Paul Wallace

@paulmwall.bsky.social

5802 Followers 482 Following

Greetings from Georgia! Mostly birds and by mostly I mean all. Fan of Johnny Cash and the planet Saturn. Physics professor, dad, cat guy. Ex pastor but not angry about it

Song sparrow standing on red basalt among shallow pools of water, facing left, with some nest material in his beak. The sun is full on the small bird and you can see his streaked sides, light-and-dark-brown striped wings, pink legs, long tail, and handsome brown-and-white-striped head clearly.

Tree swallow pokes her head out of a bluebird box. The box nearly fills the frame and the hole opens to the left and the swallow’s head is poking out of the hole and on the front and side of the box you can see the faded number 13. The bird’s head is iridescent blue-green above and white below. She has a sharp short beak and you can just see her sharp feet poking out at the bottom edge of the hole. The background is bright unfocused focused yellow-green.

Front view of a Forster’s tern hovering while scanning the pond for lunch. The camera looks right down the bird’s long axis so all you can really see is (1) the head, which is turned to the left and down, and which features a nice dark eye spot and sharp black beak on a mostly white creature; (2) the wings, which are lifted in perfect symmetry to their maximum upward position and are edged in dark gray; (3) the tail, which is fanned out maximally in a neat white isosceles triangle behind the bird; and (4) the legs, which hang in a relaxed state, feet turned slightly inward, symmetric. Symmetry is the word for this photo. The background is steel blue cloudy sky.

Prothonotary warbler perched on a branch, facing right, head thrown back, beak wide open, singing his sweet head off. This is a small and very yellow bird. Lemon yellow all over except: his wings which are olive and gray and edged in white; his beak which is black; and his undertail which is white. He is slightly floofed and you can see his backlit tongue just barely! The background is unfocused bright spring green foliage.

Exact rear view of a hermit thrush on green grass. The bird’s body and head is facing directly away from the camera and you can see her smooth brown back and wings and cinnamon tail and the back of her brown head and the backs of her legs and that is all.

White eyed vireo among bright green leaves, facing right. This bird is white and yellow and black. The white is mostly around the neck area and the undertail and transitions smoothly into soft bright yellow at the flanks and crown and forehead. Darkish wings have bright white wing bars and yellow edges. And the eye is sooo white.

Ovenbird standing on a bed of of moss, facing directly into the camera. The small bird has plain olive wings and back, a bright white breast with bold dark streaks, a neat pink bill and pink legs, and two dark lateral crown stripes and a bright orange central crown stripe. The background is bright leafy spring green foliage.

Juvenile eastern bluebird perched on a bare beach, viewed from behind, facing left. The bird is in warm sunlight coming from the right and the background is dark so you get a nice dramatic contrast, a bright line defining the birds back and head. The edges of the wings and tail are blue but the head is gray and the back and breast flanks, what you can see of them at least, are red.

Ovenbird standing on a stick lying across a bed of of moss, facing left. The small bird has plain olive wings and back, a bright white breast with bold dark streaks, a neat pink bill and pink legs, and—you can only barely see them—two dark lateral crown stripes and a bright orange central crown stripe. The background is bright leafy spring green foliage.

Side view of a Swainson’s thrush perched on a branch, head up, alert, facing right. The bird is uniform soft brown above and mostly white below, with soft brown spots on her upper breast. She has a nice tan eye ting, a short tail, and a very poised stance and overall expression. The background is bright light green leaves and unfocused foliage.

Veery perched on a limb in the shade among bright spring green leaves, body facing the camera, head turned up and to the right. This thrush has a cinnamon head and faint cinnamon spots high on her breast, and a white underside. Her wings are the same lovely color as her head but you can only barely see them at her side. The tip of her tail is just visible below and behind the horizontal branch in which she perches. She is the best thrush ever but she doesn’t know it.

Ovenbird standing on a bed of moss, body facing the camera, head turned to the right. The small bird has plain olive wings and back, a bright white breast with bold dark streaks, a neat pink bill and pink legs, and two dark lateral crown stripes and a bright orange central crown stripe. The background is bright leafy spring green foliage.

White eyed vireo among bright green leaves, facing right, head raised, looking up. This bird is white and yellow and black. The white is mostly around the neck area and the undertail and transitions smoothly into soft bright yellow at the flanks and crown and forehead. Darkish wings have bright white wing bars and yellow edges. And the eye is sooo white.

Juvenile eastern phoebe perched on a diagonal branch, facing left. The sweet lil bird has a light gray floofy front, dark gray head, darker wings with nice cinnamon wing bars, a black shiny eye, and a short beak. She will soon be zipping about and catching insects in mid flight in accordance with her nature.

The background is soft unfocused gray-green.

Ovenbird high-stepping across a bed of moss, facing left. The small bird has plain olive wings and back, a bright white breast with bold dark streaks, a neat pink bill and pink legs, and—you can only barely see them—two dark lateral crown stripes and a bright orange central crown stripe. The bird is lifting his right leg as he walks, chicken style, across the moss. The background is bright leafy spring green foliage.

White eyed vireo among bright green leaves, body facing right, head turned back looking over shoulder to the left. This bird is white and yellow and black. The white is mostly around the neck area and the undertail and transitions smoothly into soft bright yellow at the flanks and crown and forehead. Darkish wings have bright white wing bars and yellow edges. And the eye is super white! The very image of spring.

Eastern kingbird perched on a white rail, facing the camera. This bird has a white throat, beast, and undersides, and dark wings at her side. The head is black. This is a juvenile so the white on the front is a little splotchy. You can just see the long middle toes grasping the tail beneath the floof. The background is soft unfocused sand-colored earth.

Male black-and-white warbler hanging into a vertical branch, facing upward. As the name suggests, this tiny fellow is streaked in black and white, except for his belly which is mostly white. He also has handsome white lines above and below his eye, and a thin broken white eye ring. His cheek is black. He is an awesome bird.

The background is composed of branches and bright green unfocused foliage.

Female boat tailed grackle standing alert on asphalt, facing right. The bird has brown-orange underparts and head, a faint darkish eyeline, and dark brown wings. Her beak is black and her eye is beady and she wants another frito.

Eastern phoebe perched on a thin vertical branch, seen from behind, facing right. The bird has a brown-gray back, dark wings, a largish head, a bright brown eye, and a neat black beak. The unfocused background is speckled in deep greens and yellows.

Cape may warbler perched, facing right. This tiny prince wears a dark crown. He has an orange-brown triangular patch on his cheek, a dark eye line, a yellow throat, streaked breast, a sporty white wing bar, and a yellow necklace. The background is bright unfocused spring green.

Green heron standing on a small log. The log is half immersed in green water and the heron is extended vertically to her maximum height. She looks off to the left of the frame. She has a blue crown and a white-and chestnut streaked neck. Her beak is long and her long toes are splayed out on the log. Her yellow eye gives her a serious, commanding look.

Fifteen juvenile black bellied whistling ducks among bright green leafy ground-covering plants. They hold their heads high, alert and watching. They are mostly brown with gray heads and black bills and dark crown stripes. They are very cute.

Juvenile dark-eyed junco stanced up on a wooden deck, facing right. He is splotchy brown-gray above and streaky off-white below.

Great egret walking along the near bank of a pond, facing right. Every feather on this bird is white. Her bill is yellow and daggerlike and her neck is white and noodle like. Super long. And her legs are long and black and her eye is tiny and yellow. The foreground is low grass and the background is calm brown and green water reflecting trees from the far shore.

Western sandpiper on the sand (of course), body facing the camera, head turned toward right of frame. The light is from the left and the bird’s right side is in shadow and her eye reflects the sun. She is white beneath and sandy brown above, with a black, slightly drooping beak and black legs.

Face-on close view of a laughing gull in breeding plumage. The bird stares directly at the camera, his dark eyes framed by broken white eye rings. His head is black, his neck is white, his beak is dark red. His head is cocked slightly to the side and the background is flat faint blue.

Little blue heron standing on a pile of twisted branches. Despite her name, every feather on this bird is white. The bird’s back is to the camera and her head is turned to the right. She is a tall wading bird with long yellow-green legs and an S-shaped neck and a daggerlike bill. Some webby stuff, perhaps a spider web, clings to her beak, which is pale with a dark tip.

White breasted nuthatch on a fat diagonal broken-off limb, body facing the camera, head turned to the left. The bird’s face and throat and undersides are white; his wings, held to his side, are dark blue; and he has a handsome blue-black crown. His beak is foreshortened a bit and so its gentle upturn is exaggerated. The background is soft unfocused yellow-green.

Female anhinga on a post, seen from the rear, black wings open above her body, black tail down, brown neck extended to the left, daggerlike beak pointing to the left, gular sac showing. Blue sky spotted with white clouds in the background.

Tweet that reads, “Just bought a nice bottle of bourbon and instead of carding me they just asked me which birdwatching app I have on my phone”

Common grackles perched atop a twiggy tree, body facing to the right, head turned to the left, beak open. The bird’s black feathers have a nice iridescence, making the body look blue and green and the head look purple. The beak and legs are dark too but the eye is bright yellow and the sun reflects in it. The background is flat blue sky.

Vine-wrapped sign in front of an opening in the woods reading WONDER RD

American bittern in cordgrass, seen from the front, neck contracted, looking down and to the right. She has a brown and white striped breast and a long daggerlike beak.

American bittern doing his beak-raising thing in the cordgrass. Fat brown-and-white stripy heron squatting in the grass in direct sun, beak up and to the right.

Golden crowned kinglet perched on a diagonal branch, facing up and to the right. Nearly uniformly white from her tiny lil black beak to her undertail, she has a short dark eyeline and two dark crown stripes, one of which is barely visible, and a bright golden crown, not seen at all here. The background is out-of-focus tree branches and blue sky.

Female brown headed cowbird perched among twigs, head up and to the right. She is uniform light brown all over, with a triangular beak and bright brown eye. The light is from the left and her head contrasts nicely with the dark unfocused tree behind her.

Snowy egret standing in shallow surf, facing right. Every feather on this tall, long-necked, long-legged wading bird is white, save for perhaps a faint gray-brown wash on her head and body breeding plumes (I just now diesovered that these plumes are called "aigrettes" after the French word for egret). Her long daggerlike bill is jet black, as are her legs; her eye and her lores (area between the eye and bill) is bright yellow, as are the toes of her right foot, lifted as she steps forward, surely in search of some poor doomed water creature. The surf is blue and calm.

Small bright yellow prothonotary warbler perched among bright green leaves, facing right, head thrown all the way back, black beak wide open. The bird is bright lemon yellow everyehere except for his wings, which are gray edged with white, and his undertail, which is white. He has a beadly black eye.

Prothonotary warbler perched on a diagonal branch, body facing the camera, head turned toward the right of the frame. This super yellow bird is quite yellow. He has a black eye and a black beak and is mostly just extremely yellow. Did I mention his yellowness.

Osprey gliding, wings fully outstretched, seen from below. The bird is flying against a bright blue sky, up and to the right of the frame. She has a white belly and underwing covers and her primary wing feathers and tail feathers are lightly barred. Her bright yellow eyes look straight ahead.

St Marks NWR

Pine warbler on the sidewalk. He is a round bright yellow bird with olive upperparts, a lovely bright yellow eye ring, and a sharp dark beak. His body faces the camera and his head is turned to the right. You can just see his tail jutting out behind him on the left of his body. His legs are straight and firmly planted and he looks super ready for business.

Green heron standing on a half-sunken branch, toes splayed, neck fully extended, body facing the camera, head turned slightly to the left of the frame. His neck is streaked in white and chestnut, his head is blue-green, his eye is yellow, and his beak is long and daggerlike.

Eared grebe swimming away from me, looking back over her right shoulder. The bird is in nonbreeding plumage, dark above and light below, and her feathers are floofed up nicely. The water is smooth and blue.

Great blue heron balanced on one foot, standing on a boardwalk rail, backlit. Side view, facing right. Nearly featureless distant green-gray background. The bird’s lifted foot is just visible at the base of the plume of her neck feathers.

Black skimmer skimming. The bird is flying to the right, low over calm blue surf, her lower beak dragging through the shallow water picking up snacks. She is black above and white below, very contrasty, and her long beak is bright red with a black tip.

Side view of black vulture facing down and to the right. Only the front half of the bird is visible, and the bird is peering down, long neck extended, his shoulders hunched and high. His beak is caked in mud. His shoulders show deep purple, his neck feathers are floofed, and he has a white crown. Not sure why? Is this leucism? I do not know. The background is bright unfocused green.

Female blue-gray gnatcatcher perched on a small diagonal branch, facing right. The bird is white below and blue-gray above, with a neat white eye ring and a small sharp slightly hooked beak. The light is from the upper left and the sun reflects in the bird’s eye. She is framed by small green leaves and a bright blue background.

Golden crowned kinglet perched on a broken-off branch, body held nearly horizontal, facing right. The tiny 4-inch bird is pale beneath and olive yellow above, with neat yellow-edged wing feathers, a bright white eyebrow, a black crown stripe and a radiant golden crown. The beak is tiny and held slightly upward as the bird seems to be looking up at at something. The background is out-of-focus gray and brown winter trees

Side view of a white winged dove. The bird is facing left, into the sun, and has a brilliant red eye, cream colored beast, red feet, and a nice white stripe along the inner wing. Out of focus bright blue watery background.

Little blue heron flying to the right over blue water. The lower half of the bird is cropped out of the photo and you can see his blue back and blue upper wing and the wingtip is curled up wavelike and is dark underneath. The shape and color of his dark underwing provides a kind of mirror image to his dark head, which is washed in deep burgundy. His blue back shows purple highlights. His beak is long and daggerlike and tipped in black and his yellow eye looks forward with great intention. The background is composed of bright blue sparkling water.

Lesser yellowlegs (left) standing in shallow water with greater yellowlegs (right). They are both facing right. These are slim tall wading birds with brown specked backs and wings, white undersides, long bills, and, yes, yellow legs. The lesser is smaller overall and her bill is shorter relative to her head size. The greater’s longer bill is slightly upturned. The water is blue and dotted with some variety of green growing thing.