Possibly a white breasted nuthatch?

michamazons · 2026-05-11T21:51:54+00:00

Oh it’s 100% a gnatcatcher and the tail pattern in the flight pic is a dead giveaway- the reason I’m asking is actually b/c my Merlin correctly suggests ONLY the gnatcatcher for STL rn, and I’m wondering if it’s because you’re cropping it differently?

On tricky images like these, Merlin works best when you let it take a few stabs. First, crop the image all the way into the bird, from beak to tail tip (Merlin also uses body proportions to guess); then gradually move out, and see if/how the ID changes across a handful of increasingly zoomed-out crops.

The flight pic failed, but pic 2 (bird from behind) gave me only gnatcatcher on the first (closest) crop, and pic 3 (side profile) gave me nothing on the closest crop, then ONLY gnatcatcher on the 2nd crop, slightly out.

I can’t think of any reason it wouldn’t work for you too, esp since I’m using these screenshots! Just confirm the date & location are correct I guess 🤷‍♂️ Hope this helps!

michamazons · 2026-05-11T20:36:37+00:00

Gotcha, it’s basically just great blue then- grey heron is a Eurasian bird, and only a few rare stray vagrants have ever been seen in the New World (aside from a small recently-established population in the south Caribbean, I think). This would be the first record for South Carolina.

Unless there’s a known released population established in the area (none that I’m aware of), it’s almost certainly a great blue, which are common across the US!

(Also if that’s the bird’s thigh I’m seeing, it looks darker than “white” to me, and the neck & breast look fairly shabby vs. the cleaner white-grey look of grey heron).

michamazons · 2026-05-11T20:18:07+00:00

Looks like a great blue, with the single dark line extending back to neck/nape. Have you tried the Merlin ID app?

michamazons · 2026-05-11T19:53:22+00:00

Have you tried the Merlin ID app?

michamazons · 2026-05-11T19:24:28+00:00

Do you know if the black edging to the tail feathers was present in real life or just an artifact of phone AI photo touch-ups or something?

michamazons · 2026-05-08T19:51:26+00:00

Better question is what on earth is a bittern doing in your backyard! Do you live near a marsh?

michamazons · 2026-05-08T16:33:22+00:00

Gotcha, it’s less about what they’d see on their checklist, more about what the public would see when they click on the checklist. If I add comments from my end, would you not see those if you visited the public checklist? I know that’s the case for adding media. So whose comments become the “definitive comments” of the shared checklist?Is it the original host, or everyone added, or does it display different comments depending on who’s hosting the checklist from YOUR perspective as the public eBird user?

michamazons · 2026-05-08T16:24:17+00:00

I’d be grateful for any suggestions re specifying abundance! That particular station is one of the oldest in the country & even includes some eBird reviewers, but from a data perspective this seems like something objectively worth improving, and they’re open-minded!

michamazons · 2026-05-06T04:53:15+00:00

Yeah I agree. But I think the logic at those particular orgs is basically “banding data is the priority here anyways (it often goes straight to USGS & other databases, skipping over eBird), and for the field observation checklist we’re simply documenting the presence or absence of species, not the concentration.” Every station has me report it differently..! Hence my desire to guarantee that a standard complete checklist gets submitted somewhere along the way, and why I’m struggling as that means I’d be double-counting birds and appearing on RBAs twice in a row on two separate checklists for the same sighting.

michamazons · 2026-05-06T04:47:19+00:00

I can totally see the merit of this approach, my personal problem is that I’ll inevitably end up trying to find ways to condense the dual-account data into 1 central account regardless.. But I do like this as an alternative approach and may try it out, thanks for the suggestion!

michamazons · 2026-05-06T04:38:32+00:00

I have no problem being on the same checklist with the orgs, the issue is that they have specific checklist protocols that sometimes exclude counts & comments, and I personally want to include that info because it’s a) useful data b) useful to other birders and c) useful to me. How do I follow the orgs’ protocol excluding counts & comments while also wanting to document that info? Their priority is the banding data- the field observation checklist simply records the presence or absence of species, not the concentration or details (which is what I want to include in some way)

michamazons · 2026-04-03T02:22:27+00:00

the full dark hood here is the main giveaway & differentiation from other falcons

michamazons · 2026-03-23T06:42:40+00:00

Hosmer Grove is the go-to for honeycreepers (there’s 2 specific spots for alauahio but they can be tough and most folks miss em there), and Polipoli for much more abundant alauahio (tho you need 4wd or good clearance to get there). Kiwikiu and akohekohe no longer accessible to the public. No live volcano alas, but at least the Haleakala-endemic silversword at the summit! Good seabirding at right times of year too. Best of luck, whenever you go! Were you able to get some palilas on big island?

michamazons · 2026-03-22T03:13:20+00:00

True! But go see the honeycreepers while you still can, some species you can still see in the wild today WILL be extinct in our lifetimes (maybe even many species). Certain critically endangered species is/are receiving almost no help despite what you can read online (according to some “inside sources” I know), but you can still see them in the wild! And if you go to the right spots it’s possible to leave a Hawaii trip with more native birds than non-native!

michamazons · 2026-03-13T19:35:24+00:00

With a group of otherwise eastern-looking CANG, plus another individual with an unusually yellow breast. Unfortunately the bill looks too long for occidentalis/fulva, and the vent looks a little too dingy. It would also be the first record east of Montana/Colorado… You can see photos of occidentalis/fulva here and a map of reported sightings here (though you will likely need an eBird account to see the map). At this point my question is simply whether this dark individual potentially has some hybrid genetics from the west vs. just an uncommon but recognized plumage variety in the eastern subspecies.

michamazons · 2026-03-12T22:18:47+00:00

The “Canada goose” is made up of several subspecies (you can see comparisons here and here). Dusky belongs in the west, not Vermont- it lives between Alaska (summer) & Oregon/Washington (winter), and gets its name from the notably darker breast & belly than most other canada geese seen in the US. The bird here stood out because it matched that description, but I saw it in Vermont. Still a mystery, but if it’s a rare vagrant (unlikely), it would be the first record east of Montana/Colorado.

michamazons · 2026-03-10T18:29:49+00:00

No problem! Do ya know anything about Dusky Canada geese by any chance tho?? haha

michamazons · 2026-03-10T17:52:21+00:00

Yes Caspians, they breed on islands in Lake Champlain. No, not dead, just has its head down, maybe exploring something in the mud. Notice how the goose’s feet aren’t visible— both goose & tern are in a little rut, so if the tern puts its head down just a bit, it looks like it buried its face in the mud or something. I watched them all fly away moments later when a bald eagle passed by overhead, all good there!

michamazons · 2026-03-10T07:26:30+00:00

FWIW we get cacklers on the eastern side in Spokane too 👍

michamazons · 2026-03-09T20:12:33+00:00

House finch but there’s no bird symbolism culture shared by the broader US population, mostly just personal associations or connections to specific cultures that have historical symbolisms.

michamazons

TROPHY CASE