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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!!

Yes, Marbled Godwits with a Whimbrel on the right side of the frame.

I agree. That first one had me scratching my head! The eyes look really big, so I was think along the lines of a swallow, but where’s its tail?

Ok I will chose now. @Colton Vyou win! Your turn!

My Darling Bride just had me get her first phone. If it wasn't for work paying for mine, I might not have one either.

Yes, I use the measure distance tool on Google Maps.

A few from this afternoon in Seattle, including some gulls as I'm trying to do fewer gull sp. entries 1a and 1b - Glaucous-winged or Glaucous-winged x Western 2. Still learning the "young" gulls 3a and 3b - Mew Gull? There were a bunch of these noticeably smaller gulls 4a and b - Greater or Lesser Scaups? 5a, b and b - Downy Woodpecker (mostly from size as it was smaller than a robin and hard to get a good look) 6a and b - Not going to hold my breath on this one

Yes, I've been here since 1990 minus a 3 year stay in Japan. Lots of birding options and then fairly short drives for mountains and desert environments as you know. The Hermit Thrush is a first for me! and all during a work call.

I looked into it and it seems like it is only in California. I never knew it before. Around my county, they are parks administered by the county that cover a decent ammont of land, often along Ridgelines.

I didn't know until recently how much of the western states are owned by the government. For example nearly 80 percent Nevada is owned by the government.

I think duck sp. is a better thought

Yeah. Those spots had me for a moment there though!

I agree with Swamp.

I wonder if she'll notice I forgot the tarter sauce.

Yup, Herring.

Domestic ducks can be extremely variable as they are bred by humans to be all different shapes, sizes, and colors.

"Get sand between your toes, not webbing!"

Pssst...Hey, up here! You want some fish?

We could get into a debate about whether these are really North American birds... but if the local eBird reviewer (who is probably more knowledgeable than any of us) is satisfied with them, then they’re probably right enough

Mojave Desert, Yucca Valley Ca. Sony A7ll w vintage Minolta 28mm lens.

Sharp-shinned is correct. Note the blotchy rufous streaking, very thin feet, small rounded head, and small bill.

The only way to truly give up on rare birds is to stop birding. You never know when you might find a rare bird.