Eagles and small birds flying

I didn’t travel very far from our home in the Upper Valley of NH the last three weeks.  My photographic goal was to capture some common birds in flight.  It was rewarding to have something to photograph outdoors between foliage and snow seasons.

The photo above is one of only a few in this post without at least one bird flying.  Here the eagle on the left has just landed.  I’ll show many more eagles below, but first some smaller birds get their chance in the sun, or rather in the November gloom.  Overcast skies can be beneficial for photography as contrast is low and that can make for good photos of people, birds, and flowers, among other subjects.

Tufted Titmouse

For a plain bird the Tufted Titmouse is very cute.  And it can look like an angel at times.

Here is a pair of them with one appearing to chase the other off a branch.

This one was chased by a White-breasted Nuthatch.

And here is one chasing a smaller Black-capped Chickadee.

The Tufted Titmouse is a graceful and beautiful bird.

It is larger than the diminutive Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Here is one in the warm afternoon light.

Black-capped Chickadee

A close relative of the titmouse in the family Paridae is the Black-capped Chickadee.

Here are a pair of them. 

It is a common bird, but a brave, perky, friendly, reliable, year-round friend.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Many years ago I managed to get a photo of a strange looking chickadee.  When I showed the slide to a good friend and great birder, she told me it was a Red-breasted Nuthatch. Quite an introduction to this tiny energetic rocket. Ever since I’ve always been pleased whenever I spot this species.

Here a nuthatch got in a dispute with a titmouse.

And here it is giving a chickadee a piece of its mind.

White-breasted Nuthatch

The White-breasted Nuthatch is much larger than its red-breasted cousin.  Both work trees up and down in contrast to Brown Creepers that only move up trees.

Blue Jay

Absent for most of the summer, Blue Jays now seem to be everywhere.  Where do they go?

Hooded Merganser

Almost flying, this female Hooded Merganser is about to get airborne in golden early morning light a few days ago.

Bald Eagle

I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with a pair of Bald Eagles.  The first photo of this post shows one landing near its mate.  Thirty-two seconds later it decided to move on after its mate had hopped to the same branch it had landed on.

They were sometimes in the same tree but in different spots.

Two days later the sky was temporarily blue and they were back together again.

I’ll let the rest of the eagles soar without more words.  You can just look at the photos, which is probably what most of you do anyway.