Bird of the Day, theme 'Bestfootforward'

natureAug 9, 202623711,687

Bird of the Day is a daily community prompt with the theme BestFootForward, asking for images of any bird taking a step forward or standing on one leg, with an alternate theme ASplashOfColour for vibrant plumage or colorful backgrounds. Today's gallery features shorebirds and waders striking dynamic poses, raptors and owls caught mid-stride, and brightly colored species shown against bold backdrops. Standout entries include a little blue heron wading, a burrowing owl giving a one-leg glare, and a snowy egret reflected in sunrise light, plus a great blue heron striding with a large goldfish. Look for images emphasizing movement, single-leg balance, reflections on wet sand, and vivid background hues under the hashtag #BestFootForward.

Alan H

@alan678.bsky.social

Good morning birders. Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #BestFootForward- any bird taking a step forward or standing on one leg. #ASplashOfColour- Celebrate vibrant plumage or colourful backgrounds that complement the bird. #birds #photography #ECK

A Little Egret coming in to land on a lush green field, its brilliant white wings fully spread and its long black leg extended forward, with yellow-green feet reaching towards the ground. Its slender black bill points ahead and its alert eye is clearly visible. Sunlight illuminates the delicate wing feathers, while the softly blurred green grass and sparkling highlights in the background add a fresh, vibrant feel to the scene.

56945d ago

Rob Crank Photography64

Good morning folks. @alan678.bsky.social has chosen the theme of #BestFootForward, any bird taking a step or on 1 leg. The Alt theme is #ASplashOfColour, vibrant plumage or colourful backgrounds that compliment the bird. #birds #photography #ECK #CanonR5mkii #birdphotography #ukbirding #BirdLife

Neil Cameron3

'You put your left leg in. You put your left leg out. In out In out in out and you shake it all about...' Lovely shot, Alan. youtube.com/shorts/wAMJy...

Helen Bennett 🌿2

Super capture, Alan! 👏👏 That is a lovely movement captured. The way light is illuminating the feathers is beautiful 🤍 Happy Sunday, my friend 🤗

Breezie2

If only i could be so beautiful 🩵

SaraG2

Lovely as always, Alan -- it looks like it's dancing 💃🕺

Peter Barnes2

Beautiful shot, Alan 😍 Pure white is always a challenge and this one is gorgeous, they're always stunning against wetland grass 🙏

Gray

@grays.art

Little blue heron (Egretta caerulea) Crew flint one strand lakes Bonita Springs, Florida 7-7-26 Alan’s #BirdOfTheDay is #BestFootForward: birds stepping, or on one leg. Alt #ASplashOfColour: vibrant plumage, or colourful backgrounds that complement birds. #birds #photography #ECK #threewordgenre

26645d ago

Alan H3

Fabulous shot Gray. Theme perfect.

Neil Cameron1

Haven't seen one of those before. A beautiful bird, and a beautiful shot, Gray!

Three Word Genre1

Wonderful feathered portrait. Your three words have found their footing. Little blue heron. #ThreeWordGenre

Amy Gann

@amygann.bsky.social

Burrowing owl is done with your shenanigans. For the #birdoftheday theme of #bestfootforward #birds #owl #burrowingowl #protectnature #EastCoastKin

A burrowing owl takes a step forward. One foot is outstretched as it takes a step. Its features give it the impression of being angry and stomping forward

22245d ago

Lunar Bandanas1

Someone give that guy a lollipop! 😄 🍭

alisonwillis1.bsky.social1

OMG I adore them. Unfortunately we don't have them in the UK. Super shot 😍

Dawn Photography1

Beautiful capture Amy, I love owls 🦉 🤗💜

Aj d'Wit (Audrey)1

Outstanding photo, Amy. Love it. 😍

Rina

@rina2012.bsky.social

"Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #BestFootForward and #ASplashOfColour" A little Egret fishing 🪶 #birds #birding #Stunday #wildlife #photography #naturephotography #thelittlethings #ECK #Scape #TidesoutTuesday #RockinTuesday

The photograph shows a little egret standing with its wings outstretched on the shallow bank of a body of water. The white bird is tilting its head down towards the water as it takes a step forwards. In the background, a sandy stretch of beach covered with lots of small shells can be seen. It is holding in its beak the food it has found in the water.

20745d ago

bobpop13.bsky.social2

Obviously practices Yoga, great shot.

Marjo Slingerland-Boks1

WOW!!! What a incredible beautiful photo dear Rina 👌🤍😘

julielfrost.bsky.social

@julielfrost.bsky.social

A common grackle puts its #BestFootForward. #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #Photography #Wildlife

A common grackle on a stroll on a wooden railing.

22045d ago

Alan H2

What a great shot Julie.

Lecia Michelle

@leciamichelle.bsky.social

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BestFootForward. This great blue heron was striding around with the largest goldfish! #birds #photography #birdsofbluesky

Great blue heron striding on a rocky lake shore with a bright orange goldfish in its beak.

19344d ago

Doug Engstrom2

Oh my! It looks like somebody's koi pond is one down...

danistone83.bsky.social1

Whoa that’s a 😎 pic!

Zorn B Taylor1

Great capture. Your use of symmetry in the shape of the fish and the body of the heron, using diagonals beak/foreleg, fish/rear leg, and the vivid color of the fish and the less vivid (though still popping) blue of the bird and great focus keeping me in the frame. Thanks for sharing

The Inglorious O-h-Gee1

Awesome, goldfish are invasive. Great pic 👍

Andy Lowe

@lowekeyone.bsky.social

Snowy egret walking through the reflection of a sunrise. #BirdOfTheDay #BestFootForward #ASplashOfColour #birds #photography

17844d ago

Luther Rotto1

Jeeze that’s a nice shot, man. I can only dream…

Cri 🕊🐝🐜📝🎭⚽😷

@crawlieswithcri.bsky.social

#BirdOfTheDay is #BestFootForward So, anyway...Turkey Vultures to occasionally walk. Clearly this one has some very important Turkey Vulture business to attend to. #birds #becurious 🪶

15844d ago

PictureTheSouth3

Always reminds me of this ......

Marina Mueller 🇨🇦2

I like the confident strut! Great shot 👏🏻

Тэ дрэвэт утвикλэрэн2

I was on vacation in the Dominican Republic years ago and walked to a spot on the beach three miles from the hotel every day where they'd always soar above the dunes. On the windiest day I counted about a hundred of them. At least once I saw them on the ground, but they took off before I got there.

maggie schreiter1

the resident turkey vulture at the wildlife center where i volunteer LOVES to get down and walk along her enclosure to examine visitors more closely. she is the sweetest

SammyTheCat1

Gotta clean up the carrion. Thank you, amazing Turkey Vultures, our important avian scavengers!

gridflay1

Yes! Love these birds. BSky always needs more vulture pics 😃

Martin Sepion

@martinsepion.bsky.social

Thanks to Alan for today’s #BirdOfTheDay which is #BestFootForward- any bird taking a step forward or standing on one leg. #birds #photography #ECK #Nature #Wildlife I often see these birds along the edge of ponds and lakes.

19545d ago

Aj d'Wit (Audrey)1

Oh this is so good. Great photography.

LindaMc1

Looks like a king bird. They’re so beautiful!

Kort Duce

@kortduce.bsky.social

A turkey vulture perches high in a dead snag along St. Vrain Creek as the moon sets in Longmont, Colorado. •Focus stack of two images. #StunDay #BirdOfTheDay #bird #birdphotography #ECK #birds #photography #birdsofbluesky #BirdsSeenln2026 #nature #wildlife #wildlifephotography

Photo by Kort Duce

A turkey vulture perches high in a dead snag along St. Vrain Creek as the moon sets in Longmont, Colorado.

In this horizontal color photograph, a turkey vulture perches atop the forked branches of a dead snag, its head turned to the right as it surveys the landscape below. Positioned in the left side of the frame, the bird stands against a brilliant blue sky; a signature of Colorado's more than 300 days of sunshine each year. In the upper right corner, a Waning Gibbous Moon hangs above the horizon. This lunar phase follows the Full Moon, with the illuminated portion gradually decreasing each night.

This photograph is a focus stack created from two separate images. The first photograph was focused on the turkey vulture, while the second was focused on the moon. When using a super-telephoto lens, it is not physically possible to render both the nearby bird and the distant moon perfectly sharp in a single exposure because of the extremely shallow depth of field. By carefully combining the two images during post-processing, both subjects appear in sharp focus.

An incredible portrait of a turkey vulture perched along the riparian corridor of St. Vrain Creek with a setting Waning Gibbous Moon; a scene that highlights both the beauty of Colorado's natural landscapes and the habitat so vital to this remarkable scavenger.

16645d ago

MisanthropeLovesBirds𓄿𓄿2

Remarkable capture of a remarkable bird!

robertjeff57-58.bsky.social1

Brilliant shot The snag holding the bed and moon at the same time And the bird looking at it Wow

Anne1

Woohooo!!! What a composition! Now let's hope the moon balloon didn't pop. 😉

Mike Shupe1

Cool, I grew up in Longmont

HLK

@hlkfotos.com

I love oystercatchers. #BirdOfTheDay #BestFootForward #ASplashOfColour 📷🌿🪶

A photo of a black oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) moving across a rocky shoreline. It's a wading bird with brownish-black plumage on most of its body darkening to a deeper black on its head, a long straight reddish-orange bill, a bright yellow eye ringed in orange, and thick pink legs. It walks toward the right of frame on wet, rounded rocks with a hazy blue-gray body of water in the background.

17145d ago

Neil Cameron2

Nice shot. Surprisingly different from the Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris) we get here. Especially in eye colour.

Alan H1

Fantastic shot Heather. Love these birds. 😍

Thea (Learn Birds)1

That bill and eye combo never stops looking slightly startled 😄

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦1

Wonderful! I'd love to see oystercatchers some day.

Tom

@birdfan.bsky.social

Today’s #BirdoftheDay theme is #BestFootForward. This is a juvenile Cooper’s hawk running around a bush full of sparrows. S/he was reminding me of a roadrunner. 😄. Happy #StunDay as well! 8.08.26, West San Gabriel River Parkway #Birds #Photography #Canon #Nature

15444d ago

Kris Gates2

I love this shot! You must have been thrilled you captured it.

Eric Olson Photography

@ericolsonphotography.com

It’s wonderful when you find that perfect spot to scratch. #BirdOfTheDay #BestFootForward #Birds #Photography #EastCoastKin #ECK #EricOlsonPhotography

A yellow-crowned night heron stands and scratches in shallow water with a rippled reflection.

16944d ago

Robyn

@handcranked.bsky.social

The one-leg staredown This common myna was standing on one leg so long that I thought he actually only had one leg. I signed up for balance lessons with him. #BirdOfTheDay #BestFootForward #birds #ECK #EastCoastKin #PhotographersUnited #photography #OM-3

A common myna staring directly at the camera while standing on one leg in white sand. It looks like he will cut you. It's centered in the frame. The bird has a black head transitioning to a dark, warm brown on the sides and a white belly. It has a yellow beak and legs and bare yellow skin around black eyes with Tammy Faye Baker lashes.

16344d ago

Neil Cameron

@neilcam57.bsky.social

Alan H's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BestFootForward and like all the finest gourmands, the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo believes that foot is the one holding the deliciousness! #ECK #birds #birdphotography #birdsofbluesky #wildlife #nature #Photography #Nikon #PhotographersUnited #PhotographersOfBlueSky