[?? Dove]

2 minutes ago, Kevin said:

Yes, Morning. 

I've never seen one with the dark patch in that position.  Thanks.

[?? Dove]

Just now, Kevin said:

Photo?

You're too fast.  Edited and uploaded.  Thanks.

[?? Dove]

Taken on 8-21-2022 at Sepulveda Basin in Van Nuys, CA.

The placement of the dark patch on the face has me confused.

Both photos are of the same bird.

 

[Lifers]

Here is one I took at The Meadows park at Silverlake Reservoir on 9-27-2021.  It wasn't a lifer for me as I had seen a female/immature in Sepulveda Basin in 2020.

[Lifers]

5 hours ago, BlueJay said:

I've been in contact with one of the guides from my Kenyan safari about two months back, and had recently sent some pictures to them for any possible identification. They wrote back today, and it turns out I got 5 more lifers on that trip. They are White-winged Widowbird, White-rumped Swallow, Pin-tailed Whydah, Blue-billed Teal, and Ruppell's Griffin.

You had to go to Africa to see a Pin-tailed Whydah?  You could have just come to Los Angeles.

[In Flight]

[Head-On Bird Shots]

[Lifers]

On 8-5-2022, I went to Malibu Lagoon in Malibu, CA for the first time.  It was only the second time I had been to a coastal location.  I got at least eight new lifers (unless I've misidentified anything):

Snowy Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Black-bellied Plover, Ruddy Turnstone

Elegant Tern, Heerman's Gull, Pelagic Cormorant and Brown Pelican.

[?? phalarope ??]

Taken on 8-5-2022 at Malibu Lagoon, Malibu, CA.

I think this is a phalarope, but what species?

[?? Cormorant]

Taken on 8-5-2022 at Malibu Lagoon, Malibu, CA

I don't know if this might be an oiled bird, or if not, what species of cormorant it is.

I think the last photo is the same bird as the first two.  The last one was taken 4 hours later, but in the same small area at the far west of the lagoon, and it was the only cormorant there both times.

There were many DCCOs on the island out in the middle of the main part of the lagoon.

[In Flight]

[Anna's or Costa's]

@DLecy, thanks for the info and the ID.

I understand that different camera perspectives and different postures of the bird can make the tail look longer or shorter with respect to the wings.  Attached is another photo of the same bird.  I think these photos clearly show that the tail is not longer than the wingtips in a perched position for this bird.  So I would take it that it means not all Anna's Hummingbirds have tails longer than the wingtips when perched -- and therefore not diagnostic for Anna's.

[Anna's or Costa's]

Taken on 6-30-2022 in Glenoaks Canyon, Glendale, CA

For a Calypte species, if the tail does not extend beyond the wingtips, does that mean it is a Costa's no matter what sex or age?

Thanks.

[In Flight]

[Thoughts, please.]

Okay, thank you.  I appreciate it.

[Thoughts, please.]

Here are a couple more photos if they help.

Someone else suggested Lazuli Bunting.

[Thoughts, please.]

Taken on 6-16-2022 in Glenoaks Canyon, Glendale, CA.

[Goofy Little Bird]

I should have been able to recognize that.  It just looked so goofy that I couldn't think about the features that it had.

Thanks.

[Goofy Little Bird]

Taken on 5-30-2022 at Lake Cuyamaca in San Diego County, CA

What's this?

 

[Purple Martin ?]

Taken on 5-30-2022 at Lake Cuyamaca in San Diego County, CA

I think I've got a Purple Martin and would like confirmation -- since it would be a lifer for me.

Thanks

 

[?? Tern]

Thanks everyone!

[?? Tern]

Taken on 5-26-2022 on the Los Angeles River at Willow St., Long Beach, CA.

I've never seen a Caspian Tern before, but I think that's what all these are.

The first 3 photos are the same individual.  The last two may be other individuals.

Do I have a lifer?

[Sometimes I just want friends to see a bird I photographed, no rules.]

[LOL forum topic]

At the Grebe races...

 

[In Flight]