see feathers, I see precise brush strokes in oils.

    And the Savannah Sparrow — I just want to reach out a finger and gently pet it! Also the Black-Capped Chickadee!

    David, your photos are magic.

  18. 18.

    pat

    July 12, 2022 at 10:38 am

    @raven:

    There are squirrel-proof feeders.  There are metal posts that you can apply a squirrel baffle to.  It’s not that difficult.  Find a good store selling feeders and bird feed.

  19. 19.

    C Stars

    July 12, 2022 at 11:13 am

    These are wonderful, thank you for sharing.

    @eclare: I agree that up close they all look like they’re tough cookies and concentrating fiercely on survival.

    Funny that the Woodpecker is called “red-bellied,” innit?

  20. 20.

    J R in WV

    July 12, 2022 at 11:32 am

    Thanks, David! great stuff! Close up portraits are GREAT!

  21. 21.

    cbear

    July 12, 2022 at 12:16 pm

    Raven, if her feeder is hanging from a pole in the ground, or something similar, try using a Slinky (remember those?). They’re available for $3.50 at Walmart/Amazon etc.

    Just clip it or wire it to the top of the pole. The little bastards hate it!

  22. 22.

    Munira

    July 12, 2022 at 3:26 pm

    Great as always. That goldfinch has something important to say.

  23. 23.

    KrackenJack

    July 12, 2022 at 4:02 pm

    @Marcus from Minnesota: I’m almost completely ignorant on birds, so the OP informed me that plumage is season. That made me wonder how I could have missed molting? Then I read your post.

    I have thus learned two new things today and gotten a little respite. Thank you both.

  24. 24.

    Albatrossity

    July 12, 2022 at 5:51 pm

    @Munira: Probably complaining about his unibrow…

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