It was a good year for photography at least. Below I saw this White-faced Ibis perched on this stump on a bird walk around the Diamond Creek Pond in south Reno, NV. I have continued to use the 1.4 telaconverter, which extends my 500mm lens to 700mm. The Ibis was in the shade so with my standard shutter speed of 1/1250s and f/5.6 the ISO hit my upper limit of 2000.

White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) - Diamond Creek Pond, WAS (NV)
EQ: Nikon D850, Nikkor 500mm f/4.0 with 1.4 TC Taken: 7-23-2021 at 8:11
Settings: 700mm (35mm eqv), 1/1250s, f/5.6, ISO2000, +1/3EV, Conditions: shade

I found these Bald Eagle on the Washoe Lake and they with scoping out the area on the ice near the shoreline.

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) - Washoe Lake - Bellevue Rd, WAS (NV)
EQ: Nikon D850, Nikkor 500mm f/4.0 with 1.4 TC Taken: 1-26-2021 at 10:22
Settings: 700mm (35mm eqv), 1/1250s, f/6.3, ISO110, +1/3EV, Conditions: sunny

Some of the birds were rare like the hybrid below, favorite like the Common Yellowthroat, a young Robin, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Canvasback, and increasing sightings of Black Phoebes.

Common Goldeneye x Hooded Merganser (hybrid) (Bucephala clangula x Lophodytes cucullatus), rare - UNR Campus, WAS (NV)
EQ: Nikon D850, Nikkor 500mm f/4.0 with 1.4 TC Taken: 12-17-2021 at 10:01
Settings: 700mm (35mm eqv), 1/800s, f/5.6, ISO1600, +1/3EV, Conditions: shade

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) - Damonte Ranch Wetlands - Veterans Pkwy, WAS (NV)
EQ: Nikon D850, Nikkor 500mm f/4.0 with 1.4 TC Taken: 4-29-2021 at 9:37
Settings: 700mm (35mm eqv), 1/1000s, f/5.6, ISO100, +1/3EV, Conditions: sunny

American Robin (Turdus migratorius) - Mont Pelier, WAS (NV)
EQ: Nikon D500, Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 Taken: 7-22-2021 at 7:52
Settings: 450mm (35mm eqv), 1/400s, f/2.8, ISO100, +1/3EV, Conditions: sunny

Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica) - Truckee River along GSR, WAS (NV)
EQ: Nikon D850, Nikkor 500mm f/4.0 with 1.4 TC Taken: 11-17-2021 at 10:26
Settings: 700mm (35mm eqv), 1/1250s, f/5.6, ISO800, +1/3EV, Conditions: shade

Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) - Swan Lake - Fleetwood Pumphouse, WAS (NV)
EQ: Nikon D850, Nikkor 500mm f/4.0 with 1.4 TC Taken: 10-13-2021 at 11:09
Settings: 700mm (35mm eqv), 1/1250s, f/5.6, ISO500, +1/3EV, Conditions: sunny

Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) - Rancho San Rafael, WAS (NV)
EQ: Nikon D850, Nikkor 500mm f/4.0 with 1.4 TC Taken: 3-12-2021 at 10:26
Settings: 700mm (35mm eqv), 1/800s, f/9.0, ISO400, +1/3EV, Conditions: sunny

I was able to capture some nice birds in my yard like this immature Cooper’s Hawk and a Rufous Hummingbird.

Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) - Mont Pelier, WAS (NV)
EQ: Nikon D500, Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 Taken: 3-22-2021 at 10:04
Settings: 450mm (35mm eqv), 1/1250s, f/5.0, ISO640, +1/3EV, Conditions: sunny

Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) - Mont Pelier, WAS (NV)
EQ: Nikon D500, Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 Taken: 7-14-2021 at 6:12
Settings: 450mm (35mm eqv), 1/1600s, f/2.8, ISO220, +1/3EV, Conditions: sunny

It’s been getting easier to select my favorite photos over the years but the final best of 2021 is still difficult. I really want the photo to be sharp but I really want the bird to be the center of attention. Enjoy the rest of the photos that I really like for 2021.