MarkG

Great Blue Heron by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr

Finally, a Warbler that was a poser! Magnolia Warbler by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr Magnolia Warbler by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr

Eastern Wood-Pewee by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr

Thanks! That bird is kind of a major score in these parts.

Seen this afternoon in Chapel Hill, NC. I was actually out warbler hunting and saw this bird low, where I was looking down on it from about 20 feet away. What caught my eye was the very bright yellow wing-bar on a medium gray body, so my first impression was Golden-Winged Warbler. It had been raining, so the lens cap was on my camera and I had to scramble to get photos. By then the bird had gone up into a tree and I only got a few shots before it disappeared. It seems the only other bird it could be is a Chestnut-sided, but I'm just not seeing that in the photos. Opinions would be welcomed. Thanks!

Where I lived previously I have several feeders in my back yard and there were several pine trees in the yard as well. I saw Cooper's in my yard fairly often, one time one came swooping in at birds on the feeder and it ran into the feeder as it was chasing them. It hit it so hard I was surprised the hawk wasn't injured. I did see a Cooper's catch a junco one time and took it up into one of the pine trees to eat it. I also on numerous occasions found a pile of feathers in my yard where something got caught and consumed. Where I walk on my birding walks there are many houses with feeders in their back yards, the same area where I took the photos. I've seen Cooper's and Sharpies in that area fairly consistently over the years.

Thanks! I thought it was a young Cooper's. It was in the tree watching over a yard with a few bird feeders. There are usually a few Red-shouldered Hawk's around, but I've never seen them staking out feeders like the Cooper's do.

Seen this morning in Chapel Hill, NC.

Cowbird's aren't my favorite, but I was entertained watching an adult Chipping Sparrow feeding this young Cowbird. Of course the Cowbird was much larger than the Sparrow. My shots of the two together didn't come out, but I got a good sharp photo of the Cowbird.

Thanks! Yes, the facial patterns on my "third" duck was very distinctive and the main reason that I thought it was a Wood Duck. The other thing that surprised me is normally Wood Ducks don't stick around when they see me, but this one didn't seem to be bothered. As far as the Mallards, I also thought they were a bit different, to the point where I checked those birds against any other species that may frequent this area. I don't think any of the other photos I took would help as they are all from about the same view.

I saw these ducks this morning in Chapel Hill, NC. When I saw them I identified two ducks that were together as Mallards, but then the third duck appeared and joined them. I thought the third duck was a Wood Duck, but wasn't 100% sure. I took some photos and figured I'd be able to ID the third duck when I saw the photos. I got a decent image of it, but I've been going back and forth on whether the third duck was another Mallard or a Wood Duck. The "third" duck is to the right The "third" duck center in profile.

Brown Thrasher by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr

Eastern Kingbird by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr

Red-winged Blackbird by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr

House Wren by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr

Yellow-breasted Chat by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr

Orchard Oriole by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr

Red-winged Blackbird by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr

American Goldfinch by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr

Eastern Kingbird by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr

Brown-headed Nuthatch by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr

Prothonotary Warbler by Mark Goodwin, on Flickr