Joy of Birdwatching

One of my favorite birds is the White-Rumped Shama Their song is so beautiful I will never get tired of it. This is a male below

My favorite bird is the Northern Flicker. It looks incredible when flying and has a unique polka dot look. I get to see them a lot near my home.

After nearly 2 years of looking, I finally saw a Barred Owl last week! They are elusive!

Hmmm.  What group are wrens in?  I often recognize a wren because of its bill shape.

Great intro.  Didn't know birds could fly in their sleep!  Too crazy.  There is a barn swallow nest right out my hotel window.  4  hungry babies and parent(s) non-stop feeding them.  Is it just the mom or is dad helping out as well?

Activity 2: Today I saw a Bahama Mockingbird, a lifer for me. There was a Northern Mockingbird also in the area so I could compare and contrast them. I also used apps on my phone to help me verify my identification of the Bahama Mockingbird. I found the Bahama Mockingbird thanks to eBird's Rare Bird Alerts. I highly recommend subscribing to them in your area.

Activity #1: I first learned about the Wall of Birds after attending a Monarch Joint Venture webinar entitled: The Monarch Migrating Mural Project: Public Art as a Catalyst for Conservation. In this webinar, Jane Kim discussed her ongoing Monarch Migrating Campaign. She included the work she had done with the Wall of Birds and the same website we visited with this lesson. One of my favorites on the Wall is the Montezuma Quail. I just think they are super cute. I love the small head on the nice plump body.

Activity 3: This is one of my favorite birds which is active in my area right now, it is a Chinese Hwamei. I enjoy their song, which is very loud and long. I also like the white markings around the eye, it looks like a they are wearing a mask.

Activity 2: Today I found Barn Swallows flying low over the grass as it rained, they are listed in the lesson as song birds who are great flyers, I also saw many Eurasian Tree Sparrows bouncing around foraging in the wet grass, they were listed as Sparrows in the lesson. The third type I saw for this activity was a pair of Blue Rock-Thrush, one male and one female. They were listed in the others category of song birds.

Activity 2: went for a walk after this lesson and saw a woodpecker (Northern Flicker; red-shafted), I think a fly catcher (not sure what kind, but maybe a western wood pewee), songbird: American Robin, Eurasian Dove, Raptor (red-tailed hawk). Activity 3: I love all my neighborhood birds but am partial to American Robins and Black-Capped Chickadees. I like how the Robin runs along grass in the yard, as well as it’s song. I like the size and shape of the chickadees.

Today, on a walk around my neighborhood, I saw many cardinals (finches), a northern flicker (woodpecker), and some juvenile starlings, which I had to look up in Merlin since they were starling-shaped and sounded like starlings but were a plain grey rather than iridescent and speckled like adults!

Took this image a few weeks ago. I believe this is a juvenile; hummingbird; not sure if it is an Anna's Hummingbird or Allen's. In any case this is in my backyard, he seems to like the succulents and the flowers of a peach tree we have.

One of my favorites is the White Rumped Shama, and we have one that lives in our backyard.  His songs are absolutely fantastic, especially the amazing, intricate, rapid runs.

From Activity #3:   I got a new camera this spring, with a zoom lens that's actually capable of taking bird pix that are good enough to help with identification. Here's an Eastern Towhee, taken in April at a nature preserve near here. And here's a Wood Duck, taken at a metropark near my house. And here's a Northern Flicker. (ID's assisted by more knowledgeable friends.)

I enjoy watching birds in my yard, but I also am beginning to enjoy birding as we travel in our region.  My favorite bird is a Northern Cardinal. They are so brightly colored and are easy for me to see. I have several pairs that visit my feed station daily. I have also begun to discern the difference in the many small, brown or gray birds that visit my feeder, such as the Chipping Sparrow, House Finches (female and males) and Eastern Wood Pee-Wee.  I am using Merlin to hear bird calls and song as well to know what birds are making all that noise!

Activity 3 - There are wild turkeys in my neighborhood.  I can’t help but stop and watch them each time I see them.

For activity 3: My favorite bird that I see in our area is the Northern Flicker.  I love its little reddish "hat," its black and white spots, its golden yellow wing feathers, and its grey feet.  It is a woodpecker, but it pecks on the ground and I think it looks funny.  I think that it's a beautiful bird!

For activity two:  At the park I saw some kind of tern, lots of songbirds, and a nest with great horned owls. Within the category of songbirds, I was able to recognize the warblers because of the yellow coloring and their body shape, but some others were not as easy to differentiate to such a newbie like me. For activity three: my favorite bird in my neighborhood so far is the one I could recognize, a Cardinal. I like that the males are so brightly colored and easily noticeable, and once I see the male if I look around him I’ll see a female pretty much always. So I like that they seem to travel as a pair.

Yo vivo en el occidente de Guatemala y recientemente inicie con esta hermosa actividad de la observación de aves, me he dado cuenta que en mi ciudad hay pocos reportes de aves, y las personas le ponen poca atención por lo que me motiva a aprender mas y a colaborar porque las aves de mi ciudad sean mas conocidas, apreciadas y protegidas.  Del muro elegí un colibrí, me llaman mucho la atención y me cuesta mucho diferenciar las diferentes especies. En cuanto a la actividad 2, recientemente he observado un halcón Peregrino que es un ave rara en estos lugares, situación que me motiva en gran manera porque en realidad estoy en un campo poco explorado y genial en mi ciudad. Las aves comunes en mi vecindario son los gorriones, zopilotes y zanates, aunque también hay varios carpinteros belloteros.

I discovered this guy in a tree not far from where I live. Isn’t he a beauty?

Activity 2: I saw birds from the wading group (egrets and herons), the seabird group (pelican. cormorant), and the songbird group (Vermilion Flycatcher). I had help! I did a kayak intro to bird-watching tour this past weekend at Watson Lake in Prescott. They said it was unusual to see a pelican there, so that was cool! Activity 3: I like mourning doves because they are everywhere and easy to find and photograph, which makes them wonderful to practice photography on! (I recently got a camera.)

There are so many fascinating birds to choose from it's hard to narrow it down to one but my favorite would have to be the Arctic Tern for the insanely long distance it migrates annually. I sat on my patio for a while today and saw the usual visitors to my feeders, some House Finches and Sparrows, a California Towhee, and some Morning Doves. But then a tiny little yellow bird appeared and I couldn't get a good look at first because he was chasing bugs around inside the tree, then he took a break on an outer branch revealing the black stripe on his crown, a Wilson Warbler. So far there isn't a great variety of birds in the area where I live but the Doves are fun birds, they sound so sad at times but they are very friendly, they don't seem to mind if people are around the feeders or water, they fly right in and get a drink and a snack.

Activity 1: I picked the Northern Cardinal, Wood Duck, Great Blue Heron, and the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.  I've had some recent encounters with these birds so they stood out the most to me as ones I wanted to learn more about. Activity 2: 3 birds that I've seen recently are the Red-headed Woodpecker which is rare in my region, the Ruby-Crowned Kinglet which made an appearance outside my kitchen window this morning with that ruby crown exposed, and a male breeding plumage Yellow-Rumped Warbler. Activity 3: Unfortunately I don't have a photo of my favorite bird which I've seen in my neighborhood.  It is the Pied-billed Grebe https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pied-billed_Grebe/id . They are charming little aquatic birds frequently seen near ducks.  Their small size makes them look like a juvenile duck until one gets a closer look.  A sharp, thick bill with a black ring on it is the first distinguishing feature.  Unlike most ducks, they will completely submerge and stay down for quite a while.  They look wet when they return to the surface, unlike ducks with their waterproof plumage.  Their scruffy-looking feathers and childlike appearance remind me of my 4-year-old son which is one of the reasons these grebes are my favorite.  Another reason is these are a recent discovery for me; I had no idea they existed and if I have seen them before, they remained anonymous. In second place is the Black-bellied Whistling Duck.  I live in Missouri, so seeing a large group of these ducks (who mostly stay in Central America) at my neighborhood lake was quite a treat!  I have photos of these:  

enjoyed finding out about the download bird app[ which is free. I will need practice learning how to use it. Also the bird calls is very informative and helpful. hank you

• At Settle Falconry EnglandAt Falconry in Settle England

• At Falconry in Settle England

Activity #1: There are so many interesting birds on the Wall of Birds. I'm highlighting the Common Loon since it represents the sound of a summer visit to a local lake.  I particularly remember listening to the haunting call of the loon at night from our tent at Fish Lake, Alberta - truly magical! Activity #2: This week I've noticed the abundance of House Sparrows chirping outside.  Although they are a very common Songbird, their songs are a welcome sound in our backyard.  I've also seen a Downy Woodpecker visit a dead branch of our Mountain Ash to look for a tasty treat.  Lastly, I know there are a number of owls in our neighbourhood but have not yet seen them, but I'll be on the lookout for them! Activity #3: This week, for the first time, I observed a few family groups of White-winged Crossbills. It was fascinating to watch them select a spruce cone from the ground and then fly up with it to a spruce branch to eat their lunch.

Activity 1: I explored the Wall of Birds and was taken by the Red-legged Seriema from South America. Watching how the bird prepares its pray for consumption is amazing and the sounds this bird makes is very unique. Activity 2: We have quite a variety of birds in our yard but the ones that most impress me are the Norther Flicker, the Spotted Towhee and, and my favorite California Quail. We have built a substantial mound of brush and branches from our property for the Quail and many other birds to nest in. We are looking forward to the time when the parent birds will be parading around the yard with their little ones. Activity 3: As much as I love the California Quail, the Red Shoulder Hawk is by far my most favorite neighborhood bird. We have a nest in one of our Ponderosa Pine trees and this is the year for a new hawk family. The nest is not used every year. We have been watching the parent hawks feed each other and guard the nest as needed. One morning while sitting on my deck I could hear subtle chirping from the nestlings. It was so exciting. I am looking forward to the nestlings growing and venturing out of the nest to spread and try their wings. It is always a delight to observe this process.

Really enjoying learning about a whole new selection of songbirds, here in the US.  I am British and moved here from the UK in January 2022.  I am naturally inquisitive of comparison and look for like-for-like, chickadee to tit, [Eastern] bluebird to blackbird (Eurasian blackbird of the Thrush family). Blue Jay to Eurasian Jay etc.  I am also really enjoying the number of woodpeckers i have visiting my feeders, which were a very rare occurrence where i lived in the UK.  I am lucky to live in a very forested part of the US and my backyard is surrounded by wooded forest which attract an abundance of wildlife.  Apologies for the poor photograph - shot in fading light from the comfort of my armchair on my phone...on a whim!  But i love the little Downy!

I love how birds wait their turn at the feeder, the chickadee after the titmouse.

Activity #3. I recently moved to a new part of the country. One bird I have seen regularly in my yard and at my feeder is the Pinyon Jay. They come in droves to my feeder. I have since discovered that their numbers are declining because of habitat destruction. They need Pinyon Pines as a food source. A conservation group is studying the Pinyon Jays and has recruited citizen scientists to participate in studying them. Now they are one of my favorites because I am always looking for them and reporting when and where I see them.  (Bird ID) Jay. Jay

Activity#2 I recently moved to the Southwest from the east coast. I have learned so many new species. When I do see a new one, I am usually able to come close to identifying it the first time. I am pretty good on visual recognition, but I am trying to learn to identify common birds by their song.  Merlin has helped.

I have a pair of cardinals that I've been watching in my backyard for years. I don't know how long cardinals live, so I don't know which generation I am seeing, but it is such a joy when they appear, often together to charm us with their very existence. Sybille

Western bluebirds feeding on mealworms at a friend's house. I've been trying to lure them to our backyard, putting up multiple mealworm cups and filling them daily (white-crowned sparrows gobble them up, too).

Activity #1 I would really love to see a Shoebill someday. I have seen videos of them and they are so surreal looking. Activity #2 While walking around a local preserve I saw a Great Blue Heron catch and eat a fish. I also spotted a Red-Winged Black Bird hopping on the cat tails on the edge of the water. There was also a Pied-Billed Grebe that I was able to ID with it's call on the Merlin app. Activity #3 My favorite bird that I've seen in my neighborhood would have to be the Ring-necked Pheasant. They're so beautiful and it makes me happy seeing them because I know for a while they were endangered due to over hunting the males.

Activity 1:  They're not the flashiest, but I've always been fascinated by owls.  I'd love to see one someday! Activity 2:  In our neighborhood, I've seen birds from the crows/jay, titmice/chickadee, & woodpecker groups so far.  I just started birding a few months ago and am looking forward to hopefully seeing some spring robins soon! Activity 3:  My favorite birds are our resident crows/magpies.  They're fascinating to watch and listen to . . . and the crows loved our old dog and used to bring him bones!

This Northern Flicker has really enjoyed the suet cakes we put out this winter. We have an active bird feeder and a wide assortment of birds. This class is helping us to tell the difference between the large number of brown birds that visit.

Have enjoyed introductions to great variety of birds reading all entries submitted below. Thank you.

Goldfinch and Common Redpolls enjoying a Christmas gift

Tree Swallow

I spent an afternoon photographing humming birds (ruby throated). This is my favorite of a female.

Blackbird I photographed when I took my grandson to the local Zoo.

Activity #1 - It's so difficult to pick favorites from the Wall of Birds, even when you're allowed to pick more than one! I find parrots endearing, right down to the scratchy quality of some of their vocalizations (that might be more difficult for others to hear), so naturally the Blue-and-Yellow Macaw, Kakapo, and Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo make my "favorites" list. Of the non-parrots, I found myself drawn to the Atlantic Puffin and Superb Lyrebird, both of whom have an endearing appearance and vocalizations as well. Still, there are so many beautiful birds on this wall that I can go about but it would take awhile to get through them all! Activity #3 - Of my neighborhood birds, my favorite is the California Scrub Jay as the pair (with the male being a bit bolder personality-wise) won me over with their charisma and boisterousness. I still recall the first time I tossed in-shell unsalted peanuts to them while they were perched on a telephone wire. The male bobbed his body up and down a couple of times and made a dive for the peanuts which were just several feet away from me on the ground. Ever since then, as I've continued giving them peanuts, they'd make a soft "kuk kuk" vocalization around me. So cute. I also find their colors and markings beautiful.

Activity #1. I think my favorite bird would have to be the Albatross, the shear size and grace of these birds always astonishes me, and I'd love to see one in person one day. Activity #2. After going outside yesterday we were introduced to quite the variety of raptors, "other" songbirds, waterfowl and woodpeckers. Namely a massive group of bald eagles that decided to fly through the area, and a small kestrel chasing around a red tailed hawk. Other songbirds would have to belong to all the bohemian waxwings which another birder on the trail was kind enough to aid in ID'ing. The waterfowl seen were a bunch of common goldeneyes and a couple of mergansers which made their way into the flock. Finally a pileated woodpecker was seen hammering away at a branch before we were off again. Activity #3. My favorite neighborhood bird would have to belong to that kestrel. The speed and agility of the bird will always amaze me, along with it's persistant nature to chase down any other raptor in the area make it an easy favorite.

Activity #1. My favourite bird is the Albatross.  The year before Covid our family visited the Cornell Lab and I stood right in front of the painting of this beautiful bird.  I was in awe that all the birds are life-sized on the mural.  It is a very special place to visit.  Put it on your "Bucket List". Activity #3.  It is very hard for me to choose a favourite bird.  We are fortunate to live in a rural area.  Our yard is large and we have lots of trees and shrubs for bird habitat.  In winter, I love red-breasted nuthatches.  In summer, I love the orioles and house wrens.

Activity #3. I am a new birder. Yesterday, I confirmed identification of a large bird I've heard and seen swooping across the park outside my front windows over the past several weeks. I live on the third (and top) floor of a vintage building in Oak Park, Illinois. The building is just north of the Village's small downtown main street and faces longways into a block-long and -wide park with many mature trees. A fellow bird enthusiast in the building told me there is a Cooper's Hawk living in the park, but after hearing the bird's call and comparing to the bird calls on Merlin, I knew that wasn't the bird I have been hearing. During my walk in the park yesterday, the bird flew overhead and landed in a large nest high up in a tall Oak, and in a completely different location from where I assumed the bird was nesting. As I watched the bird and pointed it out to a friend who was with me, it left the nest to fly to a tree closer to us, which gave us a great view. Had the bird noticed us looking and was drawing attention away from its nest? I burned the bird's image into my brain and checked my Kaufman's guide as soon as I got back inside. A Red-Shouldered Hawk it is, as I had identified on Merlin from the bird calls! I couldn't get a good photo on my cell phone camera, but this bird looks exactly like the photo of the adult Red-Shouldered Hawk in the guide. Also according to the guide, this bird can live in the area all season but is rare. What a treat!

Activity 1) Wall of birds. For me, the most remarkable birds are: Sunbittern (Eurypyga helias), Jocotoco Antpitta (Grallaria ridgelyi), Paradise tanager (Tangara chilensis), Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus), Green Broadbill (Calyptomena viridis), Three-wattled Bellbird (Procnias tricarunculatus), Schlegel's Asity (Philepitta schlegeli), HamerKop (Scopus umbretta) and Ornimegalonyx.   Activity 3) My favourite neighborhood bird is "Rabilargo" (Cyanopica cooki). These birds are very social, extroverted and intelligent.  

#1. My favorite bird with difference are shoebills!!!! They are so cool looking, they feel so ancient. I love their expressions! #2. Went on my first birding trip two days ago and came back with way more species than what I expected to find!! Caught on photo an European Robin,  a bunch of Yellow-Legged Gulls and a Little Egret, among others. #3. In my neighborhood we mainly have Common Pigeons, and honestly they might as well be my favorite ones anyway. They are very funny guys and the color combinations they show are so interesting to learn about.

For Activity #2 - our backyard feeder this week hosted woodpeckers (hairy and downy), chickadees, a white-breasted nuthatch, and a female northern cardinal, and the crows were flying between the neighbourhood trees. I think that covers 3-4 groups. For  Activity #3, I think my favourite of these is the nuthatch as it only shows up once in a while so it seems special - love watching it going headfirst down the tree trunk. But a close second are the woodpeckers with their distinctive colouring - and I've learned to tell the two types apart!

My favorite bird I see in my yard is the Black-capped Chickadee. They are always active and constantly moving about, grabbing a seed from my feeder and eating it somewhere else.

Activity #1- some of my most favorite birds are ones I have been fortunate enough to see but they are not native to my home (North Carolina, USA). I have seen the Atlantic Puffin (Alcidae fam.) off the coast of Maine.  Hundreds of birds were nesting on a rocky cliff and they dove into the water over and over again to catch fish for their young. I think they look adorable and are so unique. Another is the Blue-Footed Booby (Sulidae fam.) in the Galápagos Islands. Their brightly colored feet and legs are quite humorous. They appeared to be more like a cartoon than a real bird. Within my home state, my favorite bird is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. We have a handful that come each year to feed in our yard (Apr-Oct).  These tiny birds are so amazing and beautiful. In Mexico I once saw a mother hummingbird feeding its young in a tiny nest in a bush. I still can’t believe I happened upon that wonder!  Not sure of the exact species.

Hi!  I am very new to bird watching.  As a result of the pandemic, I found myself living full time at my farm, north of Toronto.  In the spring of 2020 we discovered a nest of ravens inside our barn way up at the peak.  After some research we learned a bit about them, and what they like and my daughter build a house for them and eventually it was attached to the outside of our barn in hopes they would return in 2021.  Well they did come back and had 3 adorable babies.  I watched them grow, spoke to them everyday and waited for them to drop from the nest.  It takes about 10 days before they learn to fly!  They are so smart and funny to watch.  They no longer use the house but visit every day…my fingers are crossed they nest again this spring!

I have lots of songbirds including house and gold finches, white crowned sparrows, bluejays and cardinals at my feeders.   In addition there are woodpeckers, red bellied and downy and an occasional piliated.  We also have Canadian geese still around, red tailed hawks and Great Horned Owls in the area.

I found this little guy interesting. Its a black oyster catcher, not actually my favourite but an interesting shore bird. They were travelling in pairs with very striking/bright beaks and eyes. I found this guy on a beach in Vancouver Island. My favourite bird in the area would have to be the Great Blue Heron - they are just so large and majestic.

As someone who recently joined the exciting world of bird watching, I find myself enamored with even the most common songbird.  Whenever I leave the house now (or look out my window!), it feels like an adventure and a scavenger hunt.  I really believe in the sentiment that birdwatching changes your entire perspective on nature and the world around you. Since I have the pictures to accompany, I'll answer activity 2 and share about a few birds I saw in Arizona last month.  I've lived in the Northeast the past 10 years, but I grew up in the Mojave desert in Nevada, and love how resilient the wildlife is in the desert, so I thoroughly enjoyed searching for birds in Phoenix. While hiking around Papago Park, I came across a lake that was filled with a variety of birds including American Coots (waterfowl), Great-tailed Grackles (songbird, blackbird), a Great Egret (wading bird), and my personal favorite, a Neotropic Cormorant (seabird). I only have a phone to take photos with so please forgive the lack of quality! Above - Great-tailed Grackle Above - Great Egret, Neotropic Cormorant, Canada Geese Above - American Coot

01/16/2022 - I live in northeast Texas. #1 - Explore the Wall of Birds. I am always intrigued by the very large flightless birds that look like they should be clumsy, but are not.  Common Ostrich, Greater Rhea, and Southern Cassowary. The Superior Lyrebird was interesting with his fascinating long tail used for mating song and dance. #2 - Find birds from 3 different groups. I have participated in Project FeederWatch for 20 some years since our sons were homeschooling. I am counting birds now from November through May and I highly recommend your involvement. I only see birds from 2 of the groups - Songbirds like juncos, sparrows, cardinals, chickadees, etc.  Pigeons and Doves like the mourning dove and white winged dove. The doves will actually sit in my open tray feeder and are so big and heavy, that the feeder tilts.  Only one dove sits in it at a time and it is very humorous to see. #3 - Favorite bird in yard.  In mid December, I saw a Bewick's Wren. It is a small to medium sized brown bird with a long tail that is usually held up. Long slightly curved bill, white eyeline/eyebrow, dark stripes on tail. It is a very curious bird and bobs it head around looking everywhere. When I saw it, it was investigating a pile of wood that I keep for our stone firepit. It went in, so I do not know if it was looking for a place to make a nest or not. It would be the wrong time of year for nesting.

I love the blue birds. Especially when they scope out our birdhouse like they are at an open house tour. Credit this picture to Mary Prochnow, my neighbor.

Activity 3:  I think my favorite neighborhood bird may be the nuthatch.  I see them going up and down trees in my yard.  Better yet, someone a few blocks away has a feeder next to the sidewalk that they frequent.  When I go for a walk I can stand on the sidewalk a short distance away and watch them take a seed, wedge it between the ridges on the bark of the tree that supports the feeder, and crack it open.  After I observed this behavior it dawned on me that that's how they got their name.

Lately I've welcomed goldfinches to my feeders! I've also had a lot of dark eyed juncos (slate) and mourning doves and have been lucky enough to have some downy woodpeckers and nuthatches (mostly red breasted but did see one white breasted the other day!). The juncos are one of my favourites, I love how they hop/shuffle to uncover seeds buried under the snow.

We were on a driving trip this past August in southern Manitoba, Canada. We rounded a curve on a quiet secondary road and there in front of us, on a large lake was a flock of white Pelicans, about 20 in all. They were swimming around actively, fishing, accompanied by about 15-20 black cormorants. Before this, we had only ever seen grey pelicans, only in Mexico, and assumed their habitat did not include Canada. I read on the Wall of Birds, that they like to congregate on interior lakes in southern Canada, in the summer breeding season. This lake was aptly called Pelican Lake, not far from Baldur, Manitoba.

On the wall of birds, I was intrigued by the Montezuma Oropendola, a bird I'd never heard of before and whose call was unique. In my backyard in Northern California I've most recently seen dark-eyed juncos, California Towhees, Anna's hummingbirds, and crows that love the redwoods behind the house. My favorite backyard bird is the Oak Titmouse, a little grey songbird that has really interesting behaviors and family structures. I couldn't get a picture of him, but he is small and light grey with a short sharp beak and a fun triangular tuft on the top of his head.

Activity 1: My favourite birds were the crested satinbird and great tinamou due to their uniqueness and unexpected shapes. Activity 2: I see songbirds such as robins, wrens and crows extremely often, and I love feeding water birds like mallards, canada geese, greylag geese and the occasional mandarin duck in my local park. Most people I know have seen woodpeckers in the area, and I know that the great spotted, lesser spotted and green can all be found nearby, but sadly my only sighting has been one green woodpecker from a distance. Activity 3: I would say that my favourite bird in my neighbourhood is the european robin. They visit my garden all the time and I recently set up a nest box for them. I love how cute and round they look and how fearless and inquisitive they are. 

Activity 1: my favorite bird from the bird wall was the toco toucan. Activity 2: I have mostly black- capped chickadees and tufted titmice for the songbirds. I have Downy woodpeckers and hairy woodpeckers in the woodpecker family, and I commonly see red tailed hawks.  Activity 3: My favorite birds to watch on my window feeders are Eastern Bluebirds. I had been trying to attract them, and now they are there every day.

Activity 1: My favorites birds were 1) Kakapo, 2) Long-tailed Manakin and 3) the Common Loon   Activity 2: We have a pretty active birdfeeder outside of our kitchen window. We regularly see the regular array of upstate NY songbirds (Black-capped Chickadees, Northern Cardinals, Juncos, Tufted Titmice (Titmouses?), lots of woodpeckers (Downy, Yellow-bellied Woodpeckers, even a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers in the summer). There is a Grouse that lives in our woods. I've never seen him, but we can hear him "thump" when we walk through.   Activity 3: My favorite birds are Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. They come around in the summer and fall in group and this past year I saw their close relative the Evening Grosbeak for the first time!

I'm just learning to attract a variety of species to my yard, and was lucky enough to catch this little Nuthatch stopping by for a drink.  It's cold here in Michigan as well, and the heated water is irresistible to them.  It's amazing to me how they will share the birdbath with many other birds, without being frightened away. I'm anxious to learn more about these amazing little creatures!

It's pretty cold here in Boston.  I suspect the most fruitful use of my time will have to wait until I install the bird feeder that I gave myself for Christmas.  :-). More later.

Activity 1: Great Blue Heron - Carolina Wren - Prothonotary Warbler Activity 2: Red-tailed Hawk - Rosette Spoonbill - Northern Cardinal Activity 3: Black and White Warbler. These are so fun to watch!

Activity #1.  I hiked around a local lake that has an eagle's nest in which both were perched on the nest.  The female, which is about 25% larger spread her wings and both made distinct calls. This nest was about four wide by three feet and eagles continually build on to their nests adding one to two feet each year.

I've been lucky lately with raptor sightings. I think the pic above is a red-shouldered hawk seen at a local college campus. It was lightly raining at the time and the bird was surprisingly bold, sitting on the lawn and gracefully swooping into a tree and then to a lamppost. Such beautiful color and form! I also got lucky with a bald-eagle sighting this week!

Activity 1: The sunbittern is my favorite bird of the ones I explored on the wall of birds. Activity 2: I went to a state park yesterday and observed 1) Songbird: A tufted titmouse (songbird). Also present and easily spotted were numerous northern cardinals, yellow rumped warblers, ruby crowned kinglets and blue gray gnatcatchers. 2) Waterbirds: Cormorants: An Anhinga perched quite close to the walking trail and not very concerned with the people passing close by. This is the closest I have ever been to one of these magneficent birds. Picture attached.  Several migratory ducks were present and attached is a picture that has Ring necked ducks (one male and two female) and a lesser scaup(male). The duck and scaup males look quite similar at first glance. 3) Raptors: It was a good day for raptors, as I approached the gate in my car, I observed an Osprey carrying a fish and flying alongside the road presumably looking for a suitable perch. Turkey vultures are common occurrence in this park but yesterday there were several hundred vultures soaring. A white tailed hawk was also seen soaring. Activity 3: Of the song birds in my neighborhood, I absolutely love the scarlet tanagers. These are temporary visitors arriving in spring briefly when the mulberry tree in the backyard is full of ripe berries. I was able to photograph some this year. One of the pictures is attached.

I just did activity 2 - took my dog on a walk to the dog park and kept my eyes peeled for different birds. I think I saw a dark eyed junco from the sparrow grouping, and I am also pretty sure that I saw a downy woodpecker from the woodpecker grouping. Lastly I saw some crows - I saw that they are under song birds, but I am not sure what the subgrouping would be! Are they in the "other" category? I know they are corvids, but I am not sure if that is one of these sub categories - I also wonder if a raven would be considered a song bird as well.

Not a great shot, but was thrilled to see this female Pileated Woodpecker last week when I met my friend in a city park. I always enjoy seeing these in this park and in the river valley of Edmonton. The female has a red top but starts further back from the bill. They have a grey line coming from the mouth whereas the male has a red line.

I enjoy the high-pitched sounds of a Nuthatch, described as "a toy horn." I took this image through the window at a friend's when I was doing a bird count. I had one land in my hand once, SO light. It was following the example of fellow Black-capped Chickadees, used to being fed by people.

Happy Holidays from the Midwest! One of my favorite fall/winter birds is the White-Breasted Nuthatch. I love to watch them hop up and down the trees feeding on suet. This winter I also saw a group/convoy (I don't actually know what a group of songbirds official name is) of male and female Eastern Bluebirds sticking their heads in and out of a birdhouse. It was very interesting, and at the same time entertaining. (Random Fun Fact: a group of owls is called a parliament.) I will try to snap a picture of some kind of bird soon. Happy Bird-Watching!

Activity 3: I live in Northeast Iowa. A frequent favorite bird I enjoy to watch is the Black-capped chickadee. I love seeing them grab 1 seed from the feeder at a time. A favorite bird I only see in the winter-time is the red-breasted nuthatch. I have one that has come back each winter for 2 years now. It is so tiny and unique-looking!

Activity 1: I was drawn to the I'iwi bird of Hawaii. I used to live there, long before I became a birder. After listening to the song, I recognized it! I can't wait to go back to Hawaii, this time looking at and enjoying the birds!

Activity 3: I live in a wooded suburb of Richmond, Virginia. I fell in love with the flute-like song of the wood thrush and it took me a while before even finding out what kind of bird I was hearing. I got binoculars to try and find it. For months I tried in vain. Finally, I saw it hopping on the ground. Maybe one day I will see it when it is singing on a branch, but it is in my area only from about March to September. I learned that it will raise young from eggs left in its nest by parasitic birds such as the brown headed cowbird. Therefore it wastes time it could be producing its own broods. Anyway, the wood thrush was a spring board for me to get interested in birding in general. -Linda

Greetings from Illinois.  My favorite bird is the Northern Cardinal.  The male is red and the female is fawn with grayish-brown tones with reddish tints.  The Northern Cardinal is a year-round visitor to our backyard feeder.  This photo was taken from my window on a snowy day.

Este hermoso carpintero estaba alimentándose en el árbol que esta enfrente de la casa, cuando este hermoso árbol se llena de frutos, tenemos la fortuna de poder observar muchas especies, pájaros carpinteros cheje, charas yucatecas, luis bienteveo, centzontle tropical, una tarde llegamos a contar ¡cinco carpinteros cheje! Las Aves son increíbles. La pared de las aves es maravillosa, en una de nuestras visitas al laboratorio tuvimos la fortuna de coincidir con la artista, que estaba pintando un hermoso momoto. Fue increíble poder observarla trabajando con tanto talento, paciencia y pasión. Es una gran herramienta para aprender y compartir.

Activity 1: I loved the Wall of Birds!! I especially liked that there were pictures and descriptions listed. The extinct birds gave a window to the past as well as variations of birds we see today!   Activity 2: I have seen mostly songbirds, but saw a heron the other day and regularly see red-tailed hawks!   My favorite bird is a Cardinal!

Greetings from Florida!  I had a rare visit from a Roseate Spoonbill and attempted to catch a quick photo.  The Great Egret is a regular visitor, but a joy to watch just the same.

Hello everybody ! greetings from Colombia, South America. A wonderful country for birding.  I am a beginner, this is my first course in birding.   Activity 1: Favorite birds in the wall of birds: 1. Pelicans (in this case, american white pelican) this one I like because it brings me memories of a place in Colombia where I like to sit and watch them, it gives me a sens of peace. Just like the Aldo Leopold description mentioned “…descending in majestic spirals to the welcoming wastes of a bygone age.” 2. Barn Owls, I think it is amazing how can they actually recreate their location by hearing 3. Great Spotted Kiwi. A very rare bird, with its characteristics it looks like if it wasnt a bird or like a combination of mammal and bird. I also liked the description about how the female digs the burrow and the "mongamous mate" lines it with material so she can lay her eggs. Activity 2: Find birds—either outside, online, or in your field guide—from three different groups that you learned about in this lesson. The birds outside that I commonly see are the songbirds, humming birds and pigeons. Activity 3: Pick a favorite bird that you see in your neighborhood Zonotrichia capensis, is the most common bird where I live. I love them because they are everywhere, and because in front of my window there is usually one of them, singing. This is a picture I took :)  

When I'm in my yard south of Seattle, I love the Pileated Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers that some to eat the suet in my feeders.  Sorry, no pictures.  I love the orange color of the flicker's tail feathers.  I had an adult Pileated Woodpecker one day with a juvenile.  I watched as the adult taught the juvenile how to eat out of the suet feeder!! In the summer months, I volunteer as a beach naturalist.  I'm working to learn and identify Seabirds, Wading Birds, and Shorebirds.  I also live near a heron sanctuary; so it probably won't surprise you that the Great Blue Heron is a favorite of mine.

Hi, Val from USA hot southwest desert. A longtime favorite bird of mine is the verdin. It's an attractive little guy with a big mouth. Although quite at home in the harsh desert year-round, it has been kind enough to adapt to human settlement. I enjoy watching them around my home flit up, down and over chasing bugs. Also, they build nests that are unique and ingenious, kind of a hollow bag of twigs and fines with a hole in the bottom. Check them out.

Tucson Backyard in the last 10 minutes: Heard and saw a Gila Woodpecker on the palm tree, watched a Black-chinned Hummingbird chase a neighbor Hummingbird trying drink from 'his' feeder; heard a Lesser Goldfinch call near the thistle feeder out front.

Activity one & three G'day I'm Ross from Melbourne Australia This bird is a Magpie . You can hear them caroling especially at dusk.  They have a fearsome reputation for swooping on unsuspecting people on bikes especially during the nesting season :-) They are my favorite bird in my urban area. They mark out their territory  and will raise two to three young. When the young are fledged they stay with the parents for quite some time - you can often see them begging for food rather than foraging themselves. As juveniles they remain in the parents territory for at least twelve months before they are chased out to find their own territory

I"m doing this course with my 8 year old son, Peter.  We are in Pasadena, CA on the West Coast of the  United States. We choose Anna's hummingbird.  They buzz all around our backyard.  The buzzing, like bees, is pretty cool and that they can hover. Sorry - they are too fast for us to get a picture!

Activity 1- I love the scissor tail!  In Texas their arrival coincides with my hot summers and their high wire antics greet me when I am on my front porch with my morning coffee.

Activity 3:  a favorite bird of mine is the blue jay.  I think they are beautiful.  For many years I did not see them often, but in the last few years I see them more frequently.  Lately I have seen them a lot at a bird feeder we have in our backyard.  The blue jay is definitely the most aggressive of the birds that usually visit our feeders.  They easily push off the house sparrows, cardinals, and woodpeckers which are often at our feeder and suet. As I writing this I can hear a couple of blue jays.

activity 2:  I live in the the suburbs of Washington, DC in Maryland.  This morning I took a long walk that went through several different types of habitats.  As soon as I closed my front door I head crows and heard and saw blue jays.  Then I heard and saw a couple of red shouldered hawks.   So I saw two groups of birds before I had gotten past my front lawn.   I then walked into a wooded area along a stream.   I heard Carolina Wrens, more Red-Shouldered Hawks and blue jays, and heard and saw Cardinals.  While I saw several birds I was not able to identify, I then saw an American Redstart and a Scarlet Tanager.   Next I walked into a public garden that has ponds.   I saw more song birds:  blue jays, a Gray Catbird, a Tufted Titmouse and a Red-eyed Vireo.  I also saw a mourning dove and then a green heron.   On the way home I heard a red-bellied woodpecker and saw a northern mockingbird.  In total I saw four groups of birds this morning which is unusual.   Usually on my walks I see songbirds and mourning doves.

Activity #1 - I was drawn to the American White Pelican on the Wall of Birds because of its sheer size.  I recently took a trip to the Dakotas and was surprised to see a Pelican on display in one of the National Park visitor centers and was able to learn that the Pelicans breed inland and pass through the Dakotas. Activity #2 - On my outdoor walk through a natural forest/creek area, we saw a large collection of vultures on the ground.  We were not close enough to see if there was a carcass there, but I imagine that there was.  Vultures would fit into the Raptor group.  On our trip to the Dakotas, we saw a Western Meadowlark which I believe fits into the Songbird category.  Another bird we saw in the Dakotas was (I think) a pied-billed grebe - which would be a swimming bird/water fowl.

Activity  1:  looking at and exploring the wall made me think about some trips I have taken in the past and why I have decided to take the course after the events of the last year.  I thought of a family trip that we took about 10 years ago to Panama.  My daughter and I went white water rafting and on our way to the river we saw a toucan flying just as the sun was coming up.  I do not know a lot about birds, but that was one that was hard to get the group wrong.  I also looked at birds that I often see near my home.   We live near a public garden where I often see great blue herons.   I have become more interested in birds since I started taking early morning walks - something I have done as exercise during the pandemic when I have been working from home and not going to the gym.   I have found the bird song comforting on my walks and began to wonder which bird I was hearing.  I had never heard of a Carolina Wren until about a month or two ago.  I often hear them on my walks and see them in our backyard.

Activity 2 I often see Red-winged blackbirds (blackbirds) when walking around marshes, ponds, and lakes in Southwest Ohio.  I also see Great Blue Herons (herons) wading and fishing in similar waterways.  They are patient when fishing and majestic in flight.  It is a rare delight to see a pileated woodpecker (woodpeckers) come to our backyard feeder to investigate.  They are striking in size and coloration.

Activity 1 I like the call of the common loon.  I hear and see them when I am traveling near lakes in New Hampshire and Maine.  I have seen them flying and swimming and observed their platform nest from a distance.  Their chicks don't always survive although the entire New London, NJ Pleasant Lake community tracks and roots for them each year.

I am living in Zimbabwe. The first one, I think, is part of the flycatchers or great flyers. I think it is a dark-capped bulbul. The second one is a paradise flycatcher.   And the last one is part of the grouse. It is a purple-crested Turaco

Activity 3: One of my favorite local birds is the Greenfinch - they have a lovely song, a bit like a wild canary. I tried making some watercolor drawings of the male Greenfinch, but they don't do justice to this beautiful little bird.

We disturbed a great egret while kayaking on a river near Montreal, Canada.

Activity 3 - Three common birds from where I live (Brussels, Belgium) are the Wood Pigeon, Rose-ringed Parakeet and Magpie. I don't know if the Wood Pigeon has an equivalent in the US, unless it's maybe the Band-tailed Pigeon, but I've never seen one. They're big chunky pigeons, like a small chicken, and they trundle around in the leaf litter in the fall searching for beech nuts. In the spring they eat buds and young leaves. There's a pair that nests in the ivy in our garden each year. The Rose-ringed Parakeets are all over Brussels. They come from a collection of parakeets that were deliberately released in Brussels when a local zoo went bankrupt. The authorities complain about them, but most people like them. They might take over some nesting holes that would otherwise be used by native birds, but they seem to mostly eat seeds from ornamental, non-native trees that other birds aren't interested in. The Magpies are everywhere in Brussels where there are some big trees to perch in. They don't get along at all with the local Carrion Crows - the crows chase them and they chase the crows.

Activity 1: SECRETARY BIRD: It was interesting to learn that its name comes from its elaborate crest that recalls secretaries. It is far from sedentary; it is very active hunting by kicking its prey with its powerful legs and toes. PROTHONOTARY WARBLER: Beautiful yellow feathers. Fiercely defensive of their territories. Both sexes are aggressive in their interaction with the same sex. Pair bonds that usually last the season and continue through the winter. Activity 2: SONGBIRDS: Gray Catbird: Lives in open woodlands and eats insects. It copies the sounds of other species and some of its calls are similar to cats and frogs sounds. PIGEONS AND DOVES: Mourning Dove: Lives in open woodlands and eats seeds. It nests in trees and perches in telephone wires. RAPTORS: Red-shouldered Hawk: Lives in forests, eats mammals, and nests in trees. It returns to the same nesting territory year after year. Activity 3: My favorite bird is the Red-shouldered Hawk: it is common in the area where I live. I see them by themselves, in foggy winter days perched in trees, which makes a beautiful scene. They are very elegant and I love their delicate plumage in their breast like little brush strokes.

  I took this photo at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge outside of Philadelphia earlier this year -- something about herons intrigues me. Their "dinosaur-esque" look is incredible and terrifying at the same time. I'm also a fan of the common loon, which I've now learned is part of the waterfowl/duck group. I'm also rather intrigued by the painted bunting, which I recently learned about and would really like to see in person. I would guess that they are considered song birds; however, I'm not too sure which group they would be part of. It'll take some work to be able to be mindful for (and remember) all of the groups and sub-groups for classification purposes.

I loved listening to the song of the Brown Thrasher on the Wall of Birds - it brought back happy memories of when I was growing up and I heard the Brownies singing in the shrubs and woods by our house. Those were the days. May the dear Brownies keep on singing forever.

I just saw my first owl in the wild yesterday.  I don't use my binoculars very often but I had them with me. I was sitting under a tree on a bench overlooking hillside grassland on edge of forested area.  A hummingbird was making a commotion in the tree so I looked up and saw a smallish bird high up in the tree sitting very still. I looked through my binoculars and the owl turned and looked at me with his penetrating yellow/ black eyes.  I used my guide when I got home to figure out it's a northern Pygmy- Owl.  Maybe I'll become a real birder yet! My favorite bird around the neighborhood are the blue birds.  We don't have many of them so it's treat when I see a pair.  Such a pretty bright blue.

Long standing favorite is probably the Black Capped Chickadee.  It is so friendly and brave and small.  I hear they warn others of trouble in the neighborhood and they are the first to return to feeders after trouble has past.  There is a place in a park near by where the chickadees are so used to visitors, you can feed them from your hand!  In reality, I love them all, especially the first time I see a new bird.  I'm training my husband to get excited as I do and he is great to have along now.  I don't always find them in the trees very well so having extra eyes is nice too.  I recently got the app: BirdNET to help me identify bird songs.  It is a favorite of mine now.  (I hear Merlin has something like it now.) I helps to know what you are looking for!

I saw a grey fantail for the first time in my courtyard at home in Victoria, Australia. This is one of my favourite birds as the fly so beautifully and often don't mind coming close to humans. I've also seen them in Tasmania and in New Zealand where they are known as NZ fantails. I would love to see a rufous fantail, hopefully I can add that to my life list this coming summer! Fantails are songbirds, also know as Passeriformes. I think fantails may also be classified as a flycatcher, but I'm not certain as I'm pretty new to classifying birds! What do others think?

Activity 1:  Favorites on Bird Wall:  Atlantic Puffins because they are so cute & Przevalski's Rosefinch because of the beautiful plumage color. Activity 2: European Starling (saw in my neighborhood). Semipalmated Sandpiper & Great Egret (saw both in DeKorte Park, Lyndhurst, NJ). Activity 3: House Sparrows because of their persistence in building a nest in the eaves of our house this year, and for successfully raising their young, even though they were quite noisy neighbors throughout the process! They are gone now but won't be forgotten.

These are three images that I took recently.  The first one is the Great Crested Grebe (waterfowl).  The second is an image of storks  (wading birds) who are migrating.  The last one is a Great Spotted Woodpecker (woodpecker).

So looking forward to learning more about birds!  I've been a "bird feeder bird watcher" for many years, and have tried to identify all of the birds I see around our property, located in a riparian area in Oregon's Willamette Valley . . . but there is one that has really stumped me.  I've only seen them in the early morning--by 8:00 or 8:30 at the very latest, they're all gone.  I've never gotten a good look at them because I don't have binoculars (yet!) and they are too far away to see well; but what I have seen is:  about the size of a robin (maybe a bit smaller); with a pale (possibly yellow or chartreuse?) breast, mottled dark brown or black and white back/wings/tail.  Their most distinctive trait is their behavior:  they make short, diving/swooping flights over the river, apparently scooping up the hordes of small insects that hover in clouds over the water, and finish each flight by perching briefly on a tree limb or downed trunk, usually quite a bit higher than the river surface.  Quite a few will be feeding (?) like this at a time, but they don't hunt cooperatively:  it's every bird for him/herself!  After reading this lesson I wonder if it's some type of flycatcher?  I haven't been able to detect any song or characteristic call.  Any ideas?  I just downloaded Merlin, but I can't get close enough for a photo and ditto for bird calls.

My husband has built a fabulous haven for birds with feeders and bird baths nestled in and around shrubs and flowers.  The birds love it, and there is nothing more relaxing for me than sitting on our deck and watching the birds come and go and observing their behavior.   I have gone from “that’s a pretty bird” to really wanting to know all about birds.  Everyday we get to see many types of birds,and every now and then we see one we haven’t seen before - that’s very exciting.  I have even come to appreciate the grackles and mourning doves, which were not exciting to me at first.  The more I learn about birds, the more I realize how much more there is to know!

A few months back there were seven white pelicans thermalling over my neighborhood street.  It took me a bet to figure out what they were, until they started banking and the sun caught their brilliant white with black wing tips.  I just gazed in awe at them for as long as I could see them. Saw a single turkey vulture thermalling over a nature center about two weeks ago. Today, it was a red tailed hawk doing likewise. What must it feel like?  Magnificent!!!

Activity 2: The bird groups that I have around me are the songbirds like the House Sparrows and American Robins where many times I would see sparrows come up to my feeders and the Robins exploring in the suburbs. I would see raptors in the sky while I am driving around such as the Red Tailed Hawk and also Turkey Vultures. Once in awhile I would see a Bald Eagle sitting up high in the tree. And the third bird group I see are the Doves, specifically Mourning Doves. Many times a pair of Mourning Doves would hangout and sit by my feeders from access seeds that fall onto the ground and the doves at dawn would be on top of my roof making their vocal sounds.

Activity 3: my favorite bird is a tough question. So many. The painted bunting for its colors, hummingbirds because they are so small and fast, spoonbills and avocets for their interesting bills, ospreys and hawks in general for their power and strength, forked tail kite for their signature tail. And thats just off the top of my head.

Activity 2: outside in my area i can find 1) shorebirds like the sanderling; 2) ducks like mallards, moscovy, and wood; 3) songbirds like cardinals and warblers; 4) wading birds like herons and egrets.

activity 1: I really liked reading about the extinct elephant bird on the wall of birds. Its a real shame people caused its extinction like so many other animals. To see a bird that large would make the ostrich seem small. And who knows what we could be doing with a giant docile bird like that.

I really love red-winged blackbirds.  I once saw one at the salt marsh struggling to fly back and forth between two trees for no apparent reason in very, very strong wind.  I thought, "He's such a New Yorker."

One of my favorite all time birds is the Green Heron. I have seen them often on a trail in Wisconsin. They have such beautiful colors.

Our family was recently in SC/GA area and spotted a family of wood storks.  They're prehistoric and awesome to watch.  This one was sitting in a tree near a path we were traveling on.  Son and I were quite excited! :)

The cedar waxwing is one of my favorite birds. One, because it was the first bird that I ever identified.  And two, because I think it is just a stunningly beautiful bird.  

I live in Massachusetts near the ocean and saw a Bald Eagle flying over the Merrimack River. It was much closer than I have ever been to a wild Bald Eagle, and it was truly amazing. One of my other favorites is the Brown Pelican. I was recently on vacation in South Carolina and learned that Pelicans skim the water in groups to herd fish closer to the shallow water. I thought that was a fun fact. My 11 year old son is taking this class with me, and he loved seeing the Little Blue Heron and Anhingas in South Carolina. The picture is an Anhinga.

Near where I teach, there is a field where these little burrowing owls live. One actually flew into my room one day! Recently they’ve attracted some attention as a parade of photographers with impressive gear took turns setting up their equipment to capture their images throughout the day. I love these little guys, it is remarkable to have these birds living among us and being able to observe them nearly every day.

• One of my favorite birds is the Blue Heron.  I often see them on the water hazards of my golf course.  This Heron was fishing in Swift Creek at Ritter Park.  My dog was quite interested in the large creature in the water!

Wandering albatross, Diomedea Exulans, and the Yellow-billed Magpie, Pica Nuttali, are two of my favorites within the Wall of Birds. I live in California’s Central Valley and have encountered several family members of the Yellow-billed Magpie. My favorite is the Jay, specifically the California Scrub Jay. What makes this bird my favorite is when I am in my backyard. While hearing and observing them each individual bird shows its own personality unlike other bird species.   Image. California Scrub Jay. National Audubon Society.

I live near a river and at the edge of walnut orchards so I get to see a lot of wild life. This is a shot of one ospreys that have a nest that I have been observing while on walks. I watched them last year every day while we were in lock down as well as when they returned this spring.

On my first bird walk I saw two birds from the Finches group, an American Goldfinch and a Northern Cardinal; a Red-winged Blackbird from the Blackbird group; several Barn Swallows and two Tree Swallows and a mating pair of Orchard Orioles. I am not sure at this point in the course what group the Swallows and Orioles are in but my best guess is Other? I think all of the birds mentioned above are my favorite at the moment because I am so delighted by being able to ID them. I can’t wait to return to the wetland where I observed them and watch more of their behavior.

I have been enjoying my backyard bird feeder and one thing that I notice is the Male Northern Cardinal seems to feed the Female. I have heard that this is very common. It seems that the Male feeds the Female as a way to attract her.  

I recently was on a field trip to Deland Florida and was able to capture many photographs of the Swallowed-Tailed Kite. It is one amazing bird that swoops down on the water to take a quick drink. We had they "kettle" above us in large groups and circle down to our location. It was an amazing experience to see them!

I like redwing blackbirds, common grackles, and cowbirds. During late spring and early summer I love to watch robin hatchlings grow up.

This is a royal spoonbill I saw in a pond not far from my house - I live in New South Wales, Australia. I just love the shape of his bill and his yellow-red eyes!  

I watched this little guy digging in my mulch looking for bugs.  I believe this this is a Northern Flicker.  He has a red spot under his chin/beak area.  He didn't make a sound (too bad because he has a nice call).

I hear this bird singing every morning in front of my neighbor’s house.  Out of curiosity, I used the sound ID trying to identify what kind of bird it is.  The result was an White-crowned sparrow.  But I am sure if it is the bird.

Just started but have identified 15 birds so far. I live in an urban area and most are at the feeders in the front yard (I love my Downy Woodpecker).  There is a nature preserve near  me with a lake. Saw a Great Blue Herron and. Barred owl.

Activity 1: Living in Malaysia, I couldn't avoid voting for the Hornbill! Their behaviour during breeding is incredible (the female remains enclosed in a natural cavity while the male provides food for her and the chicks). The Rhinoceros hornbill actually figures on the coat of arms of the state of Sarawak (on which the upturned curved "casque" on the hornbill's bill is somewhat exagerated!). I wanted to share the image here, but wasn't confident re copyright status.

I have recently become fascinated with birds. As a retiree, I now have the time to pursue varied interests, and birds are definitely one of them. My wife has always had bird and hummingbird feeders, but we recently installed an advanced pole system in our backyard. As our subdivision is heavily wooded, we are drawing quite the traffic! I really enjoy sitting in the backyard and watching the feeder with my Merlin Bird ID app always ready to snap a picture. Thus far, I have twelve birds on my list. My favorite is the Pileated Woodpecker. We also draw quite the traffic in Downy Woodpeckers. The picture that I have included is from the five acre lake in our subdivision. This is the second year in a row that a family of geese have taken up residence. They started out with five goslings and it looks like three are going to make it to adulthood.

Just Amazing. I was in Cornell last week . Found this online course . Great and thankful

I just moved into a new house that is a little less urban than where I was living.  I had been noticing a female Baltimore Oriole and so I put up a feeder with jelly.  I now have a male that visits the feeder every day!  They are gorgeous.  I like the Wall of Birds to show my 7th and 8th grade science students.

• I live in a farm and we always have birds in the backyard or by the ponds.  We have feeders in the backyard  year round because my husband has been serious birder for a few years and I’m learning a little from him.  Unfortunately, my vision only catches the bright colored birds.  With the pandemic this year, I got interested in bird photography hence the photos.  The 1st photo is a Short-eared Owl that came to stay with us from November to March.  One day, I was determined to get a photo inching my way to where it was perched by the fence and it allowed to me to get as close as maybe 4 feet in front on it.  There were w of them and they usually came out to hunt around 4 PM.
• The 2nd photo is a Ruby Throated Hummingbird.  They are mostly the ones that come our way.  I love the way they buzz when they come to the feeder, they have their drink, look around then go perched somewhere then they come back and do the same thing.
• ‘The 3rd photo is my all time favorite bird- Painted Bunting.  Like I said earlier, colors attract my eyes and this bird has all the colors I love.  We have been fortunate to have a few, nests at home so they are here from spring to about August.  I usually hear one singing in the backyard.

I picked two of my favs of recently. The Barred Owl is my favorite bird so far. When I found him it was in the woods and he was watching me before I was watching him. When the bins landed on him it was a jump for me as I did not know an owl was there. I thought it was a vulture lol. The Eastern Phoebe was a small, fun, cute bird near a lily pond and he posed for me for a bit and let me practice with my camera, which was awesome, as I am new to birding and wildlife photography.

In this not so clear picture, is a Phainopepla! My favorite bird that I've seen in my neighborhood. When I first got my field guide and saw this bird, I thought I would never get to see such a cool bird where I live. Then to my surprise one day, I look up at one fly catching from this tree! I have never seen this bird in my life, and it was right there. It's large crest, red eyes, and black body are really cool to look at and that is why it is my favorite bird.

For the last year or so in the PNW, I kept seeing 'Blue Jays' and didn't realize that they were in fact Steller's Jays. When I see them there is usually a group of 2 or 4 that hang out together making noise. I enjoy watching them play (if that is what they are doing) and like their boldness.

Here in the Pacific NW, the first visitor to our new feeder was the  Chestnut - Backed Chickadee.  Being new to birding, it was SO exciting to see a few of them gathered at the feeder at one time.  I didn’t realize how messy our new feeder would be but, by the next few days, found quail scurrying around the feeder base as well.  Enjoy those seeds, y’all.

Hi, we have whippoorwills at our house in the mountains of Northeast Pennsylvania. (I'm listening to one right now as I type!) I had never seen or heard them before moving here about 7 years ago. I moved from near a lake in a valley about 30 miles away, but despite being relatively close, I still never heard one. They instantly became my new favorite bird, and still are due to their unique call, their litheness, and their cuteness! Amazing how such a little bird can create such a big sound! They're tough to get a picture of since they only come out at dusk and dawn. But, a couple times, when standing in our front yard in the evening, I've spotted one, and have had one or two swoop past me, around me, and do what appeared to be mid-air somersaults! I'm looking forward to learning more about them. I'm guessing they're in the songbird group? I look forward to hearing them late springtime every year!

Yvonne Activity 1.  We needed to pick a bird and expand on it:  I've chosen the songbird,  Red Cardinal.  It has a beautiful song and sits on my porch railing and serenades me in the mornings.  There are several different bird feeders on my deck with various bird feed in them.  The Red Cardinal seems to enjoy eating out of more than one.   I didn't know it liked cracked corn until I read about it.  It really does like it and seems to visit it often.  Of course it is a beautiful red color with distinct black markings.  Really brightens up my day.        

This is a photo I took of a Eurasian Green-winged Teal at a nearby park. Waterfowl are my favorite birds; the common merganser is my 'spark bird'; the one that inspired my passion for birding.  I was on vacation at a lakeside house on the Oregon coast one chilly November and noticed that there were a lot of ducks. Then I looked a bit closer and said 'hey...those look like different kinds of ducks.' And there was a pair of binoculars and a Sibley's guide on a table by the picture window that opened onto the lake...and that was that.

This is a dark eyed junco nest that a mom made in a wreath that I have hanging on my front door! I have just recently moved back into my rebuilt home that was burned down to the ground in the 2017 CA fire. There were no birds here when we first moved back, but as I have put up bird feeders, baths and landscaping has come back, so have the birds. I think of this as my baby bird miracle. The only problem is we can't use our front door, LOL, but so worth it.

Hi All, I really loved looking through the Wall of Birds and also through your posts. The Common Loon call reminds me of my childhood at the cottage and is still one of my favourite birds. It was nice to hear it again! Yesterday at a local park and pond I saw several Wood Ducks (Waterfowl), a White-breasted Nuthatch (Songbird) and two Downy Woodpeckers (Woodpecker).  I had planned to just go for a little bit, but four hours later I told myself I better go home and take a break. Anyone else find that time just flies (pun intended..haha) when birding? About a month ago I set up a bird feeder on the window of my work-from-home office.  After a few weeks, I was starting to get discouraged and wondered if I'd ever get any visitors. Last week some American Goldfinches discovered the feeder and they've been keeping me company ever since. I love watching how they arrive in little groups, each taking a turn at the feeder and looking for it when it's been knocked over by a squirrel.

The Wall of Birds is amazing! I very much enjoyed clicking on all different sizes of birds and reading about them, even those that are extinct. I particularly like the Cassowary and the Shoebill. Their appearance is fascinating! I saw many birds today from the different groups in this lesson. Three that I saw are red tailed hawks, house finches, and Anna's hummingbirds. I just love watching birds, and listening to their sounds as well! It's hard to pick a favorite bird but I have to choose a bird I saw for the first time yesterday at my feeder, a black-headed grosbeak. I was so excited to see a new bird at the feeder! There was a male and female and they came back to the feeder today as well. They are beautiful and have such big beaks! I also want to mention how much I enjoyed reading the posts from other bird lovers out there. It's awesome knowing there are so many people who get excited about birds.

Hi, I am Karcsi. I am 12. I love the local white breasted nuthatches that come to my feeder.

Our feeders and our neighbor's feeders bring in lots of birds. One of my favorites is a pair of Carolina Wrens. They actually nested in one of our deck side flower boxes last year. Before that, I had never even heard of them, let alone seen one. I am hoping they do the same this year. (Songbirds) Another favorite is Downy Woodpeckers. We have a male and a female that visit both our tube and suet feeders daily. I also had not heard of or seen a Downy Woodpecker before I started watching the feeders. (Woodpeckers) And lastly, I have always enjoyed Mourning Doves. We have between one and four that visit each day, picking up seed from beneath the tube feeder. They look elegant and make a wonderful cooing sound. (Pigeons and Doves)   Carolina Wren almost ready to fledge last spring.

I have found birds mostly in my yard.  The first is a songbird. I have a LOT of sparrows in my yard that I have come to learn are white-crowned sparrows. Another bird I saw while on a bike ride was a wild turkey-from the chicken-like group.  There was even a big Tom Turkey showing off his feathers.  My favorite part was his blue head. Another bird I saw in my yard was from the Hummingbird group.  It was an Anna's Hummingbird.  I was surprised to see it here in the late winter, but learned they hang around my area year-round.

I enjoyed exploring the Wall of Birds and spent time reading about many of the birds families represented on it.  I hope to have the opportunity to see it in-person one day.

Last year I monitored Bluebird Boxes for our county parks. I found tree swallows instead of bluebirds. I enjoyed observing and learning about their habits.  They were full of energy. This activity prompted me to take this course to learn more about other birds.

My name is Nori. I am 10 years old.  My favorite bird from the Wall of Birds is the American White Pelican.  Pelicans eat fish. The white pelican scoops fish out of the water. My mom helped me with this.

Hi I'm Henry. I live in Merriam KS. I am 8 years old and I recently looked at the wall of birds and my favorite was the osprey

I live in Berkeley, CA and have been enjoying identifying many new birds, but my favorite is the Bushtit. Though not very distinctive in color, they are adorable and rich in personality, tiny butterballs of pure energy. I love how they blow through the yard in berserk little flocks, peeping away and flitting about from shrub to tree for a minute or two before cruising on to new destinations. I don't have a good pic of my own, so I borrowed this one from the web.

Activity 3: Ever since I was a little child I have always celebrated the arrival of spring. My mother says she doesn’t know how I developed my fascination with the first day of spring! Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, it’s not even that big of a transition out of winter! But now I have lived in Wisconsin for almost 40 years. The end of winter is a huge thing for me!! So every March I begin my American Robin watch. I make note in my calendar the first time I see a robin in my city, and again when I see one in my yard. It’s my own little victory celebration for surviving another winter.

Activity 2: my husband and I are brand new to birding. We are loving the Merlin app! Of course we have always been able to identify familiar birds in our neighborhood: songbirds such as robins, swimmers such as mallard ducks and Canadian geese, and woodpeckers. But we were excited to identify a common grackle, a blackbird, in our visit to a nearby state park yesterday. This is going to be a fun post-retirement hobby!

My favorite bird changes from day to day.   Actually, I have two favorites, very similar.  They are the Red-breasted Nuthatch and the White-breasted Nuthatch.   The first is the color.  Not many local birds have a lot of blue, so it makes them easy to identify.  I love the intensity of the blue in both varieties.  I like it that they are not shy.   I can get relatively close and watch for more than a few seconds before they fly away.  But most of all I like their climbing behavior.   They are as comfortable upside-down as upside-up.   While most backyard birds are active and persistent, the nuthatches seem so curious and thorough, looking at every crack from every possible angle.

My favorite bird this year has been a mating pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers that have been regular daily feeders in my front yard.

Curious to find out about the "beautifully colored bird" that my daughter spied while in Mexico, I research it and we both agreed that it probably was a turquoise browed motmot.  Finding it on the Wall of Birds, I learned that it has a really long forked tail that it swings back and forth like a pendulum while perching in trees watching for food.  Fascinating!

as a new homeowner in southern Maryland ( grew up in Massachusetts). i have been seeing a lot of the same birds from childhood me and my mother loved identifying. I've focused a lot of time and energy to see what feeders work for who and during the colder months been making sure my juncos are well fed but i must say i love my wrens! something funny about a little brown golf ball flying through the wind . A lot of new birds have caught my eye and the most distinct are my pine siskins! for the longest time i had no idea who they were and of course had to make a phone call to ole mom who apparently knows all. I've utilized a lot of my deck space, hangers, garden space in the front yard and many of dollars spent at wild birds unlimited but I cant get enough. the kids get excited to see a bird now and we all watch and identify and do our best to get pictures! happy hunting!

Activity 2 and 3: We saw surf scoters today! Along with Brandt’s Cormorants, and the ubiquitous (and my favorites) Buffleheads. Buffleheads-my favorite because of their up-then-down diving behavior- they are so cute! Greater and lesser scaups, redheads, and mersangers, bluebirds, Savannah and Song sparrows, ravens, red tailed hawks, white tailed kites, Anna’s hummingbirds. It was a lovely day for birding.

I'm very new to birding, and my current favourite bird is the ruby-crowned kinglet (zoom into the middle of the photo; my partner managed to get this with her phone). I also love the golden-crowned kinglet, but I love the cartoony eyes on the ruby-crowned. They are tiny and adorable and constantly moving, so incredibly hard to photograph, but I can usually count on seeing them at a park not too far from my house.

Activity 2.  I have been a long time bird lover, but very poorly educated, particularly with US birds, so the pandemic has given me time and opportunity to learn more about the birds I see.  I have been keeping a track of the birds that I see on my feeders and on my property and there is a much greater variety than I expected. In fact I have seen 18 different species since I started taking note and I can confirm that the Merlin app is very good!  Most exciting to me was three different species of sparrow, House Sparrow, Song Sparrow and White Throated Sparrow.  In the UK we only had one type.

Activity 1. I picked three birds, the White Throated Dipper, who was a favorite of mine as a child growing up in the UK, he was very polite and curtseyed to us as we walked by.  The other two are the Vulture Guineafowl and the King Vulture.  I love vultures, I think they're fascinating and they provide such a very necessary service to our environment, I learned a couple of years ago that some of them can even safely ingest Anthrax, so powerful are their digestive juices.

Activities 2 and 3: I have bird feeders for the first time and we have been really enjoying seeing all of the birds. So far we have titmice, white-breasted nuthatch, house finches, house sparrows, blue jays, black-capped chickadees, Carolina wrens, mourning doves, red-bellied woodpeckers, and I think a Hairy woodpecker.  I also feed crows sometimes that hang out in the neighborhood. So, multiple categories. Picking a favorite is really hard. Either the red-bellied woodpecker just because of its sheer beauty or the black-capped chickadees for their spunk and flight pattern.

Activity two. I recently signed up for a local birdwatching class and we have traveled to some state parks and beaches in the area of Sarasota, Florida. For me the waders are fairly easy to identify. The spoonbill is one of my favorite. The raptors are plentiful here, and I have been able to observe ospreys a bald eagles. The group that I have the most difficulty with observing is the song birds. Yes Cardinals and Blue Jays are easy to spot, but I am finding it very difficult to identify the different types of warblers. Even with binoculars they are tough to identify. I’m hoping this course will help me look for ways to identify them. Activity three. I am very fortunate to live on a small pond in Sarasota, FL  There are some beautiful birds right in my backyard, which is one of the reasons why I became interested in birdwatching. The Woodstork  is one of my favorites  They are extremely friendly and fun to watch.  

Activity one.  I thoroughly enjoyed the interactive bird wall. After exploring it for awhile, I found three birds that I would really like to see in the wild. The first one is the Shoebill, located in Africa. The second bird I would love to see is the Atlantic puffin. And the third bird I would love to see in the wild is the flamingo. Living in Florida for several years, I have only seen them in zoos and jungle gardens.  Recently retired, once pandemic is over, I would like to travel and do some extreme birdwatching!

I completed all 3 activities.

• Activity 1: The Wall of Birds is really cool! I definitely want to go see it in person. It was interesting to see the size of some of the extinct birds - I can't imagine seeing something with a 20-foot wingspan overhead - but my favorite was the splendid fairywren for these reasons:
  • I love the whimsical name.
  • I love its color (bright blue).
  • My nickname is Wren, so I feel a personal connection. :-)
• Activity 2: Knowing that most birds you see are songbirds really helps narrow down the groups. I used the opportunity to learn more about a bird I've heard several people mention lately - the junco. I looked it up in the Merlin app and immediately realized that I have been seeing them in my own backyard without ever realizing what they were.
• Activity 3: I am not sure it's my  bird, but seeing a cardinal in the snow is a treat.

I live on the salt marsh along the coast of South Carolina. From my backyard, I can observe birds from most of the bird families (except chicken-like birds and parrots). This past week I’ve seen a pair of Hooded Mergansers, White Egrets, Ibis, Great Blue Herons, Bluebirds, Robins, Sparrows (not sure what type), Downy Woodpeckers and Red-Winged Blackbirds. My favorite bird is the Bluebird.  I have a Bluebird box and most years I watch the babies hatch and fledge. It’s so much fun observing them.  At times it can be scary because a Hawk will come into the yard and go after them.

This pictures is of the first Varied Thrush I've seen and it happened on my back deck during the Backyard Count. 

Activity #3: I don't have a good bird photography camera so I don't have any great photos. And I find it hard to narrow down to just one favorite. There are so many that I like to watch. I really like Hummingbirds and Woodpeckers. But pictured I have a group of baby Carolina wrens, from some parents that like to nest on our porch. I like the Carolina wrens cause I think they are adorable, parents and babies. How they hop around and are so vocal too. I enjoy listening to them sing and chitter away. The other picture is a Barn swallow parent that nested on our porch at work. They were all fun to watch over the course of their nesting period. The parents were very protective. They would fly at us when we went to check the mail to try and shoo us away. Even standing at the window they were very aware of us; as you can see this parent turning their head to look at us. I loved their coloring too. As for any bird; it was awesome to watch them raise their babies from hatchlings to juveniles leaving the nest. They had 5 of them so we had a group of 7 barn swallows hanging around the porch for a little bit. :)

I particularly liked the Wall of Birds activity. I began looking for what is around where I live, then at places I've visited like Peru and Costa Rica, then where my in-laws live (in TX), and so on.  The diversity of birds blows me away. Those flycatchers are amazing-looking. And the cardinal outside my window is just as stunning in his own particular way. Thanks for the opportunity to widen my view.

3 Birds I have looked at this week in 3 different groups. 1.     This winter in an effort to identify my different sparrows I made a great discovery! The white throated (white-striped) sparrow. They are the most adorable little song birds. He/she both look similar. Easy to spot them with their noticeable beautiful white throat, bright yellow spot kind of above/between each eye (lore). Strips alternate black and white on the top of their heads; also their chest are solid gray (differing from other sparrows).  For such a little bird they have a loud might song of “Old Sam Peabody Peabody Peabody” or “Oh Canada Canada Canada”. Simply a great find for me. 2.     Brown Thrasher. How I love to watch these birds. Very easy to identify with their colors on their backs a rusty brown (rufous) and striped chest. Their yellow eyes are always looking around as they forage for food. Their heads flip back in forth searching for just the right tasty nugget or bug.  They sing the most beautiful repeating notes like, “No Fear No Fear, Yes Yes, Who’s This Who’s This, or many other calls as they may know 1,100 song types. 3.     Crow. I have a family of 6 that visit my feeders every day. 5 American crows and one fish crow. I have trained them to come when I put out food. Last year I rang a bell and this year I just knock on my stainless steel bowl. They may have some alpha thing going on as a crow will come, call to the others, when more come they will eat.  They have a vivacious appetite and love many foods.  This year I make them, what I call peanut butter sandwiches. I break up bread in a large bowl then pour heated peanut butter over it & stir well.  Yum! They come & fill their beaks so full they overflow all around. So cute. They take their breakfast somewhere else to finish eating.  Not gone long, they always come back for more. My favorite bird that comes to my woodland yard is the Pileated Woodpecker.  He is big, beautiful, and I love how they circle my trees looking for food.

I am requesting some clarification in the Activity suggestion #2:  "Find birds...from three different groups that you learned about in this lesson."  In reviewing the lesson, I do see more than 3 groupings. Which 3 groups of birds is this activity referring to?  Thanks in advance for your reply.

I am picking birding back up after a long hiatus while I raised my daughter. Now I'm nearing retirement and wanting to renew my old interest. My favorite birds depends on the season, in Summer it is the Ruby Throated Hummingbirds that come by the dozens to my feeders. Winter it's the Cardinals in their beautiful red. But how can you narrow it down?? So many beautiful birds to see and discover. I also moved further out in the country and am surrounded by acres of National Forest so attracting them to my yard with native plantings is my goal. Three favorite groups are Woodpeckers, TreeCreepers especially nuthatches, and Buntings especially the Indigo Bunting.

So far our favorite is the purple finch - so beautiful!

In the past week I have seen over a dozen buzzards roosting in trees and circling overhead waiting for their turn at a fresh racoon carcus, and the flocks of blackbirds chattering and the lifting off in mass flightand the seeing and hearing the distinctive pelated woodpecker.  Great to see all these birds surviving with all the snow on the ground in Northern New Jersey.

I have a beautiful Scrub Jay visiting my backyard It just dropped in for an afternoon bath, so fun to watch it shaking its feathers and dunking in the water. Then it flew up to a chair top to dry off and shake more. I can easily see the birds from my bedroom window and find it so enjoyable to watch them. I also have many hummingbirds coming to two feeders I have out for them, what a joy to watch these happy, speedy birds and listen to their chatter. I feel very fortunate to be able to watch these sweet birds during this challenging sheltering time. A few moments of sanity just watching them!!

I am a new bird watcher.  I have always enjoyed them but didn’t become excited about them until I met someone else that was crazy about birds.  He’s the kind of guy that doesn’t just hem and haw over a flutter.  His dramatic gasps and hysterical commentary about the birds made it such an adventure.  He always looked like he rolled out from under a bar stool of some tropical island and into the brush, which of course added to his flair.  He only ever carried his binoculars and a hat to hold in his Brillo pad hair (his words, not mine).  Can you describe a person that got you excited about bird watching?  What was he/she like?  What did they do that made you curious for more knowledge? What tools were used? Thanks

Everyone takes such great pictures! I'm in central Georgia near Atlanta, and as we come out of the cold snap of the past couple of days, I'm struck by how many goldfinches are in the area; I've been watching for a couple of years but hadn't seen so many until now. My favorite area birds are the towhee, which I actually rarely see but I like hearing the call and knowing one's around. The red-bellied woodpeckers can be bullies but they're always around and I enjoy seeing them. My favorite bird on the Wall of Birds is the osprey; I started watching some nests on webcams and that's what got me into birdwatching. They're phenomenal birds - migrating thousands of miles twice a year; always returning home to the same nest and same wintering area. Birds from three different groups in this lesson in my area: Cardinals (finch family), Starlings (blackbird family), Canada goose (waterfowl family Anitidae).

We moved in late August from a very busy neighborhood to a quiet country road. We have many of the same bird species we used to enjoy at our previous house. One of my favorites is the red-bellied woodpecker seen on our feeder. One the ground is a dark-eyed junco. We enjoy seeing these 2 feathered friends every day. It's interesting to note that we no longer see cardinals in our yard. Our old house is less than 10 miles away but our yard is much more open with fewer trees and shrubs. I'm wondering if that is why...

I live along the coast in southern Maine just outside the state’s biggest city. Since working from home for almost the last year, I’ve been impressed by the diversity of birds especially along my neighborhood walk that hugs a small coastal bay. I’ve seen hummingbirds, woodpeckers, a snowy egret, and most recently a bald eagle (not uncommon in Maine). It’s inspired me to take up birdwatching! There are many ducks, sea gulls, and Canada geese on the water’s edge. Lately a small black and white duck bobbing in the water has caught my eye. I’ve seen them in groups of 6 or 8 away from the other birds. I’m thinking it’s a bufflehead or a goldeneye based on the online Audubon guide and a new bird book. Any tips on solving this mystery? I’ll try to snap a picture soon!

This is so dang fun, I can’t stand it!  Steller jays coming to my cracked corn. It is such a  BEAUTIFUL  bird.

• I vote CardinalCardinals frequent my feeder and on this particular day I was in awe by how beautiful they looked against the white snow. 

Activity 1: I voted for the Carolina Wren from the Wall of Birds because we have really cute couple that lives in the backyard in NW Ohio. They have been frequenting our suet feeder in the cold weather. Activity 2: We chose 3 birds- the Peregrine Falcon, the Common Raven, and the Clark's Grebe. In order, the Peregrine Falcon's are raptors, the Common Raven it doesn't fit into any of the simple groups described, but would be most similar to the crow that is grouped with song birds, and the Clark's Grebe is water fowl. Activity 3: This is photo of a goldfinch. I recently purchased a finch feeder and within 1 week a small group of gold finches were visiting daily. It is winter, so their feathers are not as vibrant as during breeding season.

Back in September, we moved to a 5-acre mountain property in the foothills outside Denver.  The birds were here to greet us and we have watched the changing populations of songbirds, ducks, owls, and hawks that share this land with us. I'm eager to learn as much as I can.  We watched a hilarious exchange of a Clark's Nutcracker snitching pinecones from a very irate Pine Squirrel.  Heard the crows making a racket one afternoon and finally went to investigate. A Great Horned Owl was calmly watching them all, and us, from his roost in a huge, old Ponderosa Pine tree.  We have hawks, Red  Tail and Harris, that hunt in the elk meadow and we've dubbed one tree as 'hawk tree' that we frequently see them scanning the area from.  Our 2 feeders bring round the little chickadees, juncos, and nuthatches with the Steller and Gray jays getting in on it also.  The Gray Jays (Camp Robbers) wait on our deck railing for us to lay out some blueberries for them.  We are told they will bring their babies with them to visit in the Spring. The whole property is alive with activity all the time. As spring arrives, we'll be watching for the return of the mallards to our pond and hummingbirds.  I've got a lot to learn!

As part of the Great Backyard Bird Count, I was able to identify a Downy Woodpecker and Hairy Woodpecker.  I have an affinity for woodpeckers.  I see Downy Woodpeckers often at my feeders.  Today I saw both a Hairy and Downy at the same time.  This allowed me to really compare the two species.  I am now much more confident in distinguishing these two birds.

More pics from the Great Weekend Bird Count...

My favorite part about the Wall of Birds was listening to the artist describe how she paints each bird.  What a talent!  Found 14 different birds during this weekend’s Great Backyard Bird Count which definitely covered Activity 2.  Probably my favorite bird so far is the Whitebreasted Nuthatch-fascinating to watch it feed upside down, and it seems to be the friendliest of the backyard birds-they don’t always fly away when you are nearby and often will land close by when attending the feeders.

Some birds groups found in my neighborhood: Downy woodpecker - doing his best impersonation of a hummingbird - group woodpeckers, I believe the next photo was a great horned owl but unsure - group Owls, Lastly a Ruby throated hummingbird - group hummingbirds.

Activity 1: So hard to pick favorites there are so many great birds. I really like the Marvelous Spatuletail. It is so unique with it's long tail feathers and the dance it does with them.

Activity 2: I was able to narrow down several birds in my back yard. Carolina Wren is a songbird. Downy Woodpecker- seems that Woodpeckers have a group all their own! They stab at wood with their little face-knives, but they are adorable. Inca Doves- beautiful little doves in the Pigeons/Doves category. The White-wing Doves are somewhat bully-like, but the Incas just look like elegant little old ladies twittering about the local gossip before settling in for a nap.

Activity 1: The Wall of Birds is fascinating. I didn't do a lot of exploring individual birds as much as I did comparing sizes and shapes. I do enjoy the Southern Cassowary. I may have to take a trip down under to see if I can find one in the wild!

Activity 3: I can't seem to get any of my pictures to upload, but I've learned so much about birds in the last 2 years that I'm fairly excited. I've managed to identify 65 species in my back yard and now I'll learn a bit more about them. I have to say, though, if I had to choose favorites so far, I would choose the Tufted Titmouse because it's so adorable and cheeky! I love the softness of its colors. I would choose the Carolina Wren because no bird that small should have lungs so big! And finally, I would choose the Cedar Waxwing. I don't know why, but every time I see one, I'm just entranced. The name truly does it justice. It really looks like a wax figure with such beautiful coloration. The tan body looks like a wax figure. The black mask could have been drawn by an expert artist. The dash of yellow on the tail and the dot of red on the wings seem like fantasy colors a sculptor would have added. I love that bird.

One of my favorite birds is the barn swallow from the swallow family. They are so agile and their arrival signals that spring has finally arrived.

My favourite neighborhood bird is the Northern Cardinal but one year on December 26 we had a Parakeet visit our feeder. We saw him again a week later. We live just outside of Toronto. It was cold out!

Activity #2 Chicken like birds - wild turkey. We often see them near the side of the road near the cottage or, in small groups, in the middle of a field closer to home Woodpeckers; this past summer we had a Downy woodpecker as a regular visitor to our backyard and feeder Songbirds - Nuthatches. We’ve had a popular feeder for years but this winter both red and white breasted nuthatches started to visit it regularly.

There are so many interesting birds in The Wall of Birds! You could lose track of time poking around there.

Activity 1: Hard to choose a favorite--so many fascinating birds in our beautiful world!!  A few that I'm extremely fond of would have to be the Emperor Penguin and any of the hummingbirds!  Activity 3: I've shared a few pictures from my backyard--for some reason, the chickadees will sometimes run into our back door and they will stun themselves.  This little fella in the first picture was out cold.  I picked him up and held him to keep him safe until he was able to fly away.  In the second picture is our friend Chuck the Duck, a Muscovy Duck.  We raised him from a duckling--he was abandoned as a baby.  His favorite treat is blueberries and he will come to our door to let us know when he's hungry! :) 

Image of a hawk in my backyard. I believe it is a young Goshawk eating a bird. I did see a pair them in a tree but did not get a picture. I live in Maryland and wondered if there are other hawks that this bird might be. I have seen a red-tailed hawk in the same area but it looks very different.

Why does the summer tanager is in the Cardinalidae family and not in the Thraupidae family?  

There is one bird that always catches my eye, the burrowing owl. I like it because it builds its nest underground. Though I had never seen it I like it. Another two of my birds are te American redstart( Setophaga Ruticilla) and the kingfisher.

I constantly see these little guys in the forest behind are house and at the feeders we have up. And they Make amazing calls. I found out they where tufted titmice.

Activity One: Puffin Activity Two: I saw a waterfowl during Christmas break known as Brandts and I see cardinal more this year which are in the finches/buntings category. Activity Three: I love mourning doves, but also love cardinals, bluejays, and red tail hawks which are seen more and more common around here.

Red-breasted nuthatches, from tree creeper group have been at my feeders this winter. They are tiny but feisty when challenging the chickadees for feeder space!

My favorite bird is the pelican. I live near the beach and  have seen the brown pelican ,and the American oyster catcher . I enjoy them both

We live in NYS, two hours north of NYC. My husband took these images of the lovely cardinal couple that visits our feeders and plays in the snow.

Which group is a house crow in? It seemed like it was in songbirds, but that didn't make too much sense to me.

Activity 1: My favorite birds from the Wall of Birds are the Wood Duck, Blue-footed Booby and Shoebill.   Activity 2: In my backyard I often found Sparrows, Hummingbirds and White-winged Doves, sometimes Blackbirds that I’m not able to identify yet. I live in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.   Activity 3: Hummingbirds, they are my favorite because of their pretty shades of green and the way they fly around.

Activity 3:  I live in a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia, and one of my favourite backyard visitors is the pileated woodpecker.   I've learned this guy is a male -- you can tell by his red moustache. Activity 2:   I've been taking long walks along an urban lake and have been working on identifying all the different water birds.   My favourite there was a Canada Goose, not because it was a Canada Goose but because it did "summersaults" in the water.  It would suddenly pitch its head forward into the water and flip completely upside down, then did some crazy kicks to complete the roll and bring its head back up, swam a bit, and then did it all over again.

I've often encountered a Black-crowned Night Heron through binoculars on the far side of a pond.  But this time, one just sidled up to me in an outdoor restaurant in Mission Bay, San Diego, CA.

Three birds that frequent my garden feeders here in Colorado are: House Finches- which are a type of finch, they will spend a long time sitting on the feeder sorting through seeds and other bits. Dark eyed juncos- which are a type of sparrow, they go on the ground under the feeder while the other birds feed clearing up the fallen rejected seeds and nuts. Chickadee- I'm not sure what type a chickadee is... but it seems to fit the behaviour of a flycatcher as it darts back and forth from feeder to branch, but it feeds on nuts and seeds rather than insects from what I can see soooo......?

• On cold winter days I find myself looking through my photos from last summer. I had a blast watching this American Goldfinch feeding her young. I can’t wait till spring!! Another highlight was the family of 5 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Hope to see them all soon!!

This beautiful bird sits in the trees in our backyard every evening.

Activity 2: The feeders in my Kansas City area patio attract several varieties that I see regularly.  Doves often come in flocks of 4 to 10.  The cute Carolina Wrens (songbirds) in singles or sometimes twos -- look the same, not sure of male/female.  And for woodpeckers, the Downy, Northern Flicker, and the Red Breasted.  I even got one photo through the kitchen blinds showing both a Flicker and Red Breasted on the same suet feeder -- that was cool.

On our bird walk this morning, my 4yo and I spotted two blue jays, a few european starlings, and a ton of house sparrows. My daughter love spotting the birds with me and often sees ones I miss. I'm currently using Merlin Bird ID and sometimes do some more online research if I'm not quite sure it fits what the app finds.  I am looking into a book guide to supplement and have on hand.

Birds bring me so much joy and there are so many just outside my window. I would like to improve my bird identification. This raptor is an immature Bald Eagle I think. I use the Merlin app and my bird book. It is the "transitional" birds due to the changes with age and season that really challenge me

Here's my first scarlet tanager I spotted last summer in Newbury, MA. He was on the lowest tree branch and stayed nice and still for photos! Being bright red in New England made identification faster (I have mostly been using the Audubon app).

This is a red-golden pheasant in a local park in New Orleans. I was using the Audubon app for identification, but it wasn't in there. The reason being that this bird is not endemic to Louisiana! He was most likely abandoned or escaped from a coop. He's been in the park for years though and has become a bit of a legend!

I am looking forward to completing this course and another that my daughter bought for me for Christmas. Living in TN, I am very fortunate to be able to see from my kitchen window many different songbirds at my feeders; geese, ducks and cranes in my neighbors lake and a Coopers Hawk that roams the area. Now I need to buy a guide to take with me for my walks in the woods.

Used Merlin app to identify Hairy Woodpecker and dark eyed Junco on my feeder

Activity 1 - Favorite bird from the wall of birds is a Great Grey Owl.  I was fortunate to see one of these with my father, who is a much more accomplished birder than I, when I was in my teens.  Just the massive size of this bird is incredible.  The second striking feature are its eyes.  Unlike many owls, they are quite adapted to hunting in the daytime.  Despite the one we saw being hundred yards away, when seen through even basic binoculars it felt like it was staring into your soul.  Runner up has to be the Kakapo, or flightless parrot of New Zealand.  Their incredible camouflage blends in so well to the moss covered grounds of the rainforest like locations where they live. Activity 2 - The first bird, which will also be my photo bird is the Black-capped chickadee, one of the very common feeder/backyard birds in our area.  For a bird smaller even than a sparrow they have the bravery of a lion.  The often will scold the owner of the feeder should they let the feeder become empty, waiting directly nearby as you fill it.  They remind me of a smaller version of a banty rooster.  They are in the family Songbids.  Another common feeder bird here is the Hairy Woodpecker, which is in the woodpecker family.  The third is the Eastern wild turkey, which is the chicken like bird group.

unfortunately through my screen but i was very pleasantly surprised by this pileated woodpecker at my suet feeder

Activity 2: i regularly see white and red breasted nuthatches, mourning doves & various woodpeckers and many many more types Activity 3: I just love chickadees!

Activity 1 : The secretary bird will always catch my eye after its introduction to me in the movie, Kung Fu Panda. It's an elegant, powerful, and beautiful bird. This bird can make snakes it lunch with its fatal kicks. That's one of the main reasons it catched my eye. Activity 2: 3 different groups of birds. I was able to identify a mocking bird ( usually present in my front yard), a red-bellied woodpecker ( always a beautiful sight), and a dark moth raptor (!! I saw a fast-flying bird swoop into a tree in a round-about and sneaked up on it; I noticed it had a sharp hooked beak and got excited). These are my three species. They have given me a lot of joy and I hope I keep discovering more neighborhood friends. Activity 3:  Recalling back to Activity 2, the dark morph raptor has come into my life with so much mystery and "carnivore-y" that I want to be able to spot it again. Its sharp beak and proud posture created such an image in my mind. I took a picture of this mystery but it was on my low pixel android phone. Wish me luck on my journey to identify this bird!

This is the Clark's Nutcracker.  He loves and brutalizes our suet, dumping all of our seed from feeders onto the ground.  I guess they are ground feeders or are they just too big to stably feed from the feeders?  We do know they like the seeds from pinecones. Our online field guide says they like to make cache's of seed and can become accustomed to humans.  They are certainly comfortable around our feeders and dominate the scene along with the blue & gray jays and woodpeckers.  The Nutcracker will call others to come to feed! The little  birds wait for the nutcracker to fly off before they come back to feed. We live in the Colorado Rockies.

This morning I looked out my front door just in time to see one of my favorites, the Red-Bellied Woodpecker.

I have tried to identify birds with the Merlin app, but the app has not worked for me. In my experience the app cycles through the same few birds, or suggests birds that are very out of place, such as wading birds when I am looking at birds in a field. I'm taking this course so that I can more intelligently use the Merlin app and printed bird guides. Like others here I became focused on birding while walking during this pandemic. I noticed subtle colors and varieties on birds that I hadn't seen before. I live in northern California.

I enjoy watching birds in my backyard. I started feeding them and noticed that not every bird is a sparrow! One feeder lead to another and now I have a squirrel proof pole system with multiple feeders to attract a variety of birds. At this time I am seeing gold finches, house finches, chickadees, northern cardinals, titmouse, white breasted nuthatches, Carolina wrens, sparrows, downy woodpeckers, and red bellied woodpeckers. My most recent new sighting was a flock of Pine siskins that we saw for about a week. Occasionally we have hawks visit - I believe Cooper Hawks. I was lucky enough to visit Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadia National Park (spring of 2019) and attended a birding event. I was amazed with the experience.  I loved seeing warblers and the ocean birds - especially the Puffins. Now that we are not traveling; I hope doing these activities will help me increase my bird knowledge and give me a distraction from the crazy times we are experiencing.

Activity 1: A few of my favorite birds from the Wall of Birds are the Yellow-Billed Magpie, Shoebill, and Great Gray Owl. The reason I like each of these birds is due to their unique physical attributes. Activity 2: A few birds that I observed outside which I was able to narrow down to one group are: Mourning Doves belonging to the pigeons and doves, Black Phoebes belonging to the songbird subcategory of flycatchers, and Red-tailed Hawks belonging to the raptors. Activity 3: One of my favorite birds in my neighborhood is the Northern Mockingbird. It is a medium-sized grey songbird with white on its wings, thin black legs, light-colored yellowish eyes, and a very impressive long tail! The reason it is one my favorite local birds is due to an experience I had with this particular species when I first moved into my current home. It had been late last winter and I had just laid down in bed after a tiring day of shuffling boxes. As I started to close my eyes, a loud intriguing noise struck my ears. Was that a car alarm I heard? No, that’s not it. As the song continued, I realized it was taking on different tunes. At one moment it sounded like a typical songbird, another a harsh almost mechanical sound. However, what surprised me most was the noise kept on going and going. I was very confused but fascinated at the same time. Whatever was making these sounds sure had stamina. My curiosity in the end got the better of me and coaxed me out of bed to go rummaging for a local bird guide I had safely tucked away in a thankfully clearly labeled box. With the help of my trusty guide, I discovered this singing prodigy was no other than the Northern Mockingbird and that during nesting season they can sing throughout the night! With the satisfaction of successfully identifying this lovelorn avian, I went back to bed and let its quirky song put me to sleep like a lullaby. Now whenever I hear a Northern Mockingbird it makes me reminisce about that night.

My husband and I were gifted this course for Christmas, along with a bird feeder for our yard in RI. I have always loved cardinals and was really excited when we had a cardinal visit our feeder right away. We are noticing so many great birds in our yard and neighborhood now!

I have been interested in birding for some time but had not been as intentional with it until last year--with the help of some helpful resources and gifts from my partner, sister, and colleague. I love seeing peregrine falcons and condors / vultures in CA (which I did not see really in Boston), and hummingbirds.

Hello. I'm working through this course, and this is my first post. So we will see how it goes. I live in Mount Airy, MD -- near Baltimore. Went out in the backyard yesterday (31-Dec) evening and the first birds I saw were a Junco, then a Chickadee, and a Carolina Wren that came out of a hydrangea and sang to me. Those are all in the Songbird group, I think. There was a Downy Woodpecker that was eating our suet -- that's group 2. And then there is a small pond along our walk that has Mergansers on it in the winter. I'll count that as group 3. My favorite bird in my neighborhood is the Indigo Bunting. I attached a picture that I took a couple summers ago at Audrey Carroll Sanctuary near my house.  At this time of year, I also really enjoy the Nuthatches. I like the staccato song they sing while they climb down the tree trunks. Thanks for reading! I'm really enjoying the class, and have learned quite a bit!

Hello, Seems like there will be a lot of new birders now that we are home and taking time to see what is around us! I too got this course as a gift, although I have been a sort of bird watcher for a while. Looking forward to sharing experiences along the way!

Like others, I got this course as a gift since I have been birding during the pandemic as a new fun hobby since I discovered the Audubon app in late spring. I recently came to Florida from my home in Philadelphia and I am having such fun watching birds on the beach. This is a photo of my favorites: Royal Terns. I like how their wintertime black heads look like Groucho Marx eyebrows. In the photo you can also see a ruddy turnstone, which took me forever to identify. It is hard learning to bird while social distancing since it is less easy to talk with experienced birders. Even so, I am proud to have identified more than 70 birds! I wish I had a better camera to get some closeup shots. Some of you have some amazing photo skills!

I got this for Christmas along with other birding gifts, having become a nascent birdwatcher during the pandemic. My (adult) children are humoring my obsession quite gracefully.  So at my backyard suet feeder in Central Virginia I have one bird that visits occasionally that I am having trouble identifying- my best guess is least flycatcher but not sure he should be here this time of year.  Smaller than a sparrow, white eye-ring, two white bars on wings, and from back his black wings with white bard touch to make distinct V below grey back.  Advice appreciated!

I recently moved to the Finger Lakes Region of New York State and can't believe the birds in my backyard. We have seen  Cardinals, Blue Jays, Heron, Mallard ducks and a woodpecker that I haven't been able to identify yet, I think  it could be either a Downy or Acorn woodpecker. This class is a wonderful gift from my daughter and I am exciting about identifying the different groups of birds in my area and hope to join a bird watching group soon.

We mostly have songbirds in my area (there aren't a lot of waterfowl or shorebirds in the area).  I helped out on the Christmas bird count in 2019 and I am particularly fond of the Say's phoebe as that was the first bird I managed to identify by myself. I've also always liked the Great Blue Herons, although I haven't seen them here.

Activity 2 I saw this white juvenile snow goose eating along side some Canadian Geese in the Nisqually Estuary Trail in Billy Frank Jr. Wildlife Refuge  near Olympia,WA.

I’ve recently moved to a lake outside of Memphis TN. I live on a small lake and have enjoyed discovering all of wildlife that living in the area. I have particularly enjoyed the Great Blue Herons and the Green Herons.

My daughter gave me this course for Christmas.  How do I choose just one favorite bird lol?  I love the Northern Flickers that visit my suet feeders (the bird on the right in the photo).  I have a male and female and built a nest box for them that they already seem to have claimed even though it is December.  I packed  it full of aspen shavings animal bedding and they "carved" out the cavity just like you see in YouTube videos.  I also like the Ladder-backed Woodpecker (left in the photo), 2 females and 2 males have been in my yard at the same time.  I participate in FeederWatch and have done 2 counts so far.  This has been a great hobby to begin during the pandemic.

We went on a nature walk in the back bay and saw ducks, shorebirds, songbirds, and a raptor.

I liked the loon from the wall of birds best because of the audio of its song.

We enjoy the hummingbirds that feed and nest in our front yard.

Hi- I got this for Christmas. I am 11. I lost my newpaper carrier job in May and started making bird treats for my family and neighbors. I like learning about birds in my backyard. I live in a city. I like the pictures here from places hat do not look like where I live. I am learning about birds so I can help my customers. I have a lot of customers now. My yard has a lot of birds now. I hung a finch sack and the finches now found it and eat at it. Here is a picture. I used Merlin and think I have juvinile american finches. But it is hard to tell because the app tells me the finches change color in the winter. I also have a woodpecker in my yard. I think it is a hairy woodpecker. I have a lot of sparrows and wonder if they are all house sparrows or differnt kinds of sparrows. From Elliott

Absolutely loving this course!  I'm lucky enough to live near a place called Pajaro Dunes (pajaro = bird) near Watsonville, CA.  I'm just beginning to identify all of the birds there, of which there are many.  It's a freshwater river mouth that meats the Pacific Ocean.  There are many Brown Pelicans here, but there are also fresh water White Pelicans (which are huge!).

I am just starting this introductory birding course & liking it.  I want to share in this section Activity 2:  My Field Guide, which I really like, is "Birds of Ontario" by Andy Bezener.  My wife and I are fortunate to live in the Bay of Quinte area where we get to see lots of birds.  Along the Belleville Waterfront Trail where we walk there are lots of Geese, many even winter over here.  Also in the last few years Swans have come to live here.  Using my field guide I believe they are Mute Swans due to their orange bills (thanks field guide).  I am including a pic of a Swan in this post.  Lastly lots of ducks are to be seen all year round.  Mallards are common, although other species are also seen.  I intend to try to identify as many waterfowl species as I can.  Cheers.

Hello! I live in NW Wyoming. At this time of year we see black-capped chickadees a lot as well as ravens and magpies. We also have trumpeter swans and bald eagles who over-winter here.

I think my favorite is the Common Grackle, when I first saw him in my backyard and snapped this photo, he was one of the first bird photos that I got to turn out not completely blurry!  Hahaha, because of that he's got a special place in my heart!  I starting birding in March due to quarantine, which is weird because all my adult life I have been afraid of birds.  I had a phobia and would literally cross the street if a pigeon was in front of me (sound silly now). My family finds it hilarious that now I'm crazy about birding. In fact this course is a present from one of my best friends!  As a new birder every "first" time I see (id) a new-to-me bird, that's my favorite until the next one!

We love our Rose Breasted Grosbeaks. They return every year and raise new families on our land. My husband jokes thar we should call our place “Grosbeak Farm.”

<p style="text-align: left;">Activity 2:  one bird described for each of three groups</p>   <p style="text-align: right;">Woodpeckers—Northern Flicker.  I used Merlin and “All About Birds” to obtain information about this species.  Our lesson lists the following characteristics for the woodpecker group:</p> <p style="text-align: left;">“Climb along trunks and whack at wood; distinctive group.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Cling to tree trunks and sides of branches Hammer on wood and peck holes Small to medium-sized Medium-sized, pointed bill Short neck Moderate to short tail Very short legs”</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Unlike most of its fellow woodpeckers, this is a moderately large bird, being in size between a robin and a crow. It is brown with black markings; the eastern variant has yellow on its wings and tail, whereas the western has red.  Its bill is medium-sized and slightly curved.  It has a white rump that may be seen in flight.  These birds hammer on the ground where they search for insects (beetles and ants), but will live in holes in trees at least 6’ above the ground surface, where they build their nests.  They like to capture flying insects with their tongues.  They also eat berries and seeds.  They are found in ecotonal areas, where they can access sparse tree cover in open areas, as well as access forested areas.</p>   <p style="text-align: right;">Wading Birds—Roseate Spoonbill.  I used Merlin, “All About Birds” and the Audubon Society website to obtain information about this species.  Again, our lesson provides the following list of characteristics for the Wading Birds group:</p> “Large, long-legged birds often wading in water; includes herons, egrets, ibis, storks, and cranes. Wade in water, sometimes fields Large to very large Very long neck Long bill, may be curved Very long legs Short tail” The Roseate Spoonbill is a large bird with a pink body and long pink legs, a white head, red eyes, and a very distinctive bill that is flat, like a spoon, and used for capturing prey in shallow water.  These birds wade in shallow (5”) fresh or salt water areas and use their bills to sift muddy water for fish, aquatic invertebrates like crustaceans, and other small aquatic life. Their color comes from carotenoids found in the food they eat.  These birds are social and are often found in mixed flocks with other similar birds, like Ibises, Herons, Cranes, and Storks.  In the United States, they are found in states along the Gulf Coast and on Florida’s southern Atlantic Coast. They occur along the coasts of Mexico, and throughout South America.   The distinctive bill shapes are somewhat famous in North American archaeology, as they show up as decorative elements on pottery found in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri between 200 BCE to 400 CE.  These are areas far outside of the geographic distribution of these birds.  Such art-work helped support the concept of a far flung interaction amongst prehistoric peoples throughout Eastern North America.  People traded copper from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; catlinite, or Pipe Stone, from Minnesota; conch shells from the Gulf Coast; spike freshwater mussels from Eastern Georgia, used for personal adornment, such as necklaces; and had knowledge of fauna and flora from other parts of the continent, like the Spoon Bill.  Pottery in Illinois was made from local materials using decorative motifs of birds from another part of the continent.  How did ancient Illinoisans know what these birds looked like?  We have examples of skeletal remains of these birds found buried with humans from the time.   <p style="text-align: right;">Parrots—Scarlet Macaw.  I used information from the Rainforest Alliance to obtain information on this species.  Our class provides the following information:</p> “Parrots have a heavily curved, short, strong bill; distinctive group. Large head Short neck Short, strong bill with upper mandible curving over the lower one Short legs Many with brilliant colors on parts of body; mainly green” Scarlet Macaws are large birds and represent the largest of the parrots in the world; they can be up to 33” long from tail tip to the tip of the beak. Their faces are almost featherless and white.  The dominant color is red on wings, tails, and body.  The wings also have yellow and blue feathers. The large curved beak helps the bird eat the hard nuts found in the rainforests of Mexico and throughout South America. It is not uncommon to find hundreds of these birds clinging to clay cliffs along a river, as the clay helps neutralize poisons they ingest when eating certain toxic fruits that would kill other animals.  They live in large gregarious groups in tall deciduous trees near rivers.  They like to nest in holes found in dead trees and they mate for life.  Adults love to preen one another, as well as their offspring, which helps form strong social bonds.  These magnificent birds are sometimes stolen from their nests as juveniles to be sold in the United States for as much as $4,000.

I just signed up for the course as well and find it extremely interesting.  I guess I always liked watching and listening to birds, but I never took the time to really learn much about them.  Since this course I venture out in the backyard and around the local waterways and I see lots of amazing flying neighbors!! The  Eastern Bluebird above is probably one of my favorites because they come and visit with me on the porch, sit on the back of my lawn chairs, and well, just make themselves right at home.  I also think they're cute as well :-) I hope to do more bird watching in my area when Covid is under control, but in the meantime my backyard is showing me amazing things!!!!  Y'all have fun.............................................

I have just signed up for the course.  I used to be into bird watching but I guess I let life and career get in the way.  I have forgotten more than I remember.  It seems some feral cats have invaded my neighbor and the birds seem to have disappeared a couple of weeks ago.  I ordered a live trap, and I am going to try to catch them and take them to the humane society.  The squirrels also vanished at the same time, and normally the yard is full of them.

Activity 3, my favorite neighborhood bird is the Phoebe... literally my neighbor as it nests in the eaves of the barn as well as my fixed back door awning. Seeing (and hearing) them return each year means I’m in for the ultimate treat of watching their fascinating and adorable behaviors, listening to their songs, and observing another season of creation as they raise a family. It’s a giddy feeling when I know they’re back!

I just signed up for this class last week as something fun for my friend and I to do together. We have become birding buddies this year. We are in Chicago, so we don't have a ton of diversity in our urban neighborhoods, but we've started to venture out to some of the forest preserves. In our own backyards, we both really love the Downy Woodpecker. We see them here a lot. I only used my phone camera, so the photo is not so great.

Like many people I’ve gotten into birding since being home all the time during Covid, and starting to notice the natural world in my backyard. I have hung up bird feeders and am identifying birds I’ve never seen before because I never stopped and really looked at them. One of my favorites is the White-Breasted Nuthatch because it’s so lively and dances around on the tree trunks like a little sprite. I have a wonderful Hairy Woodpecker who has discovered my suet feeder, as well as some Ladder Backed Woodpeckers and a female Williamson’s Sapsucker who seems to live on one particular tree in my yard. The Sandhill Cranes picture is from a recent visit to Bosque Del Apache, which is basically bird heaven here in beautiful New Mexico. These birds have given me so much joy in these difficult times.

I saw these beauties while watching the sunrise off Pompano Beach in South Florida. Unfortunately, the Merlin Bird ID app did not help me identify them right away.  So I dug into other references, finding hits in All About Birds, Audubon, and Birds of Southwest Florida. They are Black Skimmers. It was incredible watching them soaring back and forth across the beach, the entire flock moving as one, finally settling a few yards from where I was standing. The pigeon landed in the foreground just as I was taking the picture.

I recently put a bird feeder in a tree next to our patio and this has become my primary bird watching experience as we are rather homebound during the pandemic.  Over the last week, I've been able to identify three perching bird species: (1) Black-capped chickadee, (2) black-eyed junco, and (3) spotted towhee.  We also have a hummingbird feeder and have a steady line-up of Anna's.  When we first put up the hummingbird feeder, I wasn't able to distinguish the family, they just looked like a tiny metallic green bird.  It was when one turned his head toward the sunshine that I first saw the flash of crimson head and throat.  I identified the chickadees using an old National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds.  I was already familiar with the juncos, but the spotted towhee is new to me, I hadn't seen it before we installed the seed feeder.  While cleaning my patio this afternoon and getting ready for winter, I spent about two hours sweeping, moving flower pots, and cleaning all the while the chickadees didn't seem to mind, they continued to feed.  At one point, I stood still just a couple of feet from the tree and just observed the feeding activity.  They took from the feeder and flew off to another branch to work at their food.  They are the most delightful birds, very active and surprisingly tolerant of other birds.

I was finally able to identify my favorite bird today! I've read about the ruby-crowned kinglet and how they can survive the bitterly-cold winters even though they are so small. I think they are more common in western Oregon now that it is late fall and today I saw one outside my window in my front yard. It reminded me of a wren at first, then I saw the black and white lines on the wings and white eye ring. The bird hopped around on a brush pile then, suddenly, it flashed the red crown feathers! It was near another kinglet who also flashed back - two males. What a treat! It was my first time recognizing this truly great little bird in the wild. I wish I had taken a photo, but I was too excited!

This Great Horned owl stays all day hidden in the depths of the tree behind our house, then takes off each night just about sunset.  He puts on quite a show for us and our neighbors because he scoots out onto a branch about a half hour before flight and just hangs around.  Take off is amazing, such huge wings!

The first bird I was able to identify from my feeder last year, using my new guide book, was the Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco, I loved watching it flick food out of the feeder then jumping down to the ground to eat it, thankfully I am seeing them again around my apartment, sadly I had to take down the feeder this summer as I was also attracting a large family of rats underneath  my feeder and my landlord was not happy:( Every time I see a Junco, now, I smile and think of the start of my becoming a birder:)

I chose the Belted Kingfisher. I met a few kingfishers this summer-fall while kayaking on the Hudson River. They come across as quite the characters: chatty and bossy, but so fun to watch. At first, I had mistaken them for blue jays since it seemed--from a distance--in flight they have similar markings on their wings.  In researching them for this activity, I discovered that what I thought was a male is actually a female. This is one of the few species where the female is more brightly colored than the male. She has a rust band or belt, whereas the male does not. They burrow into fairly deep holes. I also looked up the red-breasted nuthatch since I have two who have been spending a lot of time at our feeder since October. They are often around chickadees and titmice, and I wasn't sure if that was just our two, or a coincidence. But apparently this is common behavior. I really love watching them hop up and down the tree, then dive in for a quick grab at the feeder. My source of information: Cornell Lab, All About Birds.