Love the ruby red heels, the blur, the bridge detail, l'attitude, et, bien sûr, the crash course with the pigeon. Fantastique photo.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Keith Hoogewys - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of Keith Hoogewys

Well, it's the first weekend of fall (or autumn, if you like) and I've been enjoying watching the robins gobbling up all the ripe little red berries on the bush-tree-thing outside from the comfort of my living room perch. They are hilarious. Always entertaining, I thought I'd see what their cousins across the pond look like at this time of year. Yes, it seems the same scene abroad. Though North American robins are much bigger and more burly than their UK relatives.

And while I was watching the birds, I thought, why not re-berry my blog so that I can feature larger format photos. Well, after hours of tinkering, I've settled on what you see today. Not so much finished as set aside, because I'm not entirely jazzed with the results. But with so much else to do before sundown Sunday, I figure I'd better leave it be and move on before it's too late to get anything else accomplished.

Plus, with my nose down in the computer, I've been missing the action outside with the berries and the birds ...

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Wales Birder - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Wales, UK ★
Photo courtesy of Wales Birder

This tilt-shift image is incredible. It's like a photo of a dream! Definitely a moving and artistic look at San Francisco's Mission Street flying rats. Er, I mean, pigeons.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - bhautik joshi - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: San Francisco, California ★
Photo courtesy of bhautik joshi

When I first stumbled upon the top photo of the flock, I couldn't help laughing out loud at the way the seagull closest to the camera is gazing goofily right into it. What a great photo! I love it. And the one below is so poetic. I've got a seagull story for you. Two, in fact. The first takes place right here in San Francisco. I was taking a friend from out of town out to Alcatraz Island and while we were waiting in line to board the ferry, along with a serpentine string of other tourists, a flock of aggressive gulls descended upon anyone and everyone with food. Well, you'll probably find it hard to believe, but I am entirely serious when I tell you that this guy standing next to us - focused on the big juicy cheeseburger and fries he was casually inhaling, rather than The Birds above - lost both his burger and his appetite when a particularly hungry and skillful gull stopped lurking and swooped down for the burger (and got it) in one fluid feat of flight. It was surreal. And real scary! The poor man was left with a few fries and a pile of nerves. Oh yeah. The second story. Yadda, yadda, yadda, the last time I was in the most serene city of Venice (Italy) I witnessed the most distinctly non-serene sight: a seagull standing on the algae-covered steps of a Grand Canal palazzo, gutting and gobbling down the innards of a pigeon. That's kinda cannibalism, no?

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographers - Einfach Alina and Leo - if either is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: [top photo] Rovinj, Croatia ★
Photo courtesy of Einfach Alina

Location: [bottom photo] Italian Island of Sardinia ★
Photo courtesy of Leo

I was looking for pigeons in Venice, but somehow I happened upon these guys in Moscow. Venice recently ruled that it's no longer legal to sell food for or feed the flying rats that were so central to the St. Mark's Square experience for so long. I think it's better for the city and its preservation, but I must say that I'm glad I got to experience Piazza San Marco when the birds were at the height of their menacing numbers. Some of my favorite photos of the landmark square and its monuments feature the birds. And when I see images like this one, I only adore them more. It's definitely a love-hate relationship, but whether you're a fan or not you must admit the crazy critters are quite photogenic fellows.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - uncle_andrey - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Moscow, Russia ★
Photo courtesy of uncle_andrey