Wayne R. Petersen
As Bird Observer kicks off 2021, readers are undoubtedly hopeful and optimistic that the new year will be better than 2020 in every way possible. How could it be worse, you might ask? With this optimistic forecast in mind, and depending upon your birding experience or birding skill, this issue’s At A Glance challenge may cause you to think twice about this as you consider the identification of the February mystery photo. For the benefit of new readers of the magazine, know that At A Glance mystery photos are traditionally poor photos of common species, good photos of uncommon species, or ambiguous photos of any species ever previously recorded in Massachusetts. The purpose of the column is to encourage readers to test their bird identification skills by looking at less than optimum views of birds without the benefit of clues usually provided in the field.
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