egosnell2002

Yep, it's a coop. The best point for IDing juvs is the breast streaking. This is one is very fine, and notice how especially the top of the streak starts super thin as well, whereas a sharpie would be very blurry.

I know what you mean. It was hurting my head for a while, but usually leg colour doesn't lie. I've seen Ring-bills with big bills before, so it's probably just a variation thing. But yeah, even structurally the head looks quite Herring-y. I stick with Ring-bill pretty strongly, especially since the bird in front of it seems to show a lot of similar traits, and it seems like an obvious Ring-bill to me.

Yes, all of those birds are Herring. That dark juvenile is in a very messy plumage right now, and actually looks like it could be pretty young. Are you sure the two dark birds aren't the same ones? They both have a light patch at the back of their head, so either that or maybe they're siblings. I don't think that it looks much bigger then the rest, but that's just me. Could be a bit of camera trickery or something. What are you considering bird #2 as? It looks like a Herring to me, although it seems to have lost a lot of the white tipping on it's primaries, or maybe the whole primary feather itself. Personally I find the best way to identify gulls, or at least to pick out a different species is to look at mantle colour, primary colour, and leg colour. I'm sure that you'll find something good if you keep looking through gull flocks with this same intensity!

Looks good.

The first one is a surprisingly a Ring-bill as well, leg colour confirms that. The other gull looks fine as Herring, but a location might help... The last looks good as a Lesser Black-backed, but it's hard from that photo.

Oh wait, didn't look through all the pictures. Number 5 has mostly Ring-bills, with a few herring (including the juvenile) Forster's terns, Franklin's Gulls, and I think that's it (besides the pelican...). Not sure which picture you thought you might see an Iceland in, I see all Herrings. The last picture has a herring that seems to have worn off the tips of it's primaries making it look like it has no black. Tricky birds I'll agree!

Only seeing one Ring-bill in the first photo, rest of the gulls are Herrings, including the gross juvenile.

From looking in a guide, I would call it Rufous, but I think that I need more experience (or any at all) to really 100% separate them from photos. There's probably other experts on here from the south west that can do it easy...

Gray-breasted Martin.

1. Yes, Groove-billed Ani 2. Juvenile Brown Jay, at least I'm pretty sure...

Shots are actually pretty good I think! My experience with selasphorus hummingbirds is very limited, I've only seen one Calliope, and that was a first provincial record in Ontario... So I'm a little out of my field here, but I think it looks good for rufous. Allen's is very hard to rule out here though... especially since you seem to be in range for both...

Yes, Chestnut sided on the first one. Eyering, olive back etc. Second one is tricky, not sure if the darkness is actually part of the bird or not... Could be hooded, but everything else considered I would say Wilson's.

Bill colour, carpal bars and relative paleness on the breast and cheek make them Commons for me.

Yeah I'd say mostly kumlien on this one, bill is very small, and body overall is pretty pale. Wing tips are a bit dark, but that's why it's a spectrum (glaucoides on one side to thayeri on the other as akiley said)!

@akiley I think that the head shape is a bit exaggerated in this picture, it took me a while to unsee the crest. I think that the lack of white in the base of the bill and overall messy plumage fits a basic male pretty well, but according to Sibley that's incorrect molt timing I think... Maybe a molting young male? Not sure. Here's a similar bird: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/124784721 With that second picture, I think Ring-necked is a pretty safe bet.

Harlan's would be a little out of range, and the patterning on the breast along with tail colour rule it out. Looks like a dark morph abieticola/borealis or whatever you get in Texas to me.

I can definitely see what you mean with Tufted on this one, but my first impression was Ring-necked.

Glaucous-winged would be incredible in Ontario, but this is an Iceland Gull, very fine bill helps rule out Glaucous.

1. Herring 2, 3. Great Black-backed Gull 4, 5. Herring Gull 6. Ring-billed Gull?? 7. Herring Gull?? 8. Herring Gull

You're right on the first two, but the second group if photos is a Palm Warbler. The best thing to look for on them is the bright yellow undertail and vigorous tail pumping,.

Location would help on this one, but seems pretty perfect for Rusty to me, right down to the habitat, they seem to prefer more marshy areas then Brewer's in my experience. The rusty edging that you mentioned is pretty unique to Rusty Blackbird.

Hmm, Cackling from the air, with a photo, never tried that before! The first picture seems to show how tiny it is, and depending on angle I guess, it seems small enough for Cackling to me. The bill looks extra stubby in the other pics too. I'd says so!

Cool, I skipped right over that part about the colour blindness! I'm colour blind too, but on the spectrum it's not super strong, but I definitely notice it in birding, especially all the red-greens!

I have little experience with the Lawrence's side of the hybrid complex, but I think with any yellow on the breast, the bird must have BWWA genes, however they seem to be quite diluted in this one. Personally for my list, I have usually counted those slightly off birds, as long as it's not overly far towards LAWA or BRWA. I mean, there's lots of speculation that they're the same species with two morphs, and this could just be one on the spectrum. Up to you (and reviewers, I assume this is a decent bird there), too bad you couldn't get a feather or something!

I'd agree with Swainson's, but being from Ontario, I have never seen either, so Sibley and google are my only experience