Brett H

It moved a little bit, but not in a way that was helpful for IDing it! I attached another photo but I doubt it'll be of any help. I ruled out eider because of the head and bill shape, but the color pattern certainly makes it a possibility.

I saw this duck about 200 feet off of the rocky coast of Fort Foster Park in Kittery, Maine today (2/29). The picture is horrible, but you can see a clean transition between a dark head/neck and light colored chest. The back also looks boldly patterned. The forehead is steeply sloped. The color pattern suggests common merganser but the head and bill shape are all wrong. I feel like I can rule out other ducks with similar color patterns (goldeneye, pintail, shoveler). I appreciate your input!

Junco?

Cool, thanks for the input! I'm uploading just an audio file as well in case it's easier for people to access. IMG-1522 (1).mp3

I was near the peak of Gunstock Mountain in Gilford, NH today (2/28) in a spruce forest and came across a flock of crossbills. They were backlit and I didn't have my camera, so I wasn't able to see the color patterns. I did record a video of the birds as they were calling, but I'm still not 100% sure which species they are (leaning towards white-winged). Attached is the video plus a crappy cell phone photo. Any ID help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Brett IMG-1522.MOV

Thanks guys! That was my thought too... I was just trying to wish it into being a Connecticut.

Hey everyone, I took the attached photo on Sept. 29 in Old Lyme, Connecticut. I know it's a crappy photo and there are several birds (e.g. common yellowthroat) I can't confidently rule out, but is there any way this is a Connecticut warbler? It was skulking in some shrubby marshland near the coast. Thanks so much! Brett

Excellent, thank you both!

Hey everyone, I observed the bird in the attached photos (sorry for the crappy quality) on the beach at Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts on Sept. 23. I'm really struggling to ID it. It has a large, conical bill and a pale eyebrow and eye ring. It's back is mostly brown and it has a black tail. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see the bird from another angle. At first glance I thought it was a female horned lark, but I'm pretty sure that's wrong after zooming in on the photos. Hopefully these photos offer enough for someone to ID the bird. Thanks so much! Brett

Thanks for the quick review! You don't think the head and back are too dark? Although I guess that could also be the camera and lighting playing tricks on me.

Hello! I observed the bird in the attached photo within a mixed flock of birds (back-throated green, black-throated blue, pine, blackpoll, and Tennessee warblers, American redstarts, black-capped chickadees, and ruby-crowned kinglets) in a low-elevation mixedwood forest in Meredith, New Hampshire. It has the dark head and eye of a phoebe, but it's built like a chickadee with a yellowish wash on the breast and throat and some yellow in the wings. I'm lost. Any thoughts on what it could be? My best guess is a phoebe, and it's perched in a way that makes it look "neckless" and the angle of the camera somehow makes its breast, throat, and wings look tinged with yellow. Thanks!

Great, thank you both!

Hello all, I saw the attached bird this morning in a shrubby wetland adjacent to a mature mixedwood stand and in Meredith, New Hampshire. It's probably a female blackburnian warbler but I can't definitively rule out female Cape May warbler. It also looks like an immature Townsend's warbler, but I know that's wishful thinking! I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks guys! Junco was my best guess, too. I've hear them sing some strange variations of their usual trill on occasion and they are one of the most common birds in that habitat type. Goldfinch is possible, but the notes don't seem musical enough. And I don't think any variations of the goldfinch's song or call involve repeating one note several times.

Hello, A colleague of mine recorded the attached song from the White Mountains of New Hampshire on June 18. It was within the high-elevation spruce-fir community near Mount Garfield. It's something I know I'm familiar with, but it's driving me crazy trying to figure it out! I feel like I've ruled out all of the common birds of the spruce-fir community. Thanks so much for your help! Brett IMG-1704.wav

Awesome, thanks!!!! That's a lifer for me. It only took me three months to realize it!

Yes, boat-tailed.

Hey everyone, I saw this bird (photos attached) way back on August 31, but forgot about it until now. I was hiking on the Tongue Mountain range adjacent to Lake George in New York. I saw the bird on the ridge (approx. 2000 feet in elevation) in a dry and rocky pitch pine-oak community. My best guess is a female or immature Cape May warbler because of the streaks on the breast, white patch on the wings, dull yellow rump, and narrow black line through the eye on an otherwise un-patterned face. I ruled out more common species like prairie, magnolia, and yellow-rumped, but I'm not very confident of that. Given the habitat, I initially assumed it was a female prairie warbler, but I think this bird is too heavily streaked and prairies don't have yellow rumps. Thanks so much for the help! Brett