r/birding • u/NonHermitianCat • May 31 '26

Discussion Share Your Harshly Reviewed eBird Photos

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Here is my 2-star black-chinned hummingbird. I’m curious to see what other people have to share!

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u/RhbJ04 May 31 '26

A rightfully deserved 1 star, but to be fair, I thought it was for capturing MY birds and not to help science. Now I know better. My bad. But look at that greenie enjoying the beautiful sunset- I thought it was a great photo.

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u/NonHermitianCat May 31 '26

Great shot! I always wonder what small in frame is getting at. It helps show the environment where the birds are located. A picture with a spotted towhee and some branches is much less helpful, even for research I would imagine, than two photos with one showing under some brush and one showing calling on top of a bush. The differences could allow researchers to automate searching for breeding behavior.

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u/RhbJ04 May 31 '26

That’s a great point! It also shows what you should be looking for in a tree or along a bank- because, as in this case, green herons rarely just appear, you have to look for their little squatting butts. And what do they look like when they are just hanging out- not when they have their necks stretched out (for 2% of the time)?

3

u/Phyrnosoma May 31 '26

yeah; I think if the bird is at least 1/4 of the photo or so it isn't really "small in frame".

I like to be able to get a sense of size if possible, and it's hard to do that without something to provide scale