Back in August of this year, a Mississippi Kite [Ictinia mississippiensis] family was observed hunting Chimney Swifts successfully. Known normally for catching large insects like dragonflies and cicadas, this was pretty impressive, especially considering what superb fliers swifts are.
{Observation from Barbara Williams, local expert birder and conservationist.}

Bird Photography Weekly #5 yielded 15 species again! Awesome photos all!!

Good news too! We have some special Bird Photography Weekly badges you can use on your website. Thank you for spreading the word!! These can be resized easily and should (fingers crossed) render nicely at any size. Just add width=”200 perhaps” and it will fit wherever you wish!

The list:

1. Treecreeper
2. White-bellied Sea-Eagle
3. Red Crossbill
4. White-throated Swallow
5. Whooping Crane
6. Australian Pelican
7. Palm Warbler
8. Northern Cardinal
9. Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker
10. Brown Pelican
11. Green Violet-ear
12. Burrowing Owl
13. Black-capped Chickadee
14. Sandhill Crane
15. Dickcissel

Cedar Waxwings [Bombycilla cedrorum] are beautiful birds with a diet that includes a lot of fruit. They can survive on fruit alone for months at a time. If they are not careful of fermented fruit, they are susceptible to alcohol intoxication and could even die of alcohol poisoning.

Starting around the 1960s, some Cedar Waxwings were found with orange tips on their tails instead of the usual yellow. This is due to a red pigment found in an introduced honeysuckle species that will turn a growing tail feather orange.

Information from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Cedar Waxwing

Harris’s Hawks are colorful, desert denizens that have one of the most peculiar behaviors. Known as ’stacking’, two or more of these gorgeous birds perch atop each other, often on top of a cactus, in order to search for prey. The reasoning for this is mostly due to a lack of perches in the desert, but we speculate that it also may help the family group of hawks stay in better hunting position.

Dickcissels [Spiza americana] are a fun sparrowish bird of the prairies and are considered (ignorantly) as an agricultural pest on their wintering grounds. Populations declined greatly in the 1960s and 70s, but are somewhat stable now.

In preparation for fall migration, Dickcissels begin assembling in larger and larger flocks that gradually coalesce into flocks of thousands. Winter roosts can number into the millions of birds. - Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds

While known for their eery calls and cool looks, Common Loons [Gavia immer] are not made for non-aquatic landings or takeoffs.

Migrating Common Loons occasionally land on wet highways or parking lots, mistaking them for rivers and lakes. They become stranded without a considerable amount of open water for a long takeoff. A loon may also get stranded on a pond that is too small. - Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds