Rarities

King Eider

newportbird — Sun, 19 May 2013 02:13:15 GMT

What a treat to see this subadult King Eider on May 16, 2013 at Napatree Point, R.I. Quite late, and it was viewed by many very close to shore feeding by itself. The bird was first discovered by Chris Raithal on this date. I took this image with a Canon Rebel T3i, @ 1/1000 sec, auto white balance, edited in Picassa. I saw the bird with Rey Larsen & Kevin Rodgers, it made for a great morning out.

Crimson-collared Grosbeak

gman79 — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:35:56 GMT

Female photographed 5-1-13 at Sabal Palm Bird Sanctuary near Brownsville, TX. Canon 50D, 100-400mm L.

Lawrence's Warbler

EMShaw — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 19:01:45 GMT

Lawrence's warbler found in Tivoli Bays WMA - Tivoli, NY on April 28, 2013.

Canon xsi, 100-400mm lens

f-9 - shutter 1/640, 400 iso

Violet-green Swallow

Wade Clare — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:12:15 GMT

Taken in Ottawa,Ontario Canada. This a rare bird for this part of the country.

Tufted Duck

LisaThomas — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 22:14:52 GMT

Tufted Duck taken at Heckscher Park Pond, Huntington, Long Island, NY. April 3, 2013. Very rare duck for this area. Taken with a Canon EOS Rebel at 400mm f/5.6 1/2000 ISO 400.

American Avocet

KevinColton — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 20:31:17 GMT

American Avocet finds its way to Seneca Lake located in Upstate New York in Geneva.

Mountain Plover

MiaM — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:24:06 GMT

Spotting Mountain Plovers on Antelope Island State Park, Utah this morning was a dream come true for me. I was looking for Long-billed Curlews and when one of the curlews flew away I saw some movement off in the distance and pointed my lens at the bird, I would have fallen out of the truck if the door had been open because I knew I was seeing a Mountain Plover, they are rare here in Utah. And then I spotted a second one. I'm blown away!

Mountain Plover

MiaM — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:23:23 GMT

Black-headed Gull

The Scavenger — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:52:56 GMT

This first winter Black-headed Gull was spotted at the Morgan Ave. Mudflats in S. Amboy, NJ. Taken with Canon EOS 7D & a Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM zoom.

Little Gull

The Scavenger — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:48:23 GMT

Spotted this Little Gull (center) at the Morgan Ave. Mudflats in S. Amboy, NJ, surrounded by Bonaparte's Gulls. Taken with a Canon EOS 7D & a Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM zoom.

Eurasian Teal

newportbird — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:14:05 GMT

This Eurasian Teal (a subspecies of Green-winged Teal, known as Common Teal in Europe) was found at a farm pond on Bramans Lane in Portsmouth, R.I. in the company of Green-winged Teal and Northern Shovelers. The pond is very small & visible from roadway. The bird favored a weedy corner of pond, but came into view as it swam across pond to sit on opposite shore. I used a canon 50D camera with a Canon 400mm, 5.6 lense, ASA 400, @ 1/400 sec, f11, camera tripod mounted. Another good bird for R.I.

Groove-billed Ani

gman79 — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:15:50 GMT

I photographed this Groove-billed Ani as it was sunning in the early morning at Payne's Prairie Preserve State Park near Gainesville Florida. This bird has spent the winter in North-central Florida. Canon 50D, 100-400mm L, f/8, ISO 500, 1/640sec.

Great Gray Owl

free_to_fly — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 22:13:16 GMT

This photograph is of a Great Gray Owl - taken in Middleton, WI. This owl has a normal range restricted to the boreal forests up north and its presence at this latitude is extremely rare. It's been part of an ongoing irruption in the winter of 2013 of the species with reports across the country from much further south of usual range. Photograph taken as it takes off in flight towards the photographer - light was poor and snow was falling at a quick pace, but I think I managed a decent shot.

White-cheeked Pintail

HudsonBirder — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:52:48 GMT

This White-cheeked pintail is native to the West Indies, but was photographed in a pond located in the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Vero Beach, Florida. The bird has been sighted here throughout the month of March, usually at this very pond. I used a Nikon D300S with a Nikon 200 - 400 mm f/4.0 lens at 400mm, 1/1250 sec at f/7.1, ISO 325. The bird had no bands on its legs and may have been driven from its native lands by the winds of a storm such as Sandy.

Townsend's Warbler

MERV J. CORMIER — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:54:17 GMT

Photo taken in late fall on a South facing side hill by swimming pool in Fundy National Park. This was the first documented sighting of this warbler in New Brunswick.