Here is a Pileated woodpecker. The sound is so unique it is fun to try and track them when you hear the sound far off in the distance. There are a number of different woodpeckers I've been able to find locally (Rye, NY) including pileated, downy, red-bellied and northern flicker.

The bird wall is absolutely amazing! I could explore it all day! It is hard to pick my favorite birds but I really love the Bird s of Paradise for their magnificent displays! Then I love the Bower birds for best building & displays as well! So I am really glad those birds were highlighted! I also loved that the mural incorporated the early birds from fossil evidence. I have been researching about these fossils & I would love to see on th e fossil history of birds! So thankful for the artist that created this walk if birds! A true genius! Than You!

This was a terrific look at the groups of birds I like to watch. It had never crossed my mind that juncos are a type of sparrow. Of course! The Wall of Birds is beautiful. What a fantastic interactive. I will share with my students on zoom, who have yet to awaken to the awesome diversity of birds. Thank you Ms. Kim - I'll be back to travel the world of birds. Hmmm...my favorite neighbourhood bird? Hard to say as I love them all, at different times of the year. In winter, I look for the harlequin ducks to come back from their lakeside cottages. They are so beautiful. I get a kick out of oystercatchers - they're clownish and squeaky. In the spring, I do my best to glimpse a rufous - I know they won't be in BC for long and they're exquisite. Come summer, I feel happy if I spot a brown creeper or a nuthatch scooching up a tree. Their distinctive calls are the only way I can find them. Once they give themselves away, out come the binoculars. Loving this course! Thank you.

One of my favorites is the Black-capped Chickadee. They're universally considered "super cute" (that's the scientific term) and have curious personalities. They're one of the first birds to come to a new feeder and easy to identify by sound even for new birders with their fee-bee song or the "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" alarm call. What's not to like?

Today I observed a variety of songbirds and waterfowl on the Charles River near my house: swan, mallard, robins, dove, and even a red winged blackbird from a distance. Used Merlin to identify this little guy as a common grackler, who got pretty close. You can't see it but the head was a brilliant blue!

Well sometimes the favorite bird is the one close at hand. House Finches made a nest on the Easter Wreath on the front door. What fun it was to watch them grow and fledge.  

I'm too slow for bird photography! But I've been making friends with a Grey Catbird who lives in my backyard. I think it watches me as much I watch it! It seems to be pretty bold and isnt' afraid to perch close to get an eyeful. Catbirds are...Flycatchers? Or Treecreepers? My catbird clings to the side of one of my tree hydrangeas. Maybe the answer is Other?? I think it's Other. I also have a pair of Northern Cardinals that have such gorgeoush colors. Cardinals are in the Finch/Bunting. group. And my yard borders on a wetland, so I frequently heard Red-Winged Blackbirds calling. They are, of course, in the Blackbird group, and one of the only birds I can reliably ID by sound right now because of their distinctive song.

Activity 3: I like to go to the beach with my camera to photograph birds. This is one of my personal favorites I took of a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) with a fish in it's talons. This is one of my favorite birds because I find it very interesting how they can spot a fish from so high up and then successfully capture it.

Activity 1: I chose the Common Loon for its haunting sound, good looks, and for being on the Canadian dollar coin, nicknamed a "Loonie." Activity 2: From three different groups, I saw the following birds in my immediate neighbourhood in Vancouver, Canada: -Northwestern Crow (Songbirds), Northern Flicker (Woodpeckers). And I heard an American Eagle (Raptors). Activity 3: My favourite local bird is the black-capped chickadee because of its beautiful song "fee-bee." I heard it for years and didn't know its source till I stumbled upon a website and heard it: https://nature-mentor.com/chickadee-calls-explained/ The other day I heard it and looked for it and found it! It made me realize how important it is to learn to identify birds by ear since often you can't see them.

One of my favorites that I commonly see in my neighborhood though, are Lesser Goldfinches. I love their machine gun songs and it's been nice having them as a permanent resident in the greenery of my complex. Here's a few photos I've taken:  

A bird I've captured quite a few times near me, and probably my absolute favorite shorebird, is Killdeer. It's such a joy to hear the high pitched chirping on occasion when I visit nearby shorelines. The black and white stripes are so adorable! Here is an adult w/ an immature that I saw recently:

Here I captured a beautiful male Baltimore Oriole with a red "necklace." Absolutely stunning! Next picture, I have a group of mallards waddling along on a stormy day. Here I have a male, a white domesticated mallard, and what appears to be a hybrid of the two. Any opinion on the identification of the mallards?

My son liked this Killdeer the most on our most recent trip.  Way in the back is a black bellied whistling duck, rare for Milwaukee WI.

I've been enjoying watching Great Blue Herons form a new colony at the urban ponds not far from our house.  I think they are currently sitting on eggs! This was historically a sewage treatment catchment area that got re-puposed and rehabbed into wildlife habitat in urban Seattle. It attracts waterfowl, marsh birds and of course birders, who are always fun to talk to and willing to share their knowlege.

This guy in backyard yesterday.  Waxwing not sure if cedar or bohemian

I have always enjoyed looking for and listening to birds but I am just learning more about identification.  This past year I have been trying to identify the birds I have seen on our property which includes open meadows, a forested area and a stream.  Some of the favorite birds I have observed include wild turkeys, a great blue heron, and great horned owls.   Two of my favorite songbirds that I have observed are the scarlet tanager and the Baltimore oriole.

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My current favorite is a barred owl. This pic is a barred owlet in my back yard. It's been fun watching this little one and its sibling bumble around and discover the world. I also enjoy watching the parents hunt and deliver prey for the babies.

My current favorite is a barred owl. This pic is a barred owlet in my back yard. It's been fun watching this little one and its sibling bumble around and discover the world. I also enjoy watching the parents hunt and deliver prey for the babies.

I don’t have any pictures, but recently a mute swan family near me has given birth to 8 cygnets! what group are swans in? Waterfowl?

I'm loving discovering so much more about birds!  Managed to get this shot of an indigo bunting.  I had heard of them but never seen one before.  Really exciting!

We found a rufous hummingbird, a towhee and a dark-eyed junco at our new birdfeeder at our house!

This Scarlet Tanager inspired me to take this course. Today I've seen a nuthatch (which I didn't previously know was a "tree creeper", a mourning dove, and the usual blue jays, grackles, and cardinals. Cardinals I know are finches, grackles are blackbirds, but blue jays? Also finches maybe?