Hello from southeastern Virginia (Gloucester County). I'm a definite beginner and loving the course. Right now I am able to ID only the more common birds. In the last two weeks I've seen ruby-throated hummingbirds, turkey vultures, barn swallows, blue jays, mourning doves, and Northern cardinals. It's a start! A few years ago this bird landed on our outdoor porch, apparently stunned. We stood watch and the bird eventually flew away vigorously. I think it is an indigo bunting, one of the most beautiful birds I've seen at my home.

The owls stand out to me on the wall - they are nice looking creatures.  I can't recall the other ones I "liked" - I was trying to boost some of the birds that looked like they didn't get many votes.  :)   Love the peregrine falcon - amazing speeds.  And the penguin (emperor perhaps?) that can dive nearly 2000 feet under water.  All the bird superlatives were pretty cool. I walked around today and looked for birds in my neighborhood - suburban Kansas City - I found some but they were too far away and people-shy to get quality photos on my iphone.  I will put some food in the bird feeder outside my kitchen window and maybe have better luck. There are these hawks that circle high up in the sky in our subdivision - I think they might be red-tailed hawks but I am not for sure.  I also like the crazy sounding owls, I think they are "barred" owls, that wake me up sometimes... they emit different, loud sounds - sometimes it sounds like cackling, almost like an excited monkey.  Then other times they make a tongue rolling sound that sounds slightly like the phrase "who cooks for you."

I started this backyard feeder in March, and I've enjoyed the beautiful birds who have visited, and I'm trying to learn as a new one shows up. This cardinal and bluebird are frequent visitors.

Activity 1:  I concentrated on the birds of North American, and the Common Loon brought back happy memories of childhood vacations on a northern lake.  The Carolina Wren was the bird on the mural closest to my current location (Virginia), and it is one of my favorites with its distinctive tail position.  Carolina wrens were the first birds to begin feeding in my yard when I started putting food out in January 2020.  The painting of the Wood Duck was beautiful -- such colors!  They seem native to Virginia, so I'll have to keep my eyes out when I am near water.  I also clicked on birds in Africa since I loved the novel "A Guide to the Birds of East Africa" by Nicholas Drayson.  That inspired me to see the movie "The Big Year," and I'm now waiting for the book to arrive.  Activity 2:  I have seen birds from four of the groups at my feeding station:  songbirds, woodpeckers, hummingbirds (appeared two days ago) and pigeons/doves.  I hear owls very regularly but have not yet seen one.  I have seen a hawk in the neighborhood twice, and I'm anxious to see it again when I know more about it.  This course will inspire me to explore beyond my own yard.  Activity 3:  It is hard to pick a favorite, but I think I'd choose the White-breasted Nuthatch.  Even without my glasses on in the morning, I can identify the nuthatch by the way it climbs down head-first.  I haven't been able to get a good photo with my phone.  Maybe I'll have to take the Cornell Bird Academy course about drawing/painting birds.

Activity 1. I used to work at a steel mill in Hamilton Ontario where we would watch the Caspian terns fishing in Hamilton Harbour. Because of the ambient noise of the mills, I never knew what they sounded like until listening to the sample in the wall of birds! Thanks!

This course is amazing! Thank you all for sharing photos of your local birds. My favorite birds live near the water. I took photos of a Canada Goose, Red-Winged Blackbird, and a Mute Swan on a walk by the Genesee River in Rochester, New York.

Activity 1: I actually ended up reading all of the birds on the wall. Out of all the interesting plumage, mating displays, and nesting habitats I find myself drawn back to the Horned Lark simply because it looks like a bird supervillain. I also really enjoyed the dinosaur information because of how alien they look. Activity 2: I started amateur birding about two years ago, just looking up local birds out of curiosity. I'm in Ontario, Canada in the Greater Toronto Area. The following are my favourite birds found in my area from three categories discussed in this lesson: 1. chicken-like birds: the ruffed grouse 2. owls: eastern screech owl 3. songbirds: black-capped chickadee Activity 3: My favourite local bird has to be the Great Blue Heron. They're one of the most identifiable birds and are probably the first ones I did identify even before birding. I enjoy watching them in ponds or marshes, patiently stalking prey, or watching their distinct shape fly overhead. (Eastern Screech Owl; red morph variation. Known locally as Rufus but I named him Fred)

I'm writing from an agricultural area of New Jersey. Our home is surrounded by a number of mature trees which I assume is the reason I can hear so many birds singing. It would be nice to know who they are.  I love to spend time in the woods and discover something new each time I'm out. Today I caught sight of a small dark grey bird with yellow patches that seemed to match the description of a yellow-rumped warbler. I am amazed at the work of the artist who did the wall mural.  She must be an amazing birder by now!

This is such a great course and I love this forum. I am at home in Northern California taking advantage of this quiet time to accelerate my relationship with birds. I have always had a multitude of hummingbirds at my feeders and finally decided to attempt to identify the different species. I believe I have seen the following four: Anna (most common here), Allen, rufous and a black-chinned. I also received a beautiful hand made owl box from my grandchildren for Christmas which will be mounted in my backyard in time for next year's breeding time. Currently I am able to watch by webcam, a neighbor's Barn Owl sitting on four eggs. Recent sightings include a black hooded oriole, a western bluebird, several downy woodpeckers atop the palm trees, black-eyed juncos, violet green swallows, oak titmouse, multiple jays and spotted towhees.

I'm 'Staying at Home' in New Mexico.  We have plenty of little songbirds around the house, woodpeckers & nuthatches looking for insects in the trees and Cooper's Hawks looking for songbirds. I really enjoyed reading everyone's posts and looking through your photos.  Thank you for sharing! I love birds and am definitely a beginner when it comes to naming birds on sight or from their calls and I struggle with field guide use.  Some of my local favorites are Lesser Goldfinch, Cooper's Hawk (or is that a Sharp-shinned), the Ladder-backed woodpecker and Sandhill Cranes. I have a special fondness for the little groups of Bushtits that pass through from tree to tree busily 'tsit, tsit'ing.  I've included a few photos of my local feathered friends.

I live in New Orleans and for the last few days I've seen a pair of Mississippi kites circling my neighborhood. I also saw a swallow-tailed kite elsewhere recently. I absolutely love the way they fly, it's just beautiful. Apparently they come here to breed and then head back to Central and South America for the rest of the year.

Hello Everyone, hope you all are staying safe.  After checking out "the wall", I think I would have to say that I am just amazed at the diversity of birds.  Too hard to choose favorites! LOL.  Beautiful artwork on this three year project.  Checking out the birds in my area of the Mountain State - West Virginia, I easily found three groups that I enjoy. Of course the songbird group is at the top of my list, with woodpeckers next, and then the raptor family.  I have been searching locally for a few days and have seen Yellow Warblers, Baltimore Orioles, Red-Wing Blackbirds etc...   Then, woodpeckers like the Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker and Red-bellied woodpecker. and finally, the raptor, Coopers Hawk! Again, so hard to pick a favorite, I seem to enjoy them all so much.  Looking forward to finishing this course so I can start on another!  Hope everyone has a great year of birding. Mike J.

Activity 3 - My favorite bird is the Hummingbird. At my feeder in North Central Texas, I observe only the Black-chinned Hummingbird. I am amazed at the way they can fly in so many directions - and hover!

I’m in Northern Maryland, and there are so many birds I love! Our neighborhood has a secret trail in a forest that birds love. I’ve seen warblers, a kinglet, and an oriole in this spot. In my backyard, there is the occasional bluebird, a regular pair of Carolina chickadees, catbirds, goldfinches, and more. I recently caught a picture of this molting goldfinch On my feeder, and it was one of my favorites of the year

I’m in west central New Jersey, believe it or not NJ has lots of farmland and woods and that’s where I live. Bird group representatives I’ve seen this week include the pileated woodpecker - gorgeous! - of the woodpecker group, the black headed vulture and bald eagle of the raptor group , and robins and Eastern bluebirds of the songbird group. I’m not good at recognizing more than a handful of birdsongs, I’m hoping to get better at that. My dad was a birder and I have many fond memories of watching birds with him. This seems like a good time to build on that childhood foundation of birding! PS I love reading where everyone is from!

I am hunkered down in Anchorage, AK.  I have a bald eagle nest very near my condo.   I watched them build the nest and now sitting the nest.   I'm waiting for the American Robins so arrive and start singing.

This is a bluebird that is nesting on my porch- a full nest of babies. I live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in a rural community. I am surrounded by farmland, forest and marsh and birds love it here. We see bluebirds on this neck often, but I have never had them nesting in my yard. I am very excited about this because if all goes well they will come back next year too. I will also be looking for the Carolina Wren that I read about on the wall of birds. I believe these are common here. and now that I can connect the song to the bird I will be looking. We also have turkeys and Blue Heron. There is a Blue Heron rookery just down river from us. I will be visiting their this afternoon to take some pictures. My bluebird family is part of the songbird group. The blue heron is part of the wading birds group and the turkeys are part of the chicken-like group. I look forward to getting more details about the birds I see here.

Some of my favorite birds are the wandering ibis for its unique build and beautiful colors also the great blue heron for its colors and it majesty while in flight. They are also a lot of fun the watch while hunting. I am quarantined in Georgetown Tx and have been taking this opportunity to dive in to ornithology. It has been a long time passion of mine to watch birds(all wildlife for that matter)  I have just recently tho become addicted to birding and everything birds. My hope is that sometime in the next few years I can turn it into a career.

I am quarantined in Southern California and the birds on my street have beautiful songs each morning. I wanted to identify them now that I am home constantly. I am also surrounded by hummingbirds! Just bringing out the binoculars I have seen western bluebirds, hooded orioles, and black phoebes. I have identified song sparrows and mockingbirds by their songs. I love the diversity of birds in my area that I haven’t noticed before. I am working on identifying more by their songs but it is slow going without visuals.

Activity 3: Live in the Pacific Northwest and there is a Bald Eagle nest in my neighborhood.  I love seeing these birds because they are so huge and majestic.  Inspiring even.  I am a beginning birder and am looking forward to learning more about bird identification this course.  Thank you.

I am quarantined in southern Indiana in an area that has so many trees with bright green leaves that I can hear many different birds but am seeing none, not even the cardinals who are singing to me every day. There are so many different birds singing when we take our morning walk, and I can't identify any of them! We do have several small lakes nearby and I'm enjoying seeing the Canada Geese with their babies. I learned from one of the previous posts that they are called goslings. Thanks!

This is so much fun! Now I'm starting to learn who's talking to us in our neighborhood and all kinds of fun facts about birds with which to astonish my family and friends! My family's joining in by spotting them with me on walks, too! I heard a songbird on our green ash tree outside our front window one morning, looked up to see it perched high on the very top branch and, with the help of binoculars and the bird app, figured out that it's probably a house finch with its beautiful red coloring. We've also spotted other songbirds (love the song of the robin, the whistle of the black-capped chickadee, and the striking red dash and whistle-like call of the red-winged black bird!), waterfowl (mallard ducks on a creek bank probably looking for nesting locations), mourning doves calling to us in the morning, and raptors (hawks--not sure which kind--flying above us, plus a bald eagle's nest we're following on the nature center's bird cam by the lake next to our neighborhood)! We also hear the woodpeckers (maybe a downy woodpecker around here?), blue jays, and white-breasted nuthatches (though we have yet to see one climbing down the tree trunk over here!) Checking in on the birds each day makes us feel as if we're checking in on beloved pets in our little neighborhood! (P.S. My father got the Merlin app, too, and, when he played the robin's song time after time, the robin that he had seen aways off answered time after time and moved closer and closer to him!)

Activity 2: Northern California here. Over the past few weeks we have had a pair of red-shouldered hawks patrolling the neighborhood, zillions of dark-eyed juncos, and a couple of California scrub jays. I think that covers three groups!  We've also got lots of oak titmice, as well as California towhees that seem to enjoy picking apart our doormats for nest-building material. I have tried to photograph the hawks, but they stay too far away! Since our local birds don't seem interested in posing, I'm sharing a photo of a sleepy speckled owl that I was lucky enough to see in Costa Rica in February.