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I changed my Profile Photo and Cover Photo to pictures I took. ;)

That is a Field Sparrow. Notice the orange crown stripes, pinkish-orange bill, and complete white eyering.

Tern array by johnd1964, on Flickr from a while back

Unless the image you're using is your own, you either need permission from the image owner or the image must be in the public domain. That doesn't just apply to profile photos here, that's the law across the United States and across all media. The Internet made it easy for some people to intentionally violate this law. The Internet also made it easy for some content owners to willingly distribute their materials for free. With the increase of both of these practices, many people have assumed all content on the Internet is free, unintentionally breaking the because they assumed what is common practice must be legal. Please note that I'm NOT accusing you of intentional copyright violation. I only want to point out how Internet users in general reached the point where they assume they can copy and paste at will.

Ah. I thought we were talking about artillery shells landing!

It’s an immature male Common Goldeneye. The incoming white circle (not crescent), head and bill shape, and large amount of white on the wing all rule out Barrow’s. Nice photo.

Bushtit

Hoping some little birds will return soon. Full disclosure - this one is from Monday (I'm always behind with my editing).

Yellow-bellied Elaenia Olive-throated Parakeet Green Kingfisher Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Tree and Cliff, Red-tailed, California Gull.

Common Goldeneye.

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. Maybe Harlan's subspecies. Ferruginous has longer, narrower tipped wings, broader head with longer gape, and clean white underside to primaries and secondaries - even on the dark morphs - without all that barring. Adult Harris's is distinctive. Juvenile Harris's would have rusty underwing coverts and a longer, white based tail.

Purple sheen on a Mallard's head usually suggests some domestic genes mixed in. Also, unusually large waterfowl (whether ducks or geese), especially if they are unusually full-chested and with a fat belly that hangs down almost to the ground, suggests domestic influence.

Yellow Rumped Warbler and Mallard. The mallard may have some domestic genes mixed in or something.

Yes, looks good for Red-breasted Merganser. Note the thin, upturned red bill and lack of contrast between the breast and head.

Yesterday.

FOY Fox Sparrow for me!

Red crossbill stuffed with pine nuts

I am off of crutches! I broke my leg Feb 4th, it was a 60 percent offset. I Had surgery on Feb 7th, (A plate and six screws.) And to day March 10th I am walking! Just 38 days!

Yes, both look good for Lesser Scaup.

Portland, Oregon this morning at the wetland this duck appeared and not sure of correct name. Can you help me?

Oh dear, I think I am morphing quickly into a cranky old man (good thing I am the only one on this forum) - as proof my son hits 50 this weekend. Charlie, today was a pretty good example of what you can be up against with wildlife/bird photography. This was a beautiful day for Southern Ontario at this time of year - 8C (guessing 45F) and sun all day, absolutely no change in lighting. Two photos below under exactly the same conditions. Photo 1. Trumpeter out in the open - camera was already set at 1/640 and F10 with auto ISO - camera selected ISO 100. Photo 2. Muskrat somewhat in the shade - same shutter speed and aperture - camera selected ISO 7200. This is a difference of 6.5 EVs (Exposure Values), or full aperture/shutter speed increments (requiring 1/8 second rather than 1/640 if sticking to ISO 100) and may explain what you were finding when you were trying to balance exposure in the manual mode. For the second photo I was also shooting a Mink (a particular favourite of mine) at the same time in the background. It was finding a meal (a mouse based on the tail hanging out of its mouth), eating it and then cleaning itself on a tree branch, so auto ISO allowed me to jump between the subjects. If you are "focused" on just one subject in constant lighting conditions then M mode is certainly viable and provides more control. However, if you are out on the trails and want to be ready for whatever comes along ................ Definitely my last post on this thread, I will never come back, honestly.

agreed

Meadowlark

Agreed

Transitioning to adult plumage I think. A wildlife photographer friend got all excited a few days ago as he thought he had found a Barrow's (pretty rare here) but it was the white of a partially formed circle in the shape of a crescent. I've noticed a lot of immature Goldeneyes at the moment have a faint white cheek circle.

Come to central SC. I'll put you on three before lunch.

That IS odd, because I'm the one who asked it! "How bizarre, how bizarre!"

Actually banding near the tips of the outermost primaries (P9 and P10) suggests juvenile Harlan's to me, juvenile dark morph calurus usually would have more solidly dark underside to tips of P9 and P10. But subspecific identification of Red-tailed Hawks, and especially juveniles, can be difficult and in some cases impossible due to extreme plumage variation even within subspecies. I would say this is probably Harlan's subspecies.

11 March 2020. Dauphin Island, AL. Expansive grassy marsh between beach and road

I took this photo in manual mode o a rainy day. The ISO was set at 2000, shutter speed was a risky 160, and the aperture was F/8. I was using an F/4, 300mm lens with a 2x extender, so having to shoot at F/8 was not the best for these conditions. There is more noise than I'd like, but I'm not afraid to shoot at up to 2500 ISO if necessary.

Agree with Savanah Sparrow.

Very dull gray. Looks good for Clapper.

agreed

At first I thought you were saying that warbler was a Mallard.

I agree with Yellow-rumped and Mallard. The Mallard may have a broken wing or a condition known as Angel Wing. Are the ducks fed by humans there?

If you'll click my Pileated avatar and look at my profile background, that ISO 100, under-exposed, first light of dawn Great Blue Heron is my favorite photo by far. The reduction as background doesn't do it justice. At full size you can see the fish in its bill and the water droplets flying from its wingtips. Sure, it could have been much better, but it captured the moment exactly. I look at it and I'm back in the swamp, seeing it flying over, suddenly banking hard left into a Gannet-like dive I didn't know herons could pull off, stabbing before it ever touched down, pushing off, and spreading its wings like the Angel of Death. I wouldn't trade that shot for the Mona Lisa.

Is the hardware permanent or just there during the healing? "Better. ... Stronger ... Faster ... We can make the world's first bionic birder." - Yeah, that one's going past most of the audience in this particular thread. Just say 'Okay, Boomer ' and we'll move on.

Ouch! Hope you feel better soon. Good thing you're a YOUNG birder!

In order to wrap this thread up I had thought about something like the following but decided not to. After much lengthy and heated debate the WBIDAC (WhatBird ID Awards Committee) has decided to present the following prizes: Winner: @Jefferson Shank for outstanding (and speedy) ID skills under exceptionally arduous conditions. Second: @Jim W for outstanding ingenuity in demonstrating that his particular ID choice (the Narwahl) is indeed capable of flight - the incorporation of the mysterious artifact was brilliant. Third: @AlexHenry for outstanding persistence, against the odds, of sticking with his choice to the end. Unfortunately the prizes previously referenced are no longer available but the winners may choose any prize up to a maximum value up $4.99 including postage. Please note the WBIDAC only meets once a year so there may be a delay in delivering the prizes. Probably good that I decided not to do this.

Note the syntax of this species' name -- Black-necked Stilt. It's a stilt with a black neck, not a black stilt with a neck. "Black" and "necked" form a compound adjective and modify "stilt" together, not independently. Note also that it is "Great Crested Flycatcher," not "Great-crested Flycatcher," as the species certainly lacks a "great crest." Instead, it is a large flycatcher with a crest, so "great" and "crested" are modifying "flycatcher" independently of each other.

Killdeer from today

These are Common Goldeneyes (and the right duck in the first photo is a Bufflehead). For male Common Goldeneyes, note the round white spot on the mostly dark head, golden eye, and mostly white sides. For the female/immature Common Goldeneyes, note the brown heads and gray back and wings. In both sexes, note the large white patches on the wings. For the female/immature male Bufflehead, note the white cheek patch.

That's a male Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Note the tiny bill, white eyering, and black bar under a white wingbar. There's nothing called an Orange-crowned Sparrow. I think you meant an Orange-crowned Warbler, but that species lacks the white wingbar and has a differently shaped eyering.