Greetings All

So a number of well-informed opinions have come in from CA to LA to CT.

Those who've chosen to ID the bird have mostly called it a Snowy Egret, with one LB Heron "vote."
About half of the respondents have said "weird bird; probably can't be identified with certainty."

For LBHE: bill shape, pattern. Also, a few folks have said they'd expect some dark on the legs of a young Snowy by now.

For SNEG: Yellow lores (though one superb birder felt a Snowy should have MORE yellow on lores), active feeding style, lack of dusky on primary tips.

And there is always the dreaded possibility of a hybrid, which would be hard to "prove" in an imm bird without genetic material.

It is interesting how some feel the bill shape is typical for LBHE, others fine for SNEG. And these are extremely experienced birders.

Personally, having looked at a ton of photos over the last few days, I'd feel comfortable with LBHE if it were not for those wingtips.....

In any case, I think this one will wind up in the ???? pile.
Glad such a bird was finally found/seen by somebody else :o)

Cheers
Steven Mlodinow
Everett WA
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