The Cornell Lab Bird Academy Discussion Groups Joy of Birdwatching Activities: Local Bird Exploration

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      Bird Academy
      Share your experience participating in this lesson's activities. Comment on as many or as few activities as you'd like.
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    • Activity 1: I feel that I am always bird watching in one way or another, as I am just happy to see or listen to birds. As I go birding, I have become better at identifying birds that I see as I travel with family, go on walks, or look at my yard. Since it is fall/winter migration time, I feel that on a good day I can see or hear almost 20 different bird species. I never get bored seeing them as I feel that I get to learn something new every time.
    • Salih
      Participant
      Chirps: 52
      Very good
    • Christine
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      I have beehives by my house and have noticed for a long time that they attract birds, even in the winter, especially on mild days when the bees come outside for cleansing flights and carry out dead bees from the hive. The birds flit by so quickly I have to practice my binocular skills a lot more! Today I saw tufted titmice, very common in my yard, also two lovely red cardinals, and I heard a white throated sparrow but was not quick enough to see it. Lording it over everything else, the local red tailed hawk made an appearance high up above the oak trees. And a flock of 20 wild turkeys visited our yard earlier this morning, no doubt foraging on the abundant acorns. I plan to slow down and sit with a good view of the beehives and watch the bird action carefully during this winter. it will be a change from obsessing over the bees, my other hobby!
    • Laurie
      Participant
      Chirps: 9
      My favorite place to listen to birds is in our woods. Dawn or dusk is the best time to listen and watch. There, depending on whether I am close to a pond or more tall trees or clingy grass, I am intruding on bird conversations.  Turning on Merlin and pulling up my binocs, I listen.  The first to chatter are the Caroline Wren, Eastern Phoebe, Tufted Titmouse, and the Yellow-Breasted Chat.  Soon the Pileated can be heard pounding one of the older trees in the forest. A Red-bellied woodpecker calls above me.  Of course, the Red-tail Hawks teaching their young to hunt scream above. Carolina wren will usually follow me as I climb over the fallen branches on the less traveled path.  If I sit quietly on one of the protruding rocks a flock of turkey or deer or bunnies will appear with Bobwhite close by answering each other. The Carolina Wren, Black-capped chickadee, Tufted Titmouse all chastise me for being in their forest. Soon the Cedar Waxwing, Robin, Cardinal, Red-Winged Blackbird, Summer Tanager, Mockingbird, Chipping Sparrow, and the Vireos (both the red-eyed and the white-eyed). The cacophony of sounds is amazing.  I love going down my path when the warblers arrive.  That's when my life list jumps. Depending on the number of birds decides the time frame. Sometimes I am in the woods for fifteen minutes and sometimes a couple of hours. My dogs usually nudge me to head back to home base where the Bluebird, Carolina Wren and Mocker greet me.  E-bird is a great tool to pinpoint the trails I've walked.
    • Jason
      Participant
      Chirps: 6
      These lessons have helped me so much, in ways that will make my birding a hundred times better! Sitting and watching birds at my window is probably best since I have window bird feeders. I have had so many birds come to the window feeders such as Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Blue Jays, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, most Finches, Cowbirds, Chipping Sparrow, and Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds. Watching Birds is truly one of the most relaxing and fun activities. (This is a Red-Bellied Woodpecker at my window suet feeder) Screenshot 2024-06-03 09.54.36
    • Debbie
      Participant
      Chirps: 32
      My husband and I have 2 bird feeders close to our back porch.  Yesterday, we quietly sat out on the porch watching the birds and listening for their calls.  No birds would come close to us for the first 15 minutes except for the Tufted Titmice.  Then they slowly started coming in closer.  We saw the following birds
      • Carolina Chickadee--I noticed that this bird was smaller than the Black-capped Chickadee that we are used to seeing.
      • Red-winged Blackbirds, both male and female.
      • Northern Cardinals, both male and female
      • Red-bellied Woodpeckers
      • American Robin feeding on the ground under the Apple tree
      • Bluejays in the trees
      • Cowbirds
      In addition to hearing some of these birds, Merlin told us that we also heard a Red-eyed Vireo.  I never even heard of this bird before this year.  Then we saw some brown birds who have been coming to our feeder who we have been trying to figure out what they are.  Looking at our Sibley's Field guide, we think the bird in front is a juvenile House Finch and the one in back is a female house finch. House Finches 6_1_24
    • mary
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      I loved listening to loons on trips to Canada in the summer. I was surprised to find they can be found in Ohio during migration. Now I will use the provide apps to try and figure out when and where to see them. Perhaps they'll be listed on one of the rare bird alerts. My husband and I are very new to birding and really appreciate the information provided in this course. I was also amazed by the number of different ducks in my area. One very exciting sighting recently was a northern mockingbird. Did not realize they are in Ohio
    • Ann
      Participant
      Chirps: 9
      It was a bright, sunny but breezy day & I went to a favorite spot by the ocean where I often see a variety of birds.  There seemed to be fewer than usual, but I did see a pair of Eider Ducks (a male & a female) one Cormorant, and one Song Sparrow. I also saw flying birds that I couldn't exactly identify except that I know some were gulls, some were ducks and there were 5 or 6 smaller birds that were some type of swallow.  They flew very fast & low, seeming to skim over the water, diving quickly and flying away.  There was also a small flock of shore birds that rose from the rocks, swooped & soared & returned to the rocks.  They were probably small sandpipers which have been seen there before. I also saw a Common Grackle which landed on some seaweed.  Common Grackle KC
    • Jason
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      Activity 1: I woke up early and tried watching my bird feeder. There wasn't much except some Pine Siskins and a few Dark-eyed Juncos. However there were many birds in the area that I could hear and ID with the help of Merlin: Northern Flickers, American Robins, Varied Thrush, American Crows, Red-breasted Nuthatch, European Starlings, Steller's Jay, Golden Crowned Kinglet and a Ruby Crowned Kinglet. I thought I heard a seagull and some kind of goose in the distance, but Merlin couldn't ID them.
    • Nancy
      Participant
      Chirps: 7
      Activity 1:     I am participating in Project Feeder watch.  My observations today were fewer birds than usual, probably because it is a windy day and we ran out of a popular type of seed mix.  I have seen at least one of each of the following birds: Northern cardinal, black-capped chickadee, common grackle, red-winged blackbird, house sparrow, brown-headed cowbird, and mourning dove. Activity 3:  I got on e-bird and saw a long list of birds that are seen in Sedgwick County, Kansas, where I live.  Many of them I have seldom or never seen before.  The five I chose to learn more about are the wood duck, ruby-throated hummingbird, baltimore oriole, white-breasted nuthatch, and the eastern bluebird.  I hope to put out a hummingbird feeder soon and attract some hummingbirds and orioles.  I hope to see more varieties of ducks at the Great Plains Nature Center (about one/half mile from my home).  I have only seen Mallard ducks there in the past.  I want to record more bird songs on Merlin, and see what birds are around our home and the nature center.
    • Krystal
      Participant
      Chirps: 11
      Activity 2: Of the top 5 most likely according to Merlin, I see and hear four of these almost every day in my backyard at the feeder. They were:
      •  Blue Jay ✅
      • Fish Crow ✅
      • Laughing Gull
      • Northern Mockingbird ✅
      • Mourning Dove ✅
      The Laughing Gull I was surprised by. When I looked it up and listened to it, I recognized it immediately from areas closer to water but I could have sworn I rarely saw them around my place. Wouldn't you know it that I almost immediately saw a group of 5 of them on my drive to work, swooping around - and then the very next morning, saw and heard them from my yard. I guess Merlin was right after all!
    • Carey
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      Activity 3.  I used Merlin to search for birds likely to be found in my area today (March 4) that are unknown to me. A Gyrfalcon is apparently possible to be found in my area but noted also as uncommon.  I love the initial description of the Gyrfalcon in Merlin; Stocky beast of a falcon. A Northern Shrike, Horned Lark, Snow Bunting and Common Redpoll are the other four I learned about.
    • Susan
      Participant
      Chirps: 6
      Activity 3 - Used Merlin to identify 5 birds that are common to my geographic region that I have not yet seen in person - they included the Killdeer, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ring Necked Duck, Brown Creeper, and the Wood Duck.
    • Lexi
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      1. House sparrow; Cardinals; goldfinch; house finch; black capped chickadee 2. Most likely birds: Morning Dove; Cooper's hawk; Downy Woodpecker 3. Common Goldeneye; Wilson's Snipe; Sandhill crane; Belted Kingfisher;
    • Kristian
      Participant
      Chirps: 9
      Activity 1: I decided to go to a parking lot by the Hotspot Little Met Golf Course. I used Merlin and it picked up a few birds by sound being a Cardinal sp., Dark Eyed Junco sp., White Breasted nuthatch sp., Blue Jay sp., Carolina Wren sp., and Red Bellied Woodpecker sp. There was nothing visible in site except a few birds that were too far away to ID. One did a dive from high in the tree down to another tree, stopped, went to another, and another. I do have a bird cam feeder, and I watched that. Blacked Capped Chickadee, White Breasted Nuthatch, and a few Tit Mice. All of them would land at the feeder, look around, and see the seeds followed by a grab and go. The size range was between a Sparrow and Robin. Chickadee had a white belly with some tan/orange underside, brown nape, and black cap. The White Breasted Nuthatch has big round eyes, gray, crest, and includes white and a little orange. White Breasted Nuthatch has a nice straight like bill and, black crown, white cheeks, gray wings, black stripes, wider tail. He arches forward a bit and makes swift movements. Activity 2: I used the map to locate the hotspot for Activity 1. Didn't see exactly what I needed to, but the noise IDs did match up with what Merlin stated was the most likely species. Activity 3: First Bird: Chestnut-sided Warbler (Local Migratory - May, September), Second Bird: Yellow-Rumped Warbler (April-June, Sept-Nov), Third Bird: Eastern Towhee (March-November), Fourth Bird: Common Redpoll (November-April), Fifth Bird: Fox Sparrow (November -May with peak at March-May)
    • Adam
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      I go out birding weekly, at least twice and always do look for what birds might be present when I go. Sometimes the preparation helps me see or hear new species that are around. Today I went walking and was able to find some familiar species- familar thanks to merlin and ebird, and this course! The white breasted nuthatch and the downy woodpecker was the highlight of the day, as well as the all time favorite the american robin!
    • Crystal
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      Activity 1:  While watching the Ontario feederwatch bird camera I saw 3 Common Grackles eating on the platform feeder. This was exciting to see as it’s a bird I have never see in person before. I also saw some Dark-eyed Juncos eating on the platform feeder as well.  I also checked out the Cornell Lab feeder watch camera and saw 2 woodpeckers at once.  I think it was a Hairy Woodpecker and a Downy Woodpecker. Which was cool to see both at the same time and compare how one was smaller, with a smaller bill than the other. I liked how below the camera it showed the possible species you might see while watching and I also liked how the camera had audio so I could hear the birds too. Activity 2:  I used Merlin’s “most likely” feature to see what birds I could see locally today. I also tuned on the filter “hide birds on life list” so I would only be shown birds I still haven’t seen and logged with ebird.  These birds were all uncommon or rare. The uncommon birds included the Great-tailed Grackle, Hairy Woodpecker, Spotted Sandpiper, Bald Eagle, Wrentit, Glaucous-winged Gull and California Thrasher.  These are all birds I hope to see but will have to research specific places to try see them. Activity 3:  I looked at the bar charts for my area and found five birds that pass through that I wasn’t familiar with.  These included the Harlequin Duck, Summer Tanager, Mountain Bluebird, Lewis’s Woodpecker, and Common Loon. All of these birds looked cool but will be tough to find since they only migrate through and seem to be pretty rare in my area.
    • Nathan
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      Activity 3: I used eBird's Illustrated Checklist feature to learn about various birds commonly seen in Illinois around mid-October. As this is still migration time for many birds, I was interested to see what kinds of birds were seen primarily during the fall migration season. I read about the Hermit Thrush, Winter Wren, Dark-eyed Junco, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Orange-crowned Warbler. I enjoyed learning the (complex!) calls of these birds and some of their identifying characteristics.
    • Theresa
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      Activity 1: Went to a park nearby my house. I saw three different birds. I saw 2 canada Geese, 3 northern flickers, and 1 blue jay. We also saw a large flock of birds on an island in the middle of the lake. However, at the time we did not yet have binoculars so we were not able to fully see what they were.
    • Penelope
      Participant
      Chirps: 38
      Activity 1: Merlin detected a Bald Eagle, the resident Red-tailed Hawk dropped in, cleverly disguising themselves as part of a power pole. Merlin also detected my first Cape May Warbler today, which was a success! And couple of American Robins were singing nearby the old shed. VERYGOODROBIN
    • Anita
      Participant
      Chirps: 24
      Activity 3:  I checked out the birds at a small pond by my place of employment.  There have been four separate sandpiper species found there, which blew me away.  I never would've guessed that these birds would be found at such a small pond in an urban area, I imagined that sandpipers would want large marshy muddy places to roam.  Listening to their calls was interesting too.  The Pectoral Sandpiper makes a deep whirring sound that I wouldn't have even credited to a bird had I heard it previously.
    • Gregory
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      Activity 1: In the nearby park yesterday I saw 10 Canada geese, 2 wood ducks, 7 mallards, 1 ruby-throated hummingbird, 2 ring-billed gulls, 2 double-crested cormorants, 4 great blue herons, 3 green herons, 1 black-crowned night heron, 1 great egret, 1 Cooper's hawk, 5 American crows, 15 barn swallows, 3 gray catbirds, 10 house sparrows, and 3 American goldfinches. Activity 2: Apparently the 10 overall most likely birds right now are the ring-billed gull, American goldfinch, mallard, northern cardinal, house sparrow, Canada goose, American robin, barn swallow, black-capped chickadee, and chimney swift. American goldfinches are somewhat seasonal, barn swallows and chimney swifts are strongly seasonal, and the rest are very common throughout the year. Activity 3: Common goldeneyes are very abundant in winter, semipalmated sandpipers are common from early summer to early autumn, snowy owls are moderately abundant in the winter, yellow-billed cuckoos are relatively common in late spring through mid-autumn, and Swainson's thrush is very common in late spring and early autumn but not during the summer.
    • chris
      Participant
      Chirps: 9
      2 American Robins where spotted on my walk, 1 cedar waxwing, 1 Northern Flicker woodpecker, 1 Pilleated Woodpecker?, a black capped chickadee responded to my whistle, 1 Brown Creeper making its way up a tree, I spotted a few smaller (between sparrow and robin sized) birds flying by with a forked tail and long wings.  They wizzed by pretty fast but they looked relatively dark however this could very easily have been a trick of the light too so I have no idea what species they actually where.  Many of these where actually on my Merlin list however some of them where not as well and there are also clear limits to my knowledge as I could not actually ID many of the birds that I saw and heard on my outing.  I am looking forward to the day that I can ID the bird in my region and feel comfortable learning about birds in other regions as well. Birds That I didnt know passed through my area are actually more common than birds I did know passed through my area if im being honest so finding 5 of them was not too hard LOL. 1 - Eurasian Collared - Dove 2 - Common Merganser 3 - Bullocks Oriol 5 - Vaux's Swift It is really awesome to learn more about the places I have grown up.
    • Camille
      Participant
      Chirps: 14
      Activity 3: I have not seen these birds in my area, but according to ebirds, they are there! Barn Swallow Chimney Swift Cedar Waxing Willow Flycatcher Indigo Bunting