Bird Id Part 3

What kind of gull is it?

What kind of tern?

Don't need an ID, but I liked the pic...

Your 3 latest birds are..

1 Common Ground dove
2 Laughing gull
2 Sandwich tern is my educate GUESS ;)

I was out driving around this afternoon and came across this bird of prey. I don't think I have ever seen a raptor of this size, sitting on a wire before. It seems like they are always sitting on something solid, like a post, or a tree branch. It wouldn't let me get very close, but it was fun to watch as it hunted like no other raptor I have seen before also. Not that I have watched a lot of them hunt, but it seems like they are always much higher in the air, riding thermals, and just hovering in the wind. This guy cruesed the farm feilds, just a few feet off the ground. Every once in a while, it would pull up, like it was going to pounce on something, but then would take off again.

I'm not sure what it is tho. The closest thing I can find in any of my books is a Northern Goshawk but after looking at some other pics on the net, I don't think that's what it is...

you discribed 2 large raptor species in your hunting discription and one is a northern harrier ;) This isn't a harrier :) You have found a rather large Buteo species name Buteo Lagopus :)

Notice the feathered legs... ;)

You have a juvenile light morph roughlegged hawk , which BTW is my favorite winter hawk to find!

If you have the Sibley guide look at pg 105 and find the hawk with dark wrist bands :)

Here's another tern from today, but what species. Wild bird, but I noticed he/she has a leg band.

Closest I've gotten to one of these...

Thanks for the ID Paul! I don't have the Sibley's book but I did find it in my Smithsonian book. I should have read the description in the book, instead of just looking at the photos. The description of they way this bird hunts could have been writen based on what I saw in the short time I watched it. I did consider the roughlegged, for a minute, but the pics just didn't look right. I will be sure to read the descriptions next time. :)

This was actually on a small lake a quarter-mile from the beach.

Also on a small lake a quarter-mile from the beach.

These birds seem to like to sit in the middle of the lake in the middle of the sun...

On that tern I am going to say royal, but the angle is a bit tough to tell from.

Your willet(eastern), white ibis and snowy plover are easy in comparision though ;)

You are correct in thinking that pied- billed grebes are a bit stand offish in nature, but this image proves that with a bit of patience and luck you can get close.

This guy flew in front of me last night. I think it's a Barred Owl, but I didn't get any good pics, and it was getting dark. It was sitting pretty close, but by the time I got my camera switched to manual focus, it flew deeper into the woods.

Sure is a barred owl! I love owls BTW :)

Not great, but the best I've gotten yet of the female of this species...

I found these cardinals enjoying their dinner this afternoon. The downy was enjoying the buffet, along with a few white-brested nuthatch.

Great Cardinal Photo mjs1973 , as soon as i open a door or a window the cardinals at home are gone :( im realy having a tough time getting a good photo of them .

But today i got lucky and captured a couple of wild Turkeys with nowhere to hide :)

Great images from today everyone!

Cardinals, turkey, nuthatch, hooded merg.......


But this tread is getting a bit long, so here comes part IV :)