Joy of Birdwatching

My ears definitely work better than my eyes!  From my bedroom window I can easily identify house finches, white-crowned sparrows, northern flickers, black-capped chickadees, blue jays, mourning doves, Eurasian collared doves, western meadowlarks and red-tailed hawks. I am not as good as identifying birds “in the field”.  I think it just experience.  I have spent a lot of time listening to the birds at my house.

Various Wild Birds Feeding     (Activity 2)       These are various bird species at our feeders last winter. Specifically drawn to dried soldier fly larvae.

Activity 1: I watched the Ontario FeederWatch cam and saw a Blue Jay foraging on the platform feeder. It was hopping around and pecking through the seeds on the tray. It also kept looking around checking his surroundings. It did not make any calls when I was watching and did not appear to take any food to cache for later. Activity 2: I tuned into the Cornell Lab Feeder Camera and there was a lot of activity. A Downy and Hairy Woodpecker were both on the suet feeder pecking at it at the same time. Two America Goldfinches were on the seed tube feeder eating at the ports. A Black-capped chickadee landed on the platform feeder grabbed one seed and left. Two tufted titmouse also landed on the platform feeder and quickly took seeds and left. Also some large birds (ducks or geese) too far away to identify were swimming in the background and appeared to be looking for food in the water. A Red-bellied woodpecker also stopped by the suet feeder to grab a small bite and then fly away. Activity 3: I watched and listened to the Ontario FeederWatch Cam and the first birds I saw and heard were seven Evening Grosbeaks. I did not know their call since there are not found where I live.   At home I can identify most of the regular birds in my yard by ear. I love the sounds of the Mourning Dove, Black Phoebe and the California Scrub-Jay.

Activity 3: While listening outside of my window I heard two different bird species. I believe I heard a European starling and I know that I also heard a red-breasted nuthatch because I was able to see the bird making its call. This was a great exercise and I need to practice identifying birds by their calls.

Activity 3:  I often hear a variety of birdsongs in the dawn chorus, the optimal time for discovering under-the-radar species that rarely appear in the daytime. Here are some of the most often prominent among them:

• Blue Jay
• American Crow
• Cedar Waxwing
• European Starling
• Blackburnian Warbler
• Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)
• Black-throated Green Warbler
• American Goldfinch
• 

Activity 1: I have often observed mallards dabbling for food close to shore or snapping it up off of the ground. Small fights frequently break out which includes some pulling of feathers, rapid running, and quacking at each other; this is usually immediately followed by the participants resetting their plumage, either by just fluffing up and settling back down or by bathing. After this lesson, some of the grooming and preening behaviors I have seen I now know to involve spreading oil from the gland by their tail over the rest of their coat, which requires them to rub it with their heads. Activity 2: Carolina chickadees typically grab just one seed at a time before flying to a nearby perch to eat it, while house finches and northern cardinals remain at the feeder to eat continuously. The cardinals usually scare away the finches, but if there are enough finches they sometimes will charge back at the cardinal and reclaim their spots, although they frequently compete with each other. Chipping sparrows visit not infrequently. Carolina wrens, eastern bluebirds, and tufted titmice are much more furtive around the feeder. Brown thrashers frequently forage through the leaf litter underneath for the seeds that have been dislodged by the finches and cardinals. In the late winter and early spring, it is common for a northern mockingbird to fly to the feeder and scare away any other birds feeding there, but they usually do not get anything from the feeder themselves; it seems like a purely territorial activity. Activity 3: Most of the time, I hear northern cardinals and blue jays making their calls, sometimes joined by more distant American crows, or by Canada geese flying overhead. In the mornings, Carolina wrens often sing; northern mockingbirds are heard even more frequently.

Activity 3 - I like to wake up around sunrise (when its not at 5 am or something) and listen to the birds in my area,  I can ID the common ones however I learn more every day and thats part of what I am loving about Birding.  The birds I was able to ID by sound in my backyard are American Robin, Stellars Jay, Blackcapped Chickadee, and a Spotted Towhee.  Using the Merlin app I was able to spot a Cedar Waxwing, Chestnut-backed Chickadee and a brown creeper.  The local birds often come and go with the seasons however I am lucky enough to live a bit into the bush and get to listen to their songs in the morning whenever I am not feeling like a hermit.

Activity 2 - I watched the  Cornell Lab Feeder Cam for a while and paid attention to the bird species that showed up.  The Grackles that where there got their pick of the litter in terms of seeds, scaring off blue jays that got too close and eating where and when they want until they fly off to do their own thing.  Blue jays would show up sometimes alone and sometimes in groups and eat for a minute or 2 then fly off on their own.  Red winged black birds tended to find their own corner to pick seeds from and fly off the quickest of the birds I can Identify.  There where a sparrow or 2 as well however I am not as good at my sparrow ID skills.

Activity 1 - I watched a Crow spread its wings and show its back to the sun on the roof of my neighbors house,  This behaviour initially worried me as I assumed the crow was in distress however after a few minutes of open mouthed breathing and spreading its wings it got up and flew off like nothing happened.  It did not take long to figure out the crow was sunbathing, something they do for thermoregulation and for self care on their feathers.

As a novice bird watcher, I am still learning to identify birds by song so I used the Merlin Bird ID app to help me. I sat in my backyard in the afternoon on August 10, 2023 and heard the following birds:

• Northern Cardinal
• Chimney Swift
• Blue Jay
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• American Goldfinch
• Brown-Headed Cowbird
• Tufted Titmouse
• House Sparrow
• Downy Woodpecker
• Common Grackle

Activity 1: I watched the Cornell bird cam in New Zealand that focused on Northern Royal Albatrosses. The cam was shooting live footage of a nest. In the nest was a single albatross that appeared to be a juvenile. It had a lot of downy feathers down its back giving me a clue that it was a youngster waiting for its adult feathers to come in. Perhaps this albatross was an adult that was molting, though. This bird appeared to be resting and, in fact, fell asleep after about five minutes of looking all around him, presumably for predators. It also preened itself during that time. At one point, it appeared to remove ectoparasites or insect nuisances from its back an eat them.   Activity 2: I watched the Cornell feeder watch cam and at first saw 4 doves eating seeds off the ground. They were constantly bobbing their heads up and down eating lots of seeds. There were also 4 grackles either eating food off the ground or straight out of a bird feeding. The banded together and forced a cardinal away from the feeders. Two woodpeckers pecked at the vertical bird feeder made of suet and the log bird feeder.

Activity 3: As I sit in my backyard, I hear a Northern Cardinal, Wood Thrush, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, and Blue Jay.

Activity 1  -  I watched the Royal Albatross on the Bird Cam.  I chose this bird because it is suppose to be one of the largest birds and not available to view in the United States.  It seems the threat in the environment on the cam is wind.  Several behaviors, I noticed were the nesting and some courtship behaviors.  Once the baby was ready to hatch, I saw staff replace the egg with a fake egg and realized how endangered the bird maybe.  The female during nesting actually pulled up roots to add to the nest or was it food for later?!  During the brooding period the female seemed to call the male to take his turn and the male did something strange, stopping a call, and clipping the female's beak with his beak to quiet her.  I did see the dance of four or five RA move feet as the baby watched which seemed like imprinting walking.  The young baby imitated the movement a few times by standing in the nest but then sitting back down in the nest. Activity 2  -  The red-headed woodpecker was interesting because he/she did not leave the suet during the cam view (4 or 5 minutes) of the bird feeder.  Many birds were only feeding for 30 seconds. Activity 3-This morning I could hear about ten distinct sounds but unable to name each bird.

Activity 3: This morning I heard the songs of an American Robin and a close but hidden Carolina Wren. I usually hear the songs of the wrens and the wood thrushes. However, seeing them in the woods is a different story.

Activity 3:  I have been watching and listening for birds on my daily walks/   I have been studying the sounds of birds in my area and was so happy today to realize I correctly identified the call of the Red Winged Blackbird. As I was walking along, I heard a call I had studied this week and said to myself, It’s a Red Winged Blackbird. So, I stood still and waited and then he was kind enough to flyby so I could see him. It made me happy that I remembered which sound was his.

Activity 2:  I have several different feeders to accommodate the “regulars” that stop by my yard.   I notice that the Mourning Doves often feed from the seeds on the ground under the feeder in the yard. The Downy Woodpecker hangs out by the suet feeder. He sits there for a good amount of time before flying off.  The Cardinals eat seeds patiently from the feeder on my porch and then if chased away they come back to clean up the seeds that spilled onto the cement floor of the porch.  They hop along and get as much as they can from the ground as if not wanting it to go to waste.  Blue Jays and Grackles are a bit aggressive to watch as they swoop in, grab and go.  They often scare other birds away.  Finches like the small holed bag I fill with Nyjer seed. They hang on the bag and eat from there since the bigger birds can’t get their beaks into the little holes.  Robins dig around on the ground for worms and Hummingbirds sip nectar with their long beaks. They are also very possessive of the feeders and don’t share very well.

Activity 1:  I observed the tree swallow for about 20 minutes.  He was staking his claim on one of the bird boxes in my yard. He was showing territorial behavior to other swallows as well as to some sparrows who stopped by to check out the box.  He would sit atop my flagpole and watch the box.  If other birds came by he would swoop down and ask them to leave.  I thought I noticed it swooping and catching insects and then I read the guide and found out that is one of their behaviors.

Activity 1: I have been watching our Northern Flickers intently this week. While we normally have only one at a time, we have had up to 5 at once in our yard, and they are performing amazing dancing and vocalization displays with each other. Sometimes, it is 2 males, sometimes 2 females, and most often mixed. So it is not just courtship, but also territorial. Fascinating. Activity 2: I have noticed for awhile that birds like chickadees and nuthatches fly in, grab a seed and fly to a tree to eat it, then repeat. Meanwhile, all the various finches just sit at the feeder for an extended time and eat, sometimes battling with others for the perch. The Juncos do both behaviors. Each species does it differently!

Activity 1:  While recently visiting the coast of North Carolina , I was able to observe a Great Egret fishing in the marsh.  Standing stock still, or carefully moving through the water, he would tilt his head from side to side before quickly stabbing his beak into the water and pulling out small fish. Activity 2:  My birdfeeder is such that only small birds are able to perch on it for any length of time.  Chipping Sparrows are able to fit nicely and will stay and gorge themselves.  Chickadees, while small, don't tend to stay long, opting instead to grab a seed and fly to a branch to sit and open it.  White-throated Sparrows will perch on the feeder and also pick up seeds from the ground.  Other ground feeders include Northern Cardinals, Mourning Doves and Dark-eyed Juncos.  Birds that take from the feeder include Tufted Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches and even Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers who hang on just long enough to grab a seed and go. Activity 3:  While sitting in my backyard I identified the following birds by their songs.  Tufted Titmouse, American Crow, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch, White-Breasted Nuthatch and either a Red-shouldered Hawk or a Blue Jay. Using the Merlin App, I was able to determine that I had missed identifying a Northern Flicker.

Activity #3: This morning in Eastern Ontario, I could hear the calls from Red-winged Blackbirds, Northern Cardinals and American Robins.

Activity 3: I spent a summer in Chincoteague VA a few years ago. I was a fee collector for the national wildlife refuge there. I remember sitting in the booth with the window open listening to the woods around me. I heard and saw a prothonotary warbler, I heard a few brown headed nuthatches in the canopy of pine trees around me. I heard the common call of cardinals. I saw a few other warblers that I couldn't quite figure out what they were. I heard and was able to identify a with sound ID a red headed woodpecker before I saw it flit from a tree.

Activity 2: The bird feeder in my parents backyard always has a bunch of activity. From blue jays and cardinals, grackles and doves to the seasonal warblers and painted bunting. Jays and grackles are big for the feeder so they will grab and go. cardinals will land for a few minutes or will fly to the fence 3 feet away. Mourning doves normally hangout on the ground and grab what other birds have knocked off the feeder. The warblers won't stay long on the feeder taking what they grab to the oak tree on the other side of the yard. Painted buntings will sometime sit and eat but seem to be easily scared off and will retreat to a near by bush or tree.

Activity 1: The other day I was watching some mourning doves outside my window, they were walking around looking for seeds and mealworms that I throw in the grass occasionally so my cats have something to look at through the window. The mourning doves were finding bits here and there. A blue jay became interested and tried to bully the doves out of the way and the doves stood there ground. A few minutes later, I believe it was, a crow came next, one of the doves began to put a wing up and flapped it once or twice. I know shore birds to do this to lure predators away from their nest. The mourning dove didn't have a nest there, but only one mourning dove did this behavior so i wonder if this mourning dove tried to divert the crows attention to itself instead of its partner.

Activity 2: watching the bird feeder today, I noticed in a mixed flock of black capped chickadees, nuthatches, titmice, and woodpeckers the chickadees visited the feeder the most and the titmice would kick them off of the feeder. The nuthatches spent less time at the feeder, and the woodpeckers didn’t visit the feeder at all.