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I need a little help with some identifications. A few are 'nice' shots that are keepers, where I can't quite put my finger on the bird species...and I've also got a few junk shots, where I just wanted to get an identification of the bird, but the shots aren't keepers. So all bird experts and ID experts, your help appreciated in this thread!

First, a few shots that turned out OK, but I just wasn't quite sure of the species...A550 & Minolta 300mm F4 used...the first few are here in Florida.

I still don't have my warblers down yet - so I can't quite pin these as 'palm warblers' or 'yellow-rumped warbers'. Palms seem to sometimes have that yellow bit on their lower tail, but that's usually what makes me think 'yellow rumped'..any ideas?

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Now for the ID shots...these ones didn't come out as keepers, but I still wanted to get IDs on the birds involved. This first raptor was pretty small - I was thinking kestrel or merlin - too small to be a red-shoulder hawk or northern harrier. I'm not as familiar with kestrels and haven't ever seen a merlin, so though this is not a very good shot, can anyone tell from the patterns what it is?:

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This small little guy had something of a woodpecker look to him - but was so small and didn't have typical markings I'm used to for woodpeckers. It struck me he could have been a juvenile. Any ideas?:

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This was another small raptor - I *think* this is a kestrel, and this one I could at least get some of the facial markings:

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This guy I caught while on my cruise in Aruba. Right near the port in Orenjestad, and only armed at the time with my 18-250mm lens in failing light on an overcast day at 6pm as the sun was setting. I am not at all familiar with what type of hawks are typically spotted down there, but someone else tentatively identified this as a peregrine falcon. Any confirmations or corrections?:

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Another one from Aruba...this was a strange dove that some other birders couldn't identify when I asked. I had thought it was a common ground dove - just from looking up common doves in Aruba...but the pattern was very strong and bold and didn't look like the photos. The other birders thought there was no type of ground dove that would have this pattern, neither seasonally, age related, or by sex...so now it's just a mystery dove. Some have suggested possibly an eared dove. Any ideas?:

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And finally, I caught this little guy last weekend, at first thinking it was a myrtle yellow-rumped warber from a distance...but up close, i see no yellow anywhere on it. I don't know all my small birds, and wasn't even sure if this is a warbler at all. So I pose it here - does anyone know for sure what it is?:

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All ID help appreciated!

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Justin Miller
Sony DSLR-A580 / Sony 18-250mm / Minolta 50mm F1.7 / Sigma 30mm F1.4 / Tamron 10-24mm / Tamron 200-500mm / Tamron 90mm F2.8 macro / Minolta 300mm F4 APO
Sony NEX5N / 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 / 55-210mm F4-6.3 / Pentax K adapter / Konica K/AR adapter / bunches o' Konica & Pentax lenses!

Galleries:
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

Sorry I can't help but this might make you feel better

My girlfriend bought me a Colins Gem bird guide this year as she was sick of me referring to birds in my photo's as little birdie dudies, tweetie birds, big birdie dudies etc - she decided that I should gain more knowlegde on the subject - still learning and in no situation to identify those birds, sorry

I like the shots though

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K10D + optimistic idiocy

My pic's - http://www.flickr.com/photos/10126769@N05/

looks like a peregrine falcon to me.

agree looks like a kestrel, shoulder/elbows are fairly fwd, typically of kestrels.

Not sure about warblers, a quick look in australian bird book points towards arctic warbler, but only a guess.

Birds down here have different coloured feathers, hard to directly compare.

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Canon Powershot S95, Canon 7D, 15-85, Canon 85 1.8 USM, Sigma 30 1.4, 50mm 1.8, Canon 100 2.8L IS Macro, Canon 70-300L IS USM+Kenko 1.4 Pro 300DGX, Canon 430EX II and RS 4 Classic

Number 5 looks like a Downy Woodpecker. Number 6 appears to be a Kestrel, you can see a bit of the bluish color on its head and the red color on the breast says Kestrel to me.

Seven does look like a juvenile peregrine but I confuse them with Merlin. The facial markings do look more well defined a Merlin's markings though.

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Nikon D7000, Nikkor AF-S DX 18-55MM f/3.5-5.6G VR, Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8D, Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4 IF-ED, NIKKOR TC-14E II

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Thanks so far! OK, I'm feeling fairly secure on the #7 peregrine falcon. I've had a few guesses of Aplomado falcon...but out of all the people I ask, I'm getting probably 80% peregrine.

I'm also feeling pretty confident about the #5 downy woodpecker...it's what I thought it might be too, and I've seen downys in that same area a few weeks later.

#6 Kestrel seems about 100%...so I'll consider that one put to bed. #4 is a little harder - I still can't seem to get any concensus if that's a kestrel or merlin.

#1-3 Warblers are still driving me crazy, and that last #9 guy too...noone seems to have any guesses on those, even some decent birders! #8 dove best guess so far is probably eared...I may have to go with that if noone else can figure it out.

If anyone else has guesses...feel free to chime in!

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Justin Miller
Sony DSLR-A580 / Sony 18-250mm / Minolta 50mm F1.7 / Sigma 30mm F1.4 / Tamron 10-24mm / Tamron 200-500mm / Tamron 90mm F2.8 macro / Minolta 300mm F4 APO
Sony NEX5N / 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 / 55-210mm F4-6.3 / Pentax K adapter / Konica K/AR adapter / bunches o' Konica & Pentax lenses!

Galleries:
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

never seen a Merlin or even heard of it before, we don`t get them down here. Hence I thought Peregrine. Peregrine seems more solid in body.

Both 4 and 7 look more like a merlin to me, do a search in you tube and see what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XMD3xWOZZo

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Canon Powershot S95, Canon 7D, 15-85, Canon 85 1.8 USM, Sigma 30 1.4, 50mm 1.8, Canon 100 2.8L IS Macro, Canon 70-300L IS USM+Kenko 1.4 Pro 300DGX, Canon 430EX II and RS 4 Classic

I think your initial inclination for # 9 was correct. I have several photos of first winter Yellow-rumped warblers that are very similar.
1-3 appear to be the Western subspecies of Palm Warbler

I’d go with Juv. Pergrine for # 7, (pale cheek and well defined moustache stripe)

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Thanks Lantz. I think I'll settle on yellow-rumped for that #9 as there haven't been any other suggestions as yet. And peregrine seems pretty odds-on at this point.

Max - From what I'm seeing, merlins seem smaller than peregrines - the #7 bird was pretty large, which had me thinking one of the larger hawks or falcon. But the #4 certainly was about the right size for a merlin - and that's seeming like a pretty good ID at this point.

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Justin Miller
Sony DSLR-A580 / Sony 18-250mm / Minolta 50mm F1.7 / Sigma 30mm F1.4 / Tamron 10-24mm / Tamron 200-500mm / Tamron 90mm F2.8 macro / Minolta 300mm F4 APO
Sony NEX5N / 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 / 55-210mm F4-6.3 / Pentax K adapter / Konica K/AR adapter / bunches o' Konica & Pentax lenses!

Galleries:
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg