I had an amazing experience in Costa Rica with a potoo. They have a song that sounds like Pauuulll. I recorded it and at night I saw with my night lights a potoo in a tree close to my house. I reproduced his song using a speaker and he came flying on top of my head, was one of the best moments of my life. He kept coming I believe he was curious about me or wanted to attack me. I will try to insert here the recording I did. I couldn’t insert the recording

In trying to identify this "duck", I learned about a new bird family the Coots, Gallinules, and Rails.  This is an American Coot I saw at White Rock Lake in Dallas, Texas 10/11/20. I plan to spend more time watching the diverse bird population in this area. There is also a wonderful flock of Monk Parakeets in that area!

Visiting the Chesapeake Bay. Great place to birdwatch! Today we saw two bald eagles and plenty of great blue herons. It’s also migration season: so may Canadian geese & mallards! Around the yard I’ve identified mockingbirds and I believe a grey catbird. Lots of smaller very chatty birds perching at the top of tall trees which tend to fly in groups, but haven’t been able to identify them. KD

I enjoy the diversity of the birds in the Pacific NW including the Bald Eagle, the winter visitor Townsend Warbler and the calls of the Barred Owl in the forest by my house.

Just wanted to share three birds that I find unforgettable: the common loon, the pileated woodpecker and the osprey. I have vivid memories of them surprising me--demanding to be noticed, so to speak. Now I go out of my way to see them again to receive their message from the wild side. Honorable mention to every hummingbird I'ver ever seen and the elusive cedar waxwing.

I love the Northern Cardinal. It stands out among the rest of nature, and that's what I love best about it.

In the last 2 days, I have had 3 immature rose breasted grosbeaks visit my feeder. When I saw the first one, I thought it looked like a grosbeak but the coloring was all wrong. I looked through manuals and Merlin and found out they were immature birds! That was fun.

Hello, I live in the Upstate South Carolina area. By using the Merlin app, I identified a barred owl who wakes me up late at night!

We are lucky to have amazing bird life here in Cape Town. My favourites are the Sunbirds and Mousebirds that frequent my garden, although the latter like to wreack havok in my garden, especially with the granadilla. They are such characters! :) I found them on the wall represented by the Sugarbird and Red-Faced Mousebird in Southern Africa. Yesterday I was super lucky to capture a Double Collared Sunbird with my camera finally - and in front of Table Mountain as well!

Each morning my son and I walk about 1.5 miles around where we live. It is very common for us to see Blue Jays and my favorite the Northern Cardinal. I love to see them and listen to their songs.

My favourite bird from the Wall of Birds is the Pintail Wydah. I spotted one from my yard here in Ghana and took a not-bad photo; he was a male with the distinctive tail. I listened to the call on the Wall of Birds and it's quite pretty. But what I didn't realise is that these are Indigobirds (I am also a fan of the Wilson's Indigobird, which I've seen around a bit) and they are parasites! Who knew?! Not me. Very intriguing! I have no field guide to Ghanaian birds so the more I can find out about the ones I spot, the better. In terms of different types of birds, I've spotted plenty of raptors, particularly kestrels, but the other day I saw a little African Scops Owl and last night I saw what appears to be a Lizard Buzzard. I saw my first parrot the other day: a Senegal Parrot. I've been in Ghana a year and I come from regional Australia, where there are parrots everywhere, so it was nice to see this one, and I saw another last night. The third kind of bird I've seen, and one of my favourites, is a Turaco: the Grey Plantain Eater. They remind me of cockatoos in Australia with their little crests and highly social personalities — they're very easy to anthropomorphise! My favourite bird that I've seen in my neighbourhood (and my yard) is the splendid sunbird. I've included a photo of the male on a rainy day, and his brilliant colours are a bit subdued, but these are beautiful birds, very small, and he and his mate (pictured below him) come around the house to see if they can find small bugs on our fence wall and around outdoor lights.

Activity 1: I like the Osprey. Once while I was fishing for trout in a high altitude lake in Central Utah I watched an Osprey as it circled overhead and then plunged (more like belly flopped) into the water to catch its own fish. It failed a few times, but then it succeeded in grabbing a fish in its talons. That was pretty cool to watch. Activity 2: I went for a walk along a trail near my house and spotted some Canada Geese, Mallard Ducks, and Mourning Doves. The plumage of some of the Mallards was different. Rather than having a green head with blue wing bars, some had dark heads with white chests and black bodies, including black wing bars. Activity 3: One of my favorite birds is the Black-chinned hummingbird. One day while I was in my back yard, a Black-chinned hummingbird was performing some aerial stunts. It kept flying back and forth right over my head as it did barrel rolls. Must have been some sort of courting display.

I live in the desert Southwest and have seen a number of adult Cooper's hawk from the Raptor category.  Onc particularly likes to spend time in our large Mesquite tree but it is striking to watch it fly across the yard with its long, striped tail.  It makes a kind of dorky squealing sound which was unexpected.  We also get solitary Roadrunners crossing the yard which I think might fall into the "Other" category.  Just once we watched one glide from the top of a high rock which was quite a sight.  Normally they cautiously traverse the open spaces with their tail and neck making a V-shape until they feel threatened and rotate their body almost parallel with the ground and speed away. Yesterday I was excited to see two Green Tailed Towhees from the Songbird/Sparrow category scratching under some Mesquite trees.  They were so beautiful with rufous caps and bright green along their wings and tail and a very clearly marked white patch on their throats.  I think they are uncommon in the area because the Merlin Bird ID app would not let me ID them.   So far I think the Green Tailed Towhees are my favorite bird that I've seen but I also enjoy the variety of hummingbird's the visit the feeder outside the window.

The Wandering Albatross on the Wall of Birds is the first bird that catches my eye; how could it not!? I love that the birds songs are also included. Listening to the Wandering Albatross is incredible. The duck and diver groups captivate me. I first got into birding after spotting a Loon on a pond near my home. I dove into a great, big research tunnel after seeing him. Incredible! There are so many other ducks near me that I cannot wait to be able to identify. After my first encounter with the Loon, it definitely has to be my favourite. After all, he lead me here. :) -Erin / Pennsylvania

Activity 1 : shoebill , tawny frogmouth , kakapo Activity 2 : songbirds group one I have purple finch waterfowl : Pekin ducks in back yard raptors : red tail hawks activity 3 : some owl I hear at night not sure what kind yet

My favorites from the Wall of Birds are the Blue-Footed Booby and the Wandering Albatross.  I just love the silly sounding name of the Blue-Footed Booby and their demeanor.  I read a book called the Eye of the Albatross years ago and have been fascinated by albatross eve since then.  They are elegant birds.   Outside, at my feeders, I have identified a White-breasted Nuthatch which is from the Tree Creeper family; a Mourning Dove which is from the Dove/Pigeon family; and a Chipping Sparrow which is from the sparrow family. Also, I have shared a picture of the classic northern cardinal that is always a frequent flyer at my feeders.  

I living in Lake Monticello, a private gated community, is a census-designated place in Fluvanna County, Virginia, United States. By coincidence,  One day I go to golfing at Keswick, I found a Blue Grosbeak looking for food in the grass. And I have the camera in my hand, allows me to take pictures of him. And of course he is in my interest and hopefully wishes to see him again.

Ruby-throated hummingbird is my favorite bird for a reason: 1. They are the smallest migrating bird. They don’t migrate in flocks like other species, and they typically travel alone for up to 500 miles at a time. 2. The name, hummingbird, comes from the humming noise their wings make as they beat so fast. 3. Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards.

                  Since March 2020, I became interested and wanted to get to know the birds surrounding my house. I was inspired by a lover of Red-headed Woodpeckers, they came to make a nest on the tree in front of my house I saw them fly to feeder and birdbath that I prepare for them in my back yard. And flew back to the nest for a long time until July 5, 2020 so I had the opportunity to see them juvenlie.           I watched their juvenlie grow into adulthood. And expect him to leave me soon.

I have spent a great deal of time this summer learning more about my backyard birds - this is one of my favorite pictures.  The look on the little one's face is just precious.  Having the American Goldfinch visit this year has been such a joy.  (in addition to the Blue Jay, Cardinal, House Finch, Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Chickadee and many more - including a red-tailed hawk, which made the others scatter!) 

Hi, these are my favorite birds around home. They have really bright orange and yellow colors and they like to be around yellowish flowers that we have at home.

Hello! I am from NYC Brooklyn to be specific, and I just recently discovered birding. I have been going out almost every day and I was able to see and identify birds for the first time. In prospect park I saw a yellow warbler, a black-and- white warbler, lots of robins and european starlings. Today I also saw a hummingbird, a brown-thrasher and a green heron. I have also identified 3 different kinds of woodpeckers it just one area! Red- bellied, downy and northern flicker. I am looking forward to identify more birds as I get more knowledgeable.

This is keanu he is a White-breasted nuthatch(Sitta Carolinensis) other wise known as a tree creeper. One day I was walking the dogs and a blue flash of feathers caught my eye, so I leashed my dogs to a tree and went over to investigate. What I found was a young bird struggling to set flight. So I picked him up, held him close, got the dogs and went home. The first thing I did was call my neighbor because she has looked after many small animals in need. She gave me a big box some birdseed and more things for the bird to survive. That night I took him out and let him explore my bed then, he fell asleep while I watched some YouTube videos. The next morning I took him out and he started climbing on me like I was a tree. After school my neighbor brought me to a sanctuary for all kinds of birds, but when we got there the a lady took him away without letting me say goodbye. Just today I found out that Nuthatches climb trees up and down and cant fall off trees easily. Every now and then I think of Keanu with a teary eye and think how his life must have been or still is today. This is my story on Keanu he didn't act normal like wild birds but he was special to me and will always hold a place in my heart. Thanks for listening to my story!  :)

Hi I'm a long time bird lover but in recent years find myself more and more interested in bird watching.  Mobile apps are mostly to blame and cornell has two that are fabulous.  I live in Southeastern Pennsylvania but spend a lot of the summer in OCNJ.  I love hawks, eagles and ospreys and consider myself fortunate to see them often.  When I was a child it was unheard of to see an Osprey locally or certainly a bald eagle.  In recent years I've seen bald eagles in my neighborhood in the Philly suburbs and Osprey are everywhere at the Jersey shore.  I would like to think conservation efforts take credit for that or maybe banning of DDT. My favorite bird over the years has been the Goldfinch.  We had a nesting pair at my first house that obliterated our sunflowers but it was worth it.  Last year the Carolina Chickadee may have replaced the goldfinch due to what I felt was an amazing experience.  I used a mobile app to identify one and then played the recorded song on the app.  Must have been a mating call because a male flew to the branch 3 or 4 feet from me.  He flew away and I called him right back with the soundbite.  We played at this for a few minutes until I finally released the little romeo. We have large oaks and poplars in our suburban yard and I'm privileged to see and hear woodpeckers, wren, pewee, grey catbird, cooper's hawk, redtail hawk, chickadee, sparrows and the occasional goldfinch or owl (mostly hear them).  I've even had a hummingbird in my back yard.

Hello! Happy to join in with everybody here. I've had to relocate from my urban home in NYC to a much more rural area in NJ. I am amazed at how many birds I see and hear out here! Taking this course has certainly enriched my exploration of my new environment, in a sonic sense in particular (I find bird sounds very inspiring). From the Wall Of Birds I've chosen the Common Loon. Not native around these parts but their calls are one of my favorites- for me it's an ancient sound. They are clumsy on land but so powerful and graceful in their element, water. I find that relatable. I didn't know that they can also remain underwater for up to 15 minutes! As for the locals, I've been enjoying the Pileated Woodpecker very much. They are elusive, I usually catch a glimpse of them flying if anything but I hear their call and drum patterns often. I wish I had a photo to share. I've also been really into the Turkey Vulture. I see them everywhere and find them fascinating. Not the prettiest bird but I like that they are a bit eerie and they are not scared of anything! I came across a gathering one morning and was absolutely awed and intimidated! I wish I had been a bit braver for a better shot but below you can get an idea of the size of the group I tiptoed past..