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Lark Sparrow.

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/573508921

Swainson’s. No rufous on the tail, buffy eyering and “spectacles”, etc. Remember to include location and date.

Yesterday - two things I hadn't seen before. A Mink was raiding Red-winged nests, saw me coming and flew up an adjacent tree. A Painted Turtle hitching a ride on a Snapper (shooting through reeds).

Dunlins. They are molting into breeding plumage, which is not unusual at this time.

Lesser Yellowlegs and Solitary Sandpiper.

I'm indifferent regarding which Swallow-tailed kite crop to choose. I'll go with this one: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/573294001

Lesser Scaup.

I'm newer to bird photography and found this forum when looking for ways to get feedback on photos. I would love some tips from you folks on how to improve! I still struggle with getting birds in focus, and when I do, they aren't usually framed well. Here's one from yesterday that I liked well enough: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/572847061

I've had some amazing looks at Wilson's Snipe before, they're one of my favorite birds!

Cliff Swallows were quite the bird yesterday! https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?taxonCode=cliswa&userId=USER1499726

Idk how we’re ruling out Alder, as any Traill’s in the Great Dismal should be a migrant

I just realized. Is this a little better?

Really sweet list!! I thought I would give this link again, as it seems like you use breeding codes for every single species, which I don’t think should be happening. Just read the descriptions of the codes. https://support.ebird.org/en/support/solutions/articles/48000837520-ebird-breeding-and-behavior-codes

Editing wise, you did great. I would’ve tried to get much lower and more eye level with the bird, although I recognize it’s not always possible.

https://ebird.org/tripreport/130910 Yesterday, my father and I went to Corn Creek and up to Mount Charleston, where we saw a good variety of birds. Seven of those were firsts of the year. Black-throated Gray Warbler Virginia's Warbler Warbling Vireo Plumbeous Vireo Red Crossbill Pygmy Nuthatch Mountain Chickadee

If you look closely, the bird isn't looking though a hole in the leaf, someone actually stick a googly-eye on the leaf and it just happens to line up

Looks fine imo.

FINALLY finished going through all my photos and recordings(I think, on the recordings) from the trip!! Here’s the final trip report. https://ebird.org/tripreport/95355

Orchard

Gray Catbird. Thoughts appreciated. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/572469431

Not my best photo of the day, but my favorite species. Finally got a decent shot of a Scarlet Tanager. Thoughts/ratings Appreciated https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/572454751

Thanks in advance for your help. I hope to someday be able to help other people, but I don't think I'm there yet! 🙂 I think this is a Swainson's Thrush, but not totally sure? I see some slight yellow in the eye rings (read Swainson is buff, Hermit is white), but doesn't seem as buff as some pictures. I don't see any contrast in the tail feathers though, and it seems Hermit's have that cinnamon contrast in the pictures I see. Not great pictures, but did my best to zoom. Angie

I would have left more room behind the bird, but at least that annoying air bubble is gone!

Original Cropped and edited

https://ebird.org/checklist/S138130335 Yet another lifer, and more shorebirds coming through!

birdie 🦆 #361: 🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ Edit: I have not seen this bird. I heard the bird it was misidentified as today, though. @IKLland @Peromyscus The Wrentit was my second guess yesterday.

Mostly what one would expect here at this time of day, given the short distance covered and the short amount of time spent on the trail, with two exceptions: 1 - Very rare to spend any amount of time anywhere on the refuge and not hear a Red-shouldered Hawk. 2 - I was pleasantly surprised to have heard a Lesser Nighthawk, and now, I know where to look for them coming out of the woods. https://ebird.org/checklist/S138048046

Looks good to me. Were the toes orange/yellow? that would clinch it.

I'll take a stab and say Lesser Scaup or Blue-winged Teal

Not as far as I can tell, the only two candidates are Least and Pectoral.

Ignore me. I’m off my game. You can even see some racing stripes in the photo 🤦‍♂️. I’m taking a break from IDs.

https://media.ebird.org/catalog?mediaType=photo&searchField=user&userId=USER756704&sort=upload_date_desc&unconfirmed=incl

Welcome to Whatbird, @Jill L. While this forum is not dedicated specifically to photo critiquing, there are members willing to offer opinions on a wide range of photography questions. In fact, @IKLland started one sub-forum that is devoted to providing feedback for improving photo editing skills. We might not be photography wizards but there's a lot of experienced, and inexperienced, photographers on this site that are willing to help out fellow bird photographers and share what we know. Don't be afraid to ask for opinions, there's a wealth of knowledge to be had here. Once again, Welcome to Whatbird.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Noting the rather stark demarcation between the white of the throat and the dark of the top of head and back, I would think Tree Swallow here.

Wilson's Snipe is a nemesis of mine.

Not a fan of the background here, but I love the pose this Parula was striking! ML572449121 Northern Parula Macaulay Library

Mud Fiddler Crab & Atlantic Sand Fiddler Crab

One of my favorite birds. I have seen them many times in both Colorado (summer) and Florida (winter). I have good photos from both States also. Tough choice deciding which one to post. I have one photo where I have 4 of them in one shot. It is a good photo but from an artistic point of you probably not my best. It is a favorite but I have another set of photos that are also favorites because I got to watch this one for sometime as it hunted for food in a roadside ditch. Both of those in Colorado. In the end I decided on one from here in Florida at St. Marks Wildlife refuge, in the Panhandle. This one was a poser and I got a number of shots of it. I decided to go with this one because the feet show and there isn't a piece of grass dividing it. Trips to St. Mark's are always a fun adventure.

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/512575531