Hope I’m not posting too frequently 
This was before our park trip, downy woodpecker.
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No way! I love seeing all of these photos. I don’t have a way to take photos when I go out birding, so I really appreciate seeing them from others.
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The first swallow photo with the blue bird on the left is almost certainly a tree swallow. I’ve seen them every summer in the bluebird house after the bluebirds fail to pick my box despite weeks of hanging around and checking it out (grumble grumble grumble). They look like tiny orcas with their heads sticking out of the hole. But the brown ones, I am not so sure… Do you have northern rough winged swallows? The shape is very similar in flight I believe. I ask because adult male and female tree swallows are blue/brown, though the males can be more blue. Of course it is highly dependent on light conditions. Even the immature females though (which I think are the most brown overall) are somewhat iridescent, and I don’t see any of that in the brown ones, and I don’t know if you’d see any with that plumage this time of year? IDK. The brown looks so flat to me. Plus they are bright white underneath, and you can sometimes even see the white on the upper side where the tail meets the body.
IDK, just speculating. Impressive action shots though!
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I think you’re right! Looking at id and map it’s definitely possible. Covers the continental U.S. during breeding.
This photo isn’t much different, and I have one much lower quality one but you can see the white belly on that as well. Thanks for the ID!
I was looking at eBird alerts today, and my photographer friend sent me a Discord server for my state where there are regional channels for alerting rare birds (ARB). Ugh I’m a nerd! Still very bad at this 
This all started because I asked the first birder if I was looking at snowy egrets or greater egrets. He said “if you’re in PA, you’re seeing a greater egret!” (He said it all very nicely! Including that in rare cases the snowy egret can pass through this area.) Then he said he was just at that park popping by after seeing the Harlequin duck based on an eBird alert.
Thanks! I am trying to only share “really great photos” except in cases of it being a bird that’s new to me, or a much better photo than I have previously taken of a specific bird. And my photos of swallows are all poo before today 
Really hoping new camera/lens and a sunny day coincides with another big swarm of swallows sometime and I can get really clear action shots 
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Haha there are soooo many birds that I can’t id at a glance, it’s just that I see the tree swallows every summer up close for weeks and weeks!
Rare bird alerts are so cool! And I’m really jealous actually of the variety you are see!
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All my photos of swallows are of them sitting in or on the box, or the one post in the yard. Zero action shots! 
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Mixed feelings about sharing photos from tonight. New camera, but it was 6:30 PM and later with heavy clouds in the sky. At full zoom, the lens is a relatively dark / small aperture F8. The camera cranked the ISO (sensitivity) which introduces a lot of noise. Fortunately my free trial software helps remove / clean up noise to some degree. But anyway it definitely helps with reach and detail.
Blue and green-winged teal. (Sadly no keepers of the females.)
Some much more common birds:
Mallard, red-winged blackbird, robin, cowbirds.
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Swallows. Hard to catch! Was using automatic settings… should have more luck as I play with much faster shutter speeds.
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These are all great. Birds are challenging subjects!
I like the second pic better too. I think it has more personality.
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Sadly they were distant with the sun behind them. But Wood Ducks! They have such striking patterns. Wish I could’ve captured the colors.
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One of the ways you can ID the Eastern Phoebe in person is that they frequently wag their tail feathers. It is super adorable.
Great photos as usual!
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That’s cool! I will say the tail looks blurry in the second photo… maybe it was in motion 
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The top picture looks like the tiny bird has absurdly long giant legs, did a double take
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