TKbird

Wood Ducks are beautiful!

I would also give this a 5. I agree with @IKLland for 4 on this one; the resolution and lighting are both strikes. (Note @IKLland that the eBird guidelines don't mention anything other than the bird mattering for the rating.)

The face is just blurry enough that I would personally give this a 4, even though the rest of the bird is pretty sharp. But your similar photo from the same checklist is awesome, a comfortable 5 from me!

To quote another birder viewing this Brown Booby in Vermont, this is the "how the hell did I get here?!" look.

... how about of the flock a couple hundred feet out on the left??

Haha any from Hellcat Dike? That's where I saw the closest Stilts.

Eighthing redstart. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

@BiffHayden One of my favorite birds, enjoy them while they're here! Nighthawk migration is too short. https://ebird.org/science/status-and-trends/comnig/abundance-map-weekly

No photos of distant shorebird flocks that we can study?? ? Stilts were mingled with the yellowlegs and dowitchers at several spots!

See anyone tall and lanky with a camera on a tripod? Wish I could share 'em.

Nice photo! Personally, that is a comfortable 4 for me. The lighting and crispness are just not there. If you brought the exposure up a bit more (while still keeping the highlights in a comfortable range, of course), I think it would become a high 4 for me. That's the worst haha. I'd be pretty happy with this one though!

@PalmWarbler Ha we were literally on Plum Island at the same time, that's where I picked up Stilt and Buff-breasted Sandpipers last Sunday! ?

EBird has a support page for everything. ?

I'm surprised no one has posted this on here (unless I missed it). That said you guys seem to be following these guidelines well even if you haven't seen them! https://support.ebird.org/en/support/solutions/articles/48001064392-rating-media#RatingPhotos

@meghann Sightings map is our friend here. ? https://ebird.org/map/wilfly?neg=true&env.minX=-98.05721819218333&env.minY=37.02806942721125&env.maxX=-96.50265276249583&env.maxY=37.75472327486645&zh=true&gp=true&ev=Z&mr=on&bmo=8&emo=8&yr=all&byr=1900&eyr=2021 Click observations for exact date. Same thing for Alder. See if you come up with the same conclusion I did!

Thanks! Given the paucity of records for both species, I'm personally disinclined to trust rougher analyses of the nearby sightings.

That is some very long primary projection in the last photo. When present I believe this is a conclusive feature, but I'm not going to bet the house on that. EBird reviewers tend to know their stuff...

*including in flight if necessary, to be clear

https://daretobird.blogspot.com/2017/08/dowitcher-identification.html My understanding is that nearly all (perhaps even all) dowitchers are identifiable to sp. given a good look and plenty of experience.

This.

Hahaha trying my darnedest. Now you're making me feel guilty! ?

Haha we all need a nemesis bird!!

OK. I'm still having a hard time accepting that Willow could be dramatically more likely than Alder on 8/18 given the above fact. ?

Thanks! That's a fun place to be. ?

@Quiscalus quiscula Just trying to understand the discrepancy between what my eBird research suggested to me and what Seanbirds said.