• Laura
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      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.
    • Jane
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      IMG_0641-3Not 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.
    • Jane
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      IMG_0227-2 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.
    • HoosierBirds
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      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!
    • Allison
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      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!
      • HoosierBirds
        Participant
        Chirps: 3
        That is super cool! I have always wanted to see a red-breasted nuthatch, and I hope they keep coming back to your feeder!
    • Allison
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      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!
    • Linda
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      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
    • Jeannette
      Participant
      Chirps: 6
      CARDNAL CROPPED 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.
      • Jane
        Participant
        Chirps: 4
        I love this bird. I heard it often when visiting my family in Ontario but only saw a flash of red once. It was hard to spot in the thick foliage of the deciduous trees.
      • Trish
        Participant
        Chirps: 2

        @Jane The Northern Cardinal is beloved in Canada because we don't have that many colorful birds , and it stands out so cheerfully in winter. In 2021, the citizens of London, Ontario (2 hours from Detroit) voted the cardinal as  the city's Official Bird.

    • IMG_1083 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.
    • Amy
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      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!7D31EEE1-E79A-454B-8E94-07D7DFFB715F_1_105_c
    • Vivian
      Participant
      Chirps: 6
      FAD2A2A4-9515-4F62-8CA2-74989DB1FA05DF9D0420-DAE5-484E-9250-1BF3D1BBE371Greetings 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.
    • Angela
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      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 :) copeton  
    • Margo
      Participant
      Chirps: 10
      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.Saltwater Local Fisherman (2)
    • Valerie
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      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. verdin
      • Alexandra
        Participant
        Chirps: 8
        I've never heard of this bird before- it is seriously cool and very colorful! Thanks for sharing! -Alex, NY
    • CHRISTINE
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      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.
    • Ross
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      Magpie 2Magpie 3Magpie 1 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
    • Joan
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      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!
    • gail
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      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.
      • Valerie
        Participant
        Chirps: 2
        It was a favorite of mine when I lived in Texas Hill Country. It's one of the things I miss most. That and fireflies.
      • Cindy
        Participant
        Chirps: 5
        i live in Canyon Lake and my favorite is also scissor-tailed flycatcher! I'll never forget the first time a saw one by the dam when i moved here. I had to know what it was....so cool.
      • HoosierBirds
        Participant
        Chirps: 3

        @Cindy You may have already known this, but the Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher is the state bird of Oklahoma. I have never seen one, but I would like to one day.

    • Susan
      Participant
      Chirps: 7
      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.
    • Susan
      Participant
      Chirps: 7
      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.
    • Melinda
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      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.
    • Susan
      Participant
      Chirps: 7
      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.
    • Beth
      Participant
      Chirps: 13
      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.
    • Beth
      Participant
      Chirps: 13
      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.
    • Frederique
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      DSC03539I 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. DSC00057 The second one is a paradise flycatcher.   DSC00060And the last one is part of the grouse. It is a purple-crested Turaco
      • Cindy
        Participant
        Chirps: 5
        love your photos!
      • Frederique
        Participant
        Chirps: 3

        @Cindy Thank you very much!