Bird of the Day, theme 'Rainy Day Birds'

natureAug 21, 202623410,717

Bird of the Day is the community's daily prompt; today’s theme is #RainyDayBirds, with an alternate theme #SunnyDayBirds. Contributors are posting wet-plumaged and rain-soaked subjects plus sunny contrasts, including shorebirds, raptors, ducks, and colorful parrots. Standout entries include a great blue heron surfacing empty-beaked after a dive in Longmont, Colorado, an Australian King Parrot pictured in the rain at Asilomar State Beach, California, and a male Pine Grosbeak captured in light snow at -25°C in Saskatchewan. Look for drenched nuthatches, a cormorant resurfacing from a dive, and several sunny-day counterentries like crimson rosellas and a glowing red-winged blackbird under the Alt tag #SunnyDayBirds.

Eric Olson Photography

@ericolsonphotography.com

I’ve been so busy that I’ve missed TWO #BirdOfTheDay posts! 😭 But here are some #SunnyDayBirds right after Mama made them #RainyDayBirds with her splashing. #Photography #Birds #EastCoastKin #ECK #EricOlsonPhotography

A mother wood duck and her ducklings in the middle of a duckweed-covered swamp huddle together under a spray of water.

58345d ago

♿️Daniel (Dan) 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🐺1

As you can see here, my ducks are not in a row they are in a circle... thing.

wizard prang1

I love wood ducks. 🩵

LaffingKat1

Such a charming photo, and a twofer!

Kort Duce

@kortduce.bsky.social

A great blue heron comes up empty-beaked after diving for a fish at a nature area in Longmont, Colorado. #FlyDay #BirdOfTheDay #RainyDayBirds #SunnyDayBirds #bird #birdphotography #ECK #birds #photography #birdsofbluesky #BirdsSeenln2026 #nature #wildlife #wildlifephotography

54045d ago

Kris2

Kort, great capture! Love the action of the photo. And very crisp capture with the colors of the heron and the water splashes. Well done!!

Little Melch1

OMG the water drops and their reflection frozen in time like that. Maybe my #1 fav so far!! Well done!!!!

𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗘 📎1

Because all the fish have been rounded up and sent to detention centers.

Farseeing1

Wow! I zoomed in on this and those water droplets are mesmerizing.

flyflicker.bsky.social1

"I meant to miss that one !", heron says defensively. 😆

jobeth.bsky.social1

This guy hanging out at the dog park in Stoughton, Wisconsin.

swandiveswim.bsky.social

@swandiveswim.bsky.social

#Birds #Raptor Alan H says the #BirdOfTheDay theme Alt is #SunnyDayBirds, birds captured on a sunny day. Here is a juvenile American Bald Eagle which left the nest only 3 weeks ago. Perched on a log on a gravel bar in the Nechako River.

A chocolate brown eagle is perched on a white birch log. Green leaves and river water are in the background. The bird faces left with the sun shining on its back.

49045d ago

Alan H

@alan678.bsky.social

Good morning birders. Level is easy today. The #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #RainyDayBirds, any bird captured in the rain or that has wet plumage. Alt is #SunnyDayBirds, birds captured on a sunny day. Female Mallard taken yesterday. #birds #photography #ECK

A close-up portrait of a female Mallard duck resting on the water, showing her intricately patterned brown plumage, orange-brown bill and dark eye. Tiny droplets of water cling to her feathers, highlighting the fine detail and texture of her plumage. The softly blurred water in the background creates a calm, natural setting.

39145d ago

Rob Crank Photography47

Sorry it's a late post @alan678.bsky.social, but here's Kenny Kingfisher, Melvin Mallard, Nelly Nuthatch & Neal Northern Shoveler showing themselves off for the Alt theme of #SunnyDayBirds on today's #BirdOfTheDay. #birds #ECK #Photography #ukbirding #CanonR5mkii @rspb.bsky.social #birdphotography

George Harris4

#BirdOfTheDay Gulls on the weir. Doesn't look wet but the rain had only just stopped and there was a lot of washing by ducking in the river going on.

Den 🇮🇪2

Good morning Alan. Beautiful portrait. The water droplets are 👌

Dave Meredith2

I'm still waiting for Begins with WXYZ

A-Girl-Called-Ronnie 🇳🇱1

Good morning Alan. That is one gorgeous mallard portrait! For me no level is an easy level at the moment because my laptop broke down and I can't access my photo archive 😥. All I have are the pics on my phone. But there are worse things in the world I guess. Have a happy Friday.

alisonwillis1.bsky.social1

Morning Alan, what a beautiful portrait 😍

JDubLow 🚫👑🐸

@jdublow.bsky.social

This eastern bluebird is a #SunnyDayBird #BirdOfTheDay #bird #wildlife #nature #photography #ProtectNature Regimen fascisticum delenda est!

31745d ago

Amy Gann

@amygann.bsky.social

Although it is a sunny day, the sun is behind this egret as it splashes mud and water during a catch. For the #birdoftheday theme of #sunnydaybirds #birds #egret #heron #protectnature #EastCoastKin

A backlit egret makes a mess as it catches its meal. Mud and water are splashing around it

23645d ago

Aj d'Wit (Audrey)3

The Egret is glowing. Great photo, Amy. 😍

Den 🇮🇪2

That looks great Amy. 👌

Esther Yoder Strahan1

Oh, my goodness. What a gorgeous shot 😍

Melinda B Hipple, author&artist1

The lighting is spectacular in this shot.

PacBirds

@pacbirds.bsky.social

Black oystercatcher in a drizzle for the #RainyDayBirds theme of #BirdOfTheDay picked by @alan678.bsky.social 📍Asilomar State Beach, California #birds #nature #photography #rain #ECK

Closeup of head and shoulders of a black oystercatcher with tiny raindrops beading up on it, like diamonds.

22745d ago

Alan H2

Oh these are the shots I just love. Excellent capture Pac. Theme perfect.

Aj d'Wit (Audrey)1

This is a brilliant photo. Great work. 👌

Robyn

@handcranked.bsky.social

Little Miss Sunshine This tiny cutie posed for me in the most beautiful golden hour light in the community garden near my house. #BirdOfTheDay #SunnyDayBirds #Scape #FlyDay #EastCoastKin #ECK #birds #PhotographersUnited #photography #OM-3 #ArtYear

An adorable Anna's hummingbird perched facing right on a thin metal plant cage at golden hour. She's glowing in the sun. She's on the left side, and there's a tall green vertical leaf on the right side. There's a bright reddish-orange band with black above it almost horizontal behind her. Above that, there's a gold color and, below it, there's a muted lavender.

22644d ago

Graham Jones2

Great capture Robyn. What a fabulous little bird. Such a pity we don't have these in Europe.

Marjo Slingerland-Boks2

Ohhh wow Robyn what a beauty and lovely photo 😍❤️

Kevin Wertman

@kevin.wertman.org

Alan has set today's #BirdOfTheDay to #RainyDayBirds and #SunnyDayBirds. Here's a sunny day hummingbird for #FlyDay I saw earlier this month. 😍 #Photography #Birds #Hummingbirds

A small hummingbird, likely a ruby throated, hovers amids a red and yellow plant with long curlying leaves/buds. It is just about to sip from one. It's wings are suspended just above it and it is between two of the long branches. Background is blurry, more of the same yellow and red plant with green and black areas further back.

19645d ago

Leo

@leo-in-merimbula.bsky.social

Australian King Parrot in the rain. #BirdOfTheDay #birds #WildOz

18845d ago

Nigel Bell 🍉1

(🎶) - Tra, la-la, la-la There's a King Parrot in the rain Tra, la, la, la, la, la Great big parrot in the rain Tra, la-la, la-la All those seeds make him look a little plump Plump, plump [Apol.s to Franz Reuther]

Tony Allen-Mills1

Great shot. You’re a braver man than me, out in that weather….

TARA SMITHSON -Wildlife & Nature Photographer 📸1

Holy smoke, that's a good'n, Leo.

SeaLevelOslo

@sealeveloslo.bsky.social

A cormorant either drying off in the sun ...or telling the other birds on the rock how big its last catch was. #BirdOfTheDay Alt #SunnyDayBirds #birds #photography #ColorADay #BWFri #Scape

A cormorant spreading its wings while standing on a rocky skerry in the Oslofjord.

19544d ago

Atlantic Birding

@atlanticbirding.bsky.social

🪶 Alan has chosen #RainyDayBirds as today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme, birds in the rain or with wet plumage Alt. is #SunnyDayBirds, birds in sunshine A Male Blackbird in the rain on the forest edge. #birdphotography #ECK #birds #photography #nature #Flyday #ForestFriday #photographersofbluesky

A male Blackbird perched on a dead Elder tree in the rain. The bird is right of centre of the shot with its back turned to the camera so that its head, wings and tail are visible. Its head is turned to the lett ft so the left side of its head can be seen
The bird has a bright yellow bill and eye ring, the rest of its plumage is jet black, with a slight greying on the flight feathers.
It is sitting on a dead elder tree, the tree has four branches which spread from the centre stem. The two to the right travel along the bottom of the frame, the bird is on the upper one. The two to the right travel diagonally to encompass the left hand side of the shot.
It is teeming rain, the drops can be seen frozen in the air as they fall and droplets can be seen on the birds plumage.
In the background the forest edge is out focus, giving a green background with pale-grey throughout from the falling rain

18745d ago

Alan H1

Beautiful shot and lovely framing AB. I knew you’d have a rainy day capture. 😂😂

Aj d'Wit (Audrey)1

Fabulous photo. I love the way you have composed it. 👍🏼

Doug Engstrom1

You really captured that moment. I feel like I can hear the drops falling.

julielfrost.bsky.social

@julielfrost.bsky.social

Well, it does have wet feathers.... A ring-necked duck just up from a dive for today's #BirdOfTheDay theme, #RainyDayBirds: any bird captured in the rain or that has wet plumage. #Birds #Ducks #Nature #Photography #Wildlife

A close up of a ring-necked duck, just up form a dive, with water droplets on its head and water dripping form its bill.

18445d ago

PaulV 🍉1

Funny thing, some Europeans look at the bird and identity it as a ring billed (bec cerclé here in French, ringsnavel in Dutch, ringschnabel in German).

wizard prang1

Fabulous photo! I love the waterfowl pics that feature such amazing water drop patterns. Thank you.

Chase Taylor Hackett1

Hi, Julie! Great to meet you. Here's a great egret performing a water take-off.

💙Ctnative 🌻🌻 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇸💙1

He’s staring you down Julie!

Doug Engstrom1

Nice shot! I love the close-up and the angle.

Lauren

@tinylongwing.bsky.social

For #BirdOfTheDay, this lovely #SunnyDayBirds illustration is of a singing female American Redstart done for @songbirding.com . Many female birds do sing, and yet we still know very little about it! #BirdArt #SciArt 🪶

Illustration of a singing female American Redstart on a bright sunny spring day. Her head is tipped back, beak open, while she is perched on a mottled brown branch. She is overall grayish on the body but has a patch of bright yellow at the side of the breast, and a black and yellow tail. Behind her are pale pastel well-lit dogwood flowers and soft green leaves.

13945d ago

Dave Meredith

@davemeredith.bsky.social

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #RainyDayBirds. A male Pine Grosbeak in light snow (solid rain) at -25°C. #Saskatchewan #ECK #photography #birds #nature #wildlife #Kodachrome #1990s #ManualFocus

A pink and gray male Pine Grosbeak perched on a thin branch with light snow falling around it.

13845d ago

Melinda B Hipple, author&artist1

Haha. I almost went there (solid rain). This is a lovely shot.

moniquebouchard.bsky.social1

Beautiful photo of the little bird! I know there are birds that can survive the extreme cold in winter. I remember one of my aunts hanging beef bones on her clothesline for the birds to eat in winter.

Holnicote estate rewilding remains green amid droughtnature Bird of the Day, theme 'Rainy Day Birds'nature

Bird of the Day, theme 'Rainy Day Birds'

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