Heather Tausig, vice president of conservation at the New England Aquarium, traveled to the Australian territory of Christmas Island, where an estimated 80,000 seabirds nest annually. This white tern in flight reminded her of how humans have studied birds to understand aerodynamics. Scroll through the gallery to see more beautiful birds. The National Audubon Society helped verify the species of these birds. 
The best bird photos "require good preparation and a lot of luck," said Scott Bauman. Here, a great blue heron soars over Gun Lake in Shelbyville, Michigan. 
A wood stork flies home to roost on Pawleys Island, South Carolina. The bird is threatened in the U.S. "You can't help but marvel at their size and the stark black feathers that create a distinct outline on their wings," photographer Penelope Penn said. 
Two northern flickers, members of the woodpecker family, rendezvous in the sky in Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. "I like the spirit of the two birds looking at each other, the color of their wings in flight and their interaction," said photographer Lucie Blais. 
A bird photography workshop took California veterinarian Polina Vishkautsan to Barrow, Alaska, where she waded in the wet tundra and encountered this long-tailed duck in a little pond. 
A red-tailed hawk hunts rodents in a freshly cut hay field on Whidbey Island in Washington. "Birds are the perfect photographic subjects," said Doug Whidby. "Their ability to fly is always a point of curiosity, and the details in their markings are stunning if you can capture them." 
Bradley S. Wilson was walking with his camera in St. Louis, Missouri's Forest Park one spring morning when he spotted this snowy egret, one of North America's most familiar herons. "The major difficulty here was timing. If I missed the moment, I would end up with tail feathers and a splash." 
An Indian peafowl, commonly known as the peacock, faces the camera in Cotui, Dominican Republic. 
Photographer Ken Howard was in the South African fishing town of Gansbaai to photograph sharks when he captured this image of kelp gulls, common coastal residents in the Southern Hemisphere. Watching these robins go from eggs to fledglings in York, Pennsylvania, has been the highlight of Jessica Baker's summer. The chicks "would thrust their heads up anytime they thought Mama was back with food. It was an amazing experience watching them grow." 
Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve in Newfoundland is a wonderful spot to watch the northern gannets return each summer to dive for fish and raise their young, said Sobhana Venkatesan. "We witness the flurry of activity in slow motion. It's a wondrous sight." 
The birds of the Bloedel Conservatory in Vancouver, British Columbia, include the Guinea turaco, "a secretive and gorgeous" creature that Eric Rossicci felt lucky to photograph. 
Even in the extreme heat around the geysers of Yosemite National Park in July, "there is plenty of thriving wildlife," said Michele J. Eberhardt, who got this shot of a mountain bluebird just as it was about to take flight. 
David Pass put a few drops of home-brewed nectar in a flower pot to entice the ruby-throated hummingbirds to his deck in Kennesaw, Georgia. Then he sat there for hours a day until the tiny birds got used to him, "each day inching my chair closer to the rose until I got this shot." 
A flock of white-fronted terns come in for a landing on a stormy afternoon in Opotiki, New Zealand. Black-mandibled toucans were frequent visitors during breakfast at the Lost Iguana resort in Costa Rica when Marjorie Zen visited in 2012. 
Oriental darters, sometimes called snakebirds, gather in the evening light at India's Mandagadde Bird Sanctuary. Sujay Govindaraj took this photo during 2014's monsoon season. 
It took Jerry Gonzales an hour and more than 20 shots to photograph this Philippine serpent eagle's stunning eyes because its head kept moving. He saw the captivating creature on a visit to the Pugo Adventure resort in the Philippines. "I was even begging the eagle to look at me and smile." 
On an October trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Michele Hancock challenged herself to get a shot of the laughing gull in flight over the water. "It focuses on the the act of flying itself. The curvature, the feathers, its all about the wings and the function that they serve." 
The white-crowned sparrow is a common sight in the American West. Charlie Alolkoy spotted this one on an early morning walk in his northwest Tucson, Arizona, neighborhood. Click on the double arrows to see more bird photos. 
Julee Khou said the great white pelicans she saw on Ethiopia's Lake Chamo "were just so animated -- swimming about, dunking their bills into the water to feed, and when on shore, preening themselves. They never stopped moving." 
An Atlantic puffin stretches its wings after coming out of its burrow on the Inner Farne island off England's Northumberland coast during breeding season. The small birds spend most of their lives at sea. 
It's feeding time for a European starling and its chick in a Saguaro cactus burrow in Tucson, Arizona. 
Marc Grover was out looking for snowy owls at Biddeford Pool, Maine, when he spotted this one perched on a roof. 
Cape May, New Jersey, has long been a mecca for birds and their admirers. David Colbeth shot this photo of an American oystercatcher while on a stroll through the Cape May National Wildlife Refuge. 
Mallard ducklings snuggle up near the entrance to Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia. 
A spring trip to the Chesapeake Bay to watch the osprey migration "is something to see," said Janie Lambert, who shot this photo in Maryland's North Beach. "It is very sweet to watch. Daddy even straightens up the nest while Mom feeds the little ones." 
A grey heron hitches a ride in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The large birds are ever-present in the city, having become so accustomed to humans "that they will walk right up to you on the street and steal whatever food you might be carrying in your hands," said Lulis Leal. A mother goose watches over her clan in Fort Collins, Colorado. "She was so protective of her offspring," David Pass said, "craning her neck looking around for potential trouble while her goslings were oblivious and just enjoying their romp through the grass." 
The sight of rare Andean flamingos convinced Fred Knight to get off his bicycle on the Sico Pass near the Argentina-Chile border. 
Renee Governale had been feeding this mute swan peanut-butter crackers when she decided to try to get a close-up photo. The bird bit down on her phone as if it was another cracker, but not before she got this shot. 
Phil Burton, 65, has been birdwatching since he was a child and always had a trip to Africa in mind. He got this shot of a little bee-eater on the west side of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, but "the rest of the safari group finally limited my screamed stops for birds." 
A yellow-crowned night-heron flies back to the nest with a stick to present to his mate. Longtime bird watcher Kristi DeCourcy watched the nest-building scene for several minutes from a restaurant parking lot in Matlacha, Florida. 
Pigeons are infamous residents in Paris, leaving their droppings on the city's famous monuments. These rock pigeons flew into Doug Simonton's shot of the Notre Dame Cathedral. 
While stopped along a section of mountain road between Vara Blanca and San Miguel, Costa Rica, Jack Donnelly happened to catch this shot of a lineated woodpecker. 
While many travelers visit to Africa to see "the big five" -- elephants, rhino, water buffalo, leopards, and lions -- the birds are very colorful and interesting also, said Elaine Enzinger. She spotted this superb starling outside Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. 
The yellow-billed stork is most distinguishable by its long neck, black tail and of course its yellow beak, which becomes a more vivid color during the breeding season. Lulis Leal photographed this one at South Africa's Kruger National Park. 
A great black-backed gull joins his buddy in New York's Long Island Sound to go for a swim, or maybe, to fish. 
A brown pelican spreads his wings between Galveston, Texas, and the Bolivar Peninsula. 
While volunteering at the Alaska SeaLife Center, Kira Freed kept an eye on the birds to make sure none of them escaped from the exhibit. "The opportunity to just be present with the seabirds was a tremendous honor," she said. Getting photos like this one of a tufted puffin spreading its wings was an added bonus. 
The grace of this great egret caught Donald Barrick's eye while he was visiting the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, Florida. Birds, he said, "are dainty, yet sometimes aggressive; graceful, but frequently clumsy -- much like us!" 
"Bird watching is always an unpredictable treat, especially when you have your camera handy," said Neslyn Talavera, who photographed this mew gull from her balcony aboard a cruise ship leaving port in Stockholm, Sweden. "One can appreciate the seagull from above, which is a rather rare sight."
- Is there anything more majestic than a bird in flight?
- CNN iReporters shared their best photos of feathered friends in action
- "Their ability to fly is a work of art," one iReporter said
(CNN) -- Who among us hasn't fantasized about flying like a bird? We've created hot air balloons, planes and spacecraft to replicate what birds can already do naturally.
CNN recently invited readers to share their best photos of birds in action. The National Audubon Society helped identify the bird species in the above gallery.
Flying robots inspired by birds? 
Director captures bird's eye view "Their ability to fly is a work of art in itself," said birdwatcher Michele Hancock, who is always on the lookout for unusual avian species to photograph.
Doug Whidby enjoys photographing birds near his home in Langley, Washington, and says they are the perfect subjects. "Their ability to fly is always a point of curiosity, and the details in their markings are stunning if you can capture them."
Scroll through the gallery and imagine yourself soaring through the sky. And yes, we know not all of these birds are flying, but they are too beautiful not to share.
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