At this time of year, sometimes a bird can show up and make you think "what in the world is that?"  With fledglings abounding right now, confusing and perplexing us birders, I thought we could play a game of "Name That Fledgling!" See if you can name them all!

 

Fledgling #1

Taken in my yard, Davis County

 

Fledgling #2

Taken above Gunlock Reservoir, Washington County

 

Fledgling #3

Taken in my neighborhood, Davis County

Fledgling #4

Taken in my neighborhood, Davis County

 

"Fledgling #5"

Okay, this one's technically not a fledgling, but a nest with nestlings.

Pay attention to the placement and construction of the nest and you can

"name the nestlings."  Mueller Park, Davis County. 

 Good luck!  I'll post the answers in a few days. 

Mystery Bird photographed at Smith Point Hawk Watch, Texas (by Joseph Kennedy)

I am not the type to correct people on the internet or play "bird police", but a few people have asked me to clarify the ID of the bird on this post (below). I refrained, but someome asked me just recently, so I decided to simply post the link and have others chime in. But, I will certainly respond if asked...and will confirm the ID. If the bird was identified correctly, I wouldn't bother posting, so one big hint is that the bird in the link is not a Swainson's Hawk as it was identified by the respondents and the quizzer. (Also posted on www.jerryliguori.com)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2010/sep/13/daily-mystery-bird-identify

A couple of weeks ago I posted a quiz based on photo's from my trip to St. George. Below are the answers. I used some different photos and/or cropping where available. Congrats to Kendall Watkins for guessing every single bird correctly. Thanks to everyone for making good use of my bad photos!

#1 - Ruddy Duck

#2 - Snow Geese

#3 - Western Bluebird

#4 - Chipping Sparrow

#5 - Anna's Hummingbird

#6 - Ferruginous Hawk

#7 - Black Phoebe

#8 - Green-winged Teal

#9, #10, #11 - Greater white-fronted Goose, Canada Goose, Northern Shoveler

#12 - Peregrine Falcon

#13 - Mountain Bluebirds

#14 - Harris' Sparrow

#15 - White-throated Sparrow

#16 - White-crowned Sparrow

#17 - Merlin

Tim Avery and I went down to St. George a couple of weeks ago. He posted a great recap. Kenny Frisch also posted his own adventures from the week before. So now it's my turn. I'm going to do it a little differently. I've been going through my photos and realized how many terrible angle, "uncooperative" bird shots I was able to compile. So as my recap, here is a photo quiz. This should be a fun one I hope. Please post your answers in the comments. Good luck and good birding!

#1

#2 - a flock flying over the desert

#3

#4: If you can find it

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9, #10, #11: there are 3 species in this photo

#12 

#13 

#14 and #15

#16

#17

 Lesser Goldfinches on my niger feeder

With all the bird song I have been hearing lately as spring approaches, I thought about one of my favorite bird songs and the special quality it possesses.  All year long, one of the most common birds in my yard is the Lesser Goldfinch.  At times in winter I will have over a dozen of these small delightful birds visiting my niger sock and tube feeder.  When spring came last year, it was nice to finally hear their song.  These birds are prolific singers- I had at the University of Utah singing for over 15 minutes straight from the same perch!

Anyways I started noticing that Lesser Goldfinches incorporate the calls of many other bird species seamlessly into their songs.  It isn't like a mockingbird which just repeats bird songs exactly as the other species sings it.  Lesser Goldfinches are more subtle than that.  They will often insert the call right into the song, to the point it makes it hard to realize they are stealing from other birds.  This was how I first figured out that I may have American Kestrels in my neighborhood when I heard a goldfinch sing a kestrel call.  About six months later, I finally saw my first kestrel in my yard (let's hope I hear some other new bird calls in their songs this year).

Here is a recording I made of a Lesser Goldfinch this past September in my yard.  While it isn't as musical as their song in the spring, it still highlights their ability to mimic other bird's calls.  Hopefully I can get a better recording this spring.  How many bird calls can you hear in its song?  (Note: the flicker call you hear is actually a flicker although I have heard Lesser Goldfinches mimic them before)

How many bird calls can you hear?

My friend Bryce Robinson took this photo and suggested it make a good quiz.....what do you think it is? And, can you say to a specific age?

Based on a couple recent flycatcher identification challenges on UBIRD I decided to throw together a little quiz involving 6 head shots of empids side by side for comparison. I tried to size match as best I could so that the bills were somewhat accurate based on averages described from field guides.

These pictures were taken at various times in various places around the United States.  All 6 birds pictured (maybe 6 different species, maybe not) do occur in Utah annually.  This is just for fun so feel free to take a stab and maybe talk about why you assigned an ID to a certain bird.  Empidonax Flycatchers are a tough group of birds and we could all use a little  discussion to improve our ID skills!

Click on the image for a slightly larger version.

The hardest part about a visual headshot quiz is that there is no habitat, no song, and no primary projection to help in the ID--all we have is apparent head shape, bill, size, and color, eye-ring, etc.

I will post a full recap on the birds, where they were photographed, etc in a couple days.  If you can't wait, all the photos are posted on my website--but please don't post answers if you go there and look first!

Good Luck!

I didn't feel like finishing a post I started on accipiters, so I thought I'd post these photos since it takes no effort. The bird on the left is a Harrier, but can you say what age it is? It was photographed in November in Utah (horrible photo but...).

The bird on the right was photographed in Utah the other day...any guesses? I saw 3 out at Farmington Bay that day.

Well, if I don't hear or see one of these on the X-mas bird count saturday, I can at least count it since its thursday today.

If anyone wants to take a stab at the answer, feel free

Here is a bird from the other day in Utah. A typical field view of a typical plumage, no tricks here, just a bird a bit too far fine detail. Anyone want to venture a guess, or more than a guess. I have faith that this will be answered quickly.

Just another quiz for anyone who is interested in responding....

Yesterday afternoon as I watched the 49ers squeeze by the Lions I heard a thud on one of the living room windows in our house. This has become sadly common place with 10 large windows on the front of our home. Usually the thud is that of a House Sparrow or Finch fleeing something that scared them from the feeders--but this thud was a little heftier. I got up and went to the front door, opening it in time to see a Sharp-shinned Hawk dragging the victim of the horrific crash off and out of sight. All that remained of the attack were a few feathers, 2 of which I photographed and have put below. Take a look.

With that my challenge to you is to name those feathers--or more specific the bird that once owned them. I was a little surprised when I first saw the feathers, trying to tie them to the bird, but then I realized what feathers they were and it made sense. Good Luck!

This bird is easy to identify but I love the image so much, I just wanted to post it. Let me know what you think it is.

Jerry

Yes the bird is a Broad-winged Hawk....but is it an adult? Here are two juveniles on May 18th photographed by my friend Michael Shupe, they seem to have adult-like characters? However, this is not from adult feathers that have come in (too early in spring for all these body feathers to be adult), its just that some juveniles appear adult-like and can even have adult-like tails.

Just want to make these things aware...("click" on photo to enlarge)

A much easier quiz bird.....taken on June 7 in Utah. Please don't ask where, I don't offer locations of nesting birds (or possible nesters) I run across or hear of...thanks.

This quiz should be a bit easier...thanks for the responses on the first one.

I thought I would post 3 or 4 raptor quizzes in the next couple of weeks. They will be silhouettes, so they may be difficult, but fun nonetheless. Above is the first one, just respond in the "comments"...anonymously if you like. No egos or agenda here, just a simple fun activity for all of us to possibly learn something from. For me, it is interesting to hear other's comments, it makes everyone look more closely and consider aspects they may never have thought of. And, I am always willing to share my opinions and thoughts if they are helpful, regardless if I am right or wrong.

I think the image I posted was a bit difficult and unfair, so I added another image of the same species that may help with the ID.

Can you identify the bird singing in the video below?

The Utah Birders have a copy of Kenn Kaufman's Kingbird Highway that we are going to give away. It's your chance to get your hands on one of the greatest birding tales around.


We will also give you a few clues. First, the bird singing is NOT a Kingbird of any kind. Second, the video was shot last week east of the Mississippi River. Finally, we are not talking about the bird that can be heard singing in the background at the beginning and the end of the video. The bird in questions repeats itself 4 or 5 times and it the focal sound of the video

Entering to win is easy!

Simply watch and listen to the video above and if you think you know the identity click on the link below to enter the contest by providing your name, your email, the answer to the quiz bird above, and if you would like, a brief explanation of why. If you submit the correct answer you will be entered into a drawing for the book.

THIS CONTEST IS OVER.

The only kicker is that this contest is only going to last 48 hours! Your answer must be received no later than 9:00pm Mountain Time on Friday,April 29, 2010. We will announce the winner and an explanation of the quiz bird the following morning and the winner will have their copy as fast as we can get it to them!

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