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)

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Activity 2- I’m traveling and staying in Annapolis MD. I browsed Merlin’s most likely list for the area. On my morning walk by sight I identified many American Robins, a Northern Mockingbird, a few Northern Cardinals. Using the app sound ID, it identified a blue jay, common grackle, and some others that I didn’t have a chance to see. Hoping to actually spot a beautiful blue jay.
I was so excited to use the bird sound feature. It’s awesome!!!

Activity 1

I watched the Cornell Feeder Watch Cam for some time today and saw the following birds:

• 2 blue jays


• 2 mourning doves


• 1 common grackle


• 2 redwing blackbirds


• 1 hairy woodpecker

Activity 2

While walking my dog in a park near my house, I saw three birds that are on my local "Most Likely" Merlin species list. Those birds were a turkey vulture, a blue jay, and a black-capped chickadee. While walking pasted a wooded area, I heard a lot of bird songs that I could not identify. I used Merlin Sound ID and identified the following birds:

• Song sparrow


• Northern cardinal


• Tufted titmouse


• Blue jay


• Carolina wren


• American goldfinch


• Northern cardinal


• Gray catbird

Activity 3

Five bird species that live in my area during at least part of the year are:

1) Belted Kingfisher

2) Eastern Wood-Pewee

3) Northern Flicker

4) Double-crested Cormorant

5) Eastern Phoebe

Activity 1 -  I went to a small Lake called Lodi Lake in Lodi California on July 3, the day before the 4th of July.   It was late afternoon and a local group was having a party and the birds hid.   I ,however, saw Canada Goose about 30, 1  Great Egret and a beautiful swallow, Barn Swallow.  The blue on the Swallow was so vivid.   The Canada Geese had bars on their necks which I had never seen before (Sooooo striking ).

Activity 2  -There is a checklist for Lodi Lake, San Joaquin County, California, USA.  I attempted to record the birds I saw but I could not figure out the process.  How do I order a check list?

Activity 3 - The Black Phoebe and the Coot are two I did not know used the Lodi Lake as a place of Habitat.

 

Ruth Bates

Yesterdy evening, I had 3 male rose-brested grosbeaks at my feeders.
I’m lerning through watching the variety of birds. I can’t rave enough about Merlin, and am usually fortunate enough to attract over half the birds that Merlin identifies to my feeders. Merlin recorded 19 birds over a 10 minute period yesterday.

Activity #3: I did not know that there are brants, white-throated swifts, yellow rails, killdeer, and red-naped sapsuckers in my county!

Activity 1:  I am fortunate to have a beautiful mature yard that is alive with birds. Just this weekend I have seen; hummingbirds, orioles, goldfinches, cedar waxwings, robins, blue jays, house wrens, downy woodpeckers, red and white breasted nuthatches, flickers, and I know we have a red eyed vireo, I can hear him....but I can never find him!

Activity 3: After looking at the bar charts and range maps, I'm excited to explore more of my region. I did not know I could see: Wood Ducks, Wild Turkeys, Great Egrets, Red-Headed Woodpeckers, and Prothonotary Warblers.

I've noticed as spring turns to summer that a previously unseen bird, the Gambel's Quail, has decided to venture into my backyard. I've noticed usually two males and one female, feeding on the ground from seeds that fall from my feeder. More recently, I have noticed the quails traveling in larger family groups, with the chicks between mother and father. However, because my backyard is walled, I have yet to see the chicks in my yard, only the adults.

Activity 3: I explored the bar charts on eBird and not only did I learn about birds I didn't know passed through my area, I learned some birds I didn't even know existed! Some I would be excited to see are: the Barnacle Goose, Gadwalls, Canvasbacks, Red-necked grebes, and gallinules. I'm excited to keep exploring the lake by my home and see more of these birds!

Activity 3: The five birds I learned about this week that pass through my area that I didn’t know were near but  would love to see are:  Yellow-Cedar Waxwing (listed as rare but I’d love to see one), Yellow-billed cuckoo,  Eastern Phoebe and two I’d like to find in a wetland area a short drive away would be:     Great Blue Heron and a Common Loon (rare but may pass this way).  I will be on the lookout and hope I spot some of these this spring.

Activity 2: It was great to use Merlin’s “Most Likely” species feature. I was so pleased they have the birds picture as well as various bird songs and calls.  I was on my porch so was not close enough to make a recording of any but when I heard one I was able to listen to a couple possibilities and identify the correct bird to match what I heard.  This will really help with my goal to know what birds in my area I am hearing.    For example. I see Cardinals often but did not know for sure what their sound was. One learned . . . hundreds to go! 

 

Activity 1: I found the Merlin App to be very helpful as I watched and listened to birds in my back yard this morning.   I saw / heard the following: American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Tree Swallow, Carolina Chickadee (I think), sparrow, Pine Warbler, American crow, Purple Martin – Pretty good for 30 minutes!

Activity 1: Today, in my backyard in 15 minutes, I saw many Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Dark-eyed (Oregon) Juncos, American Goldfinches and House Finches as well as 1 or 2 of each; Anna's Hummingbirds, Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, Bushtits, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Northern Flickers, Downy Woodpeckers, Bewick's Wrens, and Steller's Jays. Pretty typical! I can identify 10-15 species in any similar timeframe with others jumping into the mix at different times. I heard but did not see a Merlin!

Activity #1: Today on my birdwatch at my feeder in Eastern Ontario I saw the following birds:

Canada Geese, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Blue Jays, American Crows, Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatch, European Starlings, American Robins, House Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and Northern Cardinals.

Activity 1: A pair of osprey are working on building a nest on a channel marker in the Currituck Sound. Several Canada geese in the area. A few Black Ducks and Double Crested Cormorants. Red-winged Blackbird on another platform. Lots of American Robins.