Jerry Friedman

Well, gstacks ast about it.

I like those pictures, but I don't see any birds in them, and this thread is for the topic of landscapes with birds, where the birds aren't the main subject. Kind of specialized, but there's some interest. I think there's another thread for your landscape shots.

I was really going to post this one before I saw @pictaker's beautiful picture.

By the authority vested in me by no one, for good reason, I hereby confer on you the degree of Bachelor's of Accipiter Identification. Best of luck in your future endeavors, whether they pertain to shots of distant flying accipiters, gulls, empids, or sandpipers.

Some people say you should report it on an "Incidental" list so as not to mess up calculations based on bird numbers versus observer effort. I asked on the Facebook eBird discussion group, where people from eBird sometimes give official answers, but I didn't get anything official. As I recall, nobody said you shouldn't report it at all.

It is pretty lightly marked below, though, I'd say.

In fact, "female Red-winged Blackbird" is often the answer to "big sparrow?"

Agree with Sharp-shinned. I don't think a notch in the tail tells you much, but I don't see any sign that the tail feathers are different lengths.

I searched Google Books for "mockingbird" in the 19th century, and this was the first hit that obviously mentioned a region: "In the Southern States the Mockingbird is frequently interfered with by the Sparrow, and in spite of its courageous resistance it is often obliged to yield to superior numbers." Walter B. Barrows, The English Sparrow (Passer domesticus) in North America, Especially in its Relations to Agriculture, U.S.D.A. (1889) https://books.google.com/books?id=rhUFha8Yd9EC&pg=PA91 Kansas might have counted as a "Southern State" for some, but I think that in a

There was a time when mockingbirds were a symbol of the South.

Welcome to Whatbird! I agree that these are domestic Muscovy Ducks that have gone feral.

Welcome to Whatbird, Leo! Yes, Ospreys are totally cool. The good news is that it's a lot easier to get a sighting of an Osprey catching a fish than most other birds of prey catching anything. You could try going to a lake with good fishing (in spring, summer, or fall, as Tony Leukering implied) with maybe something else to do--fishing, hiking, canoeing, picnicking--and see if you can see one. I just looked at the Species Maps on ebird.org and saw that there seem to be some good places in Tennessee, such as Chickamauga Dam near Chattanooga. If you want to do this, your local Audubon S

Hm. I'd have said the Brown Noddy was primarily brown and had only one look-alike, but obviously impressions differ--which could be the point of a contest like this.