Most of us are unintentional bird watchers and that’s perfectly normal. We often consider serious bird watchers as a bit off center and the fact is there’s a stereotype of a bird watcher that pops up constantly in television and movies, especially in Brit TV. It seems that jungle khakis are required along with a pith helmet and iconic large binoculars.
While traveling the world and taking photos we are constantly coming across new types of birds, and by default we become semi-professional, unintentional bird watcher.
That being said here are some of our favorite unintentional bird watching photographs. Many may not be that rare but they were new to us.
Most of us find that birds are, without a doubt, fascinating creatures and seem to constantly attract our attention, With cameras and cell phones everywhere it looks as if most of us have become unintentional bird watchers.
Lilac-breasted roller – an African bird it is widely distributed in Southern and Eastern Africa, and prefers lightly wooded areas.
Photographed in South Africa
Flamingos or flamingoes are a wading bird and the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas.
Photographed in Antigua
Black-chinned honeyeater – It is endemic to Australia. Two subspecies are recognized. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical dry forests.
Photographed near Adelaide, Australia
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo – The sulphur-crested cockatoo is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests.
Photographed in the Australian Blue Mountains.
Channel-billed toucan – a large billed, colorful and vocal bird that lives in the canopy of tropical forests in South America.
Taken in the Ecuadorian rain forest.
Osprey – a pair building a nest. They’re also known as sea hawks, and fish hawks, they’re a fish-eating bird of prey with a wide range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than 70 inches across the wings.
Photographed out my office window in Florida.
Roseate Spoonbill – a gregarious wading bird of the ibis/spoonbill family. It is a resident of both South and North America.
Photo taken in the Florida Everglades.
Steller’s Jay – a bird native to western North America, closely related to the blue jay found in the rest of the continent, but with a black head and upper body.
Photo taken in Skagway, Alaska
Red-crested Cardinal – a beautiful and striking species of bird that is native to South America, but has been introduced to several other locations including Hawaii.
Photographed on Oahu
Emu – a flightless bird endemic to Australia, where it is the tallest native bird. It is the third-tallest living bird after its African relatives, the ostrich. The emu’s native ranges cover most of the Australian mainland.
Photographed near Adelaide, Australia
Curved Bill San Cristobal Mockingbird – a small, brown bird endemic to the island of San Cristóbal in the Galápagos.
Taken in the Galápagos
Perhaps we’ll another couple of dozen soon…
The Intentional Travelers 