Colton V

Also what was the habitat like? Any water nearby?

Male Red-breasted Merganser? Did you notice any patterning in the wings?

The mountainous pine forests of the West have gotta be one of my favorite birding environments... Solitaires, Mountain Bluebirds, Mountain Chickadees, Cassin's Finches, Great Gray Owls, Pygmy Nuthatches, tons of cool woodpeckers... The list goes on!

My non-birder sister managed to see a Red-headed Woodpecker but not me!

Finally got around to uploading photos and making a trip report. https://ebird.org/tripreport/31968?welcome=true I didn't get as much birding in as I hoped, and I was a little disappointed because I missed out on some lifers that should have been pretty easy, but I also got some lifers that I wasn't expecting. Highlights were Snowy Owl, Common Redpoll, and White-throated Sparrow (now I just need to find it in my home county!).

After lots of frustration with photography, Ms. Kestrel made me feel a little better. I just wish the sun was still up. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/405862581

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/404651531

Crane Prairie Reservoir, Deschutes, Oregon

Spotted Towhee - Oregonus Group Maculatus Group

Gnarly lenticulars over Mt. Hood at sunset from my local nature park. I wish I took the time to find a view without trees in the way.

We’ve started a digital art unit with iPad Pros in my art class at school. I’ve never done digital art before so there’s a lot of technical stuff I need to figure out with the software, and I actually found it to be pretty frustrating. I definitely prefer pencil and paper! Today’s assignment was to draw my most prized possession, so I drew my camera since it’s the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought with my own money.

Sorry, Charlie, if you weren’t intending for other people to post theirs, but this Gray-headed Junco in expected range was confirmed for a while but then was unconfirmed. Other people have reported Gray-headed since and none were unconfirmed. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/349495481

Poked my head out the door and heard a downy woodpecker.

Today I was in a marshy area in Lindenhurst, Illinois and I heard a call from the cattails that I was unfamiliar with. At first it sounded similar to a Red Crossbill because it was pairs of chirps: “Pip-pip, pip-pip, pip-pip.” The bird was moving around in the cattails but the vegetation never moved or made noise so I assumed the bird was a small passerine. I never saw it, but Winter Wren calls on the Merlin app seem to match. So I am wondering if habitat fits for Winter Wren. On one side of the marsh was a lake and on the other side was a neighborhood.