lonestranger

The photo only has two ratings so it makes me wonder how it got in the top 5. I just double checked and there's no criteria for accurate identification in the ratings guidelines. I guess the name of the photo has nothing to do with the quality of the photo, and it can always be flagged and corrected later without affecting the photo's rating. Definitely not a quality observation but a real nice photo. "Rate the quality of the image, not the quality of the bird or the observation."

Interesting article @RobinHood. It reinforces my belief that accipiters are tricky. Even when you know what markers to look for, there's enough variation in both species to make one look like the other.

BRDL 20 ???? ???? ???? ????

I'm willing to bet that you and I weren't the only ones who had to look that one up. ?

I could see it being a Vulture, but if someone had of suggested an Osprey, I could see that too.

I haven't used the banding code list yet, just the alphabetical list of birds in iBird. I'll have to think about trying the banding code list next time I need help(tomorrow). ?

Had to pull my last two guesses from my iBird list. BRDL 19 ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ????

@Connor Cochrane, a new, or old post with a link to the current lists would be an ideal candidate for a "Recommended" post for this thread. The post with the list would always be at the top of every page making it easier for everyone to access. I suggest a new post for the simple fact that you could include extras like instructions on how the thread and lists work, etc. I'm sure @Kevin or @Aveschapines would tag the appropriate post as Recommended if you asked nicely. Just tossing out a thought I had. ?

I had to look this one up AFTER I solved it. BRDL 18 ???? ???? ????

After quickly scrolling through the list of birds and codes used by the game I came to a scary realization that I want to share. I don't think it will spoil anything, but it might cause the same frustration in the game as birds can cause in the field. That's right, there are HYBRID codes for some species AND there's also banding codes for UNIDENTIFIED species too. ?

FYI I'm sure others have already found this, but for those that haven't clicked the "banding code" link right under BRDL at the top of the page, it might be worth checking out. Not only do they explain how banding codes work, but they provide a link to the list of codes that they use in the game. BRDL uses these codes for solutions, but uses several bird code sources to help faciliate guessing. Woo-hoo, the copied links work.?

BRDL 17 ???? ???? ???? ????

The bad photos are hard to get too.

I have enough Common Nighthawk shots that it's hard to decide which one isn't the worst.

If I saw birds from about three football fields away, I'd have a hard time seeing detail too.

BRDL 16 ???? ???? ???? No list today but I had to go through the entire alphabet to find the missing letter.

Isn't that a requirement for birding? ?

I had to refer to my list of birds after the second guess because I couldn't come up with a guess that was acceptable on my own that fit with the letters I had. I NEVER would have figured out this bird on my own, not even if I got all the letters in the right order. BRDL 15 ???? ???? ????

Problem seems to be solved.

@Kevin, @Aveschapines, I am getting a "404-Not Found" error when I try to access the forum's home page. I first thought it was just a problem with my phone but I am getting the same message on my computer too. I am only able to navigate from one forum to another by using my browser's history.

BRDL 14 ???? ???? ???? ????

Thanks for finding a nice way to say "Pure Luck!!!" ?

BRDL 13 ???? ???? I put the letter from my first guess at the beginning of my second guess and lucky for me, the only bird I could think of was the answer.

I wish I could help you but out of the 10+ years I have been on Whatbird I have only been using my Android phone to access Whatbird for the past few days so I am as new to this as you are. I can tell you that you may have wait for the upload to finish, it's not always a fast process. I agree with @The Bird Nuts, your description sounds like a Northern Flicker.