It seemed bigger when I saw it close, but seemed to have a short bill, so I I.D.'d as a Downy. But, could it be a female Hairy?

Activity 4: Pick your favorite bird, and see if you can describe it using at least three of the bird ID strategies (size and shape, color pattern and markings, behavior, habitat and range, and sounds). Share your description in the discussion.   Thraupis episcopus (Blue gray Tanager), medium size range, blue grayish feathers on its wings, black eyes,  gray bill, undertail coverts are light gray

Activity 2: Look for three different birds that have the same color (e.g., black, white, or red), but on different parts of their bodies. Try to identify them using Merlin or a field guide. Share your findings in the discussion.     Birds with black color on different parts of their bodies. Using Merlin app, the IDs could be: Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) , Tropical Mocking bird (Mimus gilvus) Great Thrush (Turdus fuscater)

Activity 1: Look for two birds (either outside or on Bird Cams) that you can tell apart just by shape. Try to identify them using Merlin or a field guide. Share your findings in the discussion.   These two hummingbirds, located near Bogota Colombia (Observatorio de Colibríes), have similar colors (olive green, brown) but different shape.  The first one seems smaller, has a shorter bill, rounder belly, and shorter wings, I did my best but could not be sure of the species of each one of them 😅

Activity 1.  The Blue Jay is a large-crested bird with a rounded tail.  The House Wren is a small bird with a flat head, oval body, and short wings. Activity 2.  The White-Breasted Nuthatch has a short tail, bluish-gray back and wings, a black cap, and a white breast.  The Black-Capped Chickadee has a short tail, bluish-gray back and wings, a black cap and chin with white cheeks and breast.  The Red-Breasted Nuthatch has a bluish-gray back and wings, a cinnamon breast with a black stripe through the eyes, and a black crown. Activity 3.  As I observed the birds in my backyard, I noted that Robins do not visit the feeder.  They enjoy searching for earthworms, insects, and berries.  The Mourning Doves search for seeds on the ground.  The House Sparrows search for seeds on the feeder and on the ground. Activity 4.  The American Goldfinch is one of my favorite birds.  The American Goldfinch is a small North American bird in the finch family.  They go through a significant change in plumage as the seasons change.  The adult males in spring and summer are bright yellow with black tails and foreheads, and black wings with white markings.  The females in spring and summer are yellowish-green with brownish-black wings with white markings.  In fall and winter, both males and females are olive-brown with dark brown wings with white markings.   The American Goldfinches love thistle and sunflower seeds.  Goldfinches are found in open areas like yards, weedy fields, and orchards.

Noisy Miner  Manorima melanocephala 24 - 27 Cm. (Australia) -  Activity 1: Medium sized, Pale Greyish face with black crown extending down through eye to link; Distinctive rich yellow beak and legs; Underparts pale grey with darker scallops on breast; Dark  leading edge on wing with brown- reddish steak

Mourning Dove feeding babies, Summer 2021

Activity 1: MOURNING DOVE: Round body, small head, long slender tail. Medium size bird with small bill. BLUE JAY: Although the size is similar to the Mourning Dove its head is medium size in relation with its body which is more slender. It has a perky crest and long tail. Longer legs than the Mourning Dove. Activity 2: MOURNING DOVE: Plain brown overall with dark spots on wings. Darker brown on wings and lighter brown in head and breast. Under the wings and tail it looks a little beige. WOOD THRUSH: Uniform brown above from head to tail. White on face, under the bill and breast. Darker brown spots from cheek down, concentrated and clearly defined on upper breast, becoming smudgier towards belly. NORTHERN MOCKING BIRD: Gray/Light brownish on head, on top of the wings, and tail. Whitish underparts. On top wings are darker with white patches on wings and tail. Activity 3: WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH: Forages up - down and sideways over tree trunks and around large branches. It starts often high in trees and move down head first. Chips away at wood to find food. Eats insects and seeds. Stores them under loose bark in trees in its territory. In winter joins chickadees, titmice, and woodpeckers to forage. GREAT BLUE HERON: Usually forages alone. It stands still into shallow water or open fields stalking fish and other prey. When they see prey in the water introduce their bill fast to catch them. MOURNING DOVE: It scatters seeds on the ground and in the open. It pushes aside ground litter, but doesn't scratch at the ground. Swallows seeds and stores them in an enlargement of the esophagus called the crop. Once they've filled it they fly to a safe perch to digest the meal. Activity 4: RED-SHOULDERED HAWK: Medium size in the raptors group. Medium size head and balanced with the size of the body. The tail is rounded, medium size. Very short neck almost unnoticeable. Very short bill with hook shape. The little feathers around the eye extend to the back creating a soft border pointing to the back. They fan out the tail when they soar, and the tips of the wings point forward a little bit. Light brown / reddish in the breast with soft white brush strokes on the underparts. In the back the feathers are black with brown border in the upper side and half down are white in the border. The tail is black with white bands and the lower border is white. Flying under the wings you can see in the interior side a "V" shape of brown color with dark dots. the exterior part under the wing is white with dark bands that go all the way to the end of the tail. On top the wings are dark brown with white bands. Brown eyes. brown head with white brush strokes. BEHAVIOR: it soars over forests. It can be seen perched on tree branches or wires. Hunts small  mammals, amphibians, and reptiles. HABITAT AND RANGE: Lives in deciduous forests and swamps or suburban areas mixed with woodlands. It builds nests in a main crotch of large trees. Medium distance migrant. The ones that live North East and Northern Midwest migrate to more southerly states for the winter. Some in the East spend winter in Mexico but in the West Coast they are non-migratory. SOUNDS: Call: high pitch whistle. Loud "kee-aah" of different lengths. SOUNDS: Call: high pitch whistle. Loud "kee-aah" of different lengths.

Activity 1: The Magpie can be told from far away because of its rounded wings and long spoon/wedge-shaped tail. The Rose-ringed Parakeet is very aerodynamic, like an arrow, with long, pointed wings and a pointed tail. Activity 2: Three birds here that are all or mainly black are the Carrion Crow, Great Spotted Woodpecker and the Magpie. The crow is entirely black, while the Magpie is black and white patched, but with an all black head. The woodpecker is patched black and white, with white wing bars and has white on its head. Activity 3: Characteristic foraging behaviors of three local birds - the Black Redstart perches on an exposed spot and flies out to catch insects, or sometimes hovers at vegetation to catch insects or pick berries; the Nuthatch climbs along tree branches, and sometimes forages on the ground; the Great Tit is most generalist, since it forages in trees, on walls, on the ground, in climbing vegetation, and at bird feeders. Activity 4: One of my favorite birds is the Goldcrest - it's a tiny, round bird that hovers and hangs on tree branches, and prefers foraging in spruce trees, and it has a very high pitched call and song.

Activity 3:  this morning I saw a house sparrow and a white-breasted nuthatch at a piece of suet in my backyard.   The sparrow would fly over from a near by brach and take a few pecks and then fly back to the branch.  The nuthatch stayed of the suet cage much longer and ate upside down.   In the past I have seen mourning doves in my backyard and they mostly feed on the ground. Activity 4:  I like the blue jay.  I often hear a wide variety of calls that they make.  Some of them are a short screeching noise while others are much longer.  They have several shades of blue on their bodies, wings and tail feathers.   They also have a crest on the top of their heads.  They are aggressive, compared to other birds, when feeding at the feeder in our backyard.   They also tend to be near the tops of the trees in our backyard.

I saw two black, white, and red birds in my backyard and looked at a third one on Merlin.  all 3 are woodpeckers.   The downy has a red spot on the back of the neck area and wings that black on the upper part and black and white stripes on the lower part.  The red-bellied has red at the back and top of it’s head with wings that are black and white striped. The pileated has a red crest at the top of it’s head and the wings are virtually all black.

Activity 1:   I saw a downy woodpecker and a house sparrow in my my backyard.   The house sparrow has a horizontal oval body with a round head.  The downy woodpecker has a vertical oval body and round head.

I identified a white-breasted nuthatch at our bird feeder using the Merlin app.  I have also seen him creeping down the tree trunk.  I identified a hairy woodpecker pecking upwards in our river birch tree using Merlin.  The Merlin app is very helpful in suggesting likely birds.  I also like using a state field guide with good photos and a limited listing, based on color.

I went birding in Central Park the other morning, and we noticed multiple warblers in the bushes/trees. Some included Northern Parulas, Magnolia Warblers, Chestnut-sided Warblers, and American Redstarts (to name a few.) To the untrained and novice eye, they all looked the same, and it was very difficult to realize what each bird truly was. The only one I was able to slowly recognize were the Northern Parulas because of the pale yellow's/gray's they were showing and their black and yellow bills. Warblers are going to be a fun challenge for me to learn and master; I can't wait.

I went bird watching at a local lake. I spotted 5 black larger birds sitting on a log along side of the lake.using the Merlin ID app I was able to chose the birds I was seeing. How exciting and thrilling. They were the double crested Cormorants.

I love watching the Northern Royal Albatross live cam - very distinctive shape these birds have, with a beak like no other! Every year around this time in Melbourne, Australia, we have peregrine falcons nest at the same spot high on a building (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un8f85yADAU). Easy to tell the difference between an albatross and a falcon if you are looking at shape. As an very fresh birder myself I find birds of prey very difficult to ID, but I am learning! They are about the size of a crow, when looking at relative size, and apparently have long primary feathers which gives it a long wing shape.

Activity 1: House Sparrow: small, round body and round head with hardly any visible neck, small but sturdy beak, medium length tail. Blue Jay: medium-sized oval-shaped body, longer but thinner beak than sparrow, visible crest on head, has a short neck. Activity 2: Northern Mockingbird: Gray/brown medium thin body, roundish head, beige under body/belly, thin medium-sized black beak, dorsal side of wings are black with wide white stripes/bars, long tail.  Song Sparrow: small round brown body with black streaks, black bib, small stout black beak, whitish underbelly, round head with white cheeks and gray crown, medium length tail. Red-winged Blackbird: sleek black body and head, pointy black beak, black wings with bright red epaulettes where yellow lower edges are lined with yellow, fan-like black tail. Activity 3: European Starling eating at feeder stays in one place picking up one large seed at a time in its beak, chews and swallows it before picking up another seed; leaves feeder carrying one seed in its beak. Northern Cardinal hangs on the feeder with small seeds, pecks at it then moves to the feeder with large seeds after the starling leaves, picks up one large seed and flies away.  Pileated Woodpecker hangs on the side of bird feeder consistently pecking deep into the feeder for seed, flies away, then comes back and repeats the same pecking behavior. Activity 4: Northern Cardinal: Large oval-shaped red body with long red tail with black blended in, pointy red tuft/crest on red head, head has mask around thick short orange beak, black beard, black blended into the wings, seen in my backyard sitting on a fence post.

Activity 4: One of my favorites is the brown headed nuthatch. I learned its sound before i ever saw one. Their habitat and range is pine forests in the southeast. Their behavior is they stay at the tops of pine trees walking all around and up and down the trunk and branches looking for food. Their sound is unique. They truly sound like a rubber ducky being squeezed then released to inflate again. Their size is small, sparrow small. If seen, the observer may notice a white neck and underbelly with a brown cap on the head and the back and wings look grey.

Activity 3: the American robin hunts for food on the ground picking through the grass and dirt in search of worms. Mallard ducks bob in the water(head down/tail up) sifting the bottom for food. the sanderling, a shorebird, runs toward the receding waves to find anything uncovered by the previous wave before another wave comes in where they proceed to run away and then repeats the cycle.

Activity 2: I live by water and many birds have the same color. Wading birds and shore birds have the same colors just often times in different areas or with with slight differences. The 3 egrets: the great, snowy and cattle are all white with either black or yellow legs and beak. The great egret is much larger then the other 2 so they aren’t too easy to confuse. They have a yellow bill with black legs and feet. The snowy and cattle egret are closer in size and can get confused. The snowy has a black beak with black legs and yellow feet, whereas the cattle egret has yellow bill with yellow legs and feet in breeding and grey to black legs in winter. Really have to notice the yellow and where it is located to correctly identify. using merlin and saying you saw an all white bird wading in the water will bring them all up as possibilities.

Activity 1: A lot of birds can be distinguished by shape alone. 2 easy backyard birds for myself are the morning dove and the northern cardinal. Their overall shapes are completely different. The dove has a small head and thinner bill. They have the appearance of almost sitting. Cardinals on the other hand have a larger head with a crest on the top and a wider more cone like bill. Their stance makes them look taller giving them a standing appearance.

Activity 1: There are two birds that I can tell apart by their shape that is the Song Sparrow and Black-capped Chickadee. They come to my window feeder quite often. The Black-capped Chickadee has a big head and a plump body with a short and stubby bill. The Song sparrow is a bit larger than the Black-capped Chickadee but has a smaller head and has more of a rounded tail. The bird has streaks down its body. Activity 3: The Song Sparrow would peck at its food instead of hammering like the Black-capped Chickadee would do to open the sunflower seeds. The Mourning Dove would peck at the seeds laying all over the ground from the feeder up above them. The doves would also look up at times too.

My Spotted Towhee...comes around several times every day, always from the southeast.  Perches and bounces around my sumac grove, works his way to the ground cover, drinks at one of my birdbaths, nibbles on peanut/suet chips that the woodpeckers have left on the ground and hops on over to the mulch area behind my veggies.  Pretty funny - I know his MO!  I'd never seen this bird in my yard before this year.  I heard his distinctive call weeks before I ever saw him.  I submitted an audio recording to iNaturalist and in short order had a couple of people tell me it was a Spotted Towhee. Also, I've had a noisy group of four small gray/white birds come marauding thru.  Thought they were blue/gray gnatcatchers - but NO, Bushtits.  Their gregarious ruckus is unmistakable! More newbies this year, are both a white-breasted and red-breasted nuthatch.  Both like my peanut/suet feeders as well as the peanuts in the mix I leave for my squirrels.  Guess I need to invest in an official peanut feeder now! Saw a red-tail hawk thermalling today.

Activity 3: Today I saw a Downy Woodpecker on one tree trunk going UP the tree looking for food, and a White-breasted Nuthatch on the tree trunk next to it going DOWN looking for food. They happened to both be in the field of view as I was looking through my binoculars.  Before this lesson, I didn't realize they had different directions!