Swallow ID

This photo was taken on a river in central NJ.

There is a reason for the dreadful quality of this photo. I was not trying to photograph this bird. I was taking pictures of a Great Egret and this guy ended up in the corner of one of the frames.

My question is what species do you think this swallow is? I have my suspicions, but I’d really like some other opinions.

Thanks.

Quiz – April Bird of the Month

Looks like this bird just made it under the wire.  It is another migrant, arriving in Florida and much of the United States after spending the winter in S. America.  What is it? -SLB

April Bird of the Month Quiz

April Bird of the Month Quiz
Cropped

 

 

Spring migrant in Florida?

I am in Pinellas County Florida, Central Florida’s West Coast.  This photo was taken at a state park which attracts many kinds of spring migrants.  I think I know what the bird is, but the angle makes it difficult to tell.  I think this is the first time I have seen this species, so lack personal experience observing it in various poses.   -SLB  

2013_04_10 Central Florida, West coast

 

 

 

Floridabirdwatchers

Floridabirdwatchers is currently a public site where I am blogging.  Lately, we are down to one blogger, myself, and if anyone wants to take a look at some of the birds that are currently in this area of Florida, a few of the ones I have encountered are there.  I also relate some of my experiences as a bird watcher.  With spring migration going on here and many of the birds small and quick, be prepared for some photos of birds I may or may not be able to ID in the near future.  Also, where are yours?  Remember, you can post photos to see if others can ID them as well as ask for IDs on photos you have taken.  “See you on the site.” -SLB

 

 

Any ideas? Looks like a finch or a sparrow, but what species is it?

Hello All: Please take a look at the photo below, taken in the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary on Monday (March 25) in Delta, BC (south of Vancouver). Do any of you have any suggestions as to what species it is? I have no clue at this point and would like your input (although I will no doubt continue my investigation into the matter). Thanks!

Mystery Bird | Reifel Bird Sanctuary | Delta, BC (Canada)

News about JoSanz1217

If I may digress momentarily, while participating on Cornell’s former site, We Love Birds, I began a group called Florida’s birds.  JoSanz1217 was one of the active contributors.  When we discovered she spent several months a year about an hour from me and the rest in Nova Scotia, we make arrangements to meet.  Thus began a friendship.  We birded together, we emailed frequently while she was in NS, often about birds, but also about a thousand other topics.  Both Jo and  I looked forward to birding together when she arrived this past winter.  Something else co-opted all of her time from the time she arrived in Florida in early December – cancer.  I am sorry to say Jo passed in February.  Jo was a wonderful asset to our birding sites.  Here’s a photo of a Rufus Hummingbird that Jo took in Ash Canyon, Arizona.  She did love those Hummers.  I think it is appropriate to keep that Pileated Woodpecker Jo drew as one of the gravatars for this site.  I treasured our friendship and I know she did, too.   Thanks for letting me share this.   -SLB  

Rufous Hummingbird, Ash Canyon B&B, AZ, 4-13-08, No2274

March quiz features a Florida migrant

Here’s a Warbler that just returned to the West Coast of Central Florida.  I’ve seen it the last three days, but this is the best photo.  Believe it or not, it was easy for me to ID.

2011_03_16
Taken on West Coast of Central Florida