mfoster.vt

Thanks to you both. I know there is a spectrum, but these 3 stood out. There were several others that seemed probable, but not definitive enough to call. 'Thanks.

Got these pics today. I was mostly scoping and counting a large flock of geese (over 1200) and spotted several candidates for Cackling geese while doing so. I then shot pics of the whole flock. They were on a distant shore, so these pics are highly cropped. I looked through about 2 dozen pics I had of them. There were multiple geese that I would say are candidates for hybrids, but these seemed to stand out as probably Cackling. Just seeing what folks here think. The 2 on the left in this photo The one in the center foreground here.

Thanks Jefferson Shank

Thanks everyone. I saw a bunch of Lesser Black Gulls today with varying plumages and have a better handle on them. I am not on the coast, so all seabirds provide challenges to me.

I have been hoping to see some Marbled Godwit here at Pea Island, NC but have come up blank, till today. I think. I took a couple of pics of these far off birds just to see if I could ID them, and I think that they are the Godwits. Only wish I could have been closer for the photos. Just want to confirm my ID. Second pic is cropped from the first.

I got these pics today and really don't know what the bird is. It seems likely for a Pomarine Jaeger, but I really can't say as I have never seen one before. There were 2 flying togetherWish the camera had acquired better focus .

Thanks. I think the blue color really fooled me. Reason I posted it was the wings didn't look right. Blue color may have been some reflection.

I am pretty sure this is a little blue heron. Doesn't quite fit what I have seen before and I'm not sure I've ever caught one in flight. Nothing else seems to fit.

Thanks Blackburnian

thanksJefferson Shank

Kerri, I think you are right. I have seen so many Red-Tailed hawks here, I think I convinced myself this had to be one. My initial impression when looking at the bird through my binocs.was a falcon. Should have stuck with that. The peregrine definitely has that white collar.

Got these pics this morning. Very windy, probably more than 40 mph. This raptor caught my eye from a distance fighting the wind. Took some quick shots. I am pretty sure it is a Red Tailed Hawk, but that white collar seems unusual. It really stands out in every pic I have, from all angles. I do think I see patagial marks and a darker tail and it seems to definitely be a buteo so I went with Red Tailed. Just wondering if others think the white necklace is unusual.

Thanks Birdbrain. Didn't think of Scoter, wing shape looked too stubby.

Not sure on any of these, but maybe they can be ID'd. The first I think may be a Manx Shearwater. I saw all of these birds on Jeanettes pier today, and the Manx has been reported there many times. This is the only shot I got, but it did have a white underside when viewed with my 12x bins (much too windy today to try to use a scope). Wing shape looks like it might be right for Manx. The next pic shows a group of birds that I saw several large flocks of. Thinking maybe Red Breasted Merganser as I see long thin bills and the color pattern looks right. I can't come up with an ID for the last 3 photos. Because of the wing shape and color I am thinking some sort of pelagic, maybe Auks of some kind. Forgot my Sibley's in VT, so I am relying on what I can find online and haven't found a good reference for seabirds yet.

Thanks all. Interesting discussion