Activity 4: My favorite birding spot is my front yard! I have a finch feeder, feeder with black oil sunflower seeds, and a suet feeder currently up. I do not have the suet feeder up in the summer, therefore, I am seeing downy, hairy, and red bellied woodpeckers more frequently than I will in 6 months. In addition to this spot, I love to go to my local park. Currently, the birds I see most often are cardinals, tufted titmouse, starlings, carolina chickadees, mallards, canada geese, and robins. In 6 months I expect to see more egrets and blue herons in the pond area, as well as wood ducks. In addition to this, I expect to see both male and female red winged blackbirds which like to frequent the area. I love how as the seasons change I notice different birds!

Activity 3: The American Goldfinch has a bright yellow back during breeding but becomes duller and darker brown/olive color in the winter. The Common Loon's neck collar is more prominent during breeding, the black coloring is also much darker. They fade to a duller gray color with a more gradient neck than a collar in the winter.

It is interesting seeing the Goldfinches and Loons in winter and in summer.  The colours are so much more vibrant in the summer months. I love hiking and birding at the RBG in Burlington Ontario. Some birds I have seen even now in the winter include the hooded merganser and screech-owl, American tree sparrow, and downy woodpecker.     In 6 months, I accept to see some of those birds still, but also will hope to see the American Robin, Wood thrush and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.  Can't wait to see.

Activity 4: My daughter and I just visited a favorite birding spot for us. It’s a mudflat/marshy area on the NJ coast. It is a stop-over for lots of water fowl. We saw at least 16 species while we drove the 8 mile nature loop - at least 1/3 of them were new to me this year! Some of them (Brant, Snow Goose, and Northern Pintail) are here briefly as they migrate or longer during the non-breeding season. Others (American Herring Gull, Mallard, and Great Blue Heron) are here year-round. I have been to the same preserve in the summer and seen Purple Martin and nesting Osprey. I am looking forward to returning to see what else I might find.

Activity 4: My favorite birding spot is a stop over for many migratory birds in spring and winter. Depending upon the migration and the birds' needs, some may stay through the whole season to have their babies or stay until they migrate again. The area is also home to many birds that live there year round, this means that I right now I see a wide variety of "regulars" and visitors. With the winter migration, I am seeing more duck and warbler species, terns, pelicans, and other migratory birds I Cann't remember right now. I am also seeing the residents sparrows, gulls, cormorants, herons and egrets, and grebes. In six months, I will probably see the finalization of spring migration and many birds stay to have their babies in the area. As spring migration ends in six months, I will still see the regulars as well.

Very good

I am doing Activity 4 My favorite birding spot is my own backyard as we have several feeding stations set up.  Both my husband and I have commented that we have more wildlife than we see at nearby parks. Currently I am seeing:

• Northern Cardinals
• Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
• Carolina Chickadees
• Turfted Titmice
• Mourning Doves
• Red-tailed Hawks
• Red-bellied Woodpeckers
• Blue Jays
• American Robins
• Grackles
• Starlings
• Eastern Wood-Pewees
• Carolina Wrens
• Rose-breasted Grosbecks
• White-breasted Nuthatches
• Acadian Flycatcher
• Turkey Vultures
• Canada Geese (We have had a mating pair a quarter of a mile from our house at the lagoon.  They are currently forming in a family group for migration.  We saw them with about 20 other geese just down the road at a pond this week.)

In six months, I  expect to see:

• Northern Cardinals
• Carolina Chickadees
• Turfted Titmice
• Dark-eyed Juncos
• Mourning Doves
• Red-tailed Hawks
• Red-bellied Woodpeckers
• Downy Woodpeckers (and possibly other woodpeckers as well.  It depends on the year.
• Blue Jays
• Grackles
• Starlings
• Carolina Wrens
• Nuthatches-- both White-breaster and Red-breasted
• House Finches
• Goldfinches
• House Sparrows
• Song Sparrows
• Red-winged Blackbirds.

Activity 4: I walked to my favorite spot in the woods yesterday and was surprised to find so many active birds in this heat.  But I was in the woods and it was probably ten to fifteen degrees cooler.  Within minutes Merlin picked up the Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Hooded Warbler, White-eyed vireo, Red-eyed vireo, Carolina wren, Bobwhite, Tufted Titmouse, Eastern Bluebird, Robin, Purple Martin, Mockingbird and the American Goldfinch.  I heard the Red-tail hawk and its young piercing the early morning.  I scrambled to find the birds with my binocs. In a couple of months the warblers will have migrated south and the Red-tail young may stay around but may not call as much.  The Yellow breasted chat will head to Central America or Mexico. The Red-eyed vireo will head to the Amazon Basin in South America. The White-eyed vireo may or may not migrate. The Indigo bunting will remain, along with the Carolina Wren, Bluebird, Tufted Titmouse, and the mockingbird. But the Blue Grosbeak will head to the Carribean and the Purple Martin will travel to South America. If these birds could could tell us their tales....

Activity 4: My favorite birding spot has a pond, a marsh, and a wetland. Currently I find a lot of tree swallows, three kinds of ducks, many red-winged blackbirds, mourning doves, Northern Cardinals, three kinds of woodpeckers, killdeer, and yellow warblers pretty regularly. According the bar chart for this location, the mallard ducks, mourning doves, Northern Cardinals, woodpeckers, and killdeer will still be around in the winter. The red-winged blackbirds will disappear briefly in the winter, the tree swallow should be gone after July, and the warblers should be gone soon. In the winter the Dark-Eyed Juncos and the Tree Sparrows will return.

Activity 3: With respect to the American Goldfinch, it is much brighter in the summer although some of the photos seem to show some molting as well. In the winter, it still has some suggestion of yellow but much more muted so that it blends into the drab winter scenery better. The brighter yellow summer plumage may help it attract a mate but also it much easier to hide in the bright green leaves of summer. The Common Loon has a much greater contrast in the black and white in the summer. The more muted dark grey of winter blends in better with the water and would be harder to see. Again, I wonder if the more contrasting blacks and whites helps it attract a mate.

Activity 2: Three birds that live in Michigan year around are the Blue Jay, the Black-Capped Chickadee, and the Northern Cardinal. Three birds that only live here in the summer are the House Wren, the Yellow Warbler, and the Baltimore Oriole. These are all fairly common birds during the correct season.

Activity 1: I found it interesting that birds often times migrate in a clockwise direction. In particular I noticed that pattern with the Rufous Hummingbird. I did not find it as noticeable with other species. I was also struck by the Sandhill Crane migrating across the Bering Strait to Russia. While I view the continents as divided in my mind, the world appears much rounder to birds. When exploring some of the other species, I was surprised to see that Barn Swallows exist on six of the continents. While the oceans were a significant barrier to humans they seem to be less of a barrier to some species of birds.

Activity 4 is one I look forward to trying. In my bird garden, I usually see Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, House Finches, and woodpeckers in the winter. However, I have been lucky enough to spot Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks in the spring and summer!

Activity 2,3:  Three year-round bird species in my area are the Black-capped Chickadee, the Mallard, and the Herring Gull.  Three species that are part time residents are the Yellow Warbler, the Snowy Egret, and the Horned Grebe.  I have only seen the Horned Grebe in his non-breeding plumage that is very plain compared to his breeding plumage (from which he gets his name.) Here is a photo of the Horned Grebe in Dec. 2023.  The breeding Horned Grebe has a long golden tuft behind a red eye, & is more colorful neck & body. Activity 4:  My favorite birding spot is a small state park on the ocean.  Right now I can see Double- Crested Cormorants, Laughing Gulls and Purple Sandpipers.  They will all be gone by winter, but in December & January I should be able to see a Common Loon in winter plumage, a Long Tailed Duck & a Red Breasted Merganser. This photo is a Long Tailed Duck.

I chose activity 3. The goldfinch's black and white wings pretty much stay the same year round.  Even in the bleak of winter, the male still has a 'cast' of yellow in his feathers. The loon changes completely!  The big clue for me is the distinctive shape of the bird.

Activity 3 I compared the summer and winter plumage of the American goldfinch and the common loon.  Both male birds looked much more striking in the spring and summer, which would be the time to attract a mate.  In the winter, their colors were much more subdued, which would enable them to blend in better with their habitat and avoid predators.

I use merlin a lot for sound ID and the picture ID if I get a good one.  First time I used the likely birds function and found it very interesting.  I went through several of the birds I have been seeing regularly at my feeder like the dark eyed junco, bluebirds, cardinals, house finch as well as some of the herons I see around a pond on my walks.  I never knew that the dark eyed junco is only in my area during breeding season and that the great blue heron actually is year round.  I definitely would not have guessed the great blue heron is year round.  I plan to start using this function when I identify any new bird to learn more about it's migration patterns.

Activity 1: the first pairing was as I expected - the Northern Cardinal stays within the same general area year-round while the Blackburnian Warbler migrates. The last pair was very unexpected. Both go north to breed with the Sandhill Crane going up into the Arctic - though they also live in Florida year-round. Retirees, I guess. Activity 2: Most of the birds shown in Merlin as "most likely" are also year-round, even when I change the setting to "year-round" (blue jay, northern mockingbird, red-bellied woodpecker to name three - and I see them daily). The top three seasonal birds, who visit us only in the winter (Tampa, FL), are the palm warbler, the yellow-rumped warbler, and the grey catbird. I have seen all of these seasonal birds but I only discovered a month or so ago that I figured out what the palm warbler looks like here in their non-breeding season. I had been dismissing that identification because they weren't as yellow as they looked in most of the pictures I had seen. On a recent local Audubon walk I learned about the yellow-rumped warbler (or "butter butt" as a member of the group called it). The catbird I had heard and identified using Merlin before.

I can’t find the “most likely”  feature on Merlin.  What am I doing wrong? March 2014.  Western bluebirds and meadowlarks are in their full glory right now. They are singing, flirting and finding nests.  Okanagan Similkameen, British Columbia

Activity 2 - Using Merlin's Most Likely list of birds in my home area - 3 that stay year round are Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, and Carolina Chickadee.  3 that travel through for part of the year include White-Crowned Sparrow, Dark Eyed Junco, and Yellow Rumped Warbler.

Differences in plumage: American Goldfinch- Brighter yellow in Summer, tan/brown in winter.  Beak seems to be orange in Summer, gray in the winter? White/gray breast in winter vs yellow breast in Summer.  Black cap in Summer not present in winter.   Common Loon- White neck and throat in the winter, in the Summer black neck and green throat.  Distinct black hood in Summer is not present in Winter.  Black and white striped necklace in the Summer not present in Winter.  Silver bill in Winter is black in Summer.  White spots on back in Summer are white tips to feathers in Summer.

Merlin - I am in Northeast Indiana, three birds that are year-round here: 1) Mute swan 2) Bald eagle 3) Eastern bluebird   Only in the winter: 1) Redhead 2) American tree sparrow 3) Dark-eyed junco

Merlin - I am near Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.  But I live in a village.  I have seen red bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker and hairy woodpecker at the feeders in my yeard as well as the american goldfinch, mourning dove, blue jay, american crow, american robin, tufted titmouse, white breasted nuthatch, house finch,  house sparrow, junco and cardinal.  I have heard the carolina wren.

2: In Winter Germany, the redwing the Mountain finch and the Fieldfare are guests which are breeding in northern Europe and russia in the Summer. 3: The finches have the black cap only in summer. The Common loon has a beutiful black Head with white and Green Details in summer while its white and grey in Winter. 4:While i enjoy watching sparrows, robins and the fieldfare in Winter i really Hope to See my First redstart, bluethroat and Goldfinch.