Rich Stanton

At 8 seconds it sounds like a Downy/Hairy Woodpecker rattle call to me, and there's Red-eyed Vireo throughout. https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2022/06/29/nutty-tale

Curious if folks think this heavily-cropped tern photo can be identified to species. We had good looks and Least and Roseate Terns during this trip, but also many distant birds. This one is noticeably dark below with a pale throat and darker primaries than the Roseates, and perhaaaps a shorter tail... but Common Tern would be a rarity for the location and date according to eBird. Location: Cabezaes de San Juan, Fajardo, Puerto Rico on 1 July 2022. Thanks everyone! Rich Stanton

You have 2 slam dunk WRSAin the foreground. Most Stilt Sandpiper should show strong horizontal barring on the chest and a rufous ear patch this time of year, and the bill shape/color (should be black with a noticeable droop) is hard to judge. Could it be a Short-billed Dowitcher in its second calendar year? The posture seems better for a dowitcher (see pg. 190 in the 1st edition of Sibley and likely on STSA page in 2nd edition too).

The only Myiarchus spp. to expect at your location and date.

I think White-rumps on the Atlantic Coast are most likely in the fall. I think the photos show a single Pectoral Sandpiper and the remainder are Semipalmated.

Thanks! It was April 28th. https://ebird.org/checklist/S111123481

Thanks Jerry. I don't do Facebook but would be interested in learning if there are features that are definitive from this angle for my own edification.

Old topic, but I recently joined iNaturalist and decided to give this bird a spin, proposing Buteo spp., which I think is all my photo can support for ID. One person immediately said Swainson's, then a friend and colleague on the site went with Buteo. I ended up seeing 3 (!) Swainson's together in the same location a week or so later and documented those. Spending time with those birds has nudged me toward thinking my ambiguous bird is probably also a Swainson's, but I am sticking to my guns that the photo doesn't definitively rule out alternatives.

I would use photo 7, third bird from left for my lifer WRSA photo if I were you. It nicely shows that the wings are longer than the tail and the diagnostic orange at the base of a drooped bill. Agree left-most, pic 3 is also WRSA but I like the more complete photo. The other pictures look like semipalmateds to me with no strong candidates for WESA, the adults of which should be a slam-dunk to ID if you get one in the spring (when unfortunately they're rare). WESA coming back through MO in the fall will be more common and some should retain nice coloring. Photo 6, right-most bird is thought-provoking because I almost dismissed it as a pectoral before noticing the breast markings are buffy and diffuse, like a Baird's Sandpiper, not dark with a clear demarcation line. I think the bird also has a black, narrow bill with little taper or droop, not the yellow-tinged tapering and drooped bill of a pectoral, and likely black legs, not yellow. The lighting and exposure make my judgment of color error-prone and the angle compromises my ability to be sure of the bill shape, so it would be worth checking your memory, notes, and other photos, but I am reasonably sure you have your third lifer in this photo set after all. If not, Bairds is fairly common at Eagle Bluffs and elsewhere in Missouri and you're sure to get one you can be 100% happy with before long.

The grey underparts and dark primaries rule out Forster's Tern.

Your second photo seems to show a faint rosy blush on the breast. That's common on Franklin's Gulls and I am not aware that it occurs on the other two species, aside from possibly staining.

I think the bird on the right has some real hybrid vibes, namely the leg and iris color plus lighter bare parts. I recently had a mixed flock of ibises in Missouri with a bit of everything.

If confirmed, I think this would be a first state record.

Bill and face pattern look right for Red-throated Loon.

The white patch and gestalt are consistent with Bufflehead

Thanks Alex. I figured I should make an inaugural post and this was the only thing to stump me lately.

Seen on a large farm field in Boone County, Missouri near Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area. Red-tails are the default but there have been several sighting this and other springs of Swainson's Hawks. The breast and lack of classic red-tail 'belly band' caught my eye, but the angle makes assessing the wings seem difficult. Seen last week in the evening, hopping in the field with another hawk in view at times.