nevsar

Any additional thoughts? Can I treat this bird as a yellow-bellied flycatcher?

It was in Plum Island. An acadian flycatcher is a rare bird for this location, although there has been one spotted in the last one week. I did consider a yellow-bellied flycatcher (because it's expected there), however, it did not appear yellowish to me. Also eyering did not appear to be bold enough. The bird appeared olive-ish to me. I also recollect seeing whitish underparts. And hence my speculation for Acadian flycatcher. But I agree that the bill does not appear long enough for one.

I'm fairly confident that this is an Eastern Wood-pewee (due to presence of wing bars)

Could this be an acadian flycatcher? Thanks in advance.

Hi, I'm not very familiar with Tricolored blackbirds, so I wanted your help. I came across this bird which appeared to have a "white" band below the red shoulder patch (vs "yellow" band of red-winged blackbird). However, tricolored blackbirds are flagged as rare at this specific coastal location. Also the bill appears to be typical red-winged sized. Thanks in advance!

That thought crossed my mind, but I did not see any yellow tinge, so I safely ruled yellow-bellied flycatcher out. In the photos, I saw a little greenish tinge, and hence was entertaining an Acadian.

Thanks everyone for the very fast responses. I'll safely assume it's a Least flycatcher.

I'm fairly certain this flycatcher is an Empidonax sp. (the bird appeared small, and also the short primary feathers on the wings). I was leaning towards a Least Flycatcher. So I would like your help to rule out other options (e.g. Acadian Flycatcher). Thanks in advance.

Thank you Liam & Quiscalus! I agree with your assessment.

Is this a Willow/Alder flycatcher? With my naked eyes, I initially thought it was a least flycatcher. However, the larger bill and faint eyering makes me think its not. The bird behaved like a young bird. It stayed at heights below my waist level to slightly above my head. It kept moving forward slightly away from me but stayed by the side of the road (vs moving further into the thickets). Per ebird, Willow flycatcher is rare now. In fact, even Willow/Alder Flycatcher for some reason is flagged (Alder flycatcher is not flagged as rare). Any thoughts?

Makes perfect sense. Thank you!

I'm not 100% sure on this one:

Thanks for the quick confirmation!

Usually I don't have a problem differentiating these loons, but I'm a little confused with this one. I'm leaning towards a red-throated loon based on the thin bill (although not as thin as I anticipated), lot of white on flanks, more upright posture of the head. Perhaps this one is an immature? The adults with a whiter face are more obvious to me.

Thanks everyone. I'll check up on my Sibley guide later to educate myself better.

Looks good for a common loon. The bill is too thick to be any other loon around here.

Truth be told, I thought this was a broad-winged hawk. Red-shouldered hawks I've seen are more slender. However, given the time of the year, broad-winged hawks are rare, and hence my doubt.

Thank you Connor

Thanks Bird Nuts. I hope those familiar with the sparrows can provide their thoughts.

1) I'm fairly certain these are Nelson's sparrows. These have blurry stripes on the chest. Also these are somewhat expected at this time of the year. 2) This one I think is a saltmarsh sparrow based on the crisp streaks on the chest, and the chest does not look buffy. However, considering its getting late for this species, I wanted to check. 3) I think it's a sharp-shinned hawk based on the squarish tail (and the eye-head proportion also seems fine for it but I'm not too sure on this one). I thought it was a Cooper's on the field based on the size, but I guess it could have been a female (or it's just a Cooper's hawk).

Yes. There were a few Greater Yellowlegs in this pool, and a few Lesser Yellowlegs in another pool. Still a decent number of shorebirds sticking around.

The speculums looked blue. Perhaps the early morning light made the green look like blue.

Thank you Bird Nuts & Tony. I considered a Veery while making this post, but I did not realize its color could be this bland. I appreciate your thoughts.

Yes. Definitely pine siskins!

1) Northern Pintail - These immediately struck me as Northern Pintails. However, those speculums are throwing me off. 2) I would love for this to be a Gray-cheeked thrush. I don't see the prominent eye ring (I expect on a Swainson's Thrush), nor the reddish tail (I expect on a Hermit's thrush). Also the breast looks washed (vs spotted).