Winter

Just jumping in to how nice these shots are. Great detail and lighting - love how macro this is given it is a hawk! Pardon for butting in, but what did you shoot with?

Thanks, The Bird Nuts! Downy it is then! (Hopefully, my sister will manage a few clearer shots of it in the coming days just to be 100% sure).

Haha! Yeah me neither! Quite the gregarious one too! It was getting the seeds from the yucca plant that had just finished flowering, apparently. To my eyes it just seems off for a Downy but then again I’m only familiar with eastern US Downy’s. My sister thought it seemed too big for a downy (but not as big as Hairy) and the stripes looked different, like more extensive and “messy” ... Any chance it could be a Ladder-backed woodpecker?

Help my sister and I ID this woody hammering away at the yucca stalk for seeds in her yard. This is the second woodpecker she’s seen in 2 Days (see notes below) Location: Valdez, NM (near Taos) in northern New Mexico. When: February 11, 2019 FYI: On 2-09-2019 she saw a woodpecker at same place but described it looking like a cross between a miniature Pileated and a larger Downy woodpecker (but smaller than a Hairy) as it had obvious red in its cap and lots of black laddering. We’re trying to figure out if this is the female version of the mystery woodpecker or if it’s an entirely different species of woody. I think the original woodpecker may be a Ladder-backed WP but not 100% sure. This one seems too big for Downy but not a Hairy either. https://vimeo.com/album/5756680 There should be 2 videos. The second one is probably better. Please let me know if the link fails to work. Thanks!

Nice capture! Out of curiosity, which state/area was this in?

Nice shots by the way! Love that second one with the pine cone. :)

Gorgeous! Thanks for the wintry namesake shout-out! Enjoy your holiday and the quiet beauty up North! I’m a smidge jealous as I can’t wait to get some skiing in!

Both are Downy’s. Second one looks as though it towel dried its hair after a bath 😄 haha. Great pictures by the way!

Just echoing the others as being a red-bellied woodpecker, likely a female as the red “cap” is less prominent as it doesn’t extend as far forward as a male red-bellowed . 🙂

For #2, pretty sure this is a Downy. I’ve noticed that sometimes the dotted outer tail feathers in the Downys aren’t always visible (or just not there at all). The bill is smaller relative to body size and has a more “hunched” look than Hairy’s - to me at least.

Woot! Finally, a cuckoo that I'm 100% sure of for the first time! Thanks so much! Didn't realize how shy and quiet they are - nor how cute! Any idea about general age?

Is this a warbler? Yellow-rumped or American Redstart? Or something else perhaps? Apologies about the horrid quality — I have yet to process the original photo taken with my "real" camera, hence the back-of-Camera-LCD-screenshot using my iPhone. 😬 Assateague Island, Maryland. Taken Oct 20, 2018.

Seen Oct 16, 2018 in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Is this a yellow-billed cuckoo??? If so, is this a bit unusual at this time of year and is there a way to determine whether its geneal age (immature or adult, etc) and the sex? Thanks!

Thanks so much for explaining this precisely. Really appreciate it. I’m in awe how you and others here are able to remember all these very important but otherwise tiny details about each particular one... Warblers and sparrows (and shorebirds) are soooo confusing for me! Again, thanks for taking time out to answer my noob questions!

Thanks guys! So, out of curiosity, I imported the pic into Cornell’s Merlin app, and it’s telling me it’s a Blackburnian Warbler ...?!? Looking at some pictures of Blackburnian male in fall/bland plumage or a female, I can see why but also a Cape May. Question: How are you able to tell that it’s Cape May and not a Blackburnian (in bland plumage or female) and which minute differentiations are you seeing between the two (considering the low quality images I’ve posted)? I ask because I trust you guys more than I probably should trust an app and would love to hear insight. Thanks again