Leaderboard

I'm going to go with my best photo of a junco.

Hooded warbler

It is torture trying to choose ? Eenie, meenie, minie, mo... Barred Owls. This is Heloise, my resident momma, feeding one of her Hootlets this past Summer ❤️ I love them ❤️

A favourite for me because they are so entertaining, especially the young ones.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

The second one is an immature Pine Warbler. I'm pretty sure the first one is too, but the fluffed breast feathers are covering any wing bars. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pine_Warbler/id

Both are Pine Warblers. Nice photos!

Ospreys are the prettiest raptors I've had the pleasure of seeing in my short "birding" career:

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/399215651

Oak Titmouse

Nice idea . Ibis from last year

Wood Stork from my trip to Florida https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/399301881

With that dusky head and neck plus the white around the eye and bill shape, I would be more inclined to call bird 4 a juvenile/immature Red-throated Loon.

Really chesty appearance, bulging secondaries, and much wider wings than on any Falco sp.

Decided to post one that doesn't come up often...Orchard Oriole

Here's mine! Extra round and fluffy in honor of all the fluffy winter birds I've been seeing. I don't have many shades of brown, so the colors aren't quite right, but... I tried!

Butcher's Dam, western New Zealand, South Island in April (our fall)

This is from 2011, but Yucatán Jays were pretty cool to see every morning when eating breakfast. Oldest photo I have on ebird.

I believe it’s a form of leucism called “dilute plumage”. Very cool!

Surfbird and Black Turnstone.

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/399261381 https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/399261361

Tundra Swan! https://ebird.org/checklist/S99470417

I don't have great reference photos, but I might try to draw one quickly tomorrow. I was busy painting my sheep's portrait today. ? ?

Black bill = Snowy Egret Yellow bill = Great Egret or Cattle Egret

Wow, that’s a lot of pics! Tough angle though. Looks like Goshawk

Juv. RSHA. Cooper’s Hawk juvs have proportionally lager heads, thin steaks on the breast, are overall browner and cold-toned, have light eyes, and wider black and gray bands on the tail.

Here's my favorite Belted Kingfisher shot that I took this past July.

We’ve been under an extreme cold warning the last few days or so… It’s been below -20c for about 2 weeks now. Lots of snow everywhere. This morning it was -41c and it’s going to get to a balmy -28c later. Been hovering around the low -30s for about 4 days now and supposed to stay that way for a few more. Cars don’t start, and eyelids freeze shut… You can throw boiling water into the air and it will just turn into mist. Needless to say I’ve been doing lots of backyard birding.

For headshots/not the whole bird photos, I think intent matters a bit on how to rate it. There’s a difference I think when you’re intending the photo to just be a head shot vs when you’re forced to. Like, photos that are obscured highly by branches/grass/etc should be rated lower. But that mockingbird was obviously intended to be a close up, and it’s clear so why should it be rated low if the intent was a head shot? As Manny said, there’s nothing in ebird saying to rate headshots/close ups lower. Plus, headshots I think are still helpful as they show details that would otherwise be missed/overshadowed in a photo that would show the whole bird….

Looks like a Black Swan, I think there’s a few escapees or maybe a small breeding population established in that area.

When Kevin started this thread back in Nov 2020 I missed the first three weeks. Bald Eagle was the second week so I'm posting my best photo of one. ?

Not sure how widespread the event is, but a nature preserve not too far from us is holding their 40th new year bird count on Jan 1st. Apparently groups of birders go out during the morning to record bird species, and help the preserve start off their annual bird list.

Otago, South Island, New Zealand

Bunting is probably Lazuli given location

Ivory Gull in Sept-Iles, QUEBEC https://ebird.org/checklist/S99416251 Tufted Duck in Milwaukee, WISCONSIN https://ebird.org/checklist/S99445811

Snowy

Yes. They’re very common around there, and most places.

I'm at 153 (which is also my life list).

Northern Shrike https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/399163931

Sorry it took so long....holidays and all. But I liked @Seanbirds best. Happy new year!

It's a shrike. It has a gray head with a black mask through the eye, and black wing feathers contrasting with the gray back. Eastern Kingbirds have back and wings the same color, and a darker and differently shaped head. Plus Eastern Kingbirds are normally never in the US during December.

That's a lot to check to make sure there are no Bohemians ?

I’m at 247 now, hopefully I can hit 250.

Cooper's.

#1!!!

Y’all know what I’m gunna post: ?