July 5  We have a Carolina wren nesting in a flowerpot hanging outside our kitchen window. The leaves and flowers were drooping yesterday, so I watered the pot carefully.  Mrs. Wren did not like that one bit. She flew out, sat on a post on the garden fence, and scolded us for several minutes. It's been 2 weeks since the wrens built the nest, so we are waiting to see if any birds hatch.

Activity 1.  I often photograph birds while out birding.  Sometimes it is to document a rare bird or one I’m not certain of, but mostly to document what I’ve seen where and when and to capture behavior.  Lately I’ve been focusing on trying to photograph birds in flight. Activity 2.  I’ve been using eBird for a number of years now and have signed up for rare bird alerts in Idaho and needs lists for Idaho.  I also participate in Project FeederWatch, Great Backyard Bird Count, the Christmas Bird Count in Southwest Idaho, Golden Eagle Audubon based in Boise, and Southwestern Idaho Birding Association based in Nampa.

Activity 1: I started a journal of field notes today. I sat on a chair on my back deck and recorded by observations of all of the birds I saw and what behaviours they were engaging in. I am familiar with most of the birds that visit my backyard so the field notes didn’t aid in identification. I think it will be interesting to look back later and see how bird behaviours change throughout the year, and to see the differences in bird species present. Activity 2: I requested to be added to the Hamilton Birding email group.

Since I enrolled in eBird on June 1, I started a ritual in which I record birds for at least 20 min while I drink my coffee in the morning. I'm a bit disappointed because, like another commenter, I missed out on recording all the good sightings I've had since the beginning of PA's lockdown in March - especially the warblers! I wrote down each type of new bird I saw on which day in my "Covid Journal," but not the quantity. Currently, I enjoy seeing which bird has the highest tally of the day - what I call the "Bird of the Day." Today was, surprisingly, an "Oriole Day." Ever since the mulberry tree near my house started fruiting, it's been the local hotspot for all types of birds, but particularly orioles. I signed up for emails from my local Audubon chapter, incidentally in Audubon, PA. I live less than 10 minutes from Mill Grove, Audubon's first home in the US, and I always intended to visit but never have. Once we can participate in gatherings again I cannot wait to go to some of their events!

Activity 2. The Washtenaw Audubon Society offers lots of opportunities for bird watching and bird learning to people at all levels of knowledge, skill and physical ability. Washtenaw County is in southeast Michigan and includes the cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, as well as less developed and natural areas. The Huron River runs through the county. I have been hovering the edges of the chapter and just officially joined. I went on a group walk last Spring, and in-person group events are mainly cancelled for now. However, the group conducted a prothonotary paddle (separate kayaks) recently, and the trip produced wonderful photos and an amazing short video of a prothonotary warbler singing on the tree where it nested. The chapter has been hosting online presentations (with extraordinary photographs) by a long-time member who now lives (at least part of the year) in Central Florida and knows the birds of Central and South Florida. It will host chimney swift count nights August 14, 15, and 16 at dusk. It has been fighting to preserve a chimney that has become a roosting site and migration staging site for swifts; open stack chimneys are attached to old buildings that are now being destroyed (“urban renewal”), and local Audubon has preserved one chimney at risk of destruction.  It organizes bird counts. The chapter maintains close ties to the Natural Areas Preservation unit of the City of Ann Arbor, which does a variety of plant and animal inventories and ecological projects (e.g. turtle stewardship, invasive plant removal), relying heavily on volunteers. And local Audubon pays attention to relevant national policy issues and has supported black birders.

Hello, I have a question. A few days ago, a female American Robin made her nest on our grape shelf. I was glad that a bird came nesting in our back yard. She was busy making her for the following days. But the day before yesterday, she didn't come making her nest. I wondered why. I thought she was just taking a break. Unfortunately, she didn't come, neither today. I want to know the reason why she didn't come these days... Thank you very much.

Although I did buy a new bird ID book last week :) I will not get rid of the Roger Tory Peterson book I have apparently had since 1972, which is when I started making my life list--now four houses ago..... but all in the same general area, on the western part of the Island of Montreal. And as Kevin mentioned, many of those on the list are a reminder of the experience of the sighting. One of the ones that stand out is what I think was a Cooper's Hawk sitting on a branch in my front yard, looking right at me as I sat at my home-office desk. And again, but on our crabapple in the backyard a year later, a pair of them!  Another experience I remember is a Northern shrike eating a (still live) bird on my kitchen steps, in December of 1981..... quite gruesome..... And finally, a wonderful memory of a bunch of cedar waxwings in an evergreen, in winter....: looked like a Christmas tree with yellow-coloured decorations!

I checked on the website of my local birding club to see what activities they offer.   The club offers a monthly field trip in the area but the field trips have been cancelled since March due to Covid-19.   They are currently doing virtual field trips where club members "bird on their own" during a specified period of time.  They compile the checklists into a list of identified species to share what birds have been observed in the area on this "virtual" field trip.   They identified 59 species on their last trip.  I plan to join a field trip when they are offered again.

Now that May has left us here in NE Wisconsin, there are fewer birds coming to the yard. Some of my favorites are still here like the Cardinals and the Eastern Bluebirds, along with the American goldfinches and Indigo Buntings. But the Baltimore Oriole and the Red Breasted Grosbeak have not been seen for over a week now.  I decided to start a manual birding journal this week. What fun! I'm enjoying putting some of my thoughts down on paper and tracking date and time of my sightings. I even tried jotting a few pictures, although my drawing skills leave much to be desired. Anyway, below is an excerpt from my journal a couple days ago- 6-9-2020. I am also going to set up an  EBird account and use the app to easily track my sightings using my phone.

I wish I had reached this part in the course sooner, as I have been observing birds on my daily walk and could have been noting their numbers in EBird. Going forward I downloaded the app but have yet to enroll in the course that gives the essentials of how to use it. I am in Long Island, NY and regularly see Common Grackles, Mourning Doves and House Sparrows at our backyard feeder, and an occasional Blue Jay. I also see Northern Cardinals, American Robins and Downy Woodpeckers while I am out walking, and on occasion a Baltimore Oriole. I will look for a birding group in which to participate once things open up. For now it has been enjoyable to read other people's comments in this course. It has been a very enjoyable course and I have learned a lot. I have enjoyed sharing what I've learned with others.

Activity 1: I made and submitted my first checklist on eBird! I hiked around a local park and added to my list whatever birds I could identify by listening or by sight.  It wasn't very many, and I know I missed a lot of birds from either not recognizing their song/call or if they flew by it was too fast or far away for me to identify that way.  However, I still reported 7 species (including 2 bald eagles sitting in trees by the river!), which is more than I would have realized if I had just been casually walking around.  It's a start and I can see how eventually my lists will grow as I keep practicing and learning more bird calls. Activity 2: This winter I joined my county's Coffee with the Birds program, which introduced me to Ottawa county's different birding clubs and opportunities.  They have been sending out weekly emails this spring including BOLO birds (be on the look out for..)

Hi, all from western Canada! Here we are closing in on the end of this wonderful course. Activity 1: In lieu of filed notes, I attempt to take pictures of the birds I see and identify them at home with the help of Merlin. I mentally keep notes on the habitat and activity of the birds I observe.  I can't seen myself taking pen and paper on my walks. Perhaps if I was observing from my deck or backyard I might be more inclined to do so. Activity 2: I joined a Facebook group for a local naturalist group. Most posts are about birding and people post on rare bird sightings. It's a great resource for help with identifying birds. I have yet to meet any of the people in person but hope to do so as things open up.    

Keeping track of your birdwatching This will be a set of final thoughts about my first attempt to get organized about a hobby in my 77 years. I have always loved nature.  I turned over rocks and logs and collected creatures.  I had collections of snakes and frogs and turtles and creatures to feed them. Birds were the uncatchable creatures that flew through the air and escaped all but my eyes. I had a field guide but never had a telephoto lens on a good digital camera and Merlin. This course convinced me to find some good places and be ready; to take pictures and examine them closely.  The picture below is an example of the value of these two new tools on my (still in my head) lifetime list. My visual survey of this spot (a spot my wife saw while walking) suggested the normal bunch of white ibis with with a spot of pink in the back. This 300mm telephoto shot made the pink into a roseate spoonbill and showed a duck in the water.  Expanding the image and using Merlin I saw the tricolor heron behind the spoonbill. Scanning other photos from that spot over the 15 or so minutes I found the duck out of the water and Merlin helped establish it was likely a female Green-winged Teal. Before I started the course I had seen a lot of small birds in the large Live Oak outside my lanai. I had not been able to see much detail. But, I hadn’t scanned the images carefully enough. By looking for the best images, blowing them up a bit, enhancing lighting a bit and using Merlin, I found a Palm Warbler, a Yellow-rumped Warbler and a Great-crested Flycatcher.  The Palm Warbler was really trying to hide as you can see below.   A final example was a couple weeks ago, a friend said I should come to his terrace to see all the Wood Storks 200 yards away on the edge of a golf course. They looked more like Ibis to me and my camera helped me establish that but I saw black birds which proved to be Reddish Egrets and a pair of ducks shown below These were Mottled Duck males ID’d by Merlin. My field notes will never be great.  I probably won’t have a great life list, but I will take my telephoto and camera along whenever I go places. A little homework through ebirds and a glimpse of Merlin’s list of birds near me today will go a long way towards finding the name of more of those elusive creatures who fly so free.

Activity 1 - well I wish I could draw! What a wonderful way to create a memory of time outdoors. I did sign in to my eBird account and make my first submission. I can see how this could become a habit. I signed up for the eBird course, so will tackle that next. I totally agree that relying on memory leaves big gaps in what you saw, for now I will just take my phone and record my notes on the go in eBird. Great and easy to use tool!l

Activity 2 - I joined our local Audubon Society, and now will receive monthly newsletters. It looks like they have classes and events, too. Looking forward to participating  and learning more!

Activity 1 - I have been using EBird list and doing checklists when I go out birding. I try and photograph the birds. This can help me identify the bird later as I find it hard to note all the things I need to to identify a bird I am not sure of the identity. One recently was a Tennessee Warbler that without my photos I would not have identified. I check regularly EBird lists from people in my area to get an idea what birds are out there. I upload my photos to my list. I am using Merlin app to help ID.  If I think I know the bird , but not 100% sure, I enter in EBird and click on link to Merlin app to go to bird picture and details to confirm my sighting

Hi, again, all!  I live in Western Canada. This has been a great course. Activity 1:  Instead of keeping field notes, I bought a camera to photograph birds then identify them at home with the help of E-bird.  I keep mental notes of the bird's habitat and behaviour. If it's a new-to-me bird, I post it in my local naturalist Facebook site and see if I got the identification right. Once it's confirmed, I post the picture on my Facebook site along with date, and location. I also submit my bird sitings to E-bird as a way of keeping track.  I'm new to birding and this is the approach that is working for me so far. I think the most important part of a tracking system is one that you will actually do. Activity 2: I belong to a local naturalist group that has a focus on birds. I participated in my first bird count event with them a couple weeks ago. I've seen ads for local Christmas bird counts and could sign up this coming year. I know the bird groups are out there - it's up to me to connect.

I’m getting into the real-time record keeping slowly. The Merlin Bird ID app is great, I’ve recommended it to several friends. For now, I’m mostly putting short comments in my phone while I’m out walking. Usually these are birds I’m sure I’ve identified. Here in the suburbs of Northern Virginia, the ones I don’t know tend to move too quickly for me to do much identifying that I’m sure of. I still enjoy the process!

I take a list of birds every time i go birding at work to add to the park data base. In order to help me id the birds I have started taking detailed notes about what I see.  What habitat, time of day, weather conditions, date, what is the bird(s) doing and how are they doing it.  I made a sheet with all of these observations on it as well as a place to sketch the bird.  It is helping my learn what birds are in that area and what conditions are needed or best. At home I observe birds at the feeder or just hanging out in the trees and on the fence.

I use the Merlin ID app and started keeping a simple journal to record names and place. I don’t want to make it too difficult and take the fun out of birding. I joined the local Audubon group and was looking forward to getting out with them this spring, but Covid shut down a lot of things. The big problem around here are the crowds of people that are coming on the weekends. The local police have to shut down a lot of the parks by mid-morning and limit parking. I am so appreciative to be living in this area and getting to learn more about the birds around me!

I am really new to using ebird and after learning about I really find it interesting. My first trip ebirding I was able to identify some Canada Goose, female Hooded Merganser, and a Malard duck.

Activity 1: I discovered and started using the Merlin app awhile back. It is really helpful and the ability to download packs for different areas when I travel have been very helpful. I have also recommended it to friends who are casual bird watchers as it is very easy and intuitive to use. I like to write hand notes, but will try eBird as I start getting out again. Activity 2: I've joined the local Audubon chapter and can't wait until outings will be safe to begin again.

Activity 1:  We have been using the Merlin app and even tried the eBird list this weekend.  We love Merlin, especially the feature where one can take a photo and have Merlin identify the bird from it.  I tried putting in notes into my eBird list as I was making it.  However, sometimes I was so interested in the next bird that I skipped it.  Today we witnessed an Eastern Towhee doing a double scratching maneuver in the leaves, similar to the Fox Sparrow foraging back in unit 2.  Amazing!  Activity 2:  I have signed up for the eBird rare bird alerts and get them daily.  It definitely fuels the desire to get out there and try to find rare birds.  I would love to find the Connecticut Warbler, but so far, I've had no luck.  I will post a photo here if I see one.  Here are three bird photos from this weekend:  a Chestnut-sided Warbler, a Black-billed Cuckoo, and a Cedar Waxwing, my favorite local bird.

I have just started this course, and must admit to being quite intimidated. Live in far west central IL, in a town on the Mississippi River. Looks like so many people from all over the world, seeing birds I will never see. I live on 2.5 acres, with a farm pond. Have lots of feeders: two hummingbird feeders (front and back of house, since they can be pretty territorial, a sunflower chip feeder. a peanut feeder, a safflower seed feeder , a nyger seed feeder, and a suet feeder. Most I have to bring in at night, or the raccoons will destroy them. Lots of bird habitat. People in our area have noticed a greatly reduced number of ruby throated hummingbirds this spring. Did see a redheaded woodpecker - they are not seen often as they usually stick to the woods. Lots of house finches, cardinals, redwinged blackbirds, two pairs of rose breasted grosbeaks, downy and hairy woodpeckers, goldfinches, nuthatches, tufted titmouses, red bellied woodpeckers, blue jays, grackles, and the occasional starling, One Baltimore oriole, some mourning doves. Coopers hawks have not shown up yet. The pond mostly has Canada geese, and an occasional great blue heron. We are close enough to the Mississippi flyway that we get interesting migratory waterbirds, and if I head to the Mississippi River in the winter, Bald Eagles congregate at the lock and dam.  I would like more skill in sparrow identification. They are tough. And I would dearly love to be able to identify bird calls, especially owls. Am probably boring everyone, so will quit now.

1. I have been taking pictures and then spending some time in Merlin and ebird learning a bit about them, when they are seen in my area and their migration patterns, their calls/songs as well as what the males vs. females look like in different seasons. I have a difficult time with their sounds, although there are one or two common ones I now know right away- doves, red winged black-birds, red bellied woodpecker.  I have also been pointing out birds and identifying them to friends and family IRL or thru pictures whether they are interested or not :-) Really enjoyed looking at what others here have been doing to capture field notes- very creative. 2. I just started to get involved with the local Audubon (Bedford, NY) group and they are offering wonderful zoom sessions- I chance to learn more about birds, their behaviors and habitats. Some of the ways they are doing this is that their naturalist is taking the members (via zoom) with him as he goes bird watching.