Bluebird in flight

The same bird as the perched shot from earlier that morning, caught a few minutes later mid-launch off the branch. Bluebirds fly in short, direct bursts between perches rather than long sustained flight, which makes the window to catch one airborne brief but predictable if you’re already watching a favorite perch.

Getting the shot

Pre-focused on the branch and waited for him to leave it, panning to track as he banked away. The plain out-of-focus background did the framing’s work for me — nothing to distract from the wing shape.