r/birdpics

The hummingbird feeders at Fundo Alto Nieva always create amazing opportunities. This Chestnut-breasted Coronet paused for a few seconds, revealing its beautiful mix of iridescent greens and rich chestnut tones.

Despite their tiny size, hummingbirds are incredibly fast and territorial. Photographing them requires patience, quick reflexes, and many failed shots before capturing the perfect instant in front of the flowers.

🇬🇧 Chestnut-breasted Coronet
🔬 Boissonneaua matthewsii
🇪🇸 Colibrí de Pecho Castaño
🗺️ Fundo Alto Nieva, San Martín, Perú 🇵🇪
📅 2025

No filtering on this picture either. Just straight up, "Damn I'm good " Bully Boy. And he knows it. 😎 Morning rays.

This was a recent capture from a hike near Hagerman Wildlife Management Area in Idaho. Idaho is facing a severe drought and many of the ponds in this area are lower than in past years. We were thrilled to get this Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) capture given the scarcity of good fishing areas for these birds.

All the years of shooting wildlife I always come back to to the birds😉

Soft steps, spotted wings, and a little moment of calm in the middle of the day 🕊️✨
Nature always finds a way to slow us down and remind us to appreciate the simple things.

Amid the calm waters of Ricuricocha Lagoon and the endless green surrounding Tarapoto, this small Gray-breasted Martin paused briefly on a dry branch before taking once again to the air.

Swallows and martins often go unnoticed because we usually see them only in motion, slicing through the sky at incredible speed while hunting insects. That is why every time one decides to perch for a few seconds, you suddenly notice details that are normally impossible to appreciate: the delicate scaled pattern on the chest, the long wings, and the constantly alert expression.

This photo also reminded me of something interesting: sometimes the most common birds are actually among the hardest to photograph well. Not because they are rare, but because they almost never stay still long enough.

🇬🇧 Gray-breasted Martin
🔬 Progne chalybea
🇪🇸 Martín de Pecho Gris
🗺️ Laguna Ricuricocha, Tarapoto, Perú 🇵🇪
📅 2026

Please forgive the horrifying back lighting. Please remove if this doesn't meet community standards.
They are the most magnificent of the owls, including powder pink eyelids.

Some days bird photography happens comfortably from home… and on others you find yourself pushing close to 5000 meters in search of a dream.

This was one of those unforgettable moments. In front of us appeared the incredible White-bellied Cinclodes, one of Peru’s most threatened endemic birds and one of the hardest high-Andean species to observe in its natural habitat.

Among rocky slopes covered in lichens and endless puna grasslands, this tiny furnariid moved calmly through a world shaped by cold winds and thin air. For a few seconds, the exhaustion and altitude disappear completely when you finally stand face to face with a bird like this.

Photographing birds in the Peruvian Andes is always a reminder of how fragile these mountain ecosystems truly are. Many of these species survive only in small isolated areas, depending on high-Andean wetlands and grasslands increasingly threatened by human pressure and climate change.

🇬🇧 White-bellied Cinclodes
🔬 Cinclodes palliatus
🇪🇸 Churrete de Vientre Blanco
🗺️ Límite entre Lima y Junín, Perú 🇵🇪
📅 2026