American Coot
American Crow
American Flamingo*
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel
American Robin
American Tree Sparrow
American White Pelican
Bald Eagle
Baltimore Oriole
Barn Swallow
Barnacle Goose*
Belted Kingfisher
Black-and-White Warbler
Black-Capped Chickadee
Black-Headed Gull*
Black Vulture*
Blue Jay
Blue Tit*
Blue-Winged Teal
Bobwhite
Broad-Winged Hawk
Brown Creeper
Brown-Headed Cowbird
Brown Thrasher
Bufflehead
Canada Goose
Canvasback
Cape May Warbler*
Carolina Chickadee*
Carolina Wren
Cedar Waxwing
Chipping Sparrow
Common Gallinule
Common Goldeneye
Common Grackle
Common Gull*
Common Moorhen*
Common Pochard*
Common Redpoll
Cooper's Hawk
Dark-Eyed Junco
Dicksissel
Double-Crested Cormorant
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Goldfinch - See American Goldfinch
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Wood Pewee
Eurasian Blackbird*
Eurasian Collared Dove
Eurasian Coot*
Eurasian Jackdaw*
Eurasian Magpie*
European Serin*
European Starling
Fox Sparrow
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Gray Catbird
Graylag Goose
Great Black-backed Gull*
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Great Spotted Woodpecker*
Greater Flamingo*
Greater White-Fronted Goose*
Hairy Woodpecker
Harlequin Duck
Hermit Thrush
Herring Gull
Hooded Crow*
Horned Lark
House Finch
House Sparrow
House Wren
Indigo Bunting
Killdeer
Laughing Gull*
Lesser Black-backed Gull*
Lesser Scaup
Lincoln's Sparrow
Magnolia Warbler
Mallard (Domestic)
Mallard (Wild)
Mourning Dove
Mute Swan*
Neotropic Cormorant*
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Northern Rough-Winged Swallow
Northern Shoveler
Orange-Crowned Warbler
Palm Warbler
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Red-Legged Thrush*
Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-Winged Blackbird
Ring-Billed Gull
Ring-Necked Duck
Rock Pigeon
Rook*
Ross's Goose*
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Ruddy Turnstone*
Scarlet Tanager
Smooth-Billed Ani*
Solitary Sandpiper
Song Sparrow
Spotted Sandpiper
Swamp Sparrow
Tricolored Heron*
Tufted Duck*
Tufted Titmouse
Tundra Swan*
Turkey Vulture
White-Breasted Nuthatch
White-Cheeked Pintail*
White-Crowned Pigeon*
White-Crowned Sparrow
White-Eyed Vireo
White-Throated Sparrow
White-Winged Dove
Wild Turkey
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Ants (Formicidae)
Bee Flies (Bombyliidae)
Blow Flies (Calliphoridae)
Brown Lacewings (Hemerobiidae)
Bumble Bees, etc. (Apidae)
Carrion Beetles (Silphidae)
Cellar Spiders (Pholcidae)
Centipedes, House (Scutigeridae)
Cicadas (Cicadidae)
Common Sawflies (Tenthredinidae)
Crane Flies (Tipulidae)
Emeralds (Corduliidae)
Fireflies (Lampyridae)
Flower Flies - See Syrphid Flies
Funnel-Web Spiders (Agelenidae)
Honey Bees - See Bumble Bees, etc.
Hornets - See Yellowjackets, etc.
Hover Flies - See Syrphid Flies
Ichneumon Wasps (Ichneumonidae)
Jumping Spiders (Salticidae)
Katydids (Tettigoniidae)
Ladybird Beetles (Coccinellidae)
Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae)
Leaffooted Bugs (Coreidae)
Leafhoppers (Cicadellidae)
Lightning Bugs - See Fireflies
Longhorned Beetles (Cerambycidae)
Mantid Flies (Mantispidae)
Mantids (Mantidae)
Minettia Flies (Minettia)
Narrow-Winged Damselflies (Coenagrionidae)
New York Weevils (Ithyceridae)
Orb-Weavers (Araneidae)
Paper Wasps - See Yellowjackets, etc.
Picture-Winged Flies (Ulidiidae)
Plant Bugs (Miridae)
Robber Flies (Asilidae)
Scarab Beetles (Scarabaeidae)
Scentless Plant Bugs (Rhopalidae)
Short-horned Grasshoppers (Acrididae)
Signal Flies (Platystomatidae)
Soldier Beetles (Cantharidae)
Soldier Flies (Stratiomyidae)
Spittlebugs (Cercopidae)
Stink Bugs (Pentatomidae)
Swallowtails (Papilionidae)
Sweat Bees (Halictidae)
Syrphid Flies (Syrphidae)
Tiger Moths (Arctiidae)
Tiphiid Wasps (Tiphiidae)
Yellowjackets, etc. (Vespidae)
I don’t think this is a lousy shot. Capturing a bird in flight is difficult at best. The bird appears to be in focus, and you can definitely see the plummage clearly. Overall I think it is a nice shot of contrary subject. Where was this shot take? I was surprised to see all the buildings in the background. We see many of these at Squaw Creek NWR in Mound City, but I’ve never attempted a picture. They are usually so far out on the water, and if I do manage to see one close, they are gone before I can get the camera ready. Like I said Contrary.
March 28th, 2009 at 11:35 amRight behind my old apartment they were putting in a new subdivision and they plopped in a little pond. I was as surprised as you to see the blue-winged teal sitting on the pond in the middle of the subdivision, which is probably why I only got one shot!
As for the focus, maybe you are right. I will try and crop this photo a little closer and see how it looks (although I’m sure I cropped it originally two years ago when I saved it).
March 28th, 2009 at 7:18 pmOh – and thank you, of course!
March 29th, 2009 at 9:31 pmNo thanks needed, you are an accomplished photographer. I love your images. I look forward to seeing what you come up with next. I would love to make a trip up to Squaw Creek NWR sometime soon and see what is there. I keep hearing that many species are passing through right now, including pelicans, ducks, geese and a few swans. Perhaps this weekend I can do so. With any luck a photo op will present itself.
March 30th, 2009 at 2:59 pm