1. Tremendous fun! 2. I see a lot of crows which belong to the Corvid group  I also saw a raptor recently I  e  the common red tail Hawk. At home I have a bird feeder with a frequent visitor who is a songbird finch 3. In the evenings I like seeing the flock of wild green parrots squawk by as they fly to their night roost

Morning Dove was the bird that I found. It hopped right out of the tree in my apartment complex. I often hear their song. It was neat that I used a guide and narrowed down my favorite morning song bird!

Activity 3: I work at a school in Kalamazoo MI called Kazoo School that is located right next to Kleinstuck Nature Preserve so I see and hear many different birds daily. One of my favorite birds is the pileated woodpecker and I saw them for the first time in Kleinstuck. I was amazed by their size and physical features, rather Dinosaur-like. I was in the woods with my preschool students at a spot we call Paw Paw Valley and I saw two pileated woodpeckers. I was so excited I gasped and said to myself "Oh my f***ing god". Two of my students were sitting close by and they looked up at me and one of them said, "she just said f***k". They started to giggle. I was mortified and explained to them that that was not a good word to use but sometimes people say it when they are surprised or excited. It was the first sighting of a bird that really made me feel something. It's hard to put into words but mesmerized is one word I'd use. My dear birding friend told me that the pileated woodpecker was my spark bird.

I’m new to this and other than the birds I’ve been able to identify my whole life (cardinal, robin, etc) I saw my first “what is this?” bird the other day and figured it out using the Merlin app. A European Starling! I love the black and gold look of it.

This morning we went on a walk along a trail near Utah Lake. We saw several birds including American White Pelicans, Double-breasted Cormorants, American Kestrels, Red-winged blackbirds, and Northern Flickers. American White Pelicans and Double-breasted Cormorants are from the seabirds group, American Kestrels are raptors, and Red-winged blackbirds are from the blackbird group. Looking forward to finding more birds from various groups!

I was drawn to the Lilac Breasted Roller as I have also admired their beautiful coloring. I was surprised to listen to it's rather croaky call, for such a pretty bird, it sounds like it's choking on something! For activity two I went outside and the first thing I saw was a Great blue Heron. They're not frequent visitors out here so it was a treat. While out there I saw a killdeer and a dark eyed Junco, so those are my three birds; a wading bird, a shorebird and a songbird. Finally my favorite bird out here is the American Goldfinch. They're frequent visitors, so chatty and I love seeing that splash of color in the trees.

Activity 3: I live just a few minutes' walk from a river and a small waterfall, and we have Great Blue Herons that stand at the base of the short fall and fish. Usually I only see one at a time, but I have also seen an adult there with a juvenile (presumably teaching junior to fish). They are so beautiful, and so patient!! I love the way they are incredibly still, until they are incredibly fast. I could watch them all day. They are tied for favorite with the Double Crested Cormorants, whom I love to see sunning with their wings out on tree branches or rocks (or, an upturned shopping cart that someone stole and dumped in the river for whatever reason. It's now often a cormorant roost, at any rate). I think they're so funny when they dry out in the sun.

Activity 1:  I went outside the US and explored.  I love the look of the Hartlaub's Turaco and it's call is nothing like I expected it to be.  Downright gruff.  The other bird I liked is the Resplendent Quetzal. Again, very bright and colorful; I did find this call to be lilting and very pretty.  I was saddened to read that their main habitat is no longer as abundant, but happy that their numbers have maintained. Activity 2: Out of the songbird group, I love the mountain bluebird.  I don't see them near my home, but just a bit west of where I am they're abundant.  From the shorebirds group, the killdeer is one of my favorites.  Activity 3: I have three woodpeckers that are consistent visitors to my backyard: downy, hairy and northern flicker; I love them all. It is spring and I can here the northern flicker acting like the 'big man on campus.'  He lets other flickers know that this is his territory!

Activity 1: Like many others, it can be difficult to choose a favorite. On the Wall of Birds, both the common loon and the scissor-tailed flycatcher caught my eye. Growing up in Michigan, I had no idea how much I missed the sound of their call on the lakes and how much it reminds me of home. I also have a soft spot in my heart for the scissor-tailed flycatcher because I was one of the first species my MerlinID app helped me identify when I first started birding.

My favorite bird that I see from where I lived in my hometown of Rineyville, KY is house sparrow. I see theses sparrows having seed from my family's feeders in my backyard.

Activity 3: I work at a state park in Missouri and we set up a feeder watch window this winter for our visitors. I have really enjoyed watching the Goldfinches change from a bright yellow to a darker almost olive or grey. I would have assumed they were different birds had I not previously taken the color course in the bird academy and read about their seasonal color changes in a book I had been reading. I think this color change is so fun to observe. I also have been working hard to learn to differentiate between the hairy woodpeckers and downy woodpeckers since we get both frequently.

Activity 2: The first bird that came to mind for me is the grey catbird. My only encounter with this bird was while hiking on the Appalachian Trail and hearing its song. I thought it was so unique and rhythmic that I had to stop and record it. I found it fascinating and I loved that it’s name was catbird. I was excited to later learn it’s call sounds like a mewing cat. I believe this bird to be a songbird, based on its singing but also its small size, long tail, and general look that seems consistent with other songbirds. The next bird that came to mind for me is a Common Loon. These birds particularly make me excited as I live in the Northwoods where they can often be found in inland lakes. This summer I spent a lot of time backpacking through Maine and it was such a treat to hear their haunting call as I lay half awake in my tent. One friend I met from England thought it was a coyote. I also loved watching their activities on the water. I once watched one aggressively flap its wings and fly just over the water as if it were skimming over it. It was also fun to watch them dive beneath the water and scan for where they’ll pop back up next. The Common Loon clearly belongs to the waterfowl group. My final bird is the Mourning Dove. A bird that is a lot more common for me to experience in my daily life in town. I particularly love its somber song, and when I first paid attention to it, it gave me a sense  of nostalgia for my childhood. Based on the name I think this bird clearly belongs to the Pigeon and Dove family.

Activity 3: Greetings from Mexico City! I live in a neighborhood with many birds, especially doves and songbirds. However, one in particular always wakes me up with its unique call—it actually reminds me of an alarm clock! At first, I couldn't spot it easily because it's tiny and never perches on nearby fences. But one morning, I finally discovered its secret spot: my very own window! :-) That’s why I always heard its voice so close to me. My feathered neighbor follows this routine every single morning, and it's partly the reason why I’m taking this course. It’s a Hutton's vireo (Vireo huttoni), a type of songbird, and here you can see a picture of it:

We're in Toronto, Canada and have a backyard birdfeeder. We mostly see songbirds (finches, house sparrows, and juncos. Three different groups we've seen are woodpeckers, songbirds, and doves. We saw a red bellied woodpecker and a mourning dove. The feed we're using is shelled sunflower seeds which is much tidier than other kinds we've used and is extremely popular around here. The woodpecker has been our favourite so far because it's so unique, colourful, and big!

In the winter we have a group of Dark Eyed Juncos living in our azalea bush (it's next to the drier vent and is always warm), and since they're ground feeders we put a feeder on the ground just for them. They're like little puffballs hopping around on the patio furniture, and they make us so happy! My dad always wanted to see puffins, which we do have on the Oregon coast, but they're not easy to spot, and he was never able to. So now I keep my eyes open for puffins everytime I'm at the ocean. I didn't realize when I was younger how birds can be such a connection between people, but since his passing I appreciate that more.

Our Upper Midwest house sits on a moraine.  The hillside is largely native oak savanna sloping down to a cattail marsh and sedge meadow.  Among several favorites that came to our feeders last year was the red-headed woodpecker.  We were thrilled to see this stunning bird after a nearly-35 year hiatus.  We suspect that recent efforts to clear brush choking the savanna opened and improved habitat enough to once again make it inviting for this bird.  Although we are within its  overwintering range, and we do have friends in the general area that see the bird year-round, it is not present here this winter.  Interestingly, a pair of sandhill cranes strolled up the hill from the marsh last year and also regularly visited the feeders, in addition to walking around the yard near house and barns.  This is another favorite bird---a joy to hear its wild bugling calls, and to watch it in flight, as it parachutes down to the marsh, and as it prowls among vegetation, often enjoying a froggy snack.  The sandhill crane population has greatly increased in our area over the past 25 years, thanks in large measure to habitat restoration, reduced use of certain pesticides, protection from hunting under the MBTA, and ability to adapt to the agricultural landscape (in fact, their recovery is so great that now a hunting season is proposed).  We look forward to spring and the return of these special favorites.

My favorite bird has to be the Black-Capped Chickadee; I love how energetic, agile, and noisy they are as they flit from branch to branch in search of food. It always makes me happy when I see one show up at my bird feeder. A new favorite that I have seen for the first time this winter is White-Crowned Sparrows. They always show up in groups of 5-7, and almost all of them have the brown juvenile markings; I've only seen one out of the bunch that has the adult black and white crown. I love watching them show up and go back and forth between the feeder, the safety of the branches in the nearby evergreen shrubs, and on the ground. It is so fun to watch them venture out and do the "hop scratch" that they do on the ground to find food. And just today, I was looking out at the feeders and saw that one of the sparrows looked different than what I had seen, and looked a lot more streaked compared to the other sparrows. After consulting my bird books and online, I determined it was most likely a Song Sparrow! It was so exciting to see a sparrow that has never visited my yard before.

I live in Western North Carolina and it's wintertime. I have recently observed a flock of birds - which of course I never paid attention to before - and just discovered they are robins! I didn't know that robins join together in flocks in the winter and are more solitary in the spring/summer. Excited about my new interest in birding!

I voted on many birds, whether I had seen them not. My favorite bird by a long shot is the Carolina Chickadee because it is social, smart, and beautiful. I also enjoy the obnoxiously colored Painted Bunting because of my memory of seeing it with my dad in the early morning on a vacation.

My first couple of votes went to 2 flightless birds: The kiwi and the kakapo. Both National treasures to New Zealand. I have a fascination for albatross as well. One of my favourite neighbourhood birds is the New Zealand Wood Pigeon (Kereru). Usually seen in pairs, gorging themselves on berries. I can hear them flying low overhead before I see them. 

I voted for a couple.  My favourites are the Great Blue Heron and the Wood Duck.  One reason is because I actually see them on my hikes at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington Ontario. I put this in my app. Merlin, as a lifer.  It is a Downy Woodpecker of the Woodpecker family.  It is also my favourite bird in my neighbourhood.  My mom, before she passed away saw one at our house, which is on a very busy street in the City.  So, whenever I see one now in our backyard or front yard, it gives me a very nice memory and makes me really happy. I went hiking today and saw a Screech Owl, which is another lifer.  I saw many birds and love having the Merlin app open so I know what else I am hearing. I am also using my Guide Book, "Birds of Ontario: by Andy Bezener to check off all the birds I see and to help me learn about them. I have also joined a local Bird Club. My favourite bird currently is the Veery bird.  I watched a Netflix series Connected to learn how Veeries accurately predict hurricane season in advance.  They are also cute and are medium-sized thrushes with bright reddish-brown tones above, buffy breast and white belly. I have seen one at Algonquin Park which was very exciting.

It's so difficult to choose a single favourite bird.  They all have their unique attributes and charm.  Currently, I'm enjoying several birds that are visiting our yard this winter to take advantage of our feeders and seeds from our native garden plants.  We have at least 3 resident Black-capped Chickadees that are busy caching seeds, especially sunflower seeds.  There are a few nearby nature trails where the Chickadees are extremely friendly and will visit your hand for snacks.  Their cute little faces, with their black cap, white cheeks and tiny beak and friendly nature make them a favourite for me.  You can't help but fall in love with these little, round, active birds.

My first favorite bird in my neighborhood in upstate NY is the Eastern Bluebird.  I just think it's so beautiful and every time I'm able to spot one it just makes my day.  There seem to be more and more in my neighborhood over the last few years so it's likely that I see one when I take a walk.  We also have Red Tailed Hawks in our neighborhood.  My husband and I had the good fortune to see one perched on our shed and then dive down and catch a squirrel this summer.  It was amazing to watch!

I voted for the secretary bird because it’s so beautiful. My other vote went to the black necked crane because so many cranes are in danger of extinction. My favorite birds near my home are the bobwhite quail, and the sandhill cranes. I love listening to the quails while trail running, but they can be harder to spot. The sandhill cranes are usually out in full force near the canal where I live, and I love seeing them raise their chicks. Sandhill crane chicks are some of the cutest baby birds.