lonesome55dove

143. Ring-billed Gull 144. California Gull 145. American Robin 146. Varied Thrush 147. Townsend's Solitaire

135. Northern Shrike 136. California Scrub-jay 137. Steller's Jay 138. Red-breasted Nuthatch 139. White-breasted Nuthatch

132. Brown Thrasher 133. Rufous Hummingbird 134. Pileated Woodpecker

126. Acorn Woodpecker 127. Golden-crowned Sparrow 128. Western Bluebird 129. Mountain Chickadee 130. Tri-colored Blackbird 131. Barn Owl

119. Calliope Hummingbird 120. Pygmy Nuthatch 121. Pine Siskin 122. Song Sparrow 123. Western Tanager 124. Lewis's Woodpecker 125. Mallard

It looks like a Black-chinned to me. Awesome photo! ?

Ok...thank you. ?

This is very nice...the only thing I might change up a bit would be to put '' If you have photos, you can link to most popular photo sharing sites.'' first under What did the bird look like? then say, if photos are not available... What colors were the head, body, wings, and tail? Can you compare the mystery bird to a bird you're already familiar with? Was it smaller, fatter, longer necked, shorter tailed, etc.? Would it be necessary to go thru all of those steps if photos were included? Just my thoughts...Thank you. ?

Body shape seems wrong for a swallow and this bird has wing bars and appears to have a long sharp bill. ?

You are welcome. ?

Try looking at an Ebony Jewelwing. ?

Yes, there is horse hair in this nest and maybe even some of my hair, lol. I've saw nests down along the river that have fishing line in them...that really disturbs me. My husband was a fisherman but he was also a good steward of our environment so he was extra careful not to leave discarded line and such for critters to get tangled up in. ?

Well, it is a great idea but most of these nests are 25-50 feet off the ground and at the very tip of a branch. I often wonder how the little ones survive being tossed around in the wind...and the wind blows a lot here in the Pacific Northwest's Columbia River Gorge area. ?

I agree but I expect they use what can be easily found near their chosen nesting site. The area I live in is farm/ranch land with livestock which means a lot of tarp-cover hay stacks and thus an abundance of baling twine. ?

You are right...there are 4 Merlins in the photos. ?

Bullock's Orioles make really cool nests. The nests are hard to see when the trees have leaves but in the Fall/Winter they are easy to spot. ?

Yellow Warbler

You're welcome. Those trailing legs do look weird. ?

The body description sounds like a Clark's Nutcracker...the head not so sure about. Hopefully, someone will come along shortly and know what it is. ?

It looks like a Mud Dauber Wasp. ?

Perhaps a young Lark Sparrow. ?

Your location would be helpful for possibly IDing the birds you've described. Thank you. ?

It could be that the ear tufts have not fully developed/emerged yet due to age of the bird. ?

I've heard Great Horned juveniles make sounds similar to this...but I'm far from being an owl expert so wait for more input...I'm sure someone will know what it is. ?

So do you mean like the rump area? If so, two birds come to mind...Northern Flicker and Northern Harrier. ?