Richard Larsen

Trying to ID a bird seen near Puget Sound in Tacoma Washington earlier this month. Seems as if it should be easy, but I am drawing a blank, and don't like answers from various computer bird ID programs. (Maybe it is a juvenile Starling.) Any help appreciated. Rich

Still trying to sort warblers, perhaps females, from Parker River NWR in Mass from late May. Trees were full of warblers, and I was jumping from one to another with camera, but I think the first three are the same species - some might be the same birds. Same for the last two - I am guessing female Blackpoll Warbler for them, but certainly not sure. Maybe the first three are Yellow Warblers, but to me does not seem quite right for such a call. Any help appreciated.

Four more birds for which I have not been able to establish an ID. Taken at Parker River NWR this past weekend during a very good warbler migration. They hop about a lot, and the foliage is thick, so apologies that some of the pictures not great. Any help appreciated.

Aidan B - thank you. Rich

My wife and i were lucky enough to be at Plum Island this past weekend, with a large warbler migration ongoing, but I have not sorted my warblers yet. I have attached 4 pics of 3 non-warbler birds seen, for which I am unable to provide an ID. The first is perhaps a female Orchid Oriole. The closest I can come on the second is Eastern Towhee but seems to have way too much red in the breast. The third and fourth pics were together on the rail of a fence - probably male and female - I think there is one pic of each. Any help would be appreciated. I tried to match the pics to species others reported on ebird, but was not successful.

From my trip to Florida a month ago. A Great Blue Heron was poised to do some fishing. An Anhinga either surfaced in the GBH's area or swam thru it. Suddenly GBH dropped from above onto the Anhinga, with a squawk - for about three seconds there was chaos of wings and beaks as the birds battled - and then the GBH ran away across the swamp with the Anhinga in pursuit for a couple of seconds until he called off the chase. Apparently, one does not mess with an Anhinga.

In Florida, in early February, I called pictures 1-4 'Dunlin', altho I still wonder if they could be Western Sandpipers. The first three pics are the same bird, I think the bill too long to be Western, and maybe back too gray. so, I went with Dunlin. Number 4 is a different bird, again I called it Dunlin. Number 5 I went back and forth Willet vs Red Knot, settled on Red Knot, but for all I know could be something different. In a different location, an area called Bayley Tract on Sanibel Island, I found the bird shown in 6 and 7. Long way away, pics may not be good enough. I ended up thinking maybe it was an Eastern Phoebe but wondering if others have better ideas. Thanks.

A sparrow seen at Grissom Wetlands in Florida. All are the same sparrow. Pretty sure it is a Savannah Sparrow - trying to get my confidence up on bird IDs - and hoping I don't embarrass myself. Thanks for any verification or correction. First three pics. Then, 3 pics of a bird for which I don't have a guess, altho a little voice keeps telling me 'not another Palm Warbler'.

Sorting my Florida bird pictures - after scratching my head and considering options, I keep coming back to 'Palm Warblers' for all of these. Nothing against Palm Warblers, was just hoping for more species. Are these indeed all Palm Warblers? All taken in first half of February this year. Picture 1 from Honeymoon Island SP near Clearwater. Pictures 2 and 3 from Grissom Wetlands near the east coast - they are the same bird. Picture 4 from the Circle B Bar Preserve in Polk in Central Florida.

While on the west coast of Florida a few weeks back, there were a lot of winter-plumage shorebirds that drove me crazy, including some large groups of 'resting' birds in multiple places. I have 'concluded' that they must be Willets, based on the fact that I can't fit them to be anything else. Hoping for confirmation or correction. Also, I observed one plover that seems to be a Wilson's Plover - I think it is correct - but they are new-to-me, so again hoping for confirmation. Thanks. Rich

Thanks, Avery. My 'Western' vs 'Semipalmated' was based strictly frequency, not any features of the birds. Ebird shows many dozens of Westerns on this beach every day, and the last Semipalmated was shown back in late October. And, the Cornell range maps show semipalmated in the US only for nesting and migration - all winter populations appear to be south of the US mainland. So, my designation is based on probability, not on any wisdom I have in identifying them. I'm not good enough to make an independent assessment. Rich

Trying to sort out non-breeding plumage in small sandpipers. I can't say that I have any experience doing this, so I may have embarrassed myself - they might not even be sandpipers. These all come from tidal mudflats at Bunche Beach / San Carlos Bay near Sanibel Island, FL, on Feb 6, 2022. Attached are three photos I am calling Western Sandpipers, and three that I call Least Sandpiper (these three are views of same bird). Confirmation or correction would be appreciated. Thanks. Rich

Sorry, the system posted before I was ready. There was missing text, and I think I already posted one of the hummers. The first and 4th pictures are obviously hummers, I think the first is Anna's, and the 4th Rivoli's - but hoping for confirmation or correction. The second and third I think are both Least Sandpipers, again hoping for comment. I think the 5th is a Western Sandpiper, but might be another least - or maybe something else. Please ignore number 6 for now. Thanks. Rich

Thanks to all. I gave bad information on number 5. I reviewed the date / time stamp again, and realized it came from Patagonia, AZ, at the Paton Reserve - not Gilbert - and I saw it shortly after others had been seeing Lazuli Buntings in a couple of trees nearby. They said 'the buntings had left, but they will come back later'. I thought I had missed them all. I think this was a female that had not gone very far - or maybe was just the first one to return. I think 'Brown headed Cowbird' female is the right call on number 6. The sun was very low, giving everything a reddish hue, thus the coloration. I did not know where to start on this one, but once pointed in that direction I can see what looks to be the right markings. Rich