Leaderboard

Spaghetti

Today, Cactus Wren, Mojave Desert.

If I'm reading eBird correctly, 21. It took me a few seconds to find it because I don't track multiple lists - county, state, month, year, astrological house, vehicle driven, home / away games, how my eggs were cooked, etc. Life list is the only one I pay attention to; any others are too much like work. I check the count for one hot spot regularly to see the total species count for the site, not what I've notched there. I look at another couple of hot spots and yard count maybe a couple of times a year, if / when I remember.

American Robin

Ok, all you rubberneckers, settle down 😄 Just a garden variety spammer posting inappropriate stuff on the forums.

Did you have some Wild Turkey before you took the photos? 😅 Pour me a glass and I should be able to ID the bird for you. 🤣

I'm very far from being an expert, but here are my heuristics for the non-gulls. For the downies, for my eyes the shorter beak makes the poof of feathers above the bill really noticeable, which jumps out in the first two pictures. For separating siskins from finches/others, I find the forked tail to be really distinctive when looking at the birds in the tree, along with the heavier streakiness. There are more precise ways to do this, but as a more novice birder those are the marks that I've learned to see for a relatively quick ID.

Got within 1-2 feet of this guy!

Y'all stop feeling the Pintails, please. They don't like it.

8 x 42 is the “standard” birding binocular - 8x magnification, with a 42 millimeter diameter objective lens. The larger the objective lens, the more light that is let in. So, 8 x 42 binoculars will work better in low light than 8 x 30, for example. Some people prefer 10 x 42 - with slightly more powerful magnification - but they are often heavier, and do not perform as well in low light conditions as a lower magnification binocular with the same objective lens diameter. There are also 10 x 50 binoculars, which have both stronger magnification, and a larger objective lens (letting in more light, so they perform well in low light conditions), but these will be larger and heavier. Ultimately, it is really personal preference (8x or 10x). But 8 x 42 is often considered standard.

You do it after you get back home, of course! I still eBird with a pencil and notepad.

@Charlie Spencera little update on the Scaup situation...my ebird reviewer flagged it, got in touch with me, I sent all of my original video media to them, and they said lesser for all...they sounded like quite the expert on the matter, pointing out that it was a common practice for them in this particular area to be scanning through all of the (rather common) lessers in the hopes of finding a rare greater in the mix, often to no avail. Just wanted to give you props for having reservations on those; you are clearly not alone and I've changed my list accordingly (I don't want any trouble with my local reviewer this early on in my career, lol).

Fish; "If this crazy Osprey tries to take me out, I'll just sock him with this here stick I'm hidin' under."

I vote for the Purple-spotted Snorklewhacker.

Brant! Eurasian Wigeon!

I'm surprised I don't have a better one.

Hey! Those were half of my Lifers!!

San Francisco Bay Area, Jan-01

3 and 4 look like Mountain Chickadee

Green Jay

@The Bird Nuts I also put my sightings on paper when I am in the field, and then I report them when I get home.

Well, not really birding, more like backyard bird photography n stuff. Which is all I can manage birding wise, despite being homeschooled haha.

Well, whatever then... But he never wacked my snorkle.

This is a very small hawk with a prominent long tail that I photographed on July 4th of this year hanging out in the trees beside my home which is on the edge of a salt marsh on the Isle of Palms, SC. I am not an expert birder, so I need some help here. Thanks, Bobby D

How ... quaint! (We're laughing with you, not at you. Really.) My handwriting is atrocious, and I find a phone easier to handle than a clipboard and writing implement.

Yeah, that's what it is for sure. I've seen hundreds of them over the years, just didn't know what their name was!!

Oh, good; so my day wasn't a total loss.

One goal down. Yard bird #150. A single Common Redpoll at my feeders.

Note to self: Get rich and start a resort called Semipalm Beach.

That might just be a dark immature Herring.

Gadwall v Mallards v Northern Shoveler

The bird on the right is definitely a hybrid. Teal sp. or Blue-winged/Cinnamon teal would be a fitting label for the bird on the left.

Agreed, @Roadguy205always add location

Looks good, all dark bill and all dark primaries.

These are actually Least Sandpipers. Dunlin would have much longer bills. These birds have yellow legs. Dunlin would have black legs.

Loved seeing all the irruptive species this year. We got Red Crossbill, Bohemian Waxwing, Pine Grosbeak, Pine Siskin, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Evening Grosbeak, and Common Redpoll all in our yard. The Pine Grosbeaks were probably the most exciting. I think this was the third year in my entire life that I've gotten to see them.

And how could I forget! The Brown Creeper, which introduced me to this amazing forum! I am so glad to have found this friendly community, with so many helpful and kind people, all with a shared interest! Thank you all for making my 2020 better!

I never knew that the devil was named Alex - maybe that's what you heard