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Often a lot of good action in the parking lots of my county's hotspots, such as this Great Crested Flycatcher: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/570933321

It’s an Eastern Wood-Pewee. Look at how long the primaries are, to start.

05/12/23 first cinnamon of the year!

It's a gamble and a game, which is appealing to many people. Probably part of the reason why people chase birds all the time. (despite the fact that they are rare or new.)

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/570736511

Lesser Goldfinch, I think.

Not as sharp as I would like it: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/571199151

Yes! That second bird is a Veery! Such cool birds!

Both are no doubt Ring-billed Gulls. It's really important to first learn how to age gulls before identifying them to species. A first winter 1CY/2CY Iceland Gull (Thayer's) would have a mostly dark bill and very few second generation scapular feathers. RBGU's are three cycle gulls, so they achieve adult plumage more rapidly than larger white-headed gulls. This is what a Thayer's would look like at the time of year you observed this bird. http://gull-research.org/thayers/2cyfebr.html

Why?? Personally I think this is clearly a 1st cycle(winter? @sirstarling89when was the photo taken?) Ring-billed Gull.

This afternoon I chased the breeding pair of Mississippi Kites (maybe the only pair in Maryland, certainly the only publicly known pair in my part of the state) a half-hour from home and not only saw them, I saw TWO Swallow-tailed Kites flying with them! On Monday I went to look for the Glossy Ibis in a neighboring county about 35-40 minutes from home. I eventually saw it, and on my way back to my car found two Anhingas perched in a tree. Chasing can be fun.

I think they’re both Gray-cheeked, even if they’re different birds, which I don’t think they are.

Possible Wood-pewee? Just a guess.

That’s actually an empidonax flycatcher of some sort, but I’m not certain as to which one. I’m leaning towards Least Flycatcher though.

Female Western Tanager, also a big push of these last night!

Female Black-headed Grosbeak. There was a huge push of them in Sacramento last night.

Second county record Yellow-crowned Night-Heron!!! My first new county bird sonce 2022!

Turtles

You’re correct

Western Wood-Pewee

Chestnut-sided Warbler?

Yes

Female or immature male Red-winged Blackbird.

Eastern Kingbird. It doesn't have a contrasting black mask and it has a white tail tip.

It has a hind toe to my eye. Semipalm for me, the bill doesn’t look long or droopy enough.

Yellow Warbler.

This was taken on May 7th 2023, in southwest Wisconsin just inside some woods. Is this a Field Sparrow? Thanks in Advance Karen

This was taken on May 7th 2023, in southwest Wisconsin just inside some woods. Is this a Blue Winged Warbler? Thanks in Advance Karen

Yes, this is a Sanderling.

I'm in favor of buying used gear from a reputable retailer, or a local, in person exchange where you get to see and try the equipment before handing over any money. Buying anything online from an unknown vendor is a gamble I wouldn't bet that much money on. Have you explored local online marketplaces? As for the full frame vs crop sensor discussion, I have mixed feelings on that. I also have, and still use both full frame and crop body cameras which is why I have mixed feelings. My full frame cameras, Canon's R6 and the 5Diii, definitely produce better images than my crop body 7Dii, providing I don't have to crop the image too much for the end results. While I almost always use the R6 nowadays, previous to that there were a few occasions when I wish I had the crop body handy just for the added reach when I was using the full frame. If you're always/mostly shooting at max zoom and then cropping heavily while processing the image, you may want to consider a crop body. If you're not cropping heavily, a full frame body should produce the better images. My experience tells me that there's very little difference between images cropped in a crop body camera and images cropped on a computer from full frame cameras down to same framing of the crop body camera. It's not until I have to crop a full frame image well beyond the crop body crop that I notice a significant difference in image quality. The higher dynamic range of the full frame sensor also means that overexposure and underexposure are easier to control. Like ALL camera gear purchases, you have to decide which trade offs you're willing to make because NONE of the options are the perfect choice. ☹

birdie 🦆 #358: 🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ https://birdiegame.net/

A couple of weeks ago the Snappers came out of hibernation so the first thing on their mind..............

Yesterday - not sure if the reflections add or detract from the photo. Every year the Canada Goose builds a nest immediately adjacent to the Mute Swan nest and has to put up with this for several weeks.

That is very true. We may take it on our bird walk tomorrow.

For the Rails, listen for them. It’s much more likely to heard the bird either before you spot it, or if you see it at all.

To the best of my knowledge, they are the same bird, yes. My “feathered stranger” emerged from beneath a hedge in my yard, when I snapped photo 1. S/he snuck back underneath the hedge, only to reappear a few moments later, when I was able to get photo 2. I *suppose*, theoretically, that it could be two different species; although, to me at least, that seems rather unlikely, behaviorally-speaking Thus I’d be pretty comfortable calling it a Gray-cheeked thrush. Thank you, both.

K is for Kingbird, Western

birdie 🦢 #357: 🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ https://birdiegame.net/

K is for Kiskadee

https://ebird.org/checklist/S137159135 Not bad for midday IMO

My best photo to date of a Blackpoll Warbler. Seeing a ton of them this season.

Okay, Herpies, what was hiding under my deck fountain this morning? Central SC. Around 15 inches long, a bit bigger around than a pencil.

No photos since it was in the dark (8:20-9 pm) and in a light drizzle. It poured right before I went for a run, so everything was super wet. I stuck to the road instead of trails tonight. I ended up seeing an Armadillo run across the road about a quarter mile before I finished up. It scared me pretty good.

Another one worth watching:

Yes, Blue-winged Warbler . Nice bird!

Nothing very good today, but I want to participate. Here is a Northern Waterthrush: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/570068071

Sorry, but I know basically nothing about Hawaiian herps, lol. HOWEVER- The first species clearly is some sort of anole (very likely invasive). I'll take a swing by iNaturalist and see if I can't figure out what kind. The second (I'm pretty sure) is a Gold Dust Day Gecko, but don't quote me on that till I check.