smittyone@cox.net

This pair of immature RTHA were both seen in Bellevue, NE on Monday and Tuesday. Although they're both immature birds, one is slightly older than the other (darker eyes, redder tail). I believe these are the Eastern ssp., the dominant variant in my area during Spring and Summer. Are they light or intermediate morph birds? The 1st three pics are all of the younger of the two birds. The last pic is the slightly older one. I don't have pics of the back or tail of the older bird.

A flock of about 25-30 Ibis were seen at Loess Bluffs (formerly Squaw Creek) NWR in NW Missouri yesterday afternoon. I'm sure they're a mix of breeding and non-breeding adults, but are they White-faces, Glossy, or both? Sorry pics are heavily cropped and dark b/c it was cloudy.

It seems I've been misidentifying several very dark buteos as dark morph Harlan's RTHA that are in fact dark morph Rough-legged Hawks (RLHA). What ID features am I missing?

Seen last February at DeSoto NWR near Missouri Valley, Iowa. Is this a dark morph Harlan's Red-tailed hawk? I'm not 100 percent positive these are all pics of the same bird as they were taken at the same location, but hours apart.

Thank you AlexHenry

I see RLHAs, Western RTHAs, and Harlan's RTHAs during winter in Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa. This pic was taken last February just sough of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Other than being an adult (brown eyes), and a dark morph, I could go either way on which of the three options this bird could be. I'd appreciate any help, and more importantly, which ID features lead you to your conclusion. Although I have lots of pics from this encounter, I don't think I have any showing the upper sides, especially the top side of the tail.

Pics taken waaay back in Nov. 2016 at Lake Manawa, in Council Bluffs, IA. Are these immature Ring-billed gulls?

It was my 2nd day with a new Sony a9. My skills have improved drastically since then, but I clearly didn't know what I was doing at the time.

Thanks folks. I don't believe it was a "normally seen" woodpecker for eastern Nebraska. Dark cloudy skies and a brand new camera I didn't yet know how to use. If I ever see another one, I hope I'm able to get much better shots.

Terribly underexposed pics taken on Christmas Eve 2019 in Gretna, Nebraska. If I recall, it was definitely not a typical eastern Nebraska woodpecker. I'm not even certain it's a sapsucker.

Bummer I didn't get a new lifer. But I don't see Plovers much and am happy no matter what kind it is. BTW, I did get fuzzy pics of the feet, but they were mud covered. Semipalmated Plover it is then. Thanks everyone.

But don't those have an eye ring?

I'm 95 percent certain this is a Common Ringed Plover. But because it would be a new lifer bird for me, I thought I'd double check here first before I made that claim. It was seen with a dozen others this afternoon at DeSoto NWR in western Iowa.

Thanks Avery

Seen this afternoon at DeSoto NWR in western Iowa. The bird with it's butt facing the camera is a Pectoral Sandpiper. But what's the shorebird walking past? Initially I thought it was a Lesser Yellowlegs. There were lots of those at this pond today. But the legs look greenish to me.

Thank you Birding Boy

I assume they're sandpipers, and also assume all 3 are the same kind. They were seen this afternoon at DeSoto NWR in western Iowa.

I forgot how to edit my post, but forgot to add my guess(es). I'm leaning toward either Baird's Sandpiper, or Sanderling. Both have been seen at this location before.

Seen yesterday afternoon at DeSoto NWR near Missouri Valley, IA. Are these Sandpipers? The first two pics are the same bird. The third pic was seen about an hour later and two miles away.

I saw about 25 Ibis this afternoon in NW Missouri. Are these White-faced or Glossy?

After seeing this gutsy (or dumb) hawk try to knock an adult Bald Eagle off his perch, he landed just a few trees away feeling pretty proud of himself. Was this an immature Red-tailed Hawk? Pics taken this morning in NW Missouri.

Two of the 3 similar looking geese seen yesterday at Red Rock Dam, SW of Des Moines, Iowa. The 3rd goose is just out of frame. These appear to me like Greylag geese, but I understand it would be exceedingly rare for a "European" goose to be seen in the midwest. So what would be the proper way to label these geese? Domestic geese? Domestic Greylag geese?

Thanks for the ID help Birding Boy and Charlie Spencer.

I saw this bird yesterday afternoon in western Iowa. I initially thought it was an immature American Robin. But now I wonder if it isn't some kind of Thrush? A little smaller than a typical Robin but larger than a typical Sparrow.

I saw this Rough-legged hawk (RLHA) this afternoon in Mills Co., Iowa. I'm leaning towards light morph adult female, but I have difficulty sexing them by plumage. Eye color is throwing me off too, as to whether it's an adult or immature. They appear light greenish gray, but the sky was dark and overcast so the color may not be that accurate.