1. Common buzzard (hawk in North America) caught a second before hitting the water
2. The great cormorant is among the most efficient fishers in nature
3. Be vewwy vewwy quiet, this black-crowned night-heron is on the hunt!
4. Despite the James Bond connotation, the common goldeneye isn’t very sneaky or spylike, at all, and can actually be pretty aggressive
5. This picture is aptly titled “camouflage”
6. Another common sea-duck, the eider has a beautifully-patterned plumage during mating season
7. The crown-crested hoopoe is monogamous, and during nesting, the male hunts for the female, as well as himself
8. This bearded silhouette belongs to the capercaillie, a type of grouse (or gamefowl) that is related to pheasants. This male is in the midst of a mating call
9. Ever wondered how hummingbirds get to all of that sweet nectar? A long, thin tongue helps a lot
10. Wild mallards on a lake
11. Somebody call Hitchcock, it's happening!
12. Hummingbirds move so fast, they often seem like a blur. This is what they actually look like mid-flight
13. Note the hummingbird’s translucent gossamer feathers
14. A raven flying through the snow
15. This is a ptarmigan, another northerly member of the grouse family. The effect of the bird blending into the background was accomplished through overexposure
16. The little swift is a master of complex aerial maneuvers
17. The photographer called this picture “Black Friday”, likening it to customer squabbles during the shopping bonanza
18. All owls are fierce hunters, but their size varies greatly. Pygmy owls average at 6 inches (15 cm) long from tail to tip
19. Showing the fish who’s the king
20. The southern carmine bee-eater. You’d never guess what its diet consists of
21. Could you… not?
22. A robin taking advantage of the soft, upturned soil
