Gray Herons, Ètang des Batayolles, France, 17 Oct 2025
Before we venture too far into 2026, I need to do what most bloggers and webmasters do: compile and publish a Best-of list for 2025. For me, it’s photos of birds.
Why?
A very short explanation.
2025 was a beast of a year around the world. A renewed passion for bird photography and birding, which suddenly reappeared about halfway through the year, quickly became my go-to way to clear my mind, a salve for wounds I didn’t cause but like all of us, am forced to tend to. And it works. I’m looking at the world around me differently. I’m traveling differently. I’m hearing differently.
It also ignited the spark needed to bring this website back to life after I allowed it to grow fallow for more than half a decade. I like the direction in which it’s evolving and look forward to seeing what next year’s annual review and reflection will look like. Many thanks to all of you who have visited, liked, commented, followed and shared since its non-ceremonial re-christening in July. I look forward to seeing and meeting more of you in the coming year and beyond. Here’s to 2026 – which will also be another beast.
Onwards.
This list is a selection of 25 bird photos taken in 2025 which are among my personal favorites. I won’t say they’re my 25 best since hundreds are still in the ‘to-be-processed’ heap, but it’s close enough.
My favorite?
The image above, taken in October at the Ètang des Batayolles in the Camargue in south-central France. As much as I wished it was, it wasn’t a dance. It was a skirmish between a pair of Gray Herons and the one on the right, the instigator, emerged as the clear victor.
And the rest, in no particular order:
A Little Egret at the Parc Ornithologique du Pont de Gau in the Camargue, southern France, 15 October 2025.A Common Buzzard at the Embouchure du Var in November 2025. Some of the most common birds can be the most beautiful.A Black-winged Stilt at the EVOA – Tagus Estuary Birdwatching and Conservation Area near Lisbon, in early October 2025A Mallard at Laghi di Fusine in northeast Italy, December 2025.A Great Cormorant at the Parc Naturel Departemental de Vaugrenier in Villeneuve-Loubet, France.a Great Tit, Parc Naturel Départemental Vaugrenier, December 2025. Another common but stunning bird. A Eurasian Green Woodpecker, Parc Naturel Départemental Vaugrenier, December 2025. It’s the first decent shot I have of a woodpecker, so it had to make the list.A Common Redshank (left) and a Black-tailed Godwit, EVOA, October 2025.A Water Rail at the Parc Naturel Départemental Vaugrenier, December 2025. They are notoriously elusive and I snapped this within minutes of the first time I was actively seeking one. That’s why this made the list.Eurasian Magpie, Parc Naturel Départemental Vaugrenier, December 2025. Its dark colors make Magpies challenging to photograph. This one isn’t great, but I like the look and pose.Gray Heron, Parc Ornithologique du Pont de Gau, Camargue, 15 Oct 2025. I crossed paths with Grey Herons in every European country I visited this year except for the UK, usually from a safe distance. This one was so close that the short end of my 150-600 lens was too much.Hooded Crow, Strunjan, Slovenia, August 2025.Goldcrest, PND de Vaugrenier, 7 Dec 2025. Black-tailed Godwit, EVOA Tagus Estuary Birdwatching and Conservation Area, October 2025.American Goldfinch, near the Hocking River in Athens, Ohio, August 2025.European Robin, Entrevaux, France, November 2025Three Mallards, Embouchure du Var, Nov 2025Common Chiffchaff, Embouchure du Var, Dec 6 2025European Starlings, Embouchure du Var, Nov 2025A Male Eurasian Blackcap, Nice, November 2025Indian Silverbill at the Nice Riquier Station, November 2025.Greater Flamingo, Rhone River Delta, France, October 2025Greater Flamingo, Camargue, France, October 2025And a European Goldfinch, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, August 2025.
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Added to the Lens-Artists weekly photo challenge #379, this week on the theme of ‘Favorite Images of 2025 hosted by Tina and Travels and Trifles. Again, that provided just the swift kick I needed to publish this gallery. Thank you.
I'm a reporter, photographer and researcher driven by passions for travel, culture and justice. I've visited 62 countries and write something and make pictures every day.
Great Cormorant & Greater Flamingo for me, all great shot 👍 you are so right in your intro, the peace of mind and freedom from “life” gained is wonderful and your awareness grows hugely. Here’s to a great new year 🤞
These are excellent Bob! You’ve clearly got an eye for taking photos and there is such a variety in the collection. The Robin and the Goldfinches (both species) look like they’re enjoying posing for you. Although we have Green woodpeckers nearby (on the Wirral peninsula), we’ve yet to catch a glimpse of them, but we’ll keep trying! Not that it matters, as all of the pictures are great, but I do like the one of the reflective Little egret (oops! sorry about the poor pun!). Keep up the great work!
Thank you Colin. This is by far my favorite way to spend my time.
It took some time to spot the Green Woodpeckers, oftentimes heard and not seen. And when I finally did spot it, it was in the most difficult of places to photograph. Really just takes time and patience. Luckily I had an ample supply of both that day.
I so agree with your intro to this…and love all your portraits here. My favourite is the cormorant – the light and feeling. I lost photography this year because of the state of the world…but found my way back to painting. That brings me in some sort of harmony again and takes my whole concentration. Everyone has to find his or her own solution to be able to exist in this chaos.
Thanks so much for sharing these with us Bob, what an amazing collection! I wouldn’t venture to choose a favorite, way too many of those! Happy to have motivated you to rejoin the blogging community and looking forward to seeing much more of your work in the coming year.
Wow! Bob, you showed some amazing photos in this post. I’m in awe. Are the European Starlings a problem there? Here, in Texas, they are invasive and are disrupting some native bird species’ habitat, such as the Eastern Bluebird.
They are plentiful and can be aggressive, so that does turn some off. I like them – there are few things more beautiful and fascinating in the natural world than a Starling murmuration.
Moving in. Watch your head. And look out for the birds.
This is BobRamsak.com, a public notebook by Bob Ramsak.
I’m a long-time journalist, photographer and researcher driven by passions for environmental, social and refugee justice. I’ve visited 62 countries and write something and make pictures (almost) every day. This site is a notebook and photolog where I track and (sometimes) comment on those interests, journal my travels and log my current obsessions. At the moment the most dominant one is my renewed passion for birding and bird photography.
This site primarily serves as a garden for my memories and experiences, which I hope visitors will find useful or of interest. If you find something helpful here, or have a thought or insight to add, please leave a comment or drop me a line to let me know. I’ll be delighted to make your acquaintance.
If you asked me which one was the best, I couldn’t choose. They’re all such beautiful photographs. Thank you, Love, nia
Thank you Nia!
Great Cormorant & Greater Flamingo for me, all great shot 👍 you are so right in your intro, the peace of mind and freedom from “life” gained is wonderful and your awareness grows hugely. Here’s to a great new year 🤞
Thank you Brian. It’s gradually growing into an obsession.
A beautiful collection! 🙂
Wonderful photos, Bob. The Great Cormorant is poetry.
Thank you Sofia – yes, I really liked that one too. Cormorants are plentiful in the area but they’re not always cooperative. 🙂
These are excellent Bob! You’ve clearly got an eye for taking photos and there is such a variety in the collection. The Robin and the Goldfinches (both species) look like they’re enjoying posing for you. Although we have Green woodpeckers nearby (on the Wirral peninsula), we’ve yet to catch a glimpse of them, but we’ll keep trying! Not that it matters, as all of the pictures are great, but I do like the one of the reflective Little egret (oops! sorry about the poor pun!). Keep up the great work!
Thank you Colin. This is by far my favorite way to spend my time.
It took some time to spot the Green Woodpeckers, oftentimes heard and not seen. And when I finally did spot it, it was in the most difficult of places to photograph. Really just takes time and patience. Luckily I had an ample supply of both that day.
Bob, your bird photography reflects a real care for the incredible variety of bird life. You’ve built a beautiful gallery of nature’s finest aviators.
Thank you John for your kind words. Looking forward to adding to each of those galleries in the year and years ahead.
All lovely images.
Thank you Pepper.
That’s a beautiful photo of the Goldcrest
Thanks! They move around a lot and quickly so I was thrilled to snap a few decent shots.
Beautiful collection of bird images!
Thanks!
I so agree with your intro to this…and love all your portraits here. My favourite is the cormorant – the light and feeling. I lost photography this year because of the state of the world…but found my way back to painting. That brings me in some sort of harmony again and takes my whole concentration. Everyone has to find his or her own solution to be able to exist in this chaos.
Thanks Leya. That harmony and balance is key when everything seems to be getting so cruelly out of balance.
I look forward to seeing more of your work.
Thanks so much for sharing these with us Bob, what an amazing collection! I wouldn’t venture to choose a favorite, way too many of those! Happy to have motivated you to rejoin the blogging community and looking forward to seeing much more of your work in the coming year.
Thank you Tina – that’s very much appreciated.
Wow! Bob, you showed some amazing photos in this post. I’m in awe. Are the European Starlings a problem there? Here, in Texas, they are invasive and are disrupting some native bird species’ habitat, such as the Eastern Bluebird.
They are plentiful and can be aggressive, so that does turn some off. I like them – there are few things more beautiful and fascinating in the natural world than a Starling murmuration.