We were able to take a trip to Lake Michigan last weekend. About 2 hours from our home in the Northeast WI. This habitat showed us quite a few different water birds that we don't often see in our area. The most prominent was the seagull. Many of them hover over the lake to catch fish and other food. When Point Beach State park is busy with tourists by the pavilions, the seagulls also love to scavenge for food scraps from them. The other bird we saw was the Cormorants. While they are not as prevalent in this area as the seagulls, they are around. Lastly, we were able to see a killdeer on a sandy, grassy area up from the lake shore. Closer to our home in the woods of Wisconsin, we also have a large lake nearby where we also observe some of these same water birds, but not to the degree we observed at the larger Lake Michigan.

Today I went to a local park to try to recreate a recent virtual bird walk video from the county parks department, where the naturalist showed off the different habitats found in the park and therefore variety of birds common in each one.  The areas I walked through included grassland, upland forest, riparian forest, field, and a little bit of shrub-scrub wetland.  I could hear lots of birds but only see a few.  I was able to notice how the bird songs and calls changed from each area, and use Merlin to identify a few of the calls, like the field sparrow which I heard the entire loop around the grassland but nowhere else.  I'm also positive I heard an owl in the upland forest!! It sounded the closest to Great Horned Owl on Merlin (of the birds I compared it with).  Birds that I saw and ID'd with Merlin were a Warbling Vireo in the upland forest and a Tree Swallow at the edge of the forest and pond.

Activity 1 - The two areas I visited are a large recreational park near our home and a state park near our home. The interesting thing is that both are about a one mile walk from our home, and they have very different bird life. The recreational park is full of nesting parrots, and ravens emptying the fast food bags. Also the usual pigeons and sparrows. The habitats at this park include sycamore trees and pine trees, and at some times of the year, a small stream runs through it. The state park is a very different habitat, it is very dry chaparral, mountainous with more lush canyons, but otherwise pretty dry.  Today we saw huge birds soaring above the canyons, there were four of them. We saw them about a month ago also, so this must be their habitat. They were soaring at a high altitude, and so I never saw anything but the profile of them in the air. I believe they were turkey vultures, although it is not out of the range of possibility that they were California Condors. We also saw quail - the California State Bird - which I have never seen in the wild before. Pretty fun.

Today I visited Sydney Olympic Park where there is a great wetland reserve. I saw a Great Egret, White-faced Heron, and many Black-winged Stilts (which I adore), Black Swans, Fairy Wrens, Swallows, Black-fronted Dotterels, Silver Gulls, Royal Spoonbills, and Chestnut Teal ducks. The water on the reserve is shallow and marshy is many areas, and these were the places the Stilts and herons hung out. The ducks and swans were on islands and banks in the deeper areas. The Fairy Wrens were catching bugs in the shrubby area at the edge, and the swallows just swooped over the whole area, catching lunch. Notably absent were the Red-necked Avocets I saw in the warmer months amongst the Stilts. They must have migrated north for the winter. The pelicans that are usually in the area were also absent, and whilst I did see a few cormorants, they were not present is as many numbers. Hope you norther hemisphere birders are enjoying the abundance of birds in your areas!

Activity 2 As others have said, Roger Road must be near some kind of body of water, with over 250 sightings. The list included ducks, so maybe it was a pond. Mt. Lemmon had only 120 species listed and included many hawks and owls, indicating fields and meadows.

Activity 1-My favorite place to walk is Croton Point Park in Westchester, NY. It is located on the Hudson but also it has a capped landfill. The meadows of the landfill attracts red-tailed hawks, Northern Harriers, owls, and all kinds of sparrows. Croton Bay attracts waterfowl such as Mergansers, Buffleheads, and Great Blue Herons. It is famous for the Bald Eagles and their is an annual Eaglefest every winter.

Activity 1 I visited a local wilderness park that encompasses coastal sage scrub habitat as well as vernal ponds. In the sage scrub habitat, I observed several species, including a Great-Tailed Grackle and an Allen's Hummingbird. In the ponds, I observed a Snowy Egret as well as a Ruddy Duck. I also saw swallows and terns flying above the ponds, but I was not able to identify the exact species.

Activity 2: My initial thought,before looking at numbers or recorded sightings would be that Mt. Lemmon would have a bigger variety and see more birds but after looking at both sites more carefully and getting an idea of their location and habitats it makes sense that the number and types of birds. I am guessing a lot of birds migrate through there or make it a pit-stop. It seems smaller birds, song birds are very common whereas at Mt. Lemmon there are larger birds, perhaps less migratory? What an amazing spot that must be- so much to see and it must be pretty condensed because the park is not that big.

Activity 1 con't Rockefeller Preserve in Westchester County, NY is one of my favorite places to walk, especially around Swan Lake. Lots of different birds to see from those that make their home here most or all of the year Canada Geese to those that are passing through or just here for a short stay- Green Heron. There is so much wildlife to spot at this Park it never ceases to amaze and surprise. It is a welcoming spot, whether it be by or in the water or further into the woodlands or open fields- there is a place for so many species.

1. Near my parents home in Putnam County, NY, which is a development about 10 years old in which the builder leveled all the trees before building and just now are the new trees and more natural areas coming back. One of the neighbors has a few bluebird boxes hung up and the bluebirds and tree swallows take advantage of them every year. In the same development another neighbor has a few feeders hung up that attract 10-20 American Goldfinches as well as other birds at one time. It is a sparse area, not much other wildlife, some deer, a rare squirrel but the birds seem to have made their way back and found comfortable spots to feed and nest. Turkey vultures and a few hawks routinely fly over head. Canada Geese, Robins, finches, sparrow, swallows and bluebirds are common.

Tanagers were in the manmade pond/waterfall in my wooded yard. I also see many woodpeckers, cardinals, nuthatches, and starlings regularly. At the lake about a quarter of a mile down, there are blue herons, swans, mallards, geese and kingfishers. Occasionally eagles are present as well.

Activity 1:  Now that some of our local trails have opened, I had a chance to visit a nearby canyon trail. It has upland scrub, some limited riparian, and a pond at the beginning. I heard a lot more birds that I saw, but there were hummingbirds, and a California Thrasher in the scrub area, I heard some drumming in the trees in the riparian section, but was unable to locate the bird. Today there were no water birds at the pond, I have seen ducks and a great blue heron in the past. Activity 2: I looked at the species ebird lists for the 2 Arizona sites. The Roger Road site appears to have both shrubby/scrubby habitat types and some wetlands features, while the Mt. Lemmon site appeared to have more birds that like forested habitats.

Exploring 2 English e-bird hotspots At Down House (a home of Charles Darwin ) was described by Darwin as "being situated on rather high table-land, has somewhat of desolate air ... The charm of the place to me is that almost every field is intersected (as alas is our's) by one or more foot-paths— I never saw so many walks in any other country",  I used e-bird to screen just 2020 sightings and there were only 27 species seen by only 2 birders.  There were only birds of the fields and scattered forests.  No water birds of any kind.   The land has had a house for hundreds of years and there are enough old trees for a woodpecker population.  Several raptors were also observed and introduced species (ring necked pheasant) by the English gentry. Sevenoaks is a wildlife preserve which includes ponds (looks to be freshwater from map).  75 species were observed in the same 2020 period.  There were many water-birds including herons and ducks and geese.  There were most of the birds from the Down House as well. Similar to many of the observations from classmates in the course so far, the presence of water nearby enriches the variety of birds and their visibility.

Hi, all. I live in the southeast corner of British Columbia, Canada. I walk daily near 2 ponds and a larger lake in a park. I've seen ducks, hawks and bald eagles at the ponds and the lake. However, the lake is the only place I've seen loons, flycatchers and sandpipers. The ponds are the only place I've seen Red-winged Blackbirds. (This difference in sitings could be my own limited ability to see birds that are there.)  I live across the road from a vacant grass field. I hear different bird songs than I do on my walk through the park. I think I can identify the song of the Western Meadowlark which is the only bird I've identified in the field.

I looked at the bird sitings of Down House and Sevenoaks. I think Sevenoaks  must be an aquatic habitat  with a tidal pond and marsh/ wetlands as the birds sitings include  swimming birds, shore birds and sea birds. There bird sitings also included doves etc that are habitat sharers.  Down House  may be predominantly scrub-shrub (maybe a field) with a forested area. The sitings that made me think shrub-scrub were pheasants,  swallows, and larks.  I thought there was a forest because of the nuthatches, finches, jays and crows.

Exploring Bird Habitats Activty 1 visit 2 different habitats and look for differences In Estero FL (longer than usual due to COVID 19) and having hip issues so I went to my lanai (second story in a strip of big Live Oak trees and Palms) and  a spot on a nearby pond where I go all the time.  The rainy season has started and there is a rainy season puddle off my lanai making the sightings much more similar than they are in mid winter dry season. From lanai I only saw a blue jay in the tree but was slow with the camera and you all see them regularly.  Then a big bird flew in and landed in the puddle.  It was a little blue heron.  He stood still for a while and then dashed over to the edge of the puddle and speared a tree frog. He/she then went back to edge near the bushes and waited again.  A second one came but left quickly.  Based on the noises from the trees, most frogs have emerged from the pool and it is not yet full of this years crop of pollywogs and maturing frogs. When I went over to the pond I saw redwing blackbirds and two interesting waterside sites. One was a reddish egret (new bird for me this week) seen above with an Ibis. Below was where 2 of the ibis that are usually there went.  Lok in the tree to their right and there was also a great blue heron in a place one might expect a raptor. He was about 40 feet above the mangrove and most smaller pines.   I had seen the ibis but missed the great blue with out the aid of my 300mm of telephoto. I went to familiar places and saw unfamiliar sights.  Fun with birding..

I visited an area with open grassy fields alongside wetlands surrounded by a little bit of young forest. We were able to see Great Egrets, a Green Heron, and many Canada Geese in the wetlands, swallows and warblers in the grassy areas and trees, as well tons of Red-winged Blackbirds everywhere. In contrast, I live in an urban area, and the birds I observe are unlikely to be egrets and herons, but the Red-winged Blackbirds seem to really like it here too!

Activity 1:  We visited two of our favorite birding spots over the weekend.  The first one is Duranceau Park & Griggs Reservoir and the second is Walnut Woods Metro Park.  Both are in Columbus, Ohio.  The first area is the best area we've found to spot warblers, Baltimore Orioles, and river birds such as the Great Blue Heron.  The second area has two different sections - one section is meadow and open fields with ponds and the second section has tall trees, both deciduous and pine.  We have found Field Sparrows, Red-wing Blackbirds, Tree Swallows and numerous woodpeckers here. By the way, I observed a Great Blue Heron do the same side leg and wing stretch.  I never noticed any bird do this before until this course.  We also are loving the Merlin app!  My husband finally broke down and bought a good pair of binoculars on Amazon so he is much more interested now in birding with me than before.  I am noticing birds so much more now than I ever did before. Activity 2:  Both the Roger Road location in Arizona and the Sevenoaks location near London feature pond birds whereas the Mt. Lemmon and Down House locations have forest birds (and especially at Mt. Lemmon raptors).  These last two locations have a greater diversity of birds, not just waterfowl. Below are three photos of birds from our weekend birding, including a Canada Warbler, Indigo Bunting, and Red-eyed Vireo.

 We visited two local wooded trails (well known to us but now seen in a new light) with descriptions from our area Audubon birding map. The first site has a pond that attracts mallards, Wood Ducks, and (rarely) Green Herons. We didn't spot any ducks here although we had recently seen them at a National Wildlife Refuge Center (photo of mallard enclosed). One bonus of this hilly trail walk was noting we'd have a great high perch along this trail for viewing hawk migration in the fall. The second site visited was a trail alongside a creek that hosts large conifers and a shrubby understory used as habitat for migrant and wintering birds. We keep our Birding map in the car now---along with our binoculars!

Activity 1: I live in Maryland, and we have a very diverse habitat. In a commons by my house, there are 3 different habitats in small areas. It is a great birding area because of this diversity. First, there is a beautiful field bordering a forest, where we find robins, bluebirds, and sparrows. Then, as you get into the woods, we see warblers, thrushes, and woodpeckers. I recently spotted a black-throated green warbler on the edge of a field, which was a lifer for me. You then come out to a sizable creek, where warblers, sparrows, and shorebirds reside. There, I spotted an Osprey, which we have seen flying around our neighborhood. It’s amazing the birding hotspots you can find just mere blocks away from your home.

1.  Wooded  valleys with old growth eucalypts. Nesting hollows for Powerful Owls and Cockatoos. Smaller hollows for other parrots. Lower bushes and undergrowth provide cover for smaller birds such as honey eater species and Silver Eyes. River banks often occupied by ducks, gulls, herons etc. Grassy areas and open woodland have Magpies and parrots.

Activity 1.  The area I live in is a peninsula between the George’s and Wa

Activity 1: I visited the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge this past Sunday. It's a big nesting spot for Wood Storks, and there were literally hundreds if not thousands of those guys. At Harris Neck, you can find a lot of species of coastal birds and waterfowl. One I was unfamiliar with was the Black-bellied Whistling Duck (pictured), and I used Merlin to identify them. While I didn't see one that day, Harris Neck is also home to the Painted Bunting - one of my favorite birds! Since the refuge consists of saltwater marsh, grassland, mixed deciduous woods, and cropland, this is a great spot to view a great variety of bird species. As I'm typing this, I'm at another location: my town's local high school (about 30 minutes from the refuge). I'm the librarian there, and I am currently sitting outside waiting for students to drop off their library books for the end of the year. Anyway, I'm facing an open athletic field and a few medium-sized trees and bushes. Besides the bunny that is hopping from bush cluster to bush cluster, there are about ten or so Boat-Tailed Grackles (thanks again to Merlin!) who appear to spend most of their day around this spot. While you would probably find these at Harris Neck also, they are unavoidably noticeable here. They are loud and extremely visible. Not shy at all. There is a also a mockingbird that drops by occasionally. At any rate, this place is definitely NOT conducive to species like Wood Storks or Painted Buntings.

I visited a certain suburban neighborhood that was recently constructed, and it is very hard to find birds in it. There aren't any mature trees or open natural grassy areas in the neighborhood for foraging. It's just planted sod with hardly any weeds, and the inhabitants use lawn chemicals all the time. It's very sad. However you can find some birds if you know where to look. In the one tree that is medium-sized, lots of House Sparrows chirp. They may be seen hopping on the sidewalk too. House Finches live nearby in the gutter of one of the cookie-cutter homes. If you look up in the sky for a while, you can spot soaring Turkey Vultures looking for road kill. All these birds are generalists, and they are able to make a home in the uninviting neighborhood. A little walk to the edge of the neighborhood reveals a small area of habitat that is easy to look past. Perhaps it is the only "eyesore" in the entire place, although a necessary one. It is the drainage ditch, and the water-loving plants that grow in the center are unable to be mowed down. On the electrical poles and from the cattails is the song of the Red-Winged Blackbird, which prefers a wetland habitat. The ditch is only big enough for one family group, but at least it's something.