Oscar Scherer in Osprey, FL is home to the scrub jay. I have been lucky to have seen 5 of these recently. The terrain is mostly bushes from 3 to 6 feet w scattered trees. One bird serves as the lookout on the bush while the others feed. Myakka State Park is not far from Oscar Scherer, but the environment is totally different. Dense trees and shrubs through most of the park. Red shouldered hawks, and other rapters abound. Several lakes, so there is an abundance of water fowl—herons, spoonbills, and anhingas are just a few. Not an environment for scrub jays.

I live on the edge of a mixed forest in the US Southeast - lots of birds that go into the edges of woods: thrashers, woodpeckers, nuthatches, titmice (titmouses?). Nearby is a small lake: ducks, geese, and at least for a time, a great blue heron. Some of the woods-dwellers go over there, like the jays and mockingbirds too since the trees are so thick right around the lake.

My backyard has the typical neighborhood birds: robins, cardinals, blue jays, mourning doves, grackles, sparrows, crows, woodpeckers. The area around my house is lawn and some trees. On the other hand, we visited a protected waterfowl production area last week. Osprey, American coot, blue heron, teals, mallards, and more. We are blessed to live in an area with several state parks and protected nature areas nearby (Aldo Leopold country!) As we begin this new birding journey we plan to explore many different habitats.

I completed Activity 2, Option 2 - Two spots outside London: Down House (home of Charles Darwin) and Sevenoaks (a nearby wildlife reserve).

• Can you see differences in the types of birds at those two locations? Yes! First, there are many more species sighted at Sevenoaks. Second, the birds at Down House are smaller, while the birds at Sevenoaks are larger.
• Can you use which species are present to conclude anything about the type of habitat at each location? Yes! I would conclude that Sevenoaks has a lake or pond since there are so many waterbirds (i.e., ducks). I would also guess that perhaps people feed the birds at Down House since the species are ones that tend to be seen where there is a lot of human activity (i.e., pigeons).

My backyard:  I hear a lot more than I see recently.   Crows in the distance, robins and cardinals nearby, woodpeckers drumming.   Hardly any of the usual nuthatches, blue jays, hairy, downy and red-bellied woodpeckers have been frequenting the feeder.   Fresh seed put in last week has hardly been touched. Bass Ponds, Hennepin County, Minnesota:   Again, don’t hear much and see even less.   Really big area.  I wouldn’t be surprised if more birds were in the remote areas.

My backyard: Mature trees, one of which is dying, some bushes in the Murphy’s yard where small birds hang out in between trips to the feeders.   Also, some rhododendron bushes, in which I’ve never seen a bird.   Small yard has direct sun about six hours a day.   Two scotch pines provide mottled shade.    Two feeders, one with shelled peanuts, the other with a mix with a lot of sunflower seeds.  The Murphy’s also have feeders, I’m not sure what they use. The only thing that I think makes our yard appealing to the birds is the proximity of cover to the food and a birdbath. Bass Ponds: Minnesota River valley, extremely wide and flat flood plane with mature vegetation and lots of water.  Would seem to be ideal spot for water birds.  Also lots of trees on the bluff edges provide cover and nesting for woodpeckers and songbirds.

The first is the area around my house and neighborhood.    It mostly its open with scattered trees.   So we have typical birds like robins, sparrows, crows and juncos.   Near our house we have some house finches.    In the boulevard between the roads I can see killdeer.      For my second area I went to a park reserve nearby where there are several lakes and ponds.    In the land between the water I can see all of the same birds as above but in the ponds I was able to see Canada geese, Mallards, a hooded Merganser, a green winged merganser and I think a Ring necked duck.   These last 3 were likely migrating thru but I will have to check back to be sure they are not residents.   Obviously the birds stick to the area to which they are most adapted.   They were all foraging in their particular way.    The robins are looking for worms and maybe some berries.   The ducks are getting plant material from the pond.   It is really quite true to say that if you want to find a particular bird you need to know what it eats and where that may be found.

1. Lake edge with muddy flats. Bonaparte’s gulls wading and swimming, eating in the water. Several ducks swimming, diving. 2. Tree lined trail leading to the lake. Tufted titmouse, northern cardinals in trees.  

I live on a river not far from a grassy bay, so I often see shore birds and water birds: yellow leg sandpipers, snipes, nine different kinds of ducks including various divers and dippers, great blue herons, geese, loons. Also my favourite the red winged black bird loves the grassy bay. and well as king fishers and king birds zipping along the shore. Across the road from our rural home is hundreds of acres of forest so I have heard the wood thrush, various warblers, sparrows, finches and occasionally the barred owl and cat bird, broad winged hawk, eagle, hawk owl. Regularly wild turkeys cross our yard from the forest taking their daily walk to the river. I find it so much fun to now be able to identify so many of my feathered neighbours.   Thank-you so much for these courses.

One of my favorite places to go birding is along a 3.5 mile fitness trail at Camp Murray, a National Guard Camp that sits on American Lake near Tacoma Washington.  Along the lakefront portion of the trail I observe a lot of seabirds and duck species and as I reach the inland part of the trail the mix turns into finches, hummingbirds, sparrows, and juncos. Even with the range maps and recommendations from Merlin, I am still hesitant to confirm an observation until I know beyond a shadow of a doubt what the species is.  The reason for this is climate change related.  Over the last few years, our winter weather patterns in Western Washington have changed (the couple of years prior to this one, Mount Rainier was turning brown during the summer as the ever present snow was melting and Mount Saint Helens had very little).  Have any studies been done on how climate change is impacting habitat and the migratory patterns?

Roger Road is located in an urban setting, near the Santa Cruz River and Sweetwater Wetlands Park.  As a result, there are many species of waterfowl recorded for the area, as well as many song birds.  There are a number of suburban areas nearby with trees associated with houses; there also appear to be sewage processing holding ponds in the area.  Actually, the landscape looks totally unnatural.  The other locale, Mt. Lemmon, is located in a forested, natural habitat.  The bird lists contain many songbirds, predatory birds, and a variety of woodpeckers.

On the lake where I live there are so many different species of birds. In the water, mallard ducks, tundra swans, buffleheads and mergansers are common waterfowl today. Along the shore bonaparte's gulls, herring gulls, ring-billed gulls and sandhill cranes forage for food. For the first time, I am noticing the different methods they use to obtain food and how they survive together in this habitat. In the nearby forest, I can see bluejays, many varieties of sparrows, nuthatches and chickadees. I was looking for pileated woodpecker to observe their foraging but was not able to locate one. On my bucket list.

In my community, I can walk to a variety of habitats--deciduous forest, some more open areas, and a pond surrounded by both pine groves and deciduous forest. Unfortunately, the homeowner's association mows the common areas, including around the large pond, as if the areas were part of a golf course--i.e., mowing goes right to the pond's edge, leaving little room for natural growth to act as cover.  In open areas, vegetation is mowed as if it were part of a suburban front lawn. More willingness to allow for natural, unmanicured growth would increase species diversity.  Regardless of that issue, each habitat in the community has its unique inhabitants. By the pine forests, I can find Ruby- and Golden-Crowned Kinglets; at the pond, I see Great Blue Herons and sometimes Green Herons, and in the winter months, we're graced with Buffleheads, Hooded Mergansers, Mallards, and an occasional group of Ring-Necked Ducks.  Brushy areas on the back of the dam of the main pond create habitat for White-Throated and Song Sparrows, and Lincoln Sparrows during migration, along with Carolina and Winter Wrens. Thrushes and Waterthrushes appear by the stream in spring and summer. The ubiquitous Chickadees, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Tufted Titmouses (mice?), White-Throated Sparrows and crows (American and Fish) can be seen year round in many of these locations.

:) I like birds. I’ve seen European Starlings, American Crows, American Robins and Blackbirds near me in Arlington, VA.

Our suburban neighborhood is largely arboreal with many large, mature trees such as oaks and sycamores. They attract woodpeckers, blue jays, nuthatches. Yards are planted with hedgerows and bushes that shelter sparrows, wrens, finches and titmice. There are also nearby parks with ponds and streams that attract redwing blackbirds and mallards. The Roger Road refuge is clearly home to a wide variety of water fowl and arboreal inhabitants. It must be a large and diverse ecosystem, perhaps with woods in close proximity to a large body of water. Doesn't seem to attract species that prefer open habitat. Mt. Lemmon, on the other hand, has hardly any waterfowl, and seems to combine forest and open areas based on the species sighted.

I chose the two AZ spots, being a graduate of the University of AZ... Clearly Roger Road is near water, since there are so many species of ducks and other waterfowl.  But there are also many sightings of species like flycatchers, warblers, kinglets and wrens that require some understory so I imagine it being a brushy type habitat with some desert trees.  Mt. Lemmon has more birds of prey, woodpeckers, and, and owls that might require suitable trees for food and homes.  The top of Mt. Lemmon is a much hire elevation and vegetation is so different than at its base - but maybe that is cheating!

I would guess, the first place, ROGER ROAD, is near, or on some water. There are many more ducks, and forms of ducks, listed on the list. There must be some shrubs, and bushes. Because there are a lot of birds that need cover, and are perching birds , or tree foragers.   MT. LEMMON, seems to have no waterfowl. And a lot of raptors, or birds that are not 'home dependent' on a watery home. The birds listed are perchers ? Or tree foragers, and must be birds that are not living in, or on, or near water. No, or little waterfowl listed. My guess.???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

ACTIVITY 1 - There is a cemetery, that always has the same group of birds. Blue Jays, Geese, Robins, and Swans. It is located in an urban area, in WALTHAM MA. It has the same exact birds, the 2-3 times I have  been there. The river, has Swans. Swimming by. The bushes, have birds, that live in the berried trees, by the river. And there are always Blue Jays, and Geese, in the cemetery as well.   In Concord Ma., there is a wildlife reservation, with a lot of more wild, less urban birds. Ospreys, Blue Heron, Red-Winged BlackBirds, and even non-birds, muskrats, and turtles. There seems, to be, an appreciation of nature, here. There is less man made landscapes, IN this area. And it is more inviting to wilder birds. I have seen Swans here, and Geese. But no Blue Herons' in Waltham.

1. An area where I go birding is an island in a river, it has woodland areas where I see kinglets, chickadees, in some sections Ive seen waxwings and flickers, then when you round the trail it opens up on a beach where Ive seen wintering sandhill cranes, geese, cormorants, and plovers. 2. While there are some birds in both locations in Arizona, like kinglets and finches, there appear to be zero water birds in the Mt. Lemmon area leading me to believe that this area is more forested or lowland forest like, where as the Roger Road obviously has some water near by for their to be so many waterfowl sighted, it does not appear there is water at this location in summer just in the winter months.

I have found a lot of birding spots in My neighborhood. There is a large forest that has trails through it that goes near a river and marsh, and an excellent field with a small creek running through it where I have seen sparrows, hawks, chickadees, warblers, and multiple owls.

Two different areas where I go birding are a coastal location and one further into the mountains. There are many similarities in regards to passerine species, but there are many more shorebirds and wading birds at the coastal location. However, I think that the ponds and lakes at the more mountainous location attract a number of waterfowl. For the second activity, I chose the Arizona locations. Given the number of waterfowl, shorebirds and seabirds, as well as a range of passerines like warblers seen at Roger's road, I expected it to be a region with a body of water, lots of trees, and close to the ocean. The backgrounds of the photos confirmed my theories of trees and water, but looking at a the eBird hotspot map disproved my idea of it being anywhere close to the ocean. However, then where did the sightings of gulls, cormorants and a pelican come from? Looking at the comments on some of the sightings, it seems that many of them were very rare and seen in flight. For Mt. Lemmon, given the fact that it is presumably a mountain, as well as the much reduced numbers of water-dwelling birds and increased numbers of birds that one would associate with a shrubby mountainous environment, like many birds of prey, sparrows and other small passerines, I expected it to be mountainous terrain. Looking at the photos attached to various checklists, it does look like it is a mountainous region, although with more large trees than I had expected.

Activity 1: In my suburban backyard, I have observed house sparrows, cardinals, robins, blue jays, goldfinches, pine siskins, crows, red bellied woodpeckers, house finches, Carolina wrens, dark eyed juncos,  and cedar waxwings at various times of the year. Just south of my home is a park with a creek running through it, a restored prairie with various tall grasses, and an open area where people fly kites. In the open area, a red tailed hawk caught something on the ground and ate it. On the trail through the tall prairie grass, I ran into a male ringed neck pheasant which also hangs out in the shrubs along a fenced area near the park. We have nest boxes for tree swallows at this same park and we get to watch their aerial acrobatics in the spring. Of course, we also have plenty of red winged blackbirds who nest along the creek and sing during the summer.  Mallards also visit this same creek. Many of my backyard birds such as the robins and sparrows are easy to spot at the park, too, but the red winged blackbirds stay near the water along with the ducks.

Activity 2: I chose to review the species reported on eBird Checklists at Roger Road and Mt Lemmon in Arizona for this exercise. At Roger Road, I am guessing this is a lowland - wetland habitat as ducks, grebes, Coots, Egrets were observed.  Also birds that prefer to be near the edge of water with some trees like woodpeckers and hawks, and low brush or high grass like sparrows and flycatchers. At Mt. Lemmon - ravens, jays, nuthatch, woodpeckers, wrens, bluebirds, thrush, crossbill and warblers were observed.  I am guessing that this is not a water habitat, but a mountainous habitat with trees and low brush were these species can forage and hide from predators.

Activity 1.  I have some settling ponds that are down by the Harbor and an estuary of a small river that does not flow year round.  Even though these two locations are only a mile or so apart both areas have habitats quite different.  When I am at the estuary, I am likely to see a lot of shore birds like Willets, Sanderlings, Marbled Godwits, Long-billed Curlews, Sandpipers, several Gulls, Brown Pelicans, and during breeding with luck Snowy Plovers and Least Terns. The settling ponds have lots of waterfowl like Mallards, Gadwalls, Ruddy Ducks, Canadian Goose as well as a wide variety of migrant birds.  Western Grebes, Eared grebes, Pied-billed Grebes, Clark’s Grebes, and American Coots are often sited.  There are Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Great Egrets, and Snowy Egrets year round.  There are lots of scrubs and bushy trees so that brings Tree Swallow, Belted Kingfisher, Black Phoebe, Say’s Phoebe, House Sparrows, Song Sparrows, American Goldfinch, Brewer’s Blackbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Great-tails Grackle.  I am amazed at how close physically two habits can be and some birds will be visible in both, but mostly the food for the different species seem keep them apart.   Activity 2.  I checked out the Arizona hotspots for Roger Road and the species list had a large amount of water fowl and birds that marshy areas, I would expect to see a pond or lake with bushes and trees.  I also saw smaller numbers in migrating birds.  I looked up the location and my guess was right on.  I checked out the Mr. Lemmon and with the number of mountain birds, birds of prey, and species that like mountain elevations, I expected wilderness with Conifer and Pine trees.  I looked up the location and was two for two. Pat