smittyone@cox.net

What is HY?

What is AHY?

Seen late this afternoon at Saint Mary's Wildlife Management Area, south of Council Bluffs, IA. This one was seen in the exact same location as the Common Yellow Throat I posted a couple of minutes ago. Shot just a few minutes later. Would this one be a male Common Yellow Throat then?

Is it a female?

Seen late this afternoon at Saint Mary's Wildlife Management Area, south of Council Bluffs, IA.

Thanks Charlie. It was kinda marshy not too long ago--partially flooded farmland, but mostly dried up now. I've seen all 3 types in the same location, so wasn't sure.

Seen today south of Council Bluffs, IA.

Do the blurry flight images help any? Or are we sticking with generic Meadowlark?

I do have side profile (in flight) pics if they would be useful? I didn't include them in the original post because they're blurry. As far as the bump, the post had gone unanswered about 12 hours, so I assumed it would go back up to the top of the list for attention. Sorry if I was breaking any rules or etiquette.

Bump?

I know this is an adult Red-tailed Hawk. It was seen this afternoon in NW Missouri. In my stomping grounds of SE Nebraska, Western Iowa, and NW Missouri, both Eastern and Northern variants are the norm, as well as the occasional Krider's and Harlan's. Can anyone tell if this is a Northern or Eastern bird?

Seen this afternoon in NW Missouri. Is this an immature (Northern) Sharp-shinned Hawk?

Seen this morning at Loess Bluffs (Squaw Creek) NWR In NW Missouri. Is this an Eastern Phoebe?

Seen this morning in NW Missouri. Is this an Eastern or a Western Meadowlark?

Seen late this afternoon at DeSoto NWR near Missouri Valley, IA. I'm 90 percent sure it's a Mourning Dove, but I miss obvious stuff all the time. I don't know if the late afternoon light makes it look browner than usual? Lately doves are everywhere, most of them seem darker than the usual medium gray Mourning Doves I'm used too. Maybe the immature birds are darker?

Thanks Connor. Although there were no other nearby shorebirds to compare sizes with, they did appear small, though larger than Least Sandpipers.

There were only 2 of them, seen late this afternoon at DeSoto NWR near Missouri Valley, IA. Remarkably, they allowed me to approach to within 10-15 yards.

Nice. Only my 2nd sighting of one and much better pics than the initial one 2 years earlier! Thanks Aaron.

Seen yesterday afternoon in western Iowa. These are the best 2 shots I could manage. No backside looks or unobscured pics. It didn't sing. What kind of Sparrow was this.

Seen 2 weeks ago in a flooded farmer's field in NW Missouri. What are these 2 shorebirds? The smaller one I guess could be a Least Sandpiper?

I saw what I thought was my first Red-shouldered Hawk (verified by you folks) earlier in the week at Loess Bluffs NWR, in NW Missouri. However, looking through my own archives, I ran across this pic taken at the same place waaay back in Jan. 2017. Was this also a Red-shouldered Hawk, or an immature dark morph (or Harlan's) Red-tailed Hawk?

Seen last week in NW Missouri. What kind of flycatcher? I'm leaning towards Eastern Wood Peewee, only because I heard them calling.

Of course you are both right. Because it was much lighter than I'm used to seeing, wishful thinking made me ignore the obvious features. Was hoping to add to my string of new Lifer birds over the last couple of days.

Double-crested Cormorants are beginning to migrate through western Iowa/eastern Nebraska. I've seen immature ones before, but this is the whitest one I've ever seen. Just want to make sure it's not one of those "other" Cormorants. If it is just a young DCCO, can someone explain why it's so much lighter than any other young ones I've seen migrate through?

Pic was taken at extreme range, then heavily cropped. This was in a flooded farmer's field in western Missouri adjacent to the Missouri River yesterday afternoon. With a KIlldeer and (I think) Least Sandpiper for scale, I'm certain the large duck is a Mallard. Although I'm not certain it's not a domestic Mallard as it was absolutely huge--damn near goose-sized! What are the 3 "plain-looking" ducks behind it?