This year I've learned about the Great Crested Flycatcher.  I first so one at a local park and then was lucky enough to fine one in my back yard!  He had an unmistakable "wheep" like call.

Went for a walk this morning and saw or heard Catbirds, Robins, Titmice, Song Sparrows, Crows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Great Blue Heron, Canada Geese, Mallards, Ruby throated Hummingbird, and Hairy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.  Too hard to pick a favorite!  When the hummingbirds are here it is probably those and in the dead of winter it is probably the Cardinal but all birds are wonderful and interesting. Enjoyed the Wall of Birds interactive feature.

Activity #2.  Today I saw killdeer, Herrmann's gull, sandpipers, oyster catchers, a great blue heron and an osprey.  Needless to say, I live 1/2 mile from the Pacific Ocean!  Thank you for the course and for everyone sharing their bird pictures.

Very good intro so far. #1 Started exploring the Wall during this course. #2 When out earlier today, saw House Sparrows, Yellow Warblers, American Robins, Great Crested Flycatchers; Wood Ducks, Mallards, Canada Geese, Double-crested Cormorant; Ring-billed Gulls; Downy Woodpecker; Mourning Dove. #3 Happy to see that Great Crested Flycatchers have finally returned to town in good numbers. Also enjoying seeing American Redstarts this year. Both can be found near my home.

I really enjoy the Mourning Doves. By using the Merlin app I have been able to identify a few birds. The Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, and a Brown-Headed Cowbird. I love the app, it’s great.

Activity 2: I saw a song sparrow, sparrow, greet blue heron, wading bird, and an osprey, raptor. Activity 3: A cardinal is at our bird feeder. It loves perching on the pole next to the feeder itself. It is bright red and so beautiful. Whenever I put new bird seed in the feeder, the cardinal is the first one to come to the bird feeder and watches over it.

One of my favorite birds is the White-Rumped Shama Their song is so beautiful I will never get tired of it. This is a male below

My favorite bird is the Northern Flicker. It looks incredible when flying and has a unique polka dot look. I get to see them a lot near my home.

After nearly 2 years of looking, I finally saw a Barred Owl last week! They are elusive!

Hmmm.  What group are wrens in?  I often recognize a wren because of its bill shape.

Great intro.  Didn't know birds could fly in their sleep!  Too crazy.  There is a barn swallow nest right out my hotel window.  4  hungry babies and parent(s) non-stop feeding them.  Is it just the mom or is dad helping out as well?

Activity 2: Today I saw a Bahama Mockingbird, a lifer for me. There was a Northern Mockingbird also in the area so I could compare and contrast them. I also used apps on my phone to help me verify my identification of the Bahama Mockingbird. I found the Bahama Mockingbird thanks to eBird's Rare Bird Alerts. I highly recommend subscribing to them in your area.

Activity #1: I first learned about the Wall of Birds after attending a Monarch Joint Venture webinar entitled: The Monarch Migrating Mural Project: Public Art as a Catalyst for Conservation. In this webinar, Jane Kim discussed her ongoing Monarch Migrating Campaign. She included the work she had done with the Wall of Birds and the same website we visited with this lesson. One of my favorites on the Wall is the Montezuma Quail. I just think they are super cute. I love the small head on the nice plump body.

Activity 3: This is one of my favorite birds which is active in my area right now, it is a Chinese Hwamei. I enjoy their song, which is very loud and long. I also like the white markings around the eye, it looks like a they are wearing a mask.

Activity 2: Today I found Barn Swallows flying low over the grass as it rained, they are listed in the lesson as song birds who are great flyers, I also saw many Eurasian Tree Sparrows bouncing around foraging in the wet grass, they were listed as Sparrows in the lesson. The third type I saw for this activity was a pair of Blue Rock-Thrush, one male and one female. They were listed in the others category of song birds.

Activity 2: went for a walk after this lesson and saw a woodpecker (Northern Flicker; red-shafted), I think a fly catcher (not sure what kind, but maybe a western wood pewee), songbird: American Robin, Eurasian Dove, Raptor (red-tailed hawk). Activity 3: I love all my neighborhood birds but am partial to American Robins and Black-Capped Chickadees. I like how the Robin runs along grass in the yard, as well as it’s song. I like the size and shape of the chickadees.

Today, on a walk around my neighborhood, I saw many cardinals (finches), a northern flicker (woodpecker), and some juvenile starlings, which I had to look up in Merlin since they were starling-shaped and sounded like starlings but were a plain grey rather than iridescent and speckled like adults!

Took this image a few weeks ago. I believe this is a juvenile; hummingbird; not sure if it is an Anna's Hummingbird or Allen's. In any case this is in my backyard, he seems to like the succulents and the flowers of a peach tree we have.

One of my favorites is the White Rumped Shama, and we have one that lives in our backyard.  His songs are absolutely fantastic, especially the amazing, intricate, rapid runs.

From Activity #3:   I got a new camera this spring, with a zoom lens that's actually capable of taking bird pix that are good enough to help with identification. Here's an Eastern Towhee, taken in April at a nature preserve near here. And here's a Wood Duck, taken at a metropark near my house. And here's a Northern Flicker. (ID's assisted by more knowledgeable friends.)

I enjoy watching birds in my yard, but I also am beginning to enjoy birding as we travel in our region.  My favorite bird is a Northern Cardinal. They are so brightly colored and are easy for me to see. I have several pairs that visit my feed station daily. I have also begun to discern the difference in the many small, brown or gray birds that visit my feeder, such as the Chipping Sparrow, House Finches (female and males) and Eastern Wood Pee-Wee.  I am using Merlin to hear bird calls and song as well to know what birds are making all that noise!

Activity 3 - There are wild turkeys in my neighborhood.  I can’t help but stop and watch them each time I see them.

For activity 3: My favorite bird that I see in our area is the Northern Flicker.  I love its little reddish "hat," its black and white spots, its golden yellow wing feathers, and its grey feet.  It is a woodpecker, but it pecks on the ground and I think it looks funny.  I think that it's a beautiful bird!

For activity two:  At the park I saw some kind of tern, lots of songbirds, and a nest with great horned owls. Within the category of songbirds, I was able to recognize the warblers because of the yellow coloring and their body shape, but some others were not as easy to differentiate to such a newbie like me. For activity three: my favorite bird in my neighborhood so far is the one I could recognize, a Cardinal. I like that the males are so brightly colored and easily noticeable, and once I see the male if I look around him I’ll see a female pretty much always. So I like that they seem to travel as a pair.

Yo vivo en el occidente de Guatemala y recientemente inicie con esta hermosa actividad de la observación de aves, me he dado cuenta que en mi ciudad hay pocos reportes de aves, y las personas le ponen poca atención por lo que me motiva a aprender mas y a colaborar porque las aves de mi ciudad sean mas conocidas, apreciadas y protegidas.  Del muro elegí un colibrí, me llaman mucho la atención y me cuesta mucho diferenciar las diferentes especies. En cuanto a la actividad 2, recientemente he observado un halcón Peregrino que es un ave rara en estos lugares, situación que me motiva en gran manera porque en realidad estoy en un campo poco explorado y genial en mi ciudad. Las aves comunes en mi vecindario son los gorriones, zopilotes y zanates, aunque también hay varios carpinteros belloteros.