cvanbosk

Not sanderlings? Okay, I quit birding.

Oh yeah! Got a lifer (Horned Grebe).

Thanks Alex. The photo doesn't show it well but the speculum was uniformly blue, no white. I've seen lots of mottled ducks and these struck me as such, but Ebird marked it rare so I began doubting myself.

What the heck is the deal with Dunlins? According to Cornell, their size (length) range ranges from 7.1 to 8.7 inches. That's about a 30 percent variation! A quick look through similar shorebirds shows that the normal size variation is typically much smaller. I never paid much attention to this because in my normal birding grounds on the east coast of Florida, dunlins are always smaller than sanderlings. But last weekend I made a trip over to the west coast ... and got real confused. In the photo below, notice the gargantuan bird to the right of the two sanderlings. I desperately tried to convince myself it wasn't a dunlin - but couldn't. It just seems too doggone big. Can someone please put me out of my misery?

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

Show off! 😜

The upturned, longer bill indicates Greater.

In all three, the foreground bird looks like ring-billed. Not sure on the more mottled birds. (probably obvious, and not what you were interested in)

I really appreciate the excellent pointers. Thanks!!!

Osprey

Thanks P713. That's what I had hoped.