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Spotted earlier today Happy Thanksgiving, fellow birders. Thanks for your help this year!

Winter Wren

Bufflehead and Ring-Billed Gull.

I had very few opportunities to shoot lately. This is a little Downy in my backyard this afternoon. I was playing with B&W processing.

Killdeer.

Pictures from some of my lifers from Phoenix Gila Woodpecker Say's Phoebe

Lifer long tailed duck from today

Whoping Cranes 2015 Whopping Crane's international crane foundation. by johnd1964, on Flickr

So Nat Geo and I aren't on the same page. This is what I get when the sun is shining directly into my lens and the subject is inside a dark place. I gotta wait for a cloudy day to try it again. I don't think this pair is going to be going anyplace. This is highly photoshopped!

I actually emailed the Park to ask and this is their reply

Yellow rumped warbler

Here is a Yellow-fronted Canary that was on my feeder today. It was here 2 years ago for a few weeks, then disappeared. Didn't see it at all last year, so I figured it was the victim of a predator or something else. It showed up here a few days ago again and today I was able to get a few photos of it. It still has the blue band it was wearing the first time it was here. I'm assuming (I know, I know......) it's the same bird. I think the odds of two different blue-banded Yellow-fronted Canaries showing up here would be highly unlikely! First two photos were taken today. IMG_2505 Yellow-fronted Canary by Wayne J Smith, on Flickr IMG_2508 Yellow-fronted Canary by Wayne J Smith, on Flickr Next two photos were taken in Aug 2017. IMG_9600-001 by Wayne J Smith, on Flickr IMG_9606-001 by Wayne J Smith, on Flickr

This is an adult Cooper's Hawk. Note the very bulky overall, relatively large, blocky head with a light nape creating a capped appearance (Sharp-shinned would have a dark nape on a rounded head creating a hooded appearance), eyes close to the front of the head, and thick legs.

Lawrence’s Goldfinch.

This is a Common Goldeneye based on the relatively long and dark bill, shape of the head, and there is also a lot of white in the wing, female Barrow's have less white in the wing (in Common, median coverts are white, in Barrow's, median coverts are gray; also, the white is narrower in Barrow's Goldeneye, only a few secondaries across).

Red Knot!

Too fast and very bad angle lol.

Red tailed Hawk

1. Red-tailed Hawk - the white speckling on the back is a good clue 2. Hermit Thrush indeed 3. Anhinga - with the white in the wings, small head, long thin dagger of a bill with a straight tip 4. Laughing Gull - with the dusky stuff on the head and the kinda dark gray mantle

This is a Hermit. The best hint is time of year; while Hermit can be found year-round in much of California, Swainson's only breeds here and is mostly absent late October - early April. You'll also notice the eye-ring and pale parts on the cheek and throat are whitish, rather than the general buffy wash across this area that Swainson's have. The dark loral/supraloral area is also a good hint - Swainson's have more of a spectacle than an eye-ring, with the area between the eye and the bill a pale buffy.

But of course...then maybe a Nashville? Any other horrendous photos?

Shape/structure is spot on for Herring Gull. Bill and head are too big for Kumlien's. I see no sign of Glaucous influence in the bill. I like washed out Herring.

If you cannot afford medication for your CBPDS (Carotenoid-Based Pigment Deficiency Syndrome), Astra Zenica can help.

Downy Woodpeckers tend to have a couple small black spots on the white outer tail feathers: While Hairies do not, as seen in your pictures:

Thanks for the feedback! I first saw this bird last year and noticed it looked the same (immature plumage) this year. Any idea how old Coopers tend to be when molting to a more adult like plumage? As much as I don't like the thought of my little passerine friends becoming lunch, I really enjoy the chance to see this raptor up close and since he (or she?) seems to have a taste for the house sparrows which are quite plentiful (and, of course, invasive) I am hoping that the hawk sticks around for years to come.

Looks good for Richardson's Cackling Goose. The white neck band has nothing to do with the identification, as it varies individually and across subspecies.

You're right. 3 Purples and Dunlins.

California in the back of photo 1 and on the left of photo 2. Everything else is a Western.

Yep, looks like a domestic to me. I don’t see anything that should suspect a hybridization.

Definitely a Buteo body shape and tail... so definitely not a Falcon or Acippiter.

It's been awhile since I've posted anything. Here's a photo from a recent trip to West Virginia.

I am uncertain what this diving bird is. Taken in Northern California USA in November 2019. Thank you for your assistance.

Again it can take anywhere from 2-3 years actually.

My bad. Looks like it was a Snowy Egret. LOL. I knew there was some icy precipitation involved.

The little bill and size rules out sea monsters ... So it is definitely a bird.

Agreed.

Yes, Wood Thrush. Forster’s, due to the light gray primaries. Semipalmated, due to the white eyering, lack of evident rufous, and relatively blunt beak. Looks like a pure Mottled, due to the black patch at the base of the bill and no white around the speculum patch.

Cormorant is Neotropic. Gallinule is Purple. For the geese, I see three Ross’s. The two circled and the 5th bird from the left on the bottom.

Found at Lake Murray....great spot for birding! Here's the ebird listing https://ebird.org/hotspot/L3675490

Turquoise--browed Motmot by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr

Branches in the way seem to be a common theme