The birds I see year round in my yard are the Red Bellied Woodpecker, the Downy Woodpecker, and the Black Capped Chickadee. Honestly, I could go on naming a host of others as well. By the water I find the Herring Gull,the Ring Bill Gull, and the Fish Crow all year.

The migratory birds in my yard are the Baltimore Oriole, the Grey Catbird, and the Ruby Throated Hummingbird. By the water the Osprey are the migrators that I am certain of.

Activity 4

My favorite birding spot in Mexico City is Bosque de Chapultepec, 🌳one of the largest city parks in the Western Hemisphere. It is one of the best places in the city to observe migratory and resident birds while still being surrounded by urban life.

As part of the exercise in observing migration trends and guessing which birds might visit Mexico City in six months, I expect to find the following species in May 2026: Western Tanager, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Orchard Oriole, Summer Tanager, and Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer.

In November 2026, I expect to see waterfowl such as the Northern Pintail and Blue-winged Teal, hummingbirds like the Broad-billed Hummingbird, and colorful resident birds, including the Blue Mockingbird and Vermilion Flycatcher.

I already scheduled a visit to the park on November 7 this year to see whether the migration trends and my guesses were correct, or whether changing conditions, such as climate change, had altered the bird patterns I expected to find. 🐦

Activity 1:

- Northern Cardinals are year-long residents in central and eastern United States and in Mexico. Blackburnian Warblers breed in the eastern United States and southern Canada and then migrate to South America for the winter. There’s also sightings of them along the coast of California during migration which surprised me.

- Scarlet Tanagers breed in central and eastern United States and south eastern Canada. They migrate down to South America for the winter. Western Tanagers breed on the other side of the country throughout western United States and Canada before migrating to Mexico and Central America. Vagrants have been seen along the coast.

- Ruby-throated Hummingbirds breed in central and eastern United States before spending the winter in Mexico and even the southern tip of Florida. Rufous humming birds breed in western Canada and north western United States. They spend the winter in Mexico and seem to migrate north along the western coast, but spread out more while heading south.

- Sandhills Cranes are much more widespread than I expected. They live year round in Florida and a few other locations in the United States, though they breed across Canada, in parts of the United States, and even in eastern Russia. They winter in central and southern United States and in Mexico. Yellow-bellied Flycatchers have a much smaller range than the cranes do, they breed in Canada and some northern parts of the United States and spend the winter in Mexico.

 

Activity 2: I looked at Merlin’s likely birds list. Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, and American Goldfinches are all birds that live in my region year round. I see and hear them frequently. American Tree Sparrows, Redpolls, and Pine Siskins are only here for the winter. I’ve seen Pine Siskins before, but not the other two species. I’d love to see them, especially the American Tree Sparrow which I haven’t encountered despite being common in my area.

 

Activity 3: The male American Goldfinch is bright yellow during the breeding season and a duller olive color outside of it. They keep their black and white wing feathers throughout the seasons, but interestingly seem to lose their black caps in their non-breeding plumage. Common Loons in the winter have a more faded look and lack the solid black heads they have in the summer. Their bills also appear to be darker in the summer. Loons keep their white bellies and red eyes year round.

 

Activity 4: My favorite birding spot is the woods surrounding my house. Right now I typically see Tufted Titmice, Black-capped Chickadees, Northern Cardinal, an Dark-eyed Juncos. In 6 months, most of these birds will remain, but the juncos will be replaced by Song and Chipping Sparrows. American Robins will also be more common.

Activity 2:

Three species that are year-round residents in my area are the european starling, the northern cardinal, and the house finch. I see them regularly. At sunset, the starlings flock together in a nearby tree and take off all at once across a field.

Three species that are only here part of the year are the dark-eyed junco, white-throated sparrow, and gray catbird. Right now, there are a lot of juncos and white-throated sparrows around my house. I like watching them hop around and scratch at the ground.

Activity 4:

The large majority of birds in my area are year-long residents. Most of our migratory birds seem to come over in the summer months (which is now), so it seems I'm much more likely to see a greater variety of birds now than I would in six months. Most of these are swallows - I've seen a lot of them in small flocks lately. They're usually just flying by, so I haven't been able to identify most of them but I have been able to ID a pearl-breasted and white-throated swallow this season.

Activity 3:

Male American Goldfinches: They lose some of the vibrancy in their yellow feathers as well as their bills from summer to winter, though they retain their black and yellow wing- and tail-feathers.

Common Loons: They seem to change dramatically from summer to winter, losing their high-contrast patterns, their black and green colours and gaining a much more cryptic plumage and grey-brown bill. However, they have quite a recognisable shape to them and they keep their characteristic red eyes.

Activity 1:

• Northern Cardinals are year-long residents, Blackburnian Warblers migrate.


• Scarlet Tanagers seem to migrate over the ocean from North to South America and back again. Western Tanagers migrate over the land and stick to North and Central America. Their ranges seem to have very little overlap in North America.


• Ruby-throated Hummingbirds take slightly different pre- and post-breeding migratory routes, travelling through more of Mexico post-breeding. Rufous Hummingbirds's pre- and post-breeding migrating routes diverge much more clearly.


• Some Sandhill Cranes are year-long residents (those in Florida stand out) and some migrate north for the breeding season. However, they seem quite dispersed across North America, with varying migration times and locations. Yellow-bellied Flycatchers on the other hand are fully migratory and more concentrated at any point in the year.

Activity 2:

The first three year-long residents that pop up in my area are the Cape White-eye, Red-eyed Dove and Red-winged Starling. I see the first two very often, but haven't seen the Red-winged Starling lately.

Some migrating birds include the Greater Striped Swallow, White-rumped Swift, and White-throated Swallow. All three come over for the breeding season. I've only been able to identify the White-throated Swallow since I started birding, but I'm keeping my eye out for the other two.

Activity 1:
Northern Cardinal with Blackburnian Warbler: I was already familiar with the Northern Cardinal’s range, since I grew up roadtripping, if anything I was initially surprised that they didn’t migrate at all. Comparing it to the Blackburnian Warbler which migrates from northern North America to northern South America was interesting, but I was actually more surprised that I have never seen a Blackburnian Warbler. They spend time in areas where I’ve spent time.
Scarlet Tanager with Western Tanager: I found how these two almost make up for each other’s absences in North America and Central America interesting.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird with Rufous Hummingbird: I found it interesting how these two cover the same territories but apparently only during post-breeding mybration and non-breeding times.
Sandhill Crane with Yellow-bellied Flycatcher: As far as comparison goes it was noticeable that Sandhill Cranes seem to be all over the place both in terms of geography and whether or not they migrate. I’m used to seeing Sandhill cranes at various times around Chicago, but not anywhere else, and I’m not wondering if I just haven’t been looking hard enough; though they’re big birds!

Activity 2:
Year-Round
Blue Jay: I hear and see these guys all year round all the time.
Red-Bellied Woodpecker: These have been hiding from me since I started using Merlin, which is super annoying because I grew up watching them! I’m wondering if we’ve been loosing them or if I am just not in the right spot.
Downy Woodpecker: I don’t actually remember seeing these until relatively recently, which I find curious. But I’ve been seeing them and marking them down.
Part of the Year
Dark-Eyed Junco: I don’t actually remember having seen these before, but they’re so small (and almost dingy, but in a cute way?) that I may just have never bothered really paying attention to them before. I have definately been noticing them this fall and winter.
White Throated Sparrow: I don’t see these around my home so much, but I’m used to noticing them in the fall and winter int he parks of the local biggest city. It’s not that I haven’t noticed them at all, it’s just that there don’t seem to be that many int he suburbs where I live.
Hooded Merganser: In theory these guys never really fully go away, they just become less common in the morning months. However, I’ve been doing this birdwatching thing for more than 6 months and I saw my first two this morning.

Activity 3:
Male American Goldfinches
Summer: I’ve recongized these my whole lifem, but never really thought about their change in plumage, as a result…
Winter: This was the month I learned that they actually have winter plumage! I just thought they migrated away or something. While their presence here apparently ebbs it seems to be every few months, not a proper migration where they all go elsewhere. Fascinating. Now I’ll be staring harder at our dingerier little birds.
Common Loons
Summer: I’ve seen these but only on vacation, and therefore only in the summer.
Winter: I need to find an excuse to go where they usually life in the winter. They aren’t common where I live any time of year, and I personally don’t have a history of wintering where they are common.

Activity 4:

I discovered my favorite birding spot relatively recently, but it isn’t far from where I have done most of my birding, in fact it’s closer than my usual haunts to trees and the river. Six months ago I was finding a lot of Herons (Green, Great Blue, Little Blue), Great Egrets, and our year-round usual assortment of sparrows and finches (I am trying to keep this list short) like goldfinches in breeding plumage, our corvids (Crows, Ravens, blue jays), and cardinals. During this coming summer I’m going to work on keeping an eye out for Swifts, Hummingbirds, Flycatchers and Vireos. Little birds that slipped through my list this past year; but which I know can be around In the summer.
I’m putting a note in my calendar to make sure that I do a comparison when the time comes!

Activities Part 4

ACTIVITY 1:  Compare pairs of birds using migration maps. /////   Pair 1: Northern Cardinal vs Blackburnian Warbler. /  Northern Cardinal remains in central and eastern and North-Central Mexico throughout the year. While there is some variation at the fringe of the range, there is very little movement (short distance migration) from one location to another.  /   Blackburnian Warbler migrate great distances spending summer in Central and Eastern USA and Canada. While moving south to South America, specifically northern coast of Ecuador, Columbia, and eastern coast of Costa Rica in Central America. This bird summers in Southern Canada from Central Plains to the Eastern Maritime Provinces.  /  In Connecticut I am likely to see a Northern Cardinal any time during the year. Blackburnian Warblers might be seen during migration of May and June or September and October.  This would be the only time that I am likely to see both birds on the same day.  Pair 2: Scarlet Tanager vs Western Tanager / Scarlet Tanager breeds primarily in the Eastern and in Central USA and Southern Canada. This bird migrates through the Central USA onto to Central America. It will overwinter in the interior of Ecuador. It follows the same route during fall and spring migration.  / Western Tanager summers or breeds in Northwestern and Central USA and Southwestern Canada. This bird migrates through Mexico and the Western Coast of USA. Interestingly, there are several small populations of Western Tanager that remain in San Francisco and Los Angles.  /  These two species are unlikely to see or overlap range anywhere as the Scarlet Tanager stays east of the Rockies and the Western Tanager stays west of the Rockies. In Connecticut I am only likely to see the Scarlet Tanager.  /////  Pair 3: Ruby-throated Hummingbird vs Rufous Hummingbird. /  Ruby-throated Hummingbird Breeds in the Mid-West, Plains, and Eastern USA and in Southern Canada. This bird’s breeding range and migration are east of the Rockies. Migration is through the Southern USA to Southern Mexico where this bird overwinters in Southern Mexico, Central America – mostly on the western coast.  / Rufous Hummingbird breeds in British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington. There are some scattered populations in Western states and Northern Mexico. It is primarily a west coast bird. This bird migrates to overwinter in Western and Central Mexico. / These two species may overlap in overwintering grounds in Central and South Mexico. But during breeding season the Ruby-throated Humming bird will only be seen east of the Rockies while the Rufous Hummingbird will be seen west of the Rockies, primarily on the west coast. / In Connecticut I am only likely to see the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. ///// Pair 4: Sandhill Crane vs the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.  /  Yellow-bellied Flycatcher  Summer or breeding season is primarily in Canada and in the Maritime Provinces. Migration is through Central USA to overwinter in South Mexico and Central America.  /  Sandhill Crane breeds in northern Canada and on shorelines of the Arctic Circle such as the Bering Sea, Hudson Bay and south to Wiscons, Minnesota, and Michigan. These birds migrate to overwintering grounds from North and Central Mexico with scattered populations throughout the USA such as Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida.  /  The ranges of these two birds may overlap during breeding season and overwintering. / In Connecticut, the Sandhill Crane may be seen as a rare vagrant. The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher would also be rare.

ACTIVITY 2: Use “Likely Birds” for your area. Part 1: Birds Likely to See. For October in Connecticut – birds I am likely to see.  (1) American Black Duck: tend to be here year round. Fresh, briney, saltwater.   Have seen this bird frequently.  (2) Field Sparrow: year round. Seen in brushy areas of state park.  (3) Blue Jay year round at feeders and in woods. Seen at my feeder year round.   Part 2: Birds NOT Likely to See. For October in Connecticut – birds NOT likely to see. (1) American Redstart have started to migrate from this area.  A few may be remaining, but they are infrequent here during this time. I have seen this bird in the spring and early summer. (2) Baltimore Oriole breed here and can be heard and seen in spring and summer in abundance. Usually seen near water in trees. They have started to migrate in September. I have seen this bird only in spring and summer.  (3) Tree Swallow breeds here in marshes. They gather to migrate in late September and October. I have seen this bird only in the spring and early summer.

ACTIVITY 3:  Compare the summer and winter plumage of two species using the Macaulay Library. /////   Bird 1: American Goldfinch.  Summer Plumage of Males:  Colors are primarily brilliant yellow and black. There are accents of white on wings. Patterns of color include: Black cap, wings, tail; Yellow nape, back, throat, chest, belly, flanks; White on very thin wing bars, rump. Pink bill.  Winter Plumage of Males: Colors are softer yellows with buff, gray, and white. Black wings and tail with more white. Patterns show that Cap is buff; Nape is white; Face is softer yellow and buff. White is on chest, undertail coverts. White wingbars are wider. White also trims the Greater Secondary and Primary Coverts that are also black. Bill is a duller pink.  Summer Plumage of Females: Colors are soft yellows, buffs, dark gray with white accents. Pattern is less striking than male overall with a less brilliant yellow body and face. Buff on cap, nape, and back; White thin wing bars and undertail coverts; Wings and tail are dark, dark gray-black but not as black as male. Bill is pink.  Winter Plumage Female:  Colors are even more muted with most of the body buffy-grayish-green. Buff wingbars which are wider than in summer. Bill is less pink.  /////  Bird 2: Common Loon. Summer Plumage of Males: Colors are primarily black and white. Solid black head and bill; Back is neatly checkered black and white; Sides are black with some white spotting. Neck has white collar with very thin white stripes; Chest and belly are white (seen in flight). Winter Plumage of Males: Colors are browns, blacks, grays. Pattern shows more mottled look on back and sides; Head is brown; Collar has faded; Chest and belly remain white; Back is brown and white speckles, mottled.  Summer and Winter Plumage of Females:  Approximately the same as males during winter.

Activity 4: Sightings at Favorite Birding Spot. I have chosen to focus on waterbirds and shorebirds at Harkness Memorial State Park which is on Long Island Sound.  October Sightings: Canada Goose; American Black Duck; Mallard; Common Eider; Surf Scoter; Black Bellied Plover; Semipalmaated Plover; Greater Yellowlegs; American Widgeon.   April Sightings: Brant; Bufflehead; Hooded Merganser; Red-breasted Merganser; Surf Scoter; Common Golden Eye; Piping Plover; Willet; Greater Yellowlegs; American Black Duck; Mallard; Purple sandpiper; American Widgeon.

Activity 1: I looked up two birds I see a lot in Italy. One is the Eurasian Blue Tit. The map showed pretty much all of Europe in purple. That makes sense, because this is one of the commonest birds in Italy, and I always see them year-round. I then looked up the Black-Winged Stilt, a very pretty wading bird that I've seen every time I've been to Sardinia, as well as near Rome along the coastal wetlands. I was surprised to see that this bird has a HUGE geographic range. Activity 2: Filtering to Lazio, Italy only produced 29 species. Are those meant to be year-rounders? I am still confused about this feature. I have seen most of the birds on this small list. Activity 3: I was just birding in Sardinia and I had quite a hard time, now at the end of summer, distinguishing between non-breeding plumages, especially for peeps and other shore birds. It was good training in that I had to focus more on shape, beaks, feet, etc... other characteristics I might overlook in favor of color. Activity 4: Sardinian wetlands are my favorite spot for birding. But I've only ever been in Sardinia in September and August. I would like to go in April and May and see what migrating birds are passing through. If I understood how to use this map feature better I'd try to determine what species I'd be likely to see!

Activity 1: It was interesting to see that some birds like the northern cardinal do no migrate while others like the scarlet tanager have a long migration south towards Peru and Bolivia.  Another bird has a shorter migration, the sandhill crane only as far as northern Mexico.  Some of the birds fly towards Central America y the northern part of South America.

Activity 2: Most of the birds I see in my neighborhood are resident birds; now all the migrating birds that come to spend the winter here are back to their breeding regions. We should get some from the south of the continent, but I do not really know much about them yet.  Since I have been watching birds, the only migrating bird I have seen is the summer tanager.  I do hope to see more migrating birds in the future, hopefully during the October Big Day.

Activity 4:

My favorite birding spot right now is a marsh near a park connected to a river near Lake Superior. I would expect to see and hear a lot of red-winged blackbirds which have been the dominant bird there recently. I would also expect to see Canadian geese, gulls, crows, mallards, and maybe some swans. 6 months out would be October. Based on looking at the hotspot in E-bird, I would expect to see more of the same and the most likely new birds to be pine siskin, dark-eyed junco, and American gold finch.

Activity 3:

In summer the American Goldfinch appears much more of a vibrant yellow. It has a clear black cap and an orange beak, while the winter foliage has no cap and a subdued black beak. They both share the similar black and white pattern on their tails though.In Summer, the common loon has a distinctive all black head and beak along with a stripped collar and a high contrast white and black body. These all seem to separate it quite a bit from it’s winter foliage. However, they still share their red eyes, white chest, and a similar pattern on their back, although the winter foliage is much more subdued and lower contrast.

Activity 2: 3 Year round birds: The black capped chickadee is one of the birds I’ve seen the most over the last couple months here in Northern Michigan. They are always singing and chirping up a storm and playfully flying from branch to branch around the forest. The Blue Jay is another year-round bird I see occasionally throughout the winter, and often hear it’s harsh call. Lastly is the Mourning Dove. In Merlin’s range map they are just on the precipice of year-round and breeding in my area. I often see them at a local bird feeder and love hearing their call.

3 Seasonal birds that are likely: The Red Winged Blackbird. I saw a flock of these birds in a tree near a local marsh a couple weeks ago. They were hiding their colors a bit while in the trees, but you could still see them peeking out. They are only in my area during breeding season. The Canada goose is another likely bird, and that isn’t surprising to me. I have seen them coming in swarms lately and now they are everywhere. They are only here during breeding season. The Common Grackle is another likely seasonal bird in the area, but one I haven’t identified seeing yet. Looking at their picture they look a lot like a crow to me, so I think I partly write off most mid-size black birds as crows, but probably need to start taking a closer look.

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.