Spring 2009 Bird ID Thread.

the rain kept me inside today so here's a few from last week.

Mike

I'd say you have a nice looking juvi redtailed hawk.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7733884@N03/3374058434/" title="P3211051 001 by Ravage247, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3634/3374058434_2981fbc7e7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P3211051 001" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7733884@N03/3373242815/" title="P3200989 038 by Ravage247, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3425/3373242815_5bcdc2481d.jpg" width="500" height="371" alt="P3200989 038" /></a>

western scrub jay

Here's one from today. I'm still not seeing much, this bird liked to stay in the thick stuff and never gave me a real clear shot.

Mike

It's always cool to see a fox sparrow!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7733884@N03/3386424594/" title="P3254505 by Ravage247, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3577/3386424594_3085f253a4.jpg" width="500" height="348" alt="P3254505" /></a>

looks like a female brown-headed cowbird.. they just started arriving on the east coast again.

Thanks .............. Cowbirds, Redwing Blackbirds and Grackles invaded my feeders yesterday and emptied all 4 with in minutes, there had to be a hundred birds. They move like a swarm. However they did not touch the suet feeders

I saw this before on the site but forgot the name and I can not find it in any of my bird books
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7733884@N03/3392290542/" title="P3284526_edited-1 by Ravage247, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3538/3392290542_347e002368.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P3284526_edited-1" /></a>

that's a house finch.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7733884@N03/3392603875/" title="pics1 062 by Ravage247, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3608/3392603875_49cc94172b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="pics1 062" /></a>

Finally have a chance to jump in... :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mahopac

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3608/...49cc94172b.jpg

---

Female house sparrow.

Really really poor quality shot of a really really FAST bird. Is this a Swallow?

Kristine

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SARtech

Really really poor quality shot of a really really FAST bird. Is this a Swallow?

Kristine

---

Yes, it is. Should be a tree swallow.

The good thing about swallows is they spend a lot of time in the air. The bad thing about them is they are small and fly erratically. Personally I don't think they fly really that fast.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by paulnj

I'd say you have a nice looking juvi redtailed hawk.

---

Indeed ! Really nice !

That is indeed a tree swallow. I have a tough time getting them too, don't feel bad.

Hey experts! What would be the best way to get a good shot of these guys? I think they are so pretty. Less telephoto and hope they come closer? (This shot was with my zoom at 300mm)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SARtech

Hey experts! What would be the best way to get a good shot of these guys? I think they are so pretty. Less telephoto and hope they come closer? (This shot was with my zoom at 300mm)

---

Fast and accurate Auto focus or good Manual focus skills is the most important. From there you will need to practice tracking your subject. Panning with your subject isn't easy, but practice makes perfect so they say.

Most importantly... luck :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SARtech

Hey experts! What would be the best way to get a good shot of these guys? I think they are so pretty. Less telephoto and hope they come closer? (This shot was with my zoom at 300mm)

---

. . . maybe a little popcorn to lure them closer. :D
Oops, you must mean the Swallows - I thought you were talking about the Canada Geese.
Maybe see where they all fly to, or are nesting, and a better oportunity may be available ?

. . . two easy ones, at the feeder today.
The males are just starting to molt, and pick up thier bright yellow colour.

gold finches :D I heard a few this week.. spring is here....

. . . another easy one spotted today - her mate was close, but camera shy ! :)

hmmm.... female cardinal :)

Grackle ?
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7733884@N03/3407972370/" title="P4021405_edited-1 by Ravage247, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3538/3407972370_5d525b62c9.jpg" width="500" height="401" alt="P4021405_edited-1" /></a>

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mahopac

Grackle ?

---

Correct you are.

I had a day off today and it didn't rain ! Here are a few shots from today, I think I know what birds two and three are but I'm not to sure about the first one. After I took this shot the bird flew down to the ground then back into another tree, a few swallows started to dive bomb it so it went to another tree where a couple of crows were giving it a hard time. I did get one shot with a swallow but it didn't come out to good.

Mike

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mike T

I had a day off today and it didn't rain ! Here are a few shots from today, I think I know what birds two and three are but I'm not to sure about the first one. After I took this shot the bird flew down to the ground then back into another tree, a few swallows started to dive bomb it so it went to another tree where a couple of crows were giving it a hard time. I did get one shot with a swallow but it didn't come out to good.

Mike

---

#1 = Could be a juvenile broad-winged hawk, but I am leaning more toward juvenile red-tailed hawk, due to tail pattern. Any frontal shots?

#2 / #3 = Female american kestrel.

#4 / #5 = Cooper's hawk.

I vote yes on Grackle

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by A.M.D.A.

#1 = Could be a juvenile broad-winged hawk, but I am leaning more toward juvenile red-tailed hawk, due to tail pattern. Any frontal shots?

#2 / #3 = Female american kestrel.

#4 / #5 = Cooper's hawk.

---

Correct and #1 is definately a redtailed hawk.

I thought 2 and 3 were a Peregrine Falcon. I sent them along to a guy that runs the Sussex County Bird Club web site and his ID was Peregrine. It's kind of hard to tell the size of a bird circling over head but this bird seemed bigger then a Kestrel. He also said the first is a young red-tailed

Mike

I think perhaps he is right. Initially, I though peregrine as well, but the tail pattern and underwing pattern seemed a little odd.

But the fact that the bird has only 1 "mustache" visible could be the deciding factor, as well as your comments about general body size.

My bad.

MINE TOO!

I hurriedly only looked at the first image, but the second is clearly a young peregrine molting into adult plumage.

A.M.D.A has the darker form in his area, so it's me who is the BAD ID person :mad2:

Is this a tree sparrow?

(and not just because it is a sparrow and in a tree :p )

Actually that's a scrub brush sparrow . lol

Field sparrow actually and even better to find. Tree sparrows have less rufous on the neck/chest area and a central dot on the chest.

Cool! Either way would have been a first for me - so another one gets checked off :)

Thanks, Paul

Sure is cute.

Kristine

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SARtech

Sure is cute.

Kristine

---

Adult female red-bellied woodpecker.

Thanks for the pictures! I'm pretty excited to be visiting this thread. I took my first ornithology course last June, and I'm gearing up to go birding again this summer -- only I'm not actually waiting for summer! I've put out my first feeder and have been enjoying the sightings of various common birdies. I don't have a high quality camera as of yet, but hopefully with a little inspiration from this site I'll still be able to produce some nice shots.
Looking forward to it...
Sara

Welcome to the Forum Sara! :D
Can't wait for you to come out to the terminal and shoot some stuff. We could even go on a nice Saturday if you want. Before I got my DSLR (Digital SLR), I got some decent stuff with my point and shooter. I had to do a lot of PP (post-production) in Photoshop, but I could help you with that if you like.

There's a lot of help here. Have fun!

Kristine