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Summer Delehanty

@summersbirds

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Hey!! Welcome to my birdwatching page, which keeps the bird spam out of my personal account. I’m no influencer, but I love documentation, so this is my way of tracking where I go and the cool things I see (when I remember). I’m trying to get better about keeping it up to date.

I love birdwatching first and photography second, so I’d say I’m more of a birdwatcher with a camera. Though I grew up in California, I’m currently working in the DC area. I love art and writing, with my favorite subject being birds (duh). I spend as much time outside as I can and try to birdwatch even more than that. Stay tuned to hear my adventures! by @summersbirds

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3 months ago

birds of the lower Rio Grande river valley!! had a lot of fun making this shirt in preparation for my Texas trip. great way to kill time on a plane, but super hard to narrow it down to just a couple birds.

want your own? link in my bio :) by @summersbirds

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3 months ago

Inspired by @abigailsbirdjournal !

How many birds have YOU seen this year? 🤔 chose to go with all US + territories and not just ABA area so I could include my PR trip. Some of my trips were purely birdmaxxing others were mixed birding/exploring/family time.

I realized after I made this that I never added the blue tail to my jan 1st checklist 😐😐😐 by @summersbirds

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7 days ago

IT’S HERE IT’S HERE!!!!! LINK IN BIO!!

I’m getting close to one year of living in DC (😱) and I wanted something to commemorate that. Ranked #1 in big-city park systems by the Trust for Public Lands, Washington DC has so many beautiful parks worth celebrating and protecting! I featured some of my favorites, along with a 3D map, on this shirt. :)

I’m 5’6” and wearing a size medium in these photos, but the listing also includes a size guide. Shirts are unisex. by @summersbirds

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11 days ago

Genuinely crying with laughter going back through these photos. It was dark and I was shaking with excitement and there’s literally like, one photo that’s only SLIGHTLY out of focus. The rest are HORRID. This is so funny. Please share your worst photography fail because this is perhaps mine by @summersbirds

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12 days ago

Kenilworth! Yellow crowned night herons! Five billion yellow crowned night herons!!

If you want to learn more about the concept of wilderness, I encourage you to read one of my favorite essays: The Trouble with Wilderness or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature by William Cronin. He goes into way more depth than I can in a minute-long video. I could talk about it for ages though so I needed to limit myself. Anyways, enjoy wild DC by @summersbirds

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14 days ago

I LOVE LITTLE FISHIES 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶 creek is the best hangout spot bc if you get thirsty you can just sip on the creek water mmmm splshshhshs by @summersbirds

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16 days ago

What should you wear birding? My take: whatever you’re comfortable in! I’ve been out in feels-like temps from -10°F (-23°C) to 110°F (43°C), so wanted to share what I’ve learned and what works for me. I put together a handy little table to think about what you wear—I use temperature, birding intensity, sun/UV intensity, and bug level to determine how I should dress. Keep scrolling to see some of my go-to outfits for different conditions.

I also want to note that everyone does things differently. At the minimum, wear comfortable shoes and something easy to move around in. That’s it! No need to go out and buy a ton of clothes specifically for birding—how I dress for birding is basically just how I dress normally. De-influencing you guys from needing a bunch of special gear. If you have any tips of your own please comment them below!

And if you’ve gone birding with me before and I showed up dressed completely wrong going “my bad I didn’t check the weather,” that never happened. 🤫🤫 by @summersbirds

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18 days ago

North American vultures! There are two common types of vulture (ignoring the California Condor, which is both distinctive and limited in range). Here’s some tips I use to tell them apart. They also often have a difference in the color of their head — turkey vultures have red heads — but I don’t recommend that as an identification technique, because it’s not always true in the case of juveniles. Plus, I try to stay away from color as an identifier in general, both because I’m colorblind and it can be so variable in different lighting or across individuals. What bird(s) would you like to see me cover next? by @summersbirds

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20 days ago

How do you tell a cormorant from a loon? While they may look distinct in a field guide, they’re often backlit and far away when you see them irl. This is a good way to learn identification by shape. Cormorants have long, often s-shaped necks and squared-off beaks, while loons have straight or tucked stocky necks and pointed beaks. Even if you think you know the difference, test your knowledge from only silhouettes! What bird(s) would you like to see me cover next? by @summersbirds

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23 days ago

Happy July 1st!!! What was your first bird of the year and how has your year been going, now that we’re halfway through? 🧐🧐 by @summersbirds

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24 days ago

Here’s a couple ways I stay safe both online and out and about as a female birdwatcher :) I’ve never felt genuinely unsafe, but I think it’s good to be cautious about the information being shared.

1. I don’t post on eBird or iNaturalist near where I live or am staying (and if I do, I wait until I’ve already left that spot to submit observations).
2. I wait to share about my travels until I’m already back.
3. I don’t tell strangers too many details about my itinerary, where I’m staying, or the fact I’m alone.
4. I always have my location shared with people I trust and let at least one person know when I’m out alone somewhere. by @summersbirds

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a month ago