Bird of the Day, theme 'Parenting'

natureAug 30, 20261123,622

Bird of the Day is a daily community event; today's theme is Parenting, with an alternate theme of Blue. Contributors are sharing intimate parenting scenes such as nest attendance, feeding flights, piggyback carrying, and brooding behavior across species and locations. Standout entries include a Great Crested Grebe carrying two grebettes in piggyback style, Daphne the Dipper feeding one of her brood, and a male Mountain Bluebird delivering a grasshopper to its young. Look for other moments of attentive care like swans on nests, greylag geese with goslings, and fledglings being fed in gardens and wetlands.

Alan H

@alan678.bsky.social

I’m going with AB’s @atlanticbirding.bsky.social #BirdOfTheDay theme of #Parenting “When your teenager finally turns 18 and you’re trying to look sad about them leaving… but secretly you’ve already changed the Wi-Fi password.” 😂 #birds #Stunday #ForJanet #photography #ECK

A brightly coloured adult Robin stands behind a juvenile Robin, both perched on the ground. The adult has a vivid orange-red breast and a watchful expression, while the young bird has mottled golden-brown plumage and looks up towards the adult. Scattered seeds lie around their feet, creating a charming scene that looks rather like a parent keeping a close eye on a teenager.

4006h ago

Colm B2

Excellent shot and comment spot on 🤣

Graham Jones1

Brilliant Alan. Janet would have loved that, although our boys sometimes dubbed her, along with her friend Barbara, The Mothers from Hell. They took no prisoners. Both ours left home before 18 … Janet never knew the Passwords, anyway. 😂

alisonwillis1.bsky.social1

😂 The teenage years are designed to make it easier to let them go! Beautiful capture Brian. 😍

Marjo Slingerland-Boks1

Hahaha that sounds similar here, and than you realise they have changed it also😂😅 Morning Alan, what a lovely photo ✨️💛

Sue Ibrahim1

The young one's looking in better nick than the parent!😂 Wonderful pic, Alan. ☺️

AnnaLois1

Such a sweet photograph! Tight get 😂

Rina

@rina2012.bsky.social

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #Parenting Alternative theme is #Blue Taxi Mum: The Great Crested Grebe’s ‘Piggyback Style’ 🪶 #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Germany #wildlife #photography #nature #thelittlethings #ECK #Stunday

A close-up of a great crested grebe in breeding plumage. It is swimming on blue water, carrying its black-and-white-striped chick on its back.

2096h ago

Marjo Slingerland-Boks1

Ohhh wow Rina what a gorgeous photo and lovely moment ❤️

Pirritin1

This is so cute and heart warming capture 😍

Atlantic Birding

@atlanticbirding.bsky.social

Morning, Happy Sunday Everyone! Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #Parenting; of any form: nesting feeding etc. Alt. is #Blue; on the bird or in the scene - Great Crested Grebe carrying two grebettes - Long-Tailed Tit against a blue sky #birds #ECK #birdphotography #naturephotography #Stunday

A Great Crested Grebe floating on a lake surface with two Grebettes (or Humbugs) on its back.
The bird is right of centre of frame, facing the right with its head turned back so the left side is visible. The chicks head can be seen poking out from under the birds wings, just under the tip of its beak.
The bird has a dark cap, turning to a double crest at the top of the head. It has a long, sharp beak with a dark streak from the end of the beak to the eye. The rest of the face is white with chestnut brown at the back of the head and a chestnut ruff, turning to back at the tips. The neck is white with a dark spine and the body is a reddish brown, darker on the back and wings.
The grebettes (or humbugs) are only visible on the head and neck. They are almost stacked on top of each other, with the further chick slightly further back on the Grebes body. They have stark black and white streaks down their face and necks, giving a zebra pattern (or humbug mint) appearance
The foreground is the lake, covered in tiny ripples and reflecting the light to give off a metallic appearance.
The background is also lake water but covered in small pond weeds and other vegetation; mostly just above the surface but with the odd lily pad or large piece of vegetation here and there.

1687h ago

allanwithll 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿22

Morning back AB. Sitting on a poolside yet again watching son early morning swim training, I understand #Parenting hard work! 😂 Though not as hard as this Swallow trying to keep its brood healthy. #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #BirdTherapy #UKwildlife #NatureCantWait #wildlifephotography #ECK

Rina2

Good morning AB, Great shots and themes! Thank you 🙏😊

Alan H1

Excellent shots and themes AB. Love the Grebe and babes. 😍 LTT’s are so hard to get. Don’t sit still.

alisonwillis1.bsky.social1

Adorable Great Crested Grebe scene AB. Beautiful captures 😍

Marjo Slingerland-Boks1

Good morning AB, that are wonderful themes and beautiful photos ✨️

ronm123photo1

Nice shots and themes 👍

Aintright

@aintright.bsky.social

Daphne the Dipper feeding one of her brood earlier this year. #BirdOfTheDay #Parenting #birds #Stunday #ForJanet #photography #ECK

1286h ago

Alan H1

Stunningly moving capture Bill. Top notch photography.

Mick Lister1

Beautifully tender shot Bill 👌

Dave Meredith

@davemeredith.bsky.social

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Parenting with the alternative theme #Blue. A male Mountain Bluebird with a grasshopper for its young for a twofer. #Saskatchewan #ECK #photography #birds #nature #wildlife #Kodachrome #1990s #ManualFocus

1076h ago

Atlantic Birding1

Nice Twofer Dave, lovely shot

Neil Cameron1

Just a gorgeous shot, Dave - as usual.

Amy Gann

@amygann.bsky.social

A virginia rail and chicken search for food. For the #birdoftheday theme of #parenting #birds #rail #virginiarail #protectnature #EastCoastKin

A virginia rail searches for food as its young stands next to it

914h ago

PacBirds

@pacbirds.bsky.social

A female bushtit (right) feeding her young a tiny bug for the #Parenting theme of #BirdOfTheDay picked by @atlanticbirding.bsky.social #birds #nature #photography #stunday #ECK

Two tiny grey and brown birds are perched on a horizontal willow twig, facing each other. The one on the right has yellow eyes, indicating it is a female, and is holding a bug, the one on the left has its beak wide open and is about to be fed the bug.

963h ago

Fraggs Photography 📸🦊🦉🦋🦔 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

@fraggenstein.bsky.social

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Parenting; of any form: nesting feeding etc. - Always a bit special when you get to witness the wonderful/special parenting bond of Great Crested Grebes - photo taken at Penarth Marina - South Wales 😍🪶🦉 #birdingwales #ukbirding #ECK

776h ago

Mick Lister

@listermj.bsky.social

#BirdOfTheDay theme is: #Parenting; of any form: nesting feeding etc. Open wide! A very vocal and demanding fledgling Starling is fed a sultana by one of its calm parents in my garden (May 2026) #ukwildlife #birds #flyday #starlings #nature #cumbria #photography #eastcoastkin

A close up of a fledgling Starling being fed a sultana by one of its parents in my garden in late May.
On the left the fledgling Starling has its mouth wide open. The adult Starling is on the right with a sultana in its beak. It is gently passing it to the fledgling. There is a marked contrast in the postures of the two birds. The fledgling is very animated with its wings spread out wide. The adult is standing in a very calm upright pose, gently leaning towards the fledgling.
The adult Starling has a glossy, speckled plumage, pink feet & legs and a yellow bill. The iridescent black plumage has a metallic purple and green sheen.
The young Starling has a plain, grey- brown or smoky gray plumage with a pale throat.
They may be heard loudly begging their parents for food.

664h ago

Graham Jones1

Great shot marra but, crikey, those Starling kids are the noisiest buggers on the garden scene, ain't they?

Atlantic Birding1

Great capture Mick. Really captures the essence of the young starling!!!!! 😂

Alan H1

Fantastic shot marra. Gulls and Robins are so yesterday, apparently. 😁 Really lovely moment captured and excellent photography.

Sharon1

Fabulous shot Mick. I can hear it 😁

Den 🇮🇪1

Marvellous shot Mick. Caught them at just the right time.

fozziefotos.eurosky.social1

Great shot mick 👍 👏

Paul ward

@rickybirdman.bsky.social

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay alt theme is #Blue As a child avocets were still rare birds, colonising only after WW2 on eastern flooded marshes. Now they breed on many coastal areas in the U.K. Elegant and exotic even if they can be a bit aggressive to other waders. #birds #waders #conservation #eck

715h ago

Atlantic Birding1

Lovely shot Paul. Very elegant birds

Alan H1

Such a cool capture Paul.

Leo

@leo-in-merimbula.bsky.social

Welcome Swallow feeding its youngsters. #BirdOfTheDay #birds #WildOz

606h ago

alisonwillis1.bsky.social

@alisonwillis1.bsky.social

👋 Good morning The biggest love for the smallest fluffballs. One parent feeding as one dives to collect more for hungry mouths #BirdOfTheDay #Parenting #Blue #ECK #BirdsOfBluesky #UKWildlife #WildlifePhotography

A close-up photograph of an adult Eurasian coot swimming in rippling blue water alongside its two tiny, fluffy chicks. The adult coot has a stark black body and a bright white facial shield and beak, which it gently tilts downward toward one of its babies in an attentive, nurturing gesture. The two chicks have dark, downy bodies contrasted by vibrant, fuzzy orange and red plumage around their heads. The family is swimming near a circular disturbance in the water where bubbles and ripples form, capturing a quiet, protective moment of parental care and teaching in nature.

576h ago

Barrie Cull1

Lovely photo Alison, and it’s a twofer with that blue background 🙂

David Preston

@dave1957.bsky.social

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Parenting, so here's a greylag goose being attentive toward its gosling. #birds #photography

A greylag goose (Anser anser) parent watches over its very much smaller gosling.

526h ago

TARA SMITHSON -Wildlife & Nature Photographer 📸

@tarasmithson.bsky.social

#Parenting in the Welcome Swallow world means flying around to catch insects out of the sky in mid air and dropping the bugs into the mouths of babes. 🪽🐝🐣 #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #BirdPhotography #Nature #NaturePhotography #Wildlife #EastCoastKin #Photography #Australia

A dynamic action shot of three welcome swallows on a rough, sunlit rock against a pale sky. An adult swallow banks in mid-air with wings dramatically spread wide to feed a begging chick, which stretches upward with its bright yellow mouth wide open. A second fledgling stands nearby on the rock, also with its beak agape and wings slightly drooped, eagerly waiting its turn.

576h ago

Laurette

@laurette1.bsky.social

Two Swans on Frensham Great Pond. #BirdoftheDay #Blue #AlphabetChallenge #WeekHforHearts #Swans #Swanday #Stunday #SurreyHills #photography

Two swans making a heart shape with their heads and necks. Rippled blue water around them with reflections of the clouds.

536h ago

Washington to remove about 300 cherry trees, including 'Stumpy'nature Bird of the Day, theme 'Parenting'nature

Bird of the Day, theme 'Parenting'

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