Sorry for the bad quality picture, i only had my phone and didn't want to get cliser and scare him away. It looks like an egret to me ("garzetta" in Italian, egretta garzetta) but for the missing feathers on the top of its head. Also, it seemed too big for an egret. Could it be a white heron? Also, I had never seen either egrets or herons feeding on a beach this far away from a delta or an estuary. The recent storms have eradicated a lot of marine plants, as they always do (a local marine plant called Posidonia) and the bird was hunting among the mass of washed up remains. Never seen anything like this before, and I have been walking this coastline path for more than 40 years. We have plenty of seagulls, cormorants, and rock doves on the sea and on the overlooking cliffs, but egrets?

What is thi

The bill seems too dainty for a glaucoma-winged gull, which were present too, but gulls are so hard! Thoughts?

It's a very difficult picture to work with but I was curious if this type of bird is protected or not in new york state

https://preview.redd.it/trcv9qug27wd1.png?width=1072&format=png&auto=webp&s=5ea014382ee39a6f0958e7e7371907d099ab58b9

Sorry for the potato quality pic, my cat alerted me to this early morning backyard visitor. I had to zoom in with my phone so I wouldn't scare it away. Is it a Cooper's hawk? Thanks for any info!

[Edit - ID'd, thank you, u/TinyLongwing ]

Observed passing overhead today (10/21) in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. In the middle of a suburban(ish) small town, surrounded by rural farmland (mostly rye grass and recently cut corn) and scattered woodland (fir, oak, maple, cherry among others).

It was silhouetted, so could not distinguish color, though it appeared somewhat dark. Roughly the size of a northern flicker, but had a long neck(s-shaped like a heron, not outstretched like a goose or duck). Had a crested head like a woodpecker and a long bill that seemed a bit thick like a kingfisher. Made a few vocalizations that sound familiar within our area but I have yet been able to match with the actual birds yet.

Obviously given the lack of discernible details it will be difficult to say specifically, but if you can come up with some reasonable suggestions, I’d be very appreciative. Maybe I will be able to find some vocalization samples to help confirm. I did try Merlin step by step and myodfw.com references but weren’t very helpful.

Im in New York- my grandmother found this feather and gave it to me- I’m not sure if it’s a red tailed hawk feather or a turkey feather

Fiancee saw this bird of prey in Chicago hunting down some smaller birds and squirrels. She said she thinks it is about a foot tall

Sorry for the awful quality but the birds are perching in the electricity cables above. And there so many and they're so noisy.