Following our great day birding yesterday:http://tinyurl.com/cqmzmv we need help with the ID of the following birds.

#1: We lean to a Prothonotary Warbler but are not certain. This was the sole picture we got:



#2: Lends itself to either of a Blackpoll or Black and White Warbler but the beak colors intrigue us:



#3: Vireo of some sorts? This might(?) be our only picture:



#4: Uhm... Clueless!



#5: The bill leads us towards Grosbeak but again... clueless!



#6: Once again... Clueless and might be two differnet birds:



#7: If you haven't read it before... Clueless!



Thanks for any and all assistance. And a hearty "Happy Birding" to all of you,

Gary and Natasha,
Harlingen, TX
Zone 9



Cameras:
Nikon D300
Digital Rebel (6mps)
Digital Rebel XT (8mps)

Lenses:
AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED
AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.5 - 5.6 IS USM
Sigma APO 135-400mm F4.5-5.6 ASPHERICAL
Sigma APO MACRO 150mm F2.8 EX DG HSM

I'll take the plunge...

1) This is an oriole, and I will guess female Hooded based on the colors shown in my guide. You guys have way too many to choose from, though!

2) Looks good for female Blackpoll Warbler.

3) Way out on a limb here, but maybe female Cerulean Warbler?

4) Female Tennessee Warbler?

5) This looks like a female Red-winged Blackbird to me.

6) The first photo in the series seems to be one bird, and the last two a different one. I believe that the bird in the final two shots is a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Not certain of the first bird.

7) This is some sort of vireo, and I will guess Philadelphia based on the facial pattern.

Looking forward to what others have to say.

Here are my ideas.

#1 - Oriole, unsure of species, but a female, possibly Northern (Baltimore) or Bulluck's.

#2 - Blackpoll Warbler (Female)

#3 - Vireo (possibly Yellow-throated or Philadelphia?)

#4 - Tennessee Warbler

#5 - Brown-headed Cowbird (Female)

#6 - Unsure of first one (possibly female Bay-breasted Warbler due to rusty sides) but the second two are a Yellow-rumped Warbler

#7 - Warbling Vireo.

Jeff

Wow - that's a lot of birds! I don't have time to really look at all of these yet but on #3, it does look more "warbler-ish" to me due to the tiny bit of the orangish right foot that is visable, which on a vireo would be gray colored? ...#5 does look like a female Red-winged Blackbird. Fun stuff - I'll come back to this later.

Ruth
Everett, WA
Zone 8

Thanks all of you,

Re: #5. Now I have been known to be fooled recently by a female HOSP but I am not sure about the Red-winged call. It doesn't show up too well but the streaking on the breast of this birds seems less pronounced than that of a RWBB. Also and again not seen in the pictures there did not seem to be the black colored eye bar seen on the RWBB and the spine of the bird was a lot more uniform brown in color without the wing bar appearance of the RWBB. As I said I have been fooled...

Re: #1. This surprises us but I can see the Oriole appearance. However this bird was smaller in size than an Oriole and just seems to have too much yellow overall. Still as I wrote...

We do agree with the Blackpoll and Tennessee identifications. I need to get with Dr Fuller my local birding expert to see if he can shed some more light on them for us. I will update with his suggestions.

Thanks,

Gary and Natasha,
Harlingen, TX
Zone 9



Cameras:
Nikon D300
Digital Rebel (6mps)
Digital Rebel XT (8mps)

Lenses:
AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED
AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.5 - 5.6 IS USM
Sigma APO 135-400mm F4.5-5.6 ASPHERICAL
Sigma APO MACRO 150mm F2.8 EX DG HSM

My thoughts:

1. Female Oriole, probably an Orchard Oriole - they can be fairly bright yellow, particularly in spring, and they are our smallest Oriole - sometimes not much larger than a House Sparrow--which would explain the size discrepancy.

2. Female Blackpoll Warbler (fairly certain)

3. Not sure, many possibilities. I don't think there's enough of a view, unfortunately, to be sure.

4. Tennessee Warbler (fairly certain)

5. Female Brown-headed Cowbird (fairly certain)

6. 1-not sure, 2 & 3, Yellow-rumped Warbler (fairly certain)

7. Philadelphia Vireo (looks too yellowish for Warbling, for me)(fairly certain)

Kevin Morgan

My impression is that #3 is a yellow-throated vireo even though the eye-ring is hard to make out.

The first of #6 must be a Bay-breasted Warbler. Not sure of the sex the photo could be washed out.

#7 doesn't have quite a face I would expect on a Philly V. The brightish yellow might be the photo and not the bird - you would only see yellow like that on fall Warbling Vireos. That whitish area above the eye is what you would expect on a Warbling Vireo and so is the head shape.

We returned to SPI today to while away the time while Natasha's car was serviced. We got some more shots of bird #4 and with the help of a birder from Liverpool, England can confirm this as a Tennessee Warbler. With no further information except that gleaned from the internet I am leaning strongly to the Cowbird option for #5.

We also saw today a female Painted Bunting (a first) who posed for us at great length. Although not as colorful as her counterpart she was still beautiful. Natasha also spotted a male. I did not due to my red/blue color vision issue. I looked where she told me to and all I saw was foliage. She has two pictures to prove he was there!

Also seen were:
Indigo Bunting
Blackpoll Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Orchard Oriole
Dicksissel
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (male and female). The male just posed for all around - he must have known he was in the spotlight.
Altamire Oriole

Traffic was lighter than on Monday but overall a good way to pass the time today.

Sincerely,

Gary and Natasha,
Harlingen, TX
Zone 9



Cameras:
Nikon D300
Digital Rebel (6mps)
Digital Rebel XT (8mps)

Lenses:
AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED
AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.5 - 5.6 IS USM
Sigma APO 135-400mm F4.5-5.6 ASPHERICAL
Sigma APO MACRO 150mm F2.8 EX DG HSM