Bird of the Day, theme 'Parenting'

natureAug 30, 202623914,052

Today's Bird of the Day is a community challenge with the theme Parenting, calling for images of nesting, feeding, and other parental behaviors. Submissions focus on family interactions and care, with quiet backyard moments, wetland feedings, and dramatic protective stances. Look for a fledgling downy woodpecker waiting politely for suet from its father, a Great White Egret feeding an egretlet at a wetland, and a Great Crested Grebe carrying two grebettes on its back.

Bill Stedman

@steddybirds.bsky.social

How’s this for a very well-mannered fledgling downy woodpecker waiting politely for some suet from its dad? Good #Parenting pays off! #BirdOfTheDay #birds #woodpeckers #backyardbirds #birdphotography #ECK 🪶

1497Yesterday

socksup.bsky.social1

Thanks, I’m from the austral antipodes, reminded me of the thrill of seeing my first woodpecker (whilst in your hemisphere).

Alan H

@alan678.bsky.social

I’m going with AB’s @atlanticbirding.bsky.social #BirdOfTheDay theme of #Parenting “When your teenager finally turns 18 and you’re trying to look sad about them leaving… but secretly you’ve already changed the Wi-Fi password.” 😂 #birds #Stunday #ForJanet #photography #ECK

A brightly coloured adult Robin stands behind a juvenile Robin, both perched on the ground. The adult has a vivid orange-red breast and a watchful expression, while the young bird has mottled golden-brown plumage and looks up towards the adult. Scattered seeds lie around their feet, creating a charming scene that looks rather like a parent keeping a close eye on a teenager.

694Yesterday

jazzrat2000 AKA Bonsai anonymous3

Excellent photo here's a not so excellent drawing of it #birdart

Mick Lister3

Lovely shot marra. There's almost a steely focus from the adult and an almost wide eyed innocent look from the youngster. As for changing the wifi password - they will already have a workaround mucker 😀

Graham Jones2

Brilliant Alan. Janet would have loved that, although our boys sometimes dubbed her, along with her friend Barbara, The Mothers from Hell. They took no prisoners. Both ours left home before 18 … Janet never knew the Passwords, anyway. 😂

Helen Bennett 🌿2

🤣. Great shot Alan... I love the expression on the parent Robin's face! 😂👏😍

Colm B2

Excellent shot and comment spot on 🤣

alisonwillis1.bsky.social2

😂 The teenage years are designed to make it easier to let them go! Beautiful capture Brian. 😍

Clinty1

@clinty1.bsky.social

@atlanticbirding.bsky.social Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #Parenting; of any form: nesting feeding etc. Here's a Great White Egret feeding an egretlet #Birds #WetlandBirds #GreatWhiteEgret

a great white egret, perched in dense green branches, feeding a hatchling. The adult regurgitates food into the hatchling's beak

646Yesterday

lakerat61.bsky.social1

Good lord, at first glimpse, I thought it was pecking out its eye!

jazzrat2000 AKA Bonsai anonymous1

I had to hold my kids mouths open with my neck too when I fed em. well into their 20s

tenslady1939.bsky.social1

We had a great white egret at our pond today...he stood out so clearly....

mmmarvalous.bsky.social1

Egretlet! Lovely word, beautiful photo!

Aspen Carter1

Feeding it its neck apparently lol

swandiveswim.bsky.social

@swandiveswim.bsky.social

#Birds Atlantic Birding @atlanticbirding.bsky.social says today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme Alt. is #Blue; on the bird or in the scene. Here's a Black Capped Chickadee having a bath in a homemade bird bath.

A small & wet bird, is inside a shallow blue container with water. The bird's plumage is clumped together, there are droplets of water in the air. the bird has a black head with broad white cheek patch. The wings & back are a dark charcoal grey.

424Yesterday

Rina

@rina2012.bsky.social

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #Parenting Alternative theme is #Blue Taxi Mum: The Great Crested Grebe’s ‘Piggyback Style’ 🪶 #birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Germany #wildlife #photography #nature #thelittlethings #ECK #Stunday

A close-up of a great crested grebe in breeding plumage. It is swimming on blue water, carrying its black-and-white-striped chick on its back.

361Yesterday

Pirritin2

This is so cute and heart warming capture 😍

Robyn1

So cute, Rina! Great capture.

alisonwillis1.bsky.social1

Stunning and captivating capture 😍

Marjo Slingerland-Boks1

Ohhh wow Rina what a gorgeous photo and lovely moment ❤️

SaraG1

Gah! This is so cute, sweet, and wonderful I can't even stand it. Really great capture, Rina. 🥰

AnnMB481

I was privileged to see one of our local crested grebes carrying her chick. (Sadly no camera to hand.)

Linda Barnia King

@lindaking78.bsky.social

Great Horned Owl adult and owlets…the young stay with their parents for 6-9 months—a long time in the bird world… #EasternWashington #PNW #BirdoftheDay #Parenting #Owls #BirdPhotography #BirdsofBlueSky #BirdsoftheWorld #Nature #Wildlife #BirdWatching #Birding #BirdLife

32123h ago

elonispsycho24.bsky.social5

…unless the owlets go to grad school… then it’s 6-9 YEARS.

Ron©️ 🇺🇲🇺🇦2

My bird feeder visitors was a literal smorgasbord for the GHO that took up residency. Within 2 weeks the raucous sounds of birds in the neighborhood was replaced by sad silence so I took the feeder down.

Atlantic Birding

@atlanticbirding.bsky.social

Morning, Happy Sunday Everyone! Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #Parenting; of any form: nesting feeding etc. Alt. is #Blue; on the bird or in the scene - Great Crested Grebe carrying two grebettes - Long-Tailed Tit against a blue sky #birds #ECK #birdphotography #naturephotography #Stunday

A Great Crested Grebe floating on a lake surface with two Grebettes (or Humbugs) on its back.
The bird is right of centre of frame, facing the right with its head turned back so the left side is visible. The chicks head can be seen poking out from under the birds wings, just under the tip of its beak.
The bird has a dark cap, turning to a double crest at the top of the head. It has a long, sharp beak with a dark streak from the end of the beak to the eye. The rest of the face is white with chestnut brown at the back of the head and a chestnut ruff, turning to back at the tips. The neck is white with a dark spine and the body is a reddish brown, darker on the back and wings.
The grebettes (or humbugs) are only visible on the head and neck. They are almost stacked on top of each other, with the further chick slightly further back on the Grebes body. They have stark black and white streaks down their face and necks, giving a zebra pattern (or humbug mint) appearance
The foreground is the lake, covered in tiny ripples and reflecting the light to give off a metallic appearance.
The background is also lake water but covered in small pond weeds and other vegetation; mostly just above the surface but with the odd lily pad or large piece of vegetation here and there.

264Yesterday

allanwithll 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿25

Morning back AB. Sitting on a poolside yet again watching son early morning swim training, I understand #Parenting hard work! 😂 Though not as hard as this Swallow trying to keep its brood healthy. #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #BirdTherapy #UKwildlife #NatureCantWait #wildlifephotography #ECK

Rina2

Good morning AB, Great shots and themes! Thank you 🙏😊

Alan H1

Excellent shots and themes AB. Love the Grebe and babes. 😍 LTT’s are so hard to get. Don’t sit still.

alisonwillis1.bsky.social1

Adorable Great Crested Grebe scene AB. Beautiful captures 😍

@s4r4h-l1

Got to love a Grebe 😍

Marjo Slingerland-Boks1

Good morning AB, that are wonderful themes and beautiful photos ✨️

Kevin Wertman

@kevin.wertman.org

Today's #BirdOfTheDay from Atlantic Birding is #Parenting. Here's a family of sandhill cranes I saw out for a stroll at the wetlands. #Stunday #Photography #Birds #SandhillCranes

An adult and two juvenile sandhill cranes stand in a row, with necks and heads overlapping. The sun shines on them from the left and behind is a bright green meadow.

23920h ago

AlinaHagen 🌊🎨📸 🥾1

I love this shot, it's so well done, and the cranes are fabulous in their poses and colors.

Aintright

@aintright.bsky.social

Daphne the Dipper feeding one of her brood earlier this year. #BirdOfTheDay #Parenting #birds #Stunday #ForJanet #photography #ECK

242Yesterday

Alan H1

Stunningly moving capture Bill. Top notch photography.

Frastis - Realistic - Center - Sentience. #Pinks.1

Birds rely on insects to raise chicks, clutch, brood so please reconsider hiring pesticide companies that kill a necessary food source.

Mick Lister1

Beautifully tender shot Bill 👌

Tim Osborne Photography 🍁

@timosborne.ca

This is an older shot for today's #BirdOfTheDay theme of #Parenting. Captured is a split second moment of a parent arriving with food for her young Barn Swallows. #birds

Four young barn swallows sit on a cattail with their mouths open. Their parent arrives with a meal and is placing it in one of the bird's mouths.

213Yesterday

Tim Osborne Photography 🍁82

And for reference, here's how fast this all happens. #birds #Parenting #BirdOfTheDay

Alan H1

What a beautiful capture Tim.

wizard prang1

Oh my gosh!!!! What a photo!

Dwight1

After watching the short video clip following this photograph, makes this even more phenomenal. Excellent capture, Tim!

Timothy Keeney1

Such an amazing capture! Great work.

Heidi Eaton1

Great shot, and the video is awesome!

Dave Meredith

@davemeredith.bsky.social

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Parenting with the alternative theme #Blue. A male Mountain Bluebird with a grasshopper for its young for a twofer. #Saskatchewan #ECK #photography #birds #nature #wildlife #Kodachrome #1990s #ManualFocus

215Yesterday

Atlantic Birding1

Nice Twofer Dave, lovely shot

moniquebouchard.bsky.social1

Beautiful photo of the little bird! The weather is lovely and we're very comfortable. They're only forecasting 21°C today. What's the weather like where you are?

Neil Cameron1

Just a gorgeous shot, Dave - as usual.

PacBirds

@pacbirds.bsky.social

A female bushtit (right) feeding her young a tiny bug for the #Parenting theme of #BirdOfTheDay picked by @atlanticbirding.bsky.social #birds #nature #photography #stunday #ECK

Two tiny grey and brown birds are perched on a horizontal willow twig, facing each other. The one on the right has yellow eyes, indicating it is a female, and is holding a bug, the one on the left has its beak wide open and is about to be fed the bug.

213Yesterday

Aj d'Wit (Audrey)1

Now this is just the sweetest. 😍👌

continentaldivide.bsky.social1

I call bushtit on that.

JBC

@johnbcaddell.bsky.social

rub-a-dub scrub, a bird in a shrub a #bird with #Blue #BirdOfTheDay

a California Scrub Jay perched on a branch of a shrub

18121h ago

Michael R Photography 🌿

@msriffle.bsky.social

Today's #BirdOfTheDay ALT theme is #Blue. This tricolored heron lifted off to find another place to look for breakfast as I walked along the shores of the ever so beautiful Gulf of Mexico in North #Florida. #photography #wildlife #wildlifephotography #ECK #birds #Birdsky #birders #birdsinflight

171Yesterday

Jan1

Most of us never get to see a heron in flight. Usually they are just sitting there meditating!!! Thanks again for your wonderful photos and a special thanks for a photo taken in the GULF OF MEXICO.

Aj d'Wit (Audrey)1

A glorious photo, Michael. And those golden legs ... 👌

Mick Lister

@listermj.bsky.social

#BirdOfTheDay theme is: #Parenting; of any form: nesting feeding etc. Open wide! A very vocal and demanding fledgling Starling is fed a sultana by one of its calm parents in my garden (May 2026) #ukwildlife #birds #flyday #starlings #nature #cumbria #photography #eastcoastkin