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.