Have you ever watched a bird soar effortlessly through the sky? Whether it’s a solitary bird soaring above me or a flock of birds flying in formation, the freedom and grace of birds in flight fascinates me.
Wings spread wide, they take to flight, Soaring high, a graceful sight. Through the air, they dance and glide, A symphony of movement, side by side.
During our winter travels to the Texas Gulf Coast, I became intrigued with shorebirds, and photographing the endangered whooping crane became an addiction.
And then, I discovered the stunning pink hue of the Roseate Spoonbill, and she became my new obsession.
But my interest in bird photography didn’t end here. Around ever corner seemed to be a new bird posing and ready to have its photo taken and I was just the one to capture their unique beauty.
I never envisioned finding beauty in a turkey vulture, yet I did. The more time I spent hanging around them, the more respect and admiration I garnered. One might even say, I felt a kindred spirit or connection with the turkey vulture. I wrote about that connection in post a few years ago.
The world unfolds, a breathtaking scene, A silent symphony, ever serene. With every beat of their feathered wings, Birds paint the sky, the freedom it brings.
During our travels, I began to take note of the various birds seen in other locations. I was amazed by how many species of birds survive and thrive in the desert southwest which meant I could continue indulging myself in the joy of bird photography in my new home state of Arizona.
However, I do miss my photo excursions to the Texas Gulf Coast and haven’t given up my dream of returning someday.🤞
July 21, 2024 … For this week’s photo challenge, the prompt is Wings. I have hundreds if not thousands of bird images that I’ve taken over the past ten years. The difficult thing was narrowing down which images to share. I went the easy route and am sharing photos already loaded on my laptop. I have tons more bird photographs stored on external drives.
No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.” — William Blake.
Final thoughts … A bird’s graceful movements and effortless gliding suggest that even the most challenging goals can be achieved with determination and perseverance. Till next time.
Live Laugh RV 
69 responses to “To Have Wings!”
Beautiful shots, Ingrid. My mother is in central Florida & sees lots of cool ones there, too. Like you, I appreciate the diversity of birds we have in Arizona. ☀️
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Thank you, Lisa. I’m hoping to visit a friend in FL sometime in the next year or so and look forward to doing some bird photography in that part of the country. It has been years since I last visited FL.
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You really are a talented bird photographer. It takes such patience and a still hand to capture them in flight like you do. Your poetry describes their beauty so well. Continue to enjoy your summer and stay safe and healthy! 🙂 xxxxx
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Thank you Marsha. I appreciate the kind comment. We’ve enjoyed our summer, but I’m soooo ready for this extreme heat to be over.
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You have always been able to capture birds so well as these photos show. Living in Florida, the Roseate Spoonbill is definitely one of my favorite birds.
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Thank you Karen. I’d love to get back to the coast and photograph the shorebirds again. Right now, life is busy with grandchildren, but travel is still on my radar.
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We have 5 bird feeders at our cabin on a lake, it’s so relaxing & funny watching them fly in, land, & pick at the food. Great pictures.
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Totally agree … entertaining to watch birds especially at feeders. I have a few hummingbird feeders and love watching and hearing those little birds whiz around. Hope you’re enjoying time at the cabin.
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‘No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings’. What does this means?
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Birds are such wondrous creatures!
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Wow, what a wonderful array of birds!
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Thank you. I always enjoy sharing my bird images.
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The picture of that Spoonbill is awesome! Migratory birds are the best. I got to see a Roseate Spoonbill on Green Bay near my home just last summer. I always wonder what happened when migratory birds show up in places where they don’t normally call “home”. Keep it up!
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Thank you. A spoonbill on Green Bay? I’m sure that was quite the unexpected sight. I love Door County! Enjoy your summer. 😎
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Wonderful photo captures and lovely poetry 😍🤗💕
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Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. 😊
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Ingrid,
Your bird pictures in Texas made me a big fan of Live, Laugh, RV. A bird photographer, I am not–no patience, but I do admire pictures of them. We have our chance to view Roseate Spoonbills in November when we go to South Carolina. They are beautiful and fun to watch. Great job. Stay cool! Hope Al is doing well. Joe
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Hey Joe, Al and I are doing well and trying our best to stay cool during a desert summer. Although, AZ has lots of birds, I still prefer the opportunities to photograph shorebirds in TX. We’re trying to figure out what future travel might look like for us. 🤞
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That Barn Swallow picture is the best!
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Thank you. I had fun photographing the swallow at the Badlands in South Dakota.
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Beautiful photos…love your poem at the beginning about wings spread wide. so pretty. Actually I love them all 🙂 Wow…very cool to catch the owl. You really captured some great shots…I never seem to be as lucky. Nice job!!
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Thank you. I wish I could take credit for writing the poems, but poet I am not. I have gotten lucky being in the right place at the right time to capture some of these bird photos. Other times, it has taken research, time, and patience and a lot of sitting around waiting with fingers crossed.🙂
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I definitely need to be more patient…which is hard if I’m pressed for time or with someone who doesn’t care to wait…ie..the husband..haha
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Haha … I can relate. The husband stays behind and I go off alone when I want to focus on a photographic subject such as birds. Better yet, I like to invite a friend who is also into photography. 😁
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Superb photos Ingrid!
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Thank you! Hope you’re able to get out and enjoy your birding.
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Perfect timing on your post – for the first time this week, Alan and I were able to see baby seagulls, as they and their parents clung to nests built on the side of a pier. Soon they’ll be using their tiny wings to soar gracefully over the water, just like their moms and dads. Your photos may be “recycled,” but that doesn’t make them any less beautiful!
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I hope you’re giving that camera a good working out on your adventure. I’d much rather observe birds and all things nature than visit a museum. Not that museums aren’t worth visiting, but they usually don’t hold my interest very long. I’m enjoying your posts and armchair traveling with you.
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Great bird photography Ingrid! I was trying to pick out favourites but there are too many! However, special mention for the whooping cranes in flight, the owl and that clever shot of the gull at the beach!
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Thank you, Sarah. I was obsessed with photographing the whooping cranes during our first visit to the Texas Gulf Coast, and then I got sidetracked with all the other beautiful shorebirds.
I laughed when I pulled up the seagull image. The angle was a total accident making it look like it’s bigger than the car. That photo could really use a funny caption.
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Missing those Texas Coastal birds!! We haven’t been to Texas in 4 years!
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You and me both. Birding in AZ just isn’t the same as TX. I think it has been six years for us since our last TX sojourn. 😔
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Beautiful birds! How I would love to see a Roseate Spoonbill!
Welcome to my world! Busy is my middle name. But it feels good.
Stay cool friend!
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Seeing that beautiful pink color in nature is a special treat.
I do not mind the busy schedule right now. The extra ‘Mimi’ duty will be a temporary situation and the kids are super appreciative that I’ve stepped up. You and I both know how quickly those little ones change and grow.
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Your photos are exquisite! Thank you, Ingrid.
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Aww, thank you, Michele. I’ve gotten lucky being in the right place at the right time.
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There’s a whole lotta skill with your luck!
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😊 Thank you!
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beautiful pictures as always! It doesnot matter if old or new , it’s always great photography!
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Aww, thank you so much.😎 I appreciate the comment.
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Thanks for the bird photos, Ingrid! As you know, I am a fan of our feathered friends. Great shots. –Curt
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Thanks Curt. Ya know what they say, birds of a feather flock together. 😁
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Indeed! 😄
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I’ve been away a few years – but I’m glad to see you are still posting . Great photos!
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I’ve taken my own breaks from blogging here and there which I think is healthy and needed. Welcome back and thanks for commenting.
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Birds – love them all! Great pics and happy summer!
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Agree … love them all. I just had a friend from FL visit and we were talking about the sandhill cranes and their babies. I’ll need to visit her one day, BUT not in the summer. She knew what she was getting herself into visiting Phx during our extreme heat and she handled it well.
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Early spring is good for baby sandhill cranes!
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I love the bird photos, Ingrid! There was a Roseate Spoonbill in the greater Phoenix area a few years ago. I think it was at one of the water treatment area preserves. I got to see it, but the photos weren’t the best. Nice to see all of your beauties!
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Thanks! Yes, I’d heard about the spoonbill being in the area and I think I now know where she was. This past spring I visited those ponds in Glendale, but no more sightings of that lovely pink. I certainly be watching the FB posts if she does ever return.
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Oh my gosh, I love ALL of these, Ingrid! the Roseate Spoonbill and Whooping Cranes are spectacular–so perfectly captured in flight. I have to agree about the humble turkey vulture. They’re the garbage collectors of the avian world. They are beautiful in their own way. I need to stop saying “Is that an eagle? no, it’s just a turkey vulture!” LOL!
Have a great week and stay cool. It’s hot here too and I don’t handle heat too well 😦
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Thank you, Terri. You know how I love bird photography! I’ve done that too thinking the soaring bird was an eagle to have it be ‘only’ a turkey vulture. 😁 Yet, equally enjoyable to photograph.
I’ve seen on the news where the temps have been unusually high in your neck of the woods. At least here, we expect it and have learned how to endure, but up there, it’s not suppose to be soooo hot. Hope it cools off soon.
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This may be the worst day perhaps hitting 105. Ugh. Many of our neighbors only have small window AC units. You Arizonans are more used it. But take good care!
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Ingrid, I’m so glad that photographing the Whoopers became an addiction because your images of them are incredible. I share your obsession with capturing the Roseate Spoonbills. The one you included here is a beauty. I enjoyed all the rest of your wings. I hope while you are keeping busy this summer you are also staying cool.
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I sure miss my time hanging with the birds along the TX coast. At least I have a ton of photos to remind me, and it’s always a joy to pull up the images.
This is our third summer in Phx and we’ve learned how to live with the extreme heat. Thank goodness for A/C. And the granddaughters are keeping me on my toes. A two-year old and four-month old… not sure if they’re keeping me young or aging me. 🤣 Regardless, I love being ‘Mimi’ and providing daycare services.
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Ingrid, your beautiful granddaughters are keeping you young! Enjoy every minute with them! They grow up too fast – I will have two in college this fall, one just starting high school and the youngest in middle school. How did that happen???
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I know … where does the time go? I’m enjoying ever minute while they are young and still wanting cuddles.
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Yay, beautiful birds! Shorebirds are some of the most fun to photograph because they tend to be much more cooperative than, say, warblers! I’ve only ever seen the Whooping Crane in captivity, and gosh darn it, but I’ve never had the desire to travel to that part of Texas, even though I know it’s a bird haven. Turns out, your post inspired me to see where else they can be seen (I knew about Nebraska, but again, no travel plans there!) and it looks like a big trip into Canada someday in the future is now high on the list!
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We loved our excursions to the TX coast and stumbling upon the whooping crane was a total accident. That led to a visit to the International Crane Foundation in WI, but that’s just not the same as seeing the cranes in the wild. At one time, I did have the Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada on my radar, but that turned out to be a lot further away than desired.
I totally agree, shorebirds are a lot of fun to photograph because they are more cooperative. I never developed an interest for smaller birds other than the hummingbird. Thanks for the comment!
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Life always expands to fit the time you have. Love your photography – whether it’s birds or landscapes. You have the eye… looking forward to seeing birds of the southwest through your camera lens. Keep making those days count.
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Well said Clay … ‘fit the time you have’. I guess I never thought of it that way. As soon as this heat lets up, I hope to get back out and about with the camera. For now, I’m focusing on my granddaughter’s and loving every minute. I’ve decided that being a grandparent is more fun than being the parent. By the end of a long day of spoiling and playing, I get to hand them back to the parents. 🤣
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I am about to find out! BTW I never did write a post about meeting you and enjoying breakfast and conversation. Can I use the photo of you and I? Over the last year I’ve been in contact with three bloggers and I have a wonderful story about my trip to Arizona last fall, I’ve just never told it! Time…
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I too never wrote about our meetup. Please feel free to share and use the photo. It was great connecting. Look forward to reading the post and hearing about your AZ visit.
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Wow, your photos are very beautiful, Ingrid!! ❤️😊
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Awe, thank John. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. If I intend to capture more bird images, I’m afraid I’ll need another lens with this newer camera. Either that, or use the old camera which isn’t as appealing. 😏
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Lenses are sooo expensive! I picked up a new, different lens for my Nikon z5 today, it’s a Nikkor 14-30mm. A bit wider angle, so far it’s great!
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A few months ago, I bought a prime 42mm micro-four-thirds lens from MPB that I’m happy with. I’ve been eyeing a 100-400 but even used it’s pricey. I think I’ll wait for Black Friday and see what’s available then.
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That sounds like a good idea, Ingrid. a 400 would be great!
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Yes, we have 2 hummingbird feeders too. Love the time at the cabin.
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