Cape May is one of the most popular birding areas near me, and I would expect to see many migratory birds there on their way to the south (their names, I wouldn't know.) It's why I would stipulate that the Cape May Birding Festival occurs in October of every year.

Breeding plumage vs non-breeding plumage seems to be bright stand-out coloured plumage for summer and duller more camouflage plumage for winter. Perhaps the bright colours are to attract a mate during breeding season? The duller colours during non breeding plumage are perhaps to camouflage with their surroundings more? This would be useful for water birds, as I believe they go through a period of molt where they are unable to fly, so it would benefit them to blend in with their surrounds so as to not be seen as well by predators.

Activity 1: Northern Cardinal doesn’t migrate that much throughout the year-stays primarily in the U.S. and a few areas in Mexico year round. Blackburnian Warbler travels great distances- wintering primarily in South America and parts of Central America, and migrating to northern U.S. and Canada for breeding season. Scarlet Tanager winters in South America and migrates to central and eastern U.S. and parts of Canada during breeding season. Western Tanager winters along the coasts of Central America and Mexico and migrates to western U.S. and Canada during breeding season. Ruby-throated Hummingbird winters in Mexico and Central America and migrates to central and eastern U.S. and parts of Canada during breeding season-very spread out in those areas. Rufous Hummingbird winters in Mexico and migrates to coastal areas of western U.S. and Canada for spring, then spreads out southward into western U.S. in summer- perhaps following the food/flower supply. Yellow-bellied flycatcher winters in southern Mexico and Central America, and migrates to far northern portions of western, central and eastern Canada as well as New England. Sandhill Crane breaks up into different groups that winter in southern U.S., Mexico, and Florida; they summer in various parts of northern Canada and the U.S.-some birds remain in Florida all year round. Activity 2:  Birds that do not winter in my area that I have seen: Snowy Egret, Osprey, and Great Blue Heron. Birds that are found year-round in my area that I have seen: Peregrine Falcon, American Robin and Northern Cardinal. Activity 3: American Goldfinch in summer is bright yellow with black wings and tail and beak is bright orange; in winter their yellow is muted and blended with beige-their beaks are brown/black. Common Loons in summer have strikingly beautiful white and black stripes and checker pattern on neck and body,  black head/hood with a teal band around the neck, black beak; in winter the dorsal side of bird is a muted brown/black and the underside from beak to tail is white, whitish beak with black blended in part of it. Activity 4: Favorite birding spot is DeKorte Park wetlands. Expect to see now in September but won’t see them in March: Laughing Gull, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Osprey, Snowy Egret, Spotted Sandpiper.

Activity 4: One of my favorite places to go birding is the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Boynton Beach FL. it's a great oasis for many wadding birds and the breeding season is amazing. there is always some birds of many species but during the breeding season there a lot of birds of many species. It's great because it not only has the wetlands it also has a little wooded area too so even more species. If i recall the 2 bird species that have large quantities of nests in the area are the Wood Stork and Anhingas. A random trip there no matter the season will likely see herons, egrets, gallinules and various waterfowl. I'm excited to visit there again with all this new found bird knowledge in hopes to ID even more birds.

Activity 3: The male American Goldfinch in summer is this brilliant bird of yellow with dramatic black wings with some white bars on the wings and some percent of their head wearing a black cap. The winter bird loses its brilliant yellow color for a more muted yellow or more tan color. the dramatic black wings remain, with the white bars. I have not seen this bird in person. They seem to be infrequent in South Florida, only in the winter in some areas, but I will keep my eyes open for that winter plumage.  The Common Loon has some striking plumage in the summer. A jet black head with a checkered body. His neck has some black and white stripes with a bit of iridescent color. The winter bird looks completely different in his plumage. he loses his flash and turns to a drab bird with a grey black back side, neck and head and a white under side and throat. I have not seen a Common loon. they don't seem to make it to south Florida and they come through Chincoteague VA in the winter when I will not be here. they are in northern Canada in the spring and summer. Maybe one day I'll get to see that breeding plumage in person, very stunning.

Activity 2: Three species in my area (Chincoteague, VA) that are year round residents would be the Canada goose, the American Oystercatcher, and the Bald Eagle. I have seen all of these species in the area. the Canada goose on a daily basis, the Bald Eagle just once or twice and the American Oystercatcher somewhere in between those frequencies. Three species that only live in the area for part of the year is the Merlin, the ruby throated hummingbird and the great crested flycatcher. I have not seen the Merlin but they show up and stay in the fall and winter and I'm only here for the summer. I'm sure they show up for the travelling waterfowl. The ruby throated hummingbird I have seen. they are here for the spring and summer months. I've seen a few in the time I've been here. The great crested flycatcher I have not seen. They are also here for the spring through beginning of fall months. I've listened to their calls and they don't sound completely foreign to me so maybe I have heard them and didn't even know it. I will definitely be on the look out and listen out for them during my remaining time here.

Activity 1: It was so interesting to see the different range maps and migrations of these chosen species. With the Cardinal I noticed there wasn't really any migration maybe just a bit here and there. For the most part cardinals are around year round. The Blackburnian Warblers winter in the north western countries of South America. The abundance has an interesting pattern, maybe influenced by a river or mountains. They summer in Canada and the Northeast states of U.S. It looks like their path is north through central American countries and south Mexico and then they fly over the gulf perhaps. The Scarlet Tanager winters in the northwest countries of South America and summers in Northeast U.S and Canada. Their summers abundance show a high abundance in and around the Appalachian mountains. The Western Tanager winters in Mexico and the central America countries. They summer in western U.S and Canada. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird winters in the South of Mexico and the central American countries. they summer in the east half of U.S and some in Canada. The Rufous Hummingbird winters in Mexico and spends the summer on the west coast of U.S and Canada. I found their migrations interesting. Travelling North they really stay along the coast. Travelling South they spread further east into Texas. Maybe has something to do with the Rocky mountains and weather at the different times of year. The Sandhill Crane spends the winters in dense populations in Texas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and California and some other states. They spend the summer s in North Canada and Alaska with some populations in northern U.S states like Montana, Idaho, Michigan with an outlier population in Florida. Their migration path is interesting too. Headed North they stay in their respective flyways and merge together in the Central Northern States, then spread north all over Canada. The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher winters in central American countries and spends the summers in Eastern Canada and some in western Canada. They migrate through Mexico and central U.S than spreads out throughout Canada. These migration paths are so interesting. I'd love to see their relations to elevations of the land.

Activity 2: The three birds that live around in my area all year around are the American Goldfinch, the Cedar Waxwing, and the Mallard. The other three birds however that only stay in my area for a bit and migrate are the Dark-eyed junco, the Chipping Sparrow, and the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The birds I listed that stay all year around I would see them quite often at my bird feeders or hiking and would see the ducks mostly Mallards at a pond or a lake. The birds that pass through are the Dark-eyed junco and at the time I did not know what they were are until I started looking through my bird identification books. The Chipping Sparrow was a bird I never saw before in the area. I read how they would come by here in the summer time for breeding and would go South. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak I saw in the begging of May going to my feeders. These birds migrate late in the spring and early in the fall.

• Activity 2: Migrant birds: Golden-crowned Sparrow, Green Heron, Chipping Sparrow.
• I chose these three because I see the Golden-crowns a lot when they're here, the Heron rarely, and I've only gotten one Chipping Sparrow, and that after an exhaustive study of one recording I had during peak migration. I can never find that thing, especially in my home county; every time I think I've got it for sure this time, I track it down and it's a Dark-eyed Junco. doing it's level-best to sound just like a Chipping Sparrow. We are just barely on the western fringes of their breeding range here in the northern Willamette Valley, but while not exactly common, they don't appear to be too rare here. Except for me.
• Green Herons I've gotten better at finding, or maybe they're just more abundant here during the summer than during earlier migration; I've birded with varying degrees of intensity for a decade or so now, but this is my first year of birding every day for months on end so I'm still learning so much. This is also not exactly a Green Heron hot spot, but they are here.
• I consider the GC to be my 'spark sparrow;' when I first started birding and saw these chubby little guys with the brilliant yellow and white crown stripes I just thought they were the coolest thing ever, and I miss them when they're gone. I'm really hoping to get one for my back yard list one day, but I don't think I have the right habitat. Maybe one'll pass through for me someday while I happen to be watching or listening.
• My year-round birds are the Dark-eyed Junco, American Robin and Great Blue Heron. I was under the mistaken impression that the Juncos were snowbirds here; (we mostly get the Oregon group (appropriate, being that I live in Oregon) but I have gotten one of the much more rare (for here) cismontane 'Cassiar' juncos, so that was really cool. Saw him twice a week apart, hanging with some Oregon birds way out in the woods. We appear to be at the northern edge of a patch in the Willamette Valley where they disappear for part of the summer, and while I do get them much more rarely now, I don't think they ever disappear entirely. But I enjoy the flocks that come to scratch in my yard in the winter.
• Robins, the quintessential American bird. I was surprised to find that they migrate because they seem so common, but they are much more scarce around here these days than they were  a couple months ago. When the Western Tanagers and Black-headed Grosbeaks arrive it can sometimes drive me crazy trying to suss out the songs between the three, but I keep getting better the more I listen.
• The Great Blue Heron is another favorite. Herons remind me that birds are dinosaurs maybe more than any other bird; I always find myself very glad that I'm not a fish or a frog whenever I spot any type of heron on the hunt. They are the official city bird of Portland; they are very abundant here because it's so wet, but they are fairly common throughout most of the state. There's been a push for some time to change the Oregon state bird from the Western Meadowlark to the Great Blue. Nothing against the Meadowlark, other than it's the state bird for like 6 states, and so far as I know, the Great Blue isn't the official bird of any state. Some originality here, please.
• Activity 4: My favorite local spot is Boardman Wetlands, and the birds I most expect to find here now are Mallards (always), Red-winged Blackbirds, and Song Sparrows. In 6 months there will probably be a lot of Green-winged Teal, and some Buffleheads and if I'm lucky some Common Mergansers, which are my spark bird.

For activity 2 I will briefly describe 3 birds that are residents in my area, and then find 3 likely birds I would see in my area 6 months from now.

• Residents: House finch, American Crow, and Mourning Dove.

I regularly see these birds in my neighborhood year round. The house finches are very timid of my presence, much less so than the larger mourning doves. The american crows enjoy perching on bare branches around the neighborhood or the street lights. Sometimes I see groups of three foraging or calling, too.

• Migrants: White crowned sparrow, Ruby Crowned Kinglet, American Pipit.

The white-crowned sparrows are my favorite migrant here. I first noticed them during my time in college, and noted their disappearance in the spring and summer before I started birdwatching. They are present in some U.S. areas year round, but here they are non-breeding during the winter and fall. The Ruby Crowned Kinglet is a bird I only recently learned was migratory. I no longer hear its short grating calls in the bushes or trees this season, but look forward to seeing them again, months from now. I've seen large flocks of American pipits in a local community park in the grass. After looking at their distribution on the ebird app, I do notice that I haven't seen any recently. They arrive here in the fall and stay up until late spring.

In my community, Canada geese, mallards, blue jays, bald eagles, and mourning doves are year-round residents.  The arrival of American robins and red-winged blackbirds are an event every March.  This year I hope to see an Eastern bluebird, which lives here in summer and fall.  I've never seen one! The animated range maps are fascinating.  Watching the migration patterns over my state was very enlightening.

I chose to complete Activity 3 since I recently got a finch feeder. I had no idea that the color differences in the male American goldfinches were so different! I *think* I've actually been seeing them without realizing who they were!

I like loons, but only was familiar with summer common loons. As I got more into birding in the last few years, I became familiar with winter common loons. I didn't realize they changed coloration for some reason, until I saw an injured one near my park. I called on it and they captured it for rehab. There's not a lot that stick around our area--most just pass through on their way to northern Michigan. Because of the color change in another group of birds, I signed up for the course on warblers so I can identify them better when they pass through in spring and fall.

Birds that are here all year Canada Geese- even though I live in Seattle, not Canada, the Canada Goose is a year round resident at my local lake. They are huge and messy and aggressive on land. They seem much less vexing when they are on the water. Black Capped Chickadee - mentioned in the opening video to this module, this little bird is a year round resident and is pretty easy to see and hear in neighborhoods. Glaucous Winged Gull - I live near the water and this gull is by far the most common in the area.   Birds that Migrate  - I took a waterfowl class and lots of ducks come to the Puget Sound area from Canada and Alaska to overwinter. Horned Grebe - a small slender diving duck that I've confused with the Western Grebe. Brant - a large elegant duck that I've seen in recent weeks in large flocks that challenged my bird counting abilities. American Wigeon - A medium sized duck that I often see hanging out in large flocks.

Activity 2: I've seen tons of the year round residents: cardinal, blue jay, red-bellied woodpecker, tufted titmouse...lots more. For part-timers, this year I met pine siskins. I've seen hooded mergansers, which according to Merlin are "likely" in my zip code but not year-round, although the map does say that this area is within their year-round habitat. Still hoping to see some sandhillls fly over...

Activity 1: Northern Cardinal (Doesn’t change location much, but amount does change.)  with Blackburnian Warbler (moves a long distance) Scarlet Tanager with Western Tanager  Similar but opposite sides of the country.  Both go down to Central America. Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Eastern US down to Central America)  with Rufous Hummingbird (Mexico to Canada) Sandhill Crane (Alaska & Canada, Florida)  with Yellow-bellied (Eastern Canada & Central America) Flycatcher What stands out to you about them? What patterns do you notice? Does anything surprise you? Share your observations in the discussion. Activity 2: Year Round: Great Blue Heron,  Ring-Necked Pheasant, Mourning Dove Part of the Year:  Bald Eagle, Merlin, Red-Headed Woodpecker I’ve seen a Red-headed Woodpecker, and a Ring-Necked Pheasant.  I’ve heard a Mourning Dove. Activity 3: Goldfinches in winter have much more subdued colors than in summer. Black cap of summer is missing in winter. Loons in summer have vibrant greens and browns while those in winter have mostly dull browns and sometimes white. Loons in summer have a black & white pattern on their backs, but those in winter have patterns with less contrast. Activity 4: My favorite birding spot is the feeder outside our house.  I expect to find Red-winged Blackbirds, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves. In 6 months:  I expect to find these same birds.

#1) How interesting to see the variety in migrations. I could see that clockwise motion in a few, where I had always assumed migration was a symmetric boomerang! I could see that some birds move quickly whereas others slowly spread. #2) Here in Louisiana, I am likely to see Cardinals, mockingbirds and blue jays (backyard sightings confirm this), and we do get migrations of ruby-throated hummingbirds, indigo buntings, and great crested flycatchers more in the summer. #3) I would have assumed that the winter colors in these birds were juveniles. I hadn't realized that it could change so much from season to season.

I joined the Ontario birds group on Facebook. Every day there are amazing photographs of bird. Participants are always thrilled to spot a Northern Shrike, Snow Bunting or Ruby-throated hummingbird. Today I learned that these birds in fact only stay in my area for a certain portion of the year, so their sightings are unusual. On the other hand, Red-winged Blackbirds, Northern Flickers and Bald Eagles can be spotted easily any day of the year in my neighbourhood as they don't migrate.

Activity 1: Northern Cardinal is a short distance migrator.  The year round range is mostly in North America.  The Blackburnian warbler comes from South America through the gulf states on their way to northern North America.  A long distance migrator. Scarlet Tanager non-breeding territory is primarily western and central South America traveling through Central America into the gulf states and into upper Midwest, Midwest, and northeastern United States. The Western Tanager breeding season is located in Mexico and Central America with very little into South America.  They migrate primarily through Mexico into the western United States.  Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Rufous Hummingbird share a similar non-breeding territory, with the Ruby-throated extending through southern Mexico into Central America.  The Rufous being mostly central and western Mexico.  However, their breeding territories vary widely.  Rufous is primarily the Pacific Northwest and Western/Coastal Canada, southeastern Alaska.  The Ruby-throated is along the western bank states of the Mississippi River across the eastern half of the country up through eastern Canada. Sandhill Crane with Yellow-bellied Flycatcher are both long distance migrators, but the Yellow-bellied flycatcher travels what looks like a greater distance. The Sandhill goes from Alaska and north-central Canada, upper Midwest to Florida, the southeast, and Texas/Oklahoma.  Most migrate starting in mid-late April and make the travel north in May, then again in September, with some being as late as November. Activity 2: Three year round: Black-capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, and Northern Cardinal.  I am familiar with all of these species and see them regularly.  The Cardinal is one of the most vocal calling during much of the year with a distinct call and of course bright coloration of the males. Black-capped chickadees are quite common around feeders in suburban and wood/field areas.  Three rarely seen in our area:  Horned Lark, which I have seen once, Hoary Redpoll which I have never seen, and Rose-breasted Grossbeak, which we usually only see during the spring and summer breeding season. Activity 3: Both the Common loon and American Goldfinch male all lose their bright coloration. Though it seems the loons tend to lost more of the distinct color patterns in addition to their bright coloration (albeit only black and white).  Most of the Goldfinches yellow fades, but some of the black and white patterns remain. Activity 4: The Dark-eyed junco tends to disappear during July and reappears in August, likely during nestling and molting times. American Tree Sparrow is a November through May resident, not appearing during June through September, so is likely a short distance or migrator who breeds in southern Canada.

I loved watching the catbirds in my yard in Philadelphia last summer—when I started watching birds in April, they were a discovery that amazed me because they were everywhere and obvious but I had never noticed them before. Then, they disappeared. Now, having watched the animated map, I can see where they went and when! I was hoping to catch up with them when I came to Florida in early December, but no dice. Now, from the map, it seems I was a month late. But no worries, I will be back in Philly by the time they return.

I really enjoy watching birds during the summer on a lake in northern Wisconsin. It's breeding season, so we see common loons, bald eagles and osprey fishing and flying about. They apparently leave town during the winter, so they show some sense, except for the loon which actually heads north.

Male goldfinches lose their dramatic breeding colors in the winter. I have seen them retaining no more than a light glow of yellow. Their dark wing and light wing bars still make them stand out. The loon has a regal look during the summer as it patrols the northern lakes. Its winter plumage is far more understated and provides some camouflage against the drab winter landscape.

Three of my favorites are year-round residents: downy woodpecker, northern flicker and white-breasted nuthatch. We see the downy and the nuthatch on almost a daily basis, but the flicker has been scarce lately. Three I am on the lookout for are the red-breasted nuthatch, the eastern phoebe and the red-eyed vireo. The nuthatch is with us in non-breeding season, but we have sighted it but twice. The phoebe and the vireo visit during breeding season, so we will have to wait for spring.

The ruby-throated hummingbird is in our neighborhood from April to September and stretches its range all along the Atlantic coast into Canada. The rufous hummingbird has a similar migrating pattern along the Pacific coast with the relative abundance closely mirroring the ruby-throated along lines of latitude. The sandhill crane winters in tightly packed colonies in Texas and Florida and then spends its summers spread from the northern U.S. up through all of Canada to the Arctic circle. The yellow-bellied fly catcher, on the other hand, summers in a much tighter range concentrated in southeastern Canada.

The northern cardinal is a very steady inhabitant; its range does not vary with the seasons. The blackburnian warbler, on the other hand, migrates great distances from the Andes to eastern Canada. The scarlet tanager is also a great traveler, covering long distances from South America to eastern Canada, while the wester tanager keeps to the Pacific side of North America from Mexico in the winter to the American and Canadian west in the summer.