A growing catalog of birds I've photographed in the field — searchable by species, one sighting at a time. Other animals are coming as I branch out.
Every bird you add to birds.json shows up here automatically — search and filter included. Birds first — other wildlife joins the search once I start shooting them.
Sunsets, skies, and the wider landscape — every photo you add to nature.json shows up here automatically.
I'm Daniyal Abdullah, from Pakistan. I completed my Bachelor's in Computer Game Development — but wildlife has been the real constant in my life since I was a kid. I grew up fascinated by trees and the tiny creatures living in them, always out exploring. My family just figured I'd grow out of it eventually.
I never really did. Over the years I kept a lot of pets — budgies, lovebirds — but I could never shake the guilt of seeing them in a cage. To me, a bird belongs in the open, up in a big tree, not behind bars. So I set them free, even knowing someone else might just catch them again. It hurt, but it felt right. After that I moved to animals that could live freely around me instead — I raised chicks and bunnies for a while, though eventually I couldn't keep those either.
I found out way too late that things like a zoology degree even existed as a path — by the time I learned about it, I was already deep into a completely different field at university. But the pull toward wildlife never left. One day I came across a video on Instagram that reignited everything, and I decided to actually start doing something about it instead of just admiring it from a distance.
I began with a rented camera, unsure if this was something I'd stick with. Alhamdulillah, I now own my own — and I've been posting what I capture on my Instagram page ever since. I'm still learning, still growing, and slowly turning a childhood obsession into something real. Birds are where I'm starting, but I'm planning to branch out into other animals too as I go.
Before the wild ones came the ones I raised myself — budgies and lovebirds I eventually set free, chicks and bunnies I cared for along the way. There were a few others too, over the years, whose photos didn't make it this far — but they're part of the story all the same.
A section just for the long view — what I'm working toward, past the next photo.
I'm Daniyal Abdullah, from Pakistan — and I'll say it plainly: I'm new to this. I finished a degree in Computer Game Development, not photography, and I'm still learning the basics with a Nikon D90 and a 70–300mm lens. But I'd rather be honest about being a beginner than pretend otherwise. Somewhere between here and where I want to be, I plan to actually become good at this — maybe even the best at it.
I want to travel the whole world and capture its beauty through my camera. Not just the birds outside my window — the vast gold light of the African savannah, the impossible, tangled life of the Amazon, the wild corners of the earth I've only ever seen through someone else's photographs. I want to stand in those places myself one day, camera in hand, and bring a piece of them home. I want to build a name for myself as a wildlife photographer — not just someone who owns a camera, but someone whose eye for this world people come to recognize.
I've loved wildlife since I was a kid, but birds taught me something the hard way. I kept budgies and lovebirds for years, and I could never get past the guilt of seeing them in a cage — a bird belongs up in a big tree, not behind bars. Eventually I let them go, even knowing someone else might just catch them again. Photography is my way of staying close to that feeling without ever taking anything from it.
Right now, that means starting small and staying consistent — learning everything I can with the gear I already have, posting honestly on Instagram, and slowly branching out beyond birds to other animals. It's a long way from here to the Serengeti or the Amazon, but every photo I take now is a small step toward standing there one day, camera ready.
Feedback on a photo, a correction on a species name, or just a hello — it all lands with me.
If a photo made you stop and look twice, that already means a lot. If you'd like to do a bit more than that, send me a message — I'll gladly tell you how.