Cloebird

Hi. This forum has been great on helping to ID our birds! I have been wondering about these gulls taken in August. Picture 1. Vancouver BC. with research I’m thinking it’s a Glaucous-winged gull. And an immature. No? Picture 2. Taken at same time at Tofino, BC. looks like the same gull but has pale eyes so I’m not sure what that is. I’m sure it alters everything. ?

Baird’s Sparrow. A lifer for me. Grasslands National Park, SK. Was a wonderful June 29th.

Phew!!! For a while I didn’t know what you were talking about. ?Well maybe I still don’t.

You mean like " Squawking seagulls swoop on sunbathers"?

I’m at a loss for words for your observation. Nonetheless, I was intrigued. ?

Ruddy Turnstone, female in the front.

So you figure we’re hard to tell apart? How’s this for you?

Do Franklins gulls normally have red eyes? Both his eyes are red.

Thanks for the clarification. I’m trying to watch for details and I missed that one! Very important one.

I wasn’t trying to contradict anyone. Sorry if I came across that way. As I said I’m not an expert. I saw the white stripe too and saw something similar in my pictures of rail. But maybe it’s not what you call it, supercillia, so that’s what makes it different too.

I could be wrong but I'm thinking the bird in the photo has longer legs?? But I'm no expert. I have taken pictures of the Virginia Rail at adult and a couple of juvenile stages in the same habitat along with Blackbirds too!

Yes, I'm puzzled too. That's interesting about the the Gulls Facebook page. I'll do some further research on the suggestion. Fabulous! It gives me a direction.

Red eyes also meghann? I couldn’t find anything that said otherwise but they normally look dark to me.

This Varied Thrush just decided to go off the beaten path by Swift Current SK. Not likely to ever happen again.

Could this one gull be anything other than a Franklins? It has no bold white eye-arc. It’s eyes are red if you look close. Taken May 7 at Reed Lake, SK.

Yes the fall wardrobe is quite different. Rusty cap isn’t there. It fools me too. I took a couple of photos in different locations of him and I’m thinking ‘what’s that’. If it wasn’t for the yellow under tail I wouldn’t think it was the same bird.

Thanks for all your input. I need to look in new places come spring! The Black-bellied plovers were at that lake along with the Red Knots in May so that was pretty exciting. I’m finding that fall has been a real test for me! Thanks again.

Could be a grackle of some kind. Just a small input.

Yes. That’s so helpful. Your experience and observations are so appreciated.

Sorry, that’s Reed Lake, SK.

In October there was a lone plover at Reed Lake. There was no sun shining on the plover but we thought we could see yellow/golden flecks on the back looking in our camera screens. I have done a lot of looking at both winter and juveniles photos for both plovers. They do look a lot alike. Any further clues on differences would be appreciated.

I was looking at the white specskles along the edge/side of the wing. I saw a photo with that on a Winter Wren but maybe it’s not characteristic.

Yes I was wondering about the white flecks along the edge of the wing. I have seen other photos of Winter Wren with that marking. And I’m still learning. But we all agree, it’s scruffy!

Thank you for your responses. I was wanting to ask if the tail was too long for a Winter Wren but was talking about the sedge plants so confused the two wrens.

This wren was seen north of Belle Plaine, SK in August 2018. It’s either a little scruffy or young? The bill looks long and straight. The pictures are a little greyer in cast but the wren wasn’t a dark brown either. The habitat was compatible to sedge. No pines/evergreens. Do you consider the tail too long for a Sedge Wren?