Yes, people have been sent out on fruitless snipe hunts, but there really is a bird called the snipe. In fact, there are 26 species that go by that name, all in the bird family Scolopacidae. Matthew, who started the “spot the nightjar” series, sent this “spot the snipe” photo.  I’ve put the extracted picture below the tweet so you can enlarge the picture by clicking on it. So SPOT THE SNIPE!

The answer will appear at 4 p.m. Chicago time.

Jack snipe don’t half sit tight. This is the phone angle on one. pic.twitter.com/hOEbWOHXlT

— Ronald Surgenor (@RonaldSurgenor) November 27, 2021

The photo. This one I’d consider “very difficult.”  Do not cheat and look HARD. Count yourself lucky if you get it!

Reader David Fuqua sent a “spot the” photo which he thinks is pretty easy. Well, give it a try. Here’s what you’re looking for (and verify the ID if you can); click the photo to enlarge it.  The answer is below the fold:

I rate this one easy, maybe too easy for your readers. This may be a juvenile yellow-crowned night heron (Nyctanassa violacea), but I’m not sure.

Continue reading “Spot the bird!” →

Did you spot the grey heron in Matthew’s photo? Here’s the reveal (click to enlarge).

It’s been a while since we’ve had a “spot the” contest, and Matthew has obliged by taking a photo on a walk yesterday. This photo, which contains a heron, was taken only 5 minutes from his house in Manchester. Can you spot the Grey Heron (Ardea cineria)? Click to enlarge.

Answer at noon Chicago time. I rate this one “pretty easy,” but hell, what else are we going to do locked in?

Did you find the month-old white tern chick in the photo I posted earlier today? Here are a series of photos zeroing in on it:

Later today I’ll have a series of gorgeous pictures taken on yesterday’s White Tern walk run by the local Audubon society. For now I have one rather mediocre “spot the. . .” photo and some mediocre reveals, but trust me, the ones from my “Hawaii: Days 5 and 6” post will be much better.

In the meantime, can you spot the White Tern (Gygis alba) in this photo? The reveal will be at 12:30 pm Chicago time. Click to enlarge.

I don’t know whether this one will be easy or hard, as I watched it for a long time.

White terns are unique among seabirds in that they build no nests. They lay a single egg in a tree fork or cup, incubate it, and, after the chick hatches, it has to hold onto the branch for six weeks, waiting to be fed by its two monogamous parents, until it’s ready to fly. (They still come back to the branch for feeding for a period after fledging.)

The chick in this picture, we were told, is about a month old, and will soon be testing its wings.