GracesWarbler

Thanks all! It seems like there are a lot of warblers in Arizona, so I guess that should be my first thought when identifying little colorful birds.

I saw this bird near Phoenix, AZ in September of last year. It was near a little stream. (Apologies if the colors in the title are wrong; I'm a little colorblind.) I'm putting together a bird calendar and need to identify this last bird. Any ideas?

It's my forum namesake, Grace's Warbler, looking very fluffy:

Oh, if the question is global, then I have lots! My top choice, as mentioned above, is the Emperor Penguin. When I was younger, I thought they were the same size as people (~6 feet tall), probably because the nature documentaries rarely show them beside people. Other than that, probably shoebill, toucan, and bowerbird.

Great (tiny) owl, Seattle! It snowed where I live a couple days ago, and on each of the past three days I've tried to get some wintery bird pictures, with basically no success. There wasn't much snow at the park today, but I found some Western Bluebirds (and some LBJs).

Here are some from today: I'm trying to get together some more photos for my annual bird calendar. Are any of these interesting enough to put in a calendar?

Cool stuff on this page! I haven't been birding much this year, but I decided to go somewhere new this afternoon. It's a popular walking spot, but I didn't feel self-conscious about carrying my big lens, which was nice. If anything, I wish I could have shown people the results! A raven was hopping around in the distance. After a while, I found some Pygmy Nuthatches (I think?). They were gathering seeds from flowers, and were fairly fearless. I was standing about 10 feet from the flower, and they just kept coming back over and over again.

I went birding on Sunday, and I finally got a good luck at a little yellow bird I've seen glimpses of before. Apparently it was a Common Yellowthroat. I think yellow birds are my favorite, so this was a joy to see. Still, the name was a bit of a surprise: if it's so common, why have I so rarely seen them? Does anyone here have a favorite bird color?

Sure, I'd love to hear some recommendations. I live up in Flagstaff, and the only places I've gone in the Gilbert/Phoenix area are the Riparian Preserve, the Desert Botanical Gardens, and one of the Phoenix city parks.

I'm making a bird calendar for friends and family, so I want to get IDs right. Below is a photo I took in Gilbert, AZ (next to Phoenix), in September. A flock of these birds were swooping around together near the water. The area has some ponds and some trees (it's the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch, if you know the area). These are Least Sandpipers, right? Or something else? Is the leg color the best way to distinguish Least Sandpipers from others? Also, I want to make sure I'm correctly IDing the Cormorants below. Are these both Neotropic Cormorants, right, due to the feath

I really like the composition on this one. Great shot! Growing up on the East Coast, I was used to seeing Blue Jays. Out here in the west, we get Steller's Jays, which have a rad crest. I sat at a table for a good 20 minutes or so before this one finally showed up. I think it wanted food from me, but I didn't have any. Just look at that crest!

Hmm, what is the general practice around here for sharing birding spots? I'm sure that you're a responsible birder, but I also don't want to stress the birds by bringing too much attention to them. Opinions?

I saw some Rosy-faced Lovebirds for the first time this weekend! They're native to Africa and were brought to the U.S. as pets, but now several thousand live and breed in the wild in Phoenix. Apparently, the population has been growing for the past 25 years, and Phoenix is one of the only places in the U.S. where wild populations live. So despite the >100 degree temperatures, I got to see these goofy parrots hanging out in a palm tree, flying around, and squeaking loudly.

I took a trip to a riparian preserve near Phoenix last weekend, and saw a Great Egret for the first time! However, I noticed something in its tail, which hung down into the water as it walked around to hunt. See the second photo, below. At first I thought it was long tail feathers, but I don't see any feathers like this when I look at other Great Egret photos online, so now I'm wondering if it was a reed or something. Do Great Egrets stick things into their tails? Is this normal, or unusual? Any insight would be appreciated! Bonus picture: while I watched, the egret walked

Cool shot, and great lighting! It looks like it's wearing a long coat. I went somewhere new for birding last weekend: a riparian preserve near Phoenix. Lots of birds, rabbits, and turtles, and lots of people too! Northern Shovelers. A coot. A Snowy Egret, hunting. A catch! I can't quite tell what it got. Can anyone identify it? Some sort of fish?