lonestranger

Some of you may remember the bird poker game we had years, and years, ago. Well, THIS IS NOTHING LIKE THAT GAME!. The old game had rules requiring certain specifics be met for each poker hand played, this game has no rules, except the ones you set for yourself. The idea is to post photos of birds that you can relate to a poker hand and then post a better hand with your next photo. While we'll follow the standard poker hands(linked below), how we make up those poker hands and what order they're played in is up to the individual. As an example, someone could claim that a pair of goldfinches has

Red-breasted Nuthatch trying to chase a Downy Woodpecker off the empty feeder. 3S0A9633 by Glen Mercer, on Flickr

A couple of Ruby-throated hummingbird pics from the weekend. 3S0A9360 by Glen Mercer, on Flickr 3S0A9288 by Glen Mercer, on Flickr

Still trying to get a feel for my new gear but enjoying every mistake I make with it.

The way the edge of the shell is folded inward in such a straight line makes me think a predator opened it from the outside. Perhaps a raccoon biting off the top of the egg so it could drink/eat from a cup sort of thing. Just a wild guess that is pure speculation with no personal experience to support such speculation. Aren't imaginations wonderful?

I could be wrong here, but I always considered Song sparrows to be streaky/striped underneath. Does the bird in question look like this? https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Song_Sparrow/id BTW, Welcome to Whatbird @Joani Gammill.

Hummingbird moth

Perhaps posting the original photo on a third party website like flickr, imjur, etc., will allow others to zoom in for a little better view. Uploads directly to Whatbird get compressed and don't show as much detail as photo sharing websites do. That MIGHT help determine if the potential tail spots have the potential to determine the ID.

I see the same list twice, @lonesome55dove, the only difference I see is the order. One shows the first bird first, the other shows the last bird first. Both lists show birds already posted.

Just a thought for those involved in the listing process, I wonder if a reverse list would be easier to manage, and view. If you start with a list of all included birds(ABA or similar) and remove the birds from the list when they're added here, then instead of seeing a growing list of birds that have already been posted, the participants would see a shrinking list of birds that still need to be added to the list. My thinking is, when you look at a list, you see what's listed...for myself, it'd be easier to see a list of birds that I could safely add to the collection, instead of looking throug

Thank you both. After discovering our similar birthdays last year, @Bird Brain, your's has become one of the easiest birthdays for me to remember.

Speaking of "Older", Happy Birthday @Bird Brain

Great Blue Heron, almost sunset. July 2013.

Welcome to WhatBird, @B J K. You should be able to cut and paste, or drag and drop, your photo right into the message box.

I can't speak for everyone here, but I would prefer photos loaded with the post, as opposed to links to separate websites. I like to compare comments about the photo/bird to the photo/bird and that's just easier to do if the photo is right there in front of me and not in a separate window/tab. Links to extra photos is probably a good idea if there's an abundance of photos though. Not that I can help with your IDs, but viewing the images is always nice since I usually skip past the links and obviously miss out on a lot of interesting photos.

I wonder if that is a piece of dead grass in front of the bird as opposed to an eye line?

@psweet, I really miss you, and I don't think I am the only one that would appreciate you making an appearance now and then. Just saying.

I read Tony's post last night and read it the same way as you did, Charlie. I thought Tony was disputing the Rail ID and referring to the bird in question when he stated "This is a juvenile Green Heron".

I could be wrong in my interpretation here, but it looks like the feathers on the legs stop well short of the feet. Golden Eagles are suppose to have feathers right down to their feet, even juveniles. Just tossing out a possible ID mark that I admit I might be seeing wrong.

My bad, I thought you wanted confirmation on your insanity.

Confirmed!...

Have you tried copper pennies? Pennies made before 1982 are supposed to have qualities(real copper) that help control algae. I haven't tried it myself but I have read about it on various websites. A capful of apple cider vinegar is suppose to help prevent algae too, another one I haven't tried myself.

Welcome back, @Tony Leukering. I want to apologize for the way I handled myself during our last encounter. As many have pointed out, you have every right to post the way you like and I was out of line for publicly criticizing the content of your posts, and I'm sorry for that. While I admit that many of your posts are way over my head and sometimes it's even difficult for me to even determine if you're in agreement or disagreement with a suggested ID, I want you to know that the frustrating part for me was not the information that you provided, but the information that you often withheld. I was

@Lacie Check out this link. https://forums.whatbird.com/index.php?/announcement/3-what-to-do-if-you-find-a-baby-or-injured-bird/

Wouldn't a Western Tanager be out of range for SC?