mfoster.vt

Got these pics today. I was scoping a raft of about 32 Double Crested Cormorants and this bird stuck out like a sore thumb due to its lighter coloration. I managed to find a way to get a bit closer for some photos, but these are still pretty highly cropped. I am thinking the bird in the background on the right is a juvenile Great Cormorant but could use confirmation of that.

Thanks to the two of you for the help.

Saw this bird today, amongst many other waterfowl as a result of a rain fallout. Pretty sure it is a Great Cormorant due to the Bright yellow throat pouch. Lighter coloration than the Double crested I saw there. Not sure because I see no white feathers around the throat patch. Pretty yellow for a Double-crested. It is the first thing that struck me when I put my scope on it. Great??? Double Crested

Thanks to you both.

I had a flock of Redpolls visit my feeders today. This particular bird was much lighter in color than the rest of the flock, but not sure it is light enough to call it a Hoary. Seeing what folks here think. It may be a mute point. I just read a pretty long article on Cornell about recent genetic research on Common and Hoary Redpolls. Seems there is negligible genetic difference in the two "species" and they may be all one specie with expression differences counting for the different coloration. It may be that in the near future the experts may just call these all a variation of the same specie. I might try to report it if people here think it might be a Hoary.

Thanks to you both

I took this photo in Aug 2016 in Southern VT. I reported the bird as a Sharpie but an eBird reviewer was just looking at the photo and thinks it is a Coopers Hawk and now that I am getting more confident in telling the 2 apart I have to agree with Coop. What do you think?

This bird was mixed in with a bunch of house sparrows and house finches and I'm thinking it is another house finch due to the curved upper mandible and lack of color on the side of the head and flanks, but it does have deeper and more extensive color than the other house finches so it had me second guessing. Just wanting confirmation.

Thanks BirdNuts and HamRHead. It's been a while since Ive seen one in my neck of the woods.

For some reason this bird just looks too light breasted for SOSP to me but I can't come up with anything else that fits. Just want to make sure. Taken today in S VT.

Thanks Bird Nuts

Got these pics today. While taking the pics I thought this bird was carrying something red but that last photo seems to point to just red color. Perhaps it was just feeding on carrion with some blood. Believe the bird is a raven due to the wedge shape of the tail. v

Thanks IvoryBillHope. Really wondering if it is a first year bird though.

This bird had me a little stumped for a bit as the bill looked dipped in black rather than a ring and the wings have a buffy color. Looking at my Sybleys, it looks like these are typical marks for a first year bird. Just wondering if I got it right. Thanks.

Thanks sfinmt. The more I looked at the photos, the more I was also convinced of surf.

Got these pics this morning at quite a distance. I saw 2 male Surf Scoters in the same location, but this bird was swimming on its own quite distant from the males. My sense is that this is a female Surf Scoter, but I can kind of imagine a white wing patch in one shot which might point to White Winged. Another shot looks like it might have a darker cap, which would seem to point to Surf. Unfortunately my scope is in for repairs, so I had to rely on these pics and my binoculars, neither of which had quite enough power. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks TooFly

I got this pic today in southern VT and thought that the bird on the left was just a Juvie Common Merganser (it did look a bit different from the 2 common females) I posted it on a VT bird FB page and got the suggestion that this was actually a Red Breasted Merganser. I think they might be right, but would like confirmation of this if possible.

Thanks blackburnian

Got these pics this morning. The birds were quite far off and I did not have my scope with me. My sense is the breasts are too light for Double-crested and the bills look right if you zoom in and the tail is maybe a bit longer than DC. I could be just trying to make them into Great though. Help with ID is greatly appreciated.

Thanks Tony. I think I did better than I thought i would.

Thanks to you both. It is hard enough to ID these guys, and poor photos only makes it harder. I have to hand it to you. I still struggle with these.

Some more shorebirds I am looking for confirmation on. 2 of these birds would be lifers for me if correct. I gave it my best try on the ID's but likely wrong on some. 1. Red Knot? this would be a lifer for me. 2. I think the above bird is a Baird's Sandpiper. In the bottom photo I believe the bird in the foreground is a Pectoral Sandpiper. Show together for size. More pics of Pectoral below. This would be another lifer for me. 3. I think that the birds above are Pectoral Sandpipers. Bottom photo has a Black Bellied plover in front. 4. I think the above birds are Semipalmated Sandpipers (except the Semipalmated plover which I added the photo for size comparison) 5. I think this is a White Rumped Sandpiper. Mixed in with the Semipalmated plovers and about the same size. Seems to have a longer, slightly drooping bill. 6. I think the above birds are Dunlin. First pics show maybe birds in the middle of molting out of summer plumage. 7. Not sure on these. A highly cropped photo. Thinking maybe more Semipalmated Sandpipers.

I think you might be right redcoot. I looked at Cornell and indeed the red at the base of the bill seems to be a trait to look for. I didn't know that and will be looking for it now. Thanks so much for the help.

More shorebirds I am uncertain of. I think this may be a Semipalmated Sandpiper. About the size of the Semipalmated Plovers around it. I think these birds might be Dunlin. I believe that is a Greater Yellowlegs in the grass behind them, but it never moved for me to be sure.