WINGSCAPES

Absolutely Brilliant Woodpecker

In the U.S., calling something "brilliant" usually means that it's shiny or bright; however in England, "brilliant" is also a commonly used term meaning "fantastic" or "superb" - which is exactly what we called this image of a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

   

Submitted, along with quite a few other, well... brilliant images, to the Wingscapes BirdCam Photo Gallery by Tony from Yeovil, Sommerset, UK, these beautiful black, white, and red birds are common feeder visitors throughout England, Wales, and southern Scotland, as well as across Europe and well into Russia.

A BirdCam View of South Africa

When we first saw this photo in the Wingscapes BirdCam flickr® group, we thought “Those are some really unusual-looking sparrows.” However when we took a closer look (and read the photo’s caption) we quickly understood that they were Cape Sparrows (and a Cape Weaver) from South Africa!

 

 Jackie from South Africa, the contributor of this as well as a host of other fabulous BirdCam-recorded images to the Wingscapes BirdCam flickr group pool, is one of the creators of the Global Bird Trekkers website – a great online resource for photos and video of the birdlife of South Africa and points beyond.

Almost Frozen Rufous Hummingbird

Capturing an image of a hummingbird in flight where the wings are frozen in the moment is not easy. With a wing beat speed of around 60 per second, even a professional-level DSLR camera often can’t do it. 

Which is why we were all very impressed by this BirdCam image of a male Rufous Hummingbird uploaded to the BirdCam Photo Gallery by Jacki from Fairfield, California. The body of the bird is in crystal-clear focus while the wings are almost frozen in the down-stroke with just a hint of their upstroke ghost remaining to give the viewer the full feeling of just how fast those little wings were moving.

The Ring-necked Duck of Happiness

Patti from Sheffield Village, Ohio was thrilled to discover that her Wingscapes BirdCam had recorded this image of a female Ring-necked Duck that was being seen on the lake near her home. We are thrilled that she uploaded it to the Photo Gallery as it becomes our latest addition to the Wingscapes BirdCam Life List. 

As many bird watchers well know, female ducks often appear quite plain and drab in order to make them less visible when on the nest. As a result they are often overlooked in favor of the more flamboyant males. Kudos to Patti for not only noticing this one but also for sending us this great image of it as well.