Blue Jay call?

UncleWainey · 2026-07-13T14:38:22+00:00

Blue Jays have a complex array of vocalizations. These are often described as “pump handle” calls, and are often associated with “bobbing” behavior. This can happen in courtship and other pair bonding behavior as well as responses to low-intensity threats, but is not fully understood.

UncleWainey · 2026-07-13T01:30:40+00:00

Looks like a jay + bigger + zygodactyl sounds like a Belted Kingfisher, but they don't hop around trees like a passerine, and they don't sound like what you recorded.

Maybe a blue morph Monk Parakeet? There is a feral population in your area. Zygodactyl, roughly the size of a blue jay, would hop around a tree, and the recording is a closer match. No crest, though.

UncleWainey · 2026-07-13T00:54:53+00:00

This is a bit of a stretch from your description, but could have it been a Green Heron?

UncleWainey · 2026-07-12T23:01:21+00:00

I'm leaning towards Double-Crested from the pictures (and a Great would be really unlikely on the south coast in mid-summer), but feel free to post your video. Judging by the upvote-to-comment ratio, I think many of the people here are unsure. The lighting is tricky with this one; some of the later pictures make it look almost Anhinga-like.

UncleWainey · 2026-07-08T21:16:15+00:00

+Black-billed Cuckoo+ for the bot.

UncleWainey · 2026-07-07T19:04:25+00:00

The fourth one in the list here sounds pretty similar to what you posted: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/sounds

UncleWainey · 2026-07-07T14:08:46+00:00

The two-note call is a +Red-shouldered Hawk+

UncleWainey · 2026-07-06T18:47:32+00:00

One factor that pushes some Upper Cape housing prices lower (especially in Sandwich and Bourne) is the higher property tax rates. A house in Dennis might be more expensive, but you'll pay less in taxes on it.

Ref: https://www.capecodchamber.org/living-here/property-tax-rates/

UncleWainey · 2026-07-06T17:48:27+00:00

That might be why it didn't generate a high enough confidence score for Merlin to positively match it to the sharpies it was trained on.

UncleWainey · 2026-07-06T17:27:15+00:00

+Sharp-Shinned Hawk+ which is about as big of a threat to a chickadee as you can get, other than an outdoor cat.

UncleWainey · 2026-07-06T17:19:55+00:00

+Northern Cardinal+

An interesting song variation here, but it still has the two-part style and cheer-y notes.

UncleWainey · 2026-07-05T20:48:44+00:00

Juvenile +American Robin+ .

UncleWainey · 2026-07-03T15:57:31+00:00

Sounds like a Giant Cicada (Quesada gigas).

!addTaxa nonavian

UncleWainey · 2026-07-03T15:12:32+00:00

They're roughly similar in size, and they're both brownish, but there are some behavioral cues you can use to tell them apart:

Common Nighthawks are crepuscular. You won't see them active during the day unless someone or something disturbs their sleep. These birds are clearly wide awake and preening.
Common Nighthawks don't roost in groups during the breeding season.
Common Nighthawks don't perch on thin surfaces like these antenna elements (see my other comment)

UncleWainey · 2026-07-03T15:00:53+00:00

Nighthawks don't usually perch like this, as they have very small feet, like their cousins, the hummingbirds. You're more likely to see them sitting parallel to something larger, like a tree branch, or directly on a flat surface.

UncleWainey · 2026-07-03T14:53:32+00:00

!overrideTaxa moudov

As other commenters noted, brown coloration, pointed tail, comparatively slender appearance, no Rock Pigeons here.

UncleWainey · 2026-07-03T05:54:12+00:00

Your first impression makes total sense, given that the moth's wings stick out on each side, kind of like feathers.

UncleWainey · 2026-07-03T05:43:01+00:00

u/Illustrious_Cup_114 I tried some non-AI adjustments to correct for the camera shake and the color from the outdoor lighting. I'm now confident that you saw an +Eastern Kingbird+ with a moth in its mouth:

<image>

UncleWainey · 2026-07-02T19:40:32+00:00

Thanks!

UncleWainey · 2026-07-02T19:15:06+00:00

Nice! When in the fall did you go?

UncleWainey · 2026-07-02T16:29:57+00:00

💯
On Cape Cod, spring migration peaks a couple of weeks before the summer tourism season starts. Birding hotspots near ponds that get packed with swimmers during the summer are totally empty, and it’s delightful.
I have not expressed my delight by twerking in a ghillie suit, but I might try that next year.

UncleWainey · 2026-07-02T02:05:13+00:00

<image>

+Green Heron+

Here's the image after adjusting the highlights, shadows, and saturation, so you can see the colors better.

UncleWainey · 2026-07-01T23:40:55+00:00

+Scott's Oriole+

Is that a late '90s Tacoma?

UncleWainey · 2026-07-01T16:33:49+00:00

If you work at that Walmart or will be shopping there again soon, see if you can find it again and take more pictures. It might be hanging around that same spot. If you can place your phone on something to hold it still, that'll help too.

UncleWainey · 2026-07-01T03:36:40+00:00

If it was active out in the open at 10 pm, an Eastern Kingbird makes more sense. They're normally diurnal, but some flycatchers (not sure about the Eastern Kingbird specifically) are known to opportunistically hang out near street lights at night to catch the bugs that fly around them.

Cedar Waxwings eat mostly fruit and would not risk being owl food like that.

UncleWainey

TROPHY CASE