We have a northern cardinal nesting on our front porch. We have been using the back door to get out of our house.

Also, we have a pair of mourning doves nesting in a tree in our back yard. They also love perching on the front porch railing.

We have a red tailed hawk living in our neighborhood now.

Great to see these birds everyday.

We are enjoying the course very much too!

Very informative, love the photos and videos

 

 

Thank you

 

Marylu Max

Identified a Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerine)  and a Red Bellied Wood Pecker (Melanerpes carolinus) at our feeder and a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nested about 230 meters from our home.

I have enjoyed this first course from Cornell Lab!  Congratulations to Jane Kim on the amazing work she has done with the Wall of Birds!  I am always in awe at illustrators, especially biological illustrators.  I taught Biology for 54 yrs in high school and birds have been a huge part of my experiences with and without students.  We have 5 feeding stations at our home and they are fun to watch each and every day. We have had our problems with squirrels but I think I am winning!

I have always enjoyed birds but this course is a terrific opportunity to get better at identifying them! I knew we had a lot of birds around our land, as we have feeders and several birdhouses spaced over the field. This course has given me the inspiration to consciously notice and count how many different birds we actually have! Just for fun I went outside with binoculars and was able to identify 15 species (thanks to my "All about Backyard Birds" book that I purchased at a visit to Cornell Lab of Ornithology last year). We are lucky to have bluebirds and tree swallows nesting in the houses this year. I've attached a picture of one of our red bellied woodpecker friends. I'm so happy to finally have the time to learn more about the birds!

We spotted this beauty (Crested Caracara)a couple of weeks ago and I tried out Merlin to identify it  and got my answer very quickly.  Love Merlin!

There's a beautiful pair of jays I've been seeing a lot recently, this one kindly posed for me for a while yesterday.

This bird flew into our window but was ok, I think it is a blue grosbeak. We have seen him multiple times since at our feeder.

The next bird I think is a painted bunting, beautiful. A pair showed up at feeder today.

The Wall of Birds is truly a great learning tool and marvellous art.  I find it hard to pick favourites but if I had to I think I would go for the Wandering Albatros. It is large, wonderful to watch fly, born in and fledges from some of the most challenging locations, travels vast distances without landing and is visually appealing.

I live on the edge of the bush on the southern outskirts of Sydney Australia. The fires have gone and we are having some nice Autumn weather. There are many parrots in our area and those visiting our yard at the moment include King Parrots, Crimson Rosellas and Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. The George’s River is close and we have Shore Birds in some locations: Bartailed Godwits, Masked Lapwings etc. The largest species of owls in Australia is the Powerful Owl and we are lucky to have them in our bush valleys.

My favourite local bird is the Cockatoo. They are very intelligent, great to watch fly and have personality.

 

Hello fellow Birders, this is my first comment as I have just started the course, although I have an interest in birds for some time now. I walk most days and am amazed at the variety of species that  I see in my 3 Kilometre venture. Apostle birds are common on my walk, they are from the “ White and Winged Chough” family ( Corcoracide).  Superd Fairy Wren is another, it is one of my favourite little birds, they remind me of my childhood days, they are from the “Maluride” family. I also have lots of Magpies around the house and surrounds, not sure what family they belong to but I love their call in the late evening, they seemed to be calling all their kids to come home before darkness falls. I hope this is what I have to do and that I haven’ t bored the pants off anyone!🙂

I just love turkeys.  I think they are among the most curious of birds that show up in the darnedest places.  My friend got a picture of this one running up the bank drive-thru lane...

Hello fellow Birdwatchers, I am very new to this and the more I learn the more excited I am. This virus life has got me thinking more and more about what to do around the house and near the house and even though I'm not that close to open nature I'm finding some amazing bird life not far from my apartment. I found a nest with at least 3-5 baby house sparrows and even caught a glimpse of the dad sparrow feeding them. There are some amazing pictures on this thread and I wish I could take one of this nest but it is wedged really close to the roofline so there's no way to get a picture without scaring the adult bird away and even then I can't get a good picture over the top of the nest.

Anyways, I'm enjoying this course and can't wait to learn more and when this virus is gone can't wait to travel and see things I've only seen in books and online. Stay safe!

I have a pair of nesting robins and I thought the female might have been killed. But I saw them both today! I was happy to know they were safe

I took a biking/birding trip today and saw a few different birds at a marshland in Upstate NY! I saw a few Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets, red-winged blackbirds, European starlings, cardinals common grackles, bluebirds, robins, white throated sparrows, black-capped chickadees, a brilliant turkey vulture, northern shoveler couple, mallard couple, a  ring-necked duck, and a few others. I am falling in love with birding again, and love it.

For the activity in this lesson I saw 3 birds today around my property. From the songbird group I saw a robin. From the raptors group I saw and heard a Broad Winged Hawk. And from the woodpeckers group I saw a Downy Woodpecker.

I have been happy with the birds that have been visiting my feeders. They are actually quite brave as I live on a busy street. But I've been happy to see some House Finches, Gold Finches, Black-capped Chickadees, Northern Cardinals, and Titmouse. I have also been able to walk in some of the nearby parks and excitedly I saw my first Male Wood Duck. I've often seen the females and the chicks but not the males. I also am lucky to have a bald eagles nest only a few miles from where I live and was able to see this Bald Eagle perching near the river. It really is a perfect time to bird with hardly any leaves out.

*Sorry for the through the binoculars photos but that way you can kinda see the birds. 

Three large male Eastern Wild Turkeys strutting in our yard last week. Several females were not far away. We have a very large turkey population near us and have seen up to 8 male Tom turkeys strutting at one time. Northeast Wisconsin.

Activity 2. I captured this bright Eastern blue bird perched in my yard this morning. Since I am working from home now, I am able to see and get some great pictures. The female is also visiting, but she just isn't as photogenic as the male.  From Northeast Wisconsin.

 Hello all from Southwest Florida. This is a picture of a white ibis from our 2nd floor lanai. They sit in this tree at eye level so it is great fun watching them. We are fortunate to see so many birds that I am looking forward to posting pictures of; herons, egrets, Wood storks, hawks, bald eagles, kites, common mud hens and many migratory birds. Thanks to all for posting such lovely pictures from all over.

Also forgot to mention that when they land in my neighbors tree, the fling chunks of bark right off!

This picture isn't the best, but I've been able to find multiple Downy Woodpeckers in my yard over the past month or two. The first time I saw one was a while before I started birding, and it totally took my by surprise. "Wow, a real woodpecker! I thought I'd have to go deep into the mountains to see one!" I love how they creep up the tree. They stay for a while, and when they take off you can see all the spots on the wings!

Activity 1: I found myself first clicking on the birds I already know and like - the Great Blue Heron, Barn Owl, Wood Duck... then i clicked on a few outside of my knowledge - and of course clicked the heart on all! :)  I like raptors and so clicked on the black and white hawk eagle - a type of hawk that I didn't know existed.  It's call was much more high pitched than I expected compared with a bald eagle or hawks that live around here.  I also found the saddle-billed stork interesting  - it is such a large bird and has striking colors on the bill - yellow, orange, and black that are repeated on the legs.  It's very different from the herons and egrets I see here.

Activity 2:  The three types of birds I've seen recently that fall into different groups - Eastern Bluebird is a frequent visitor to my backyard and has such a pretty shade of blue. Great blue heron - I saw one flying over the other night on its way to a pond or a nearby lake.  The way it flies with big flaps/ swoops of its wings is so distinctive.  The other bird from a 3rd category is a wood duck.   Their colors are so vibrant and the call different from other ducks.  We have a few that visit nearby ponds.

Activity 3:  I have a couple favorite birds.  There are a pair of nesting barn owls and their young living on the balcony outside my bedroom. This is the 2nd spring they have raised their young on our balcony.  It is quite a joy to clean up after they have all left!   The attached picture was one I took last spring. I opened the door quietly and smoothly trying to get a clear picture and not startle it.  As soon as I had my phone up, it cocked its head and looked straight at me.  It certainly made my heart beat up, and i know they can be quite ferocious in protecting their young.  The chicks are quite noisy in the middle of the night while being fed.  Once in a while, one of the adults tries to either perch on the edge of the window in the door or tries to come through the window at me - it flaps its wings and flies "into" the window for several seconds before finding a place to perch.

I'm so excited to join this course and learn more!

Activity 1; love the wall, have seen it in person a number of times, but this app lets us see the portraits even better.  Really enjoyed the video of the artist creating the wall.

activity 2; at the feeder today,  downy and red-breasted woodpeckers;  blue jays and grackles;  chickadees, titmouse (titmice?), goldfinches. >> REALLY excited — some months ago I couldn’t find a bird I’d seen in the eBird app — one of the eBird staffers even reached out to me about my dicey ID of a grosbeak that wasn’t normal for the area.  In looking for heron shots (activity3), I found a photo of that mysterious bird and have sent it off — hope to get a name for the bird.  Anyone know what it is?

Activity 3: favorite bird — our local great blue heron — love seeing it take off and fly away.  Unfortunately saw one swallowing a long plastic landscaping ribbon yesterday. Rather afraid it’s a fatal gesture. Apologies for fuzzy photos.

Frank Lake is nearby my house (south of Calgary, Canada) and hosts thousands of migratory birds through April/May. Alas, is it now closed to people due to COVID, but I think the birds might prefer it that way. And we do benefit from the birds that venture outside the major sloughs. I've seen flocks of 40-50 Trumpeter and Tundra Swans flying north at dawn. The small lake and slough in town are now filling with common mergansers, common goldeneyes, shovelers, mallards, American widgeons and green-winged teals (thanks to the "Where's the White" article for helping me tell them apart), a gadwall and lonely bufflehead, plus a killdeer on the irrigation canal and a beaver in the river (!). There's a great blue heron rookery, so we see those majestic birds out on the hunt in the morning, and the osprey has returned to the nesting platform by the river. Most impressive sights have been the mature bald eagle that was in a nearby three this morning and the Great Grey Owl being harassed by the crows a couple of days ago. I hate that we can't visit the mountains and Frank Lake right now, but it's given me such great perspective on the wealth and diversity that's there if you pay attention. Thanks for this course and the Cornell website for deepening our learning and enjoyment. I've been exploring with my granddaughter during our computer home-schooling, and we've loved it.