At my favorite spot, in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in the Spring I will see Robins, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Sparrows, Canada Geese, Mourning Doves, Downy Woodpeckers, Mallards, Green Herons and Great Blue Herons.  As it becomes Summer I will see Goldfinches and then when it turns to Winter the Robins, Goldfinches, Green Heron  and Great Blue Herons migrate South and are replaced with Tufted Titmice, Dark eyed Juncos and Carolina Chickadees.

Activity 2: 3 species that are present year round in my area are Northern cardinal, common grackle, and house finch, all of whom we see regularly. 3 species that are present for only part of the year (during breeding only) are the ruby-throated hummingbird (which we see at our feeders), tree swallow (which nests in our boxes), and chimney swift - which I don't recall ever seeing but now that I know to look for it I will! I'm enjoying all of these activities as they are making me much more aware of my surroundings!.

1. Compare Ruby-throated Hummingbird with Rufous Hummingbird:  Ruby migrates up the East Coast of the US while Rufous migrates up the West Coast of the US. 2. In my area, year-round residents include an array of finches, sparrows, Robins, California Towhee, Dark-eye Junco, wrens, and Oak Titmouse.  Spring visitors include an array of warblers. 3.  Male American Goldfinches:  Summer--bright yellow plumage.  Winter--duller brownish/yellow plumage. 4.  My favorite birding spot is Los Gatos Creek trail.  I expect to find warbles and orioles right now in the trees at the end of April.  Early in the morning I would see Snowy Egrets and Black-crowned Night Herons, California Gulls, and Mallard Ducks on the Vasona Lake.  On the Vasona Park lawns, there are usually Canada Geese.  This time of year, I would anticipate seeing ducklings and goslings, too.  Due to the pandemic, I've been avoiding the trail--and hence the Lake park--because it gets very crowded . . . with everyone home--there has been more foot, bike, and scooter traffic on this narrow path.  Egrets, Night Herons, California Gulls, Mallards, and Canada Geese are year-round residents in our mild climate.

Activity 1: n Cardinal has a short migration in the eastern US vs the black warbler which has a long migration from South America to Canada. Scarlet Tánger and the Western Tánger have a long migration in North America but one is East Coast  and the other west Coast hummingbirds have a long migration with a East/west coast difference sandhill crane has a large migration but mostly in US (all the way to Alaska)

In these activities I note that in the first birds compared the ranges are often very different. Either mostly east vs mostly west, or that one species migrates very little but the other has quite a wide range. In the second activity there are apparently a lot of birds that are in my area of the NE all year round. More than I thought.  On the other hand, there are also many seasonal birds some of which I have never seen nor even heard of so perhaps that's because I wasn't attentive to them 'seasonally'.  These would include the Ruby Crowned Kinglet, the Northern Parula  and the Yellow Rumped Warbler among others In the 3rd activity I see that the gold finches really change quite a bit from summer to winter. The first thing that struck me was that their bellies seem might lighter/whiter in color so the blend in better in the winter and they seem to loose the black cap on their heads.  Their beaks also change color becoming less bright.  It's amazing to me that their beaks can change color (but also seems to me to make identification that much more challenging). The loons also change color a lot. Their colors are intense black/white and blue or blue green in the summer but more gray and brown in the winter. They loose that distinctive black head in the winter as well as that blue collar and the prominent black and white patterning on their backs. I don't have a favorite spot yet, but there is a park near me that runs along an estuary and has marshes as well as trees and lawn so that might be a good place to look.  There are areas of woods and forest near me as well as marshes so I think I'll have to look up what should appear in each and then try and explore (when things open up again - right now all parks are closed by me).

Activity 2: This was a fun activity (modified slightly to focus on three instead of six birds)! The animated range maps add interesting dimensions to my bird watching: “when” and “where.” So, now, in addition to thinking about what I saw, I can also consider what I might -- or might not -- see next. Dark-eyed Junco in late March. This was one of the last times this year that I saw this inquisitive little fellow. According to the abundance animation (https://ebird.org/science/status-and-trends/daejun/abundance-map-weekly), they’ve largely migrated to the Northern United States and Canada by this time of year but should be returning in the fall. American Goldfinch in early April. While not a good photo, this was the first time since last year that I’d seen these birds. According to the animation (https://ebird.org/science/status-and-trends/amegfi/abundance-map-weekly), however, they could be present in my area throughout the year. Perhaps nonbreeding plumage or an overall lower density in winter help explain their apparent absence. Gray Catbird in late April. I remember seeing these dapper fellows last year and am pleased to have noted one’s arrival the other (rainy) day. According to the animation (https://ebird.org/science/status-and-trends/grycat/abundance-map-weekly), these birds spend the non-breeding season along the Gulf Coast, the Caribbean, and in parts of Central America before moving into the midwest and northeastern parts of the United States. Travel safe, bird friends!

I have recently seen an American Goldfinch here with still winter plummage and was surprised at how bright yellow he will become.  The other surprise I had...I did not know that loons look so different in winter.  If I have seen them I don't think I would recognize them.  Thanks!

Activity #1: I was interested to learn that the Northern Cardinal is a year-found bird in NE U.S. (the abundance didn't really change throughout the year); whereas the Blackburnian Warbler only summers in the NE U.S., while wintering in Northern South America. The tanagers were very different: the Scarlet Tanager is a migrant, living in the NE U.S. May-Sept, and wintering way down in northern and northwestern South America. The Western Tanager lives in western U.S. about May-Sept., and winters in Mexico and Central America (it doesn't go as far as the Scarlet Tanager). The ruby-throated hummer lives in the Eastern U.S. and southern Canada about May-Sept., and winters in southern Mexico and Central America...whereas the rufous hummer lives in western U.S. (NW mostly) May-Sept., and winters in southern Mexico. As for the sandhill cranes, they summer in northern Canada and Alaska (which surprised me), and winter in FL and TX; whereas the smaller yellow-bellied flycatchers summer way up in western Canada and NE U.S., and winter in Central America. Activity#2: I've seen the following three birds year round in NY: Northern Cardinal, Chickadee, and Rock Pigeon....although I didn't see many Chickadees this winter (someone said they were cyclical, so I hope we see more next winter.) Three birds I see onl part of the year are Scarlet Tanager (which winter in Central America); Wood Thrush, and Yellow Warbler, which winters in northern and Central America. Activity #3: In summer, NY Goldfinches have their black caps, and bright yellow breast and back. In winter, the black cap disappears, and their yellow is very pale. But, I noticed that the black wings with white wing bars stay year-round. As for the Common Loons: in summer, they have a dark black head, striped necklace, and checkered back; whereas in winter the black in the head and the checkered back are muted, and there's no necklace. The neck and breast are white. Activity#4: Now (April) in NYC's Inwood Hill Park, I'm seeing Northern Cardinals, Robins, Rock Pigeons, Starlings, Mockingbirds, Flickers, House Sparrows...the spring migration (which  I think peaks in May) hasn't really started yet. In six months, I'll probably see most of these same birds, many of which don't migrate. If I see migrating warblers in May, they won't be here in six months.

Being a beginning birder I don’t know species names so it is difficult to use ebirder quickly.Or maybe there is a trick to accessing common names to do a search.Thanks for any advice. Carol