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smittyone@cox.net

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Posts posted by smittyone@cox.net

  1. This is an adult male and an immature Grackle seen in NW Missouri last week.  Although Common Grackle are by far the most prominent type seen in this area, I've seen (verified) Great-tailed here before too.  Perhaps it's just the angle, but the tail on the adult seems extra long, leading me to think it's perhaps a Great-tailed one.  Opinions?

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  2. Images captured last week at Loess Bluffs NWR in NW Missouri.  The bird in the middle is a young Barn Swallow.  Like all young Swallows, it'd open it's mouth anytime another bird would be near, as if to say "please shove a bug in there".  The two birds flanking it were being bullies and pecking at it, and in one instance even knocked it off it's perch.  The two lighter colored birds, are they even younger Barn Swallows that hadn't attained their "adult" plumage?  Or are they adults going through molting?

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    • Like 2
  3. I saw these three baby ducks paddling together in an inlet to Lake DeSoto this afternoon.  When they didn't feel threatened, they came close to shore.  Near shore they were feeding on something under water, rarely bringing their heads above water.  I saw no adult ducks in the area.  But both Wood Ducks and Blue-winged Teal frequent this part of the lake.  They look what I'd imagine baby Mergansers would look like.  But I don't know what a baby Merganser looks like, and haven't seen any adult Mergansers in a while.

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    • Like 8
  4. So let's muddy the waters a bit, shall we?  I learned a while back to stop calling Bald Eagles that weren't yet adults all as juveniles.  I reserve the juvenile moniker for when they haven't fledged yet.  I'm probably wrong in doing that.  But when does an eagle stop being an eaglet?  When it's no longer fuzzy and gets it's flight feathers?  I'm fairly confident that I can age an eagle by plumage as 2, 3, or 4 years old, and will start calling 4 year olds as sub-adults.  By my logic, if it's almost an adult, it's a sub-adult.  Not gunna call 'em teenagers.  I'm not trying to become an expert in all things eagle.  But when I post a bird image online somewhere, I like to be as accurate as possible as to what I call it.  Age, sex, breeding plumage, etc. 

     

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