I believe this is a clematis.

--Daniel

This is a really tiny frog (or I have huge hands...).

Your backyard?

Boy, I wish...

Here's another.

--Daniel

Well, I cheated, so I won't say. I didn't mean to cheat, though. I saved the last one to my hardrive so I could zoom in on the gulls. The file name gave it away.

The Gulls are a little perplexing anyway. The one on the left looks like a Herring Gull, but the one in the middle - what is with that black spot on the bill? It looks too big and complete for a Herring Gull (which has a little red spot in breeding plumage) and the mirrors on the wings are wrong for a Ring-bill Gull. Too light for a black-backed (and I don't think they are common in summer). Maybe a 3rd year Herring Gull? We don't get too many of those out here, so I am not familier with all the sub-adult plumage (forget trying to identify the sub-adult on the right).

At first I thought it was a California gull, and was going to guess somewhere in the
Western US.

John

I like Ring-billed for the one with the black mark on the bill. Here's another shot from the same location. The black mark does seem larger than it appears in most example shots of the Ring-billed, though.

--Daniel

That sure looks like a Clematis in the first shot.

Here is one from my backyard last summer.



Here is one of our Rose of Sharon as well with a visitor



Some nice shots of your Vacation Daniel. You really seem to have a good eye for composition.

Cheers,
SG

I thank you for your kind words; I admit I am often surprised by how pleasing my pictures often turn out to be. Here's another from the trip.

--Daniel

I think I can live with Ring-bills for all of them. I dug out Grants Gulls of the World, and it looks a lot like his pics of 2nd winter birds, especially some of the late 2nd winter, into their 3rd summer (adult) molt. The prominant mirrors on the wing extensions don't always show up in the picstures, and the ring on the end of the bill is still a little large.

The second picture of Ring-Bills looks like they're either in or starting into winter plumage. Was this late summer, or is that from a different location?

John

Is that Wood Island Light?

John

Nope -- Pemaquid. They're very similar in form, eh?

--Daniel

Yep, late summer. Here's another pic of the local fauna.

--Daniel