I tuned in to the Cornell Lab Feeder Cam and dropped into a bird party! Common Grackles, one Blue Jay, one Red-Winged Blackbird, a Red-Bellied Woodpecker, male and female Northern Cardinal, a couple European Starlings, a Mourning Dove, and a little guy I couldn't ID. It was interesting to see how the woodpecker seemed to prefer of hanging under the feeder, and how it seemed to prefer some feeders over the others. The woodpecker also showed some aggressive postures toward birds that came too close. The others were chill about sharing space. Oh, now everyone is gone and a squirrel is just sitting in the feeder lol

It's amazing what you can hear and see in just 5 minutes. A total of 14 species, including red-winged black birds, northern cardinals, and red-tailed hawks.

I just set up some feeders and added one for orioles. After 3 days a male Hooded Oriole found it. It has come back the last few days and lands on the top of the pole and calls, then flies down to feed. Today after he did this he was joined by a female.

I've been seeing a fair amount of Anna's Hummingbirds in our neighborhood.  This morning I was able to observe one perched on a branch from some english ivy.  She was cleaning her beak on the branch!  She then flew off out of sight and came back a couple of minute later to shake her feathers and clean her beak some more.  It looks like we both had some pretty satisfying showers this morning.

Activities Observing Behavior. Activity 1 and 2 were spent looking at the Sapsucker woods bird cam.   Most of the birds seemed to be on pretty good behavior.  Some like the blue jays seemed to be one at a time visitors. Others like the boat tailed grackles seemed to come in bunches.  The Baltimore Orioles, and Cardinals and Doves were often in pairs.  The only birds eating fruit were the Baltimore Orioles and the Robin.  There were mostly middle sized birds there, no Crows or bigger birds and I saw only one smaller Tufted Titmouse and one Nuthatch. Most of the birds seemed to be focused on feeding.  The grackles seemed to have a tendency to look up quite often.  They were in the largest numbers today and seemed to be looking up a lot.  Most other birds seemed to be looking more at the seeds. The Downey and Red Bellied Woodpeckers all fed on vertical feeders. Just as they are mostly observed hunting and digging on the side of trees , Activity 3 sounds in the background: The honking of Canada Geese and several other background trill calls were there in the background. I am not familiar with   Birds on the feeder were very quiet..

[1] The only behaviour that I found to be unusual -- and unnoticed until this course -- is the backwards scratching at the ground of certain sparrows. I still find this fascinating to watch. No other of my birds seems to do this. [2] I have noticed that my black-capped chickadees, much like a great many small birds, take one seed at a time. Sometimes they fly away with the seed, smack it open, eat it, and then return for another. Other times, they sit right at the feeder and eat the seed. Even when there is nyjer on the ground, they seem to prefer to cling to a tube-feeder and eat directly from it. The dark-eyed juncos, on the other hand, seem to eat exclusively on the ground. [3] I have been working on learning to identify bird songs since taking that course in January. I am getting much better at it but still have a long way to go. The song that I lost recently learned is that of the House Wren, which sounds rather like being scolded. I have been trying to learn to distinguish the different chips of various woodpeckers. This will take me some time but I seem to have a great deal of time on my hands these days.

1. Watching an American Robin in my backyard (Westchester County, NY). I feel that they have a distinct stride or hop and spend so much more time on the ground then other "backyard birds". I understand that part of the reason may be the type of food they search out. Watching a green heron today (which is not all that common in my area at this time of year) he was sitting pretty high up in a tree. He was preening himself for quite some time. I noticed that he also dips his head, almost completely underneath himself- perhaps this is telltale of a heron. I have seen the night heron make this move as well. Earlier today I also saw two adult Canada geese and their 3 goslings. The parents are very attune, understandably, to where the babies are at all times. One seems to be look-out while the other keeps eye on the kids. The goslings were so sweet and followed what mom and dad were doing- dunking in the water-looking for things to eat. Birds really do have unique ways of eating, what they eat and how they approach food. The red-bellied woodpecker in my yard tends to come in for one piece of food and then fly a short distance to the nearest tree. He will repeat this numerous times. On occasion he will stay for a second bite- it usually depends on if it is seed or suet. I have also seen him take nuts and find hiding places for them. The woody and hairy woodpeckers seem to be more comfortable spending more time at the feeder. Working to get more a meal or multiple bites in one visit. I love watching the doves feed. They will come to me deck when I sprinkle seed and spend some time in one area while they feed as long as they are not disturbed. They also seem willing to have others (birds) around when they are eating. The starlings seem to drive lots of other birds away because they are very dramatic (chaotic). They flap their wings a great deal and "yell" at one another. They seem to give each other a hard time at the feeders and rarely let another near. 3. I am slowly starting to be able to recognize a few different birds by their songs or calls. I am amazed at how many different sounds some of them have. I imagine they mean different things to those who know them. I heard a gray catbird up close for the first time and it really did sound like a meow. However, later in the day I heard a different one and it sounded very different. I have a long way to go.

1. Watching an American Crow: He waddles and searches my yard looking for nuts that were buried by squirrels. When he finds one, he chips at it till he gets it. Sometimes, he'll fly to the birdbath and put the food in the water, waits a few seconds and scoops it up to swallow it. He is definitely less afraid of people and will  allow me to get much closer to him that other birds. He "caws" a LOT and sticks his neck out each time. He probably broods in a huge evergreen tree across the street. They fight and fly around incessantly. 2. The House Sparrow stays put at the feeder for much longer than any other birds that visit. He seems pretty unafraid. He also chases off other birds. Right now, I have a nest right next to the right side bird feeder. This feeder is generally the most popular, due to a lavender bush situated next to it. It always empties first. Now however, it is nearly still full after 3 weeks due to the fact that the mama sparrow chases off the other birds. They have to attempt to use the left feeder if she lets them. The chickadee comes and goes quite quickly; flies to a branch and eats there. But the redbreasted nuthatch comes and goes the quickest. A speedy entrance and a quick grab - away it goes. It never eats at the feeder nor does it eat in a nearby bush or tree. 3. If I'm in the woods, the bird that I usually hear the most is the Swainson's Thrush- my favorite song of all. I've never spotted it however. I also hear the Robin and the woodpecker, sparrows and chickadees. I LOVE the Chickadee's two-noted song during mating season. It's a minor interval and totally fascinating to me. Also, I can sometimes hear the nuthatch's little horn like, monotone song, which even though it's not very exciting, I still find very fun to listen to.

I was in the Galapagos on March 12 of this year.  These are Blue Footed Boobies doing a mating dance.  There were lots of vocalizations which I got on video.  Truly an amazing experience and in the time of COVID I am so thankful I squeaked that one it.

I am fortunate, in this time of COVID, to live on a property that has multiple habitats. I live on the river, and have both a large clearing and a wooded area. At the river, we see numerous Eastern Phoebe, Red Winged Blackbirds, Heron, and an very special Bald Eagle. In the plain grass, we have Robins, Grackle, Brown headed cowbirds and starlings, In the wooded brush, we have multiple types of sparrow, Eastern Bluebirds, and purple and golden finches. Throughout it all, we have so many woodpeckers: Red bellied, Downy, Hairy, Piliated, and Northern Flicker.We have one lone red headed woodpecker (see an awful picture of this striking bird) It has been fun to watch my more common birds more closely, and I am grateful for this lesson in teaching so many valuable things. I have seen: two Robins fighting over territory, Red wing BBlackbirds puff up their colors around other birds, and Starlings, Grackle, Robins, and Brown Headed Cowbirds all eating peacefully together.

Activity 1: We watched the Ring-billed Gulls in action alongside our area's large lake. The Merlin app really helps to differentiate on the spot but the All About Birds website review certainly makes one a local expert. The flying, wading, behaviors we've noted for years take on new meaning with this birding course. We live in a breeding area for these gulls so they are everywhere. Unfortunately they draw tourists who feed them anything and everything which always brings on a flock. / Activity 2: We seem to watch the squirrels try every antic they know to acquire seeds from our "squirrel proof" bird feeder but watching birds for 15 minutes will be our challenge going forward. We'll have to add more feeders to attract an array of birds that stay awhile. / Activity 3: Recognizing bird songs will also take more practice ---made more fun with the games at the Cornell Ornithology website. The dawn chorus is a little early for us!

Activity 1:  We have noticed a lot of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers on our walks lately.  They are so difficult to photograph because they constantly moving about eating insects.  Activity 2:  We have a lot of different birds that come to our bird feeders and each species does seem to have its own style.  The Downy Woodpecker always goes to the suet and is not shy about sticking around; the Red-bellied Woodpecker and Blue Jays take a peanut and leave to eat it on our maple tree; the European Starlings, our least favorite birds, come in a flock, crowd out the other birds, and make a mess by spilling the bird seed all over the patio.  Activity 3:  We are beginning to notice a few more bird songs than before.  We can identify the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Gray Catbirds immediately.  We were treated to a wonderful song by a Wood Thrush recently.

Activity 2: The Northern Cardinals at my feeders will park themselves at my feeders and eat seeds there typically. They'll stay for long periods at a time if not disturbed. I also spotted some courtship behavior the other day in which the male cardinal was feeding a female. The Carolina Chickadees are more likely to hop on the feeder for a moment, grab a seed, and fly off again and then repeat. Same thing with my Tufted Titmice - they'll take a seed and eat it elsewhere. The doves are usually on the ground by the feeder and will graze there, though I did see one on my feeder today! Like the cardinals, the doves tend to stick around for a while as long as they aren't bothered. There is a red-bellied woodpecker who also enjoys our bird feeder. It will stop and eat seeds for about half a minute before flying off again into the trees. I saw a brown thrasher trying somewhat successfully to get some suet from our woodpecker suet feeder. It balanced awkwardly but managed to get a little before giving up and going elsewhere. Our crows do the same thing. They peck a little at the suet feeder, but as it's not built with them in mind, they don't spend too much time on it.

Activity 1: I was watching a House Finch sitting on top of a pole. He was mostly looking around. He fluffed up once and did a little bill-wiping, but not much other than that. I'm guessing that he was mostly just keeping an eye out for predators and his kind. Activity 2:I heard the songs of the American Robin, European Starling, House Finch, and Eurasian Collared Dove. I'm learning that birding is just as much about sound as it is about sight.

1. Sulphur Crested Cockatoos have been landing in a tree over our pool late in the morning and staying much of the day. They are eating the seeds off the tree by biting  off the tips of branches, holding them with their feet and picking off the seeds. The branches land in our pool. There are many birds in the valley behind our home and periodically a cockatoo will give off a scare call and the cockatoos in the tree will join others forming a large squawking flock that circles the valley with other species joking them for part of the action. Eventually they will settle again. 2. The Cockatoos in our tree (eucalyptus) snap the tips off branches, pick off seeds with their beak and crack a seed open. they discard the outer part of the seed. 3. Noisy minors, Lorikeets, King Parrots, Magpies, Currawong.

1. Watching the barn owl in the Webcam, I noticed it standing on one leg. Today's lesson informed me that the Barn Owl was stretching. I now recall, she had her wing extended as well. She does a lot of preening of her feathers and adjusting herself. 2. The Oak Titmouse will sit on one of my feeders and eat once seed after another until something spurs it to move away. My robins do not go up on the feeder but prefer to graze the ground beneath it and forage for dropped seeds and likely ground insects. 3. I really want to learn to identify more Bird Song. For now, I know the Blue Jay, the Mourning Dove, the American Robin and of course, the Crow. And I know the woodpecker's pecking sound and easily observe them at the tops of the palm trees. I also love to hear the Barn Owls after dark and occasionally a screech owl.

I remember an activity of a finch that had created a nest in a hanging flower pot on our front porch.  On an extremely hot day the sun was pouring down on the nest with the young inside.  In order to protect them from the sun, the female (or male?) perched on the edge of the nest and fanned its wings out to shade the young.  It recognized the danger of the hot sun that would overheat the young in the nest.  The finch continued this for some time.

In the Washington DC suburbs. #3: Gray catbird, northern cardinal, house sparrow, American crow were birds I could identify by their songs/calls. The way I usually identify a mockingbird is by hearing a whole series of bird calls, one right after the other. I've heard and seen more blue jays this year than in other years. I was surprised to realize that I'd forgotten what their calls sound like, but I've got it now. #1: American Robins really do go bob-bob-bobbin' along the ground looking for their meals. I see and hear lots of house sparrows and song sparrows, although the individuals don't tend to hold still long enough for much watching.

Activity 1 Watching this beautiful lady have her breakfast was exciting!! I never realized  Pileated Woodpeckers have such a long, narrow tongue. She spent a few minutes enjoying the suet feeder then flew to a nearby tree where she wiped her beak several time to clean off remnants of food.

Activity 3: In central British Columbia we have Violet-green Sparrows breeding! Several of them flew on my deck yesterday morning. They glided over the railing of up to the rafters, then flew away. They have a very quick chirpy sound. House sparrows are numerous in a large tree close by, as are American Goldfinches. European Starlings have a funny song. Several Mallards and Canada Geese flying over towards the numerous ponds and marshes close by. I don't like the sound crows make, but they are interesting and smart. There was one sound I could not make out. Going through sounds on Merlin I believe it is the Yellow-rumped Warbler. I am still working on locating through sound; a challenging task, considering the abundance of species here in the spring.

Activity 2: I watched the Ontario cam for a while, but only Sparrows. Surprising to me they were eating from the feeders facing down, like the Nuthatch. Then were feeding from the tray. The 5 of them were quite civilized. On the Cornell cam were several blackbirds eating from the feeders and the tray, with a lot of exuberance and fighting. As I expected, the woodpecker was hanging on the side of the feeders, pecking slowly. The Mourning Dove was pecking slowly on the tray. I wonder how humans would eat if social pressure to conform was not there? lol

Activity 1: at one of my favorite marshes, there were few birds, but a lot of activity. A Red-winged Blackbird and crow squawking and flying at one another. The crow was low in the tree, which i do not normally see, and was intent on annoying the Blackbird. Male Mallards chasing one another. Fighting over the female close by I think. The Osprey were busy the past few weeks nest building, but I only saw the female today sitting low in the nest. Keeping the eggs warm. I found an empty Robins egg on the ground, but did not see any Robins. Red-winged blackbirds in several different trees were sending out warning signals when I got close. I am used to their annoyed calls, but these calls were more protective sounding. Many House Sparrows hopping from one bush to another, angry at each other. I have seen them be territorial before; not like the Red-winged Blackbird is though.

2: I have enjoyed watching White-Crowned Sparrows, Harris's Sparrows, and a Mourning Dove graze on scattered seeds as the day cools down. When I go outside, nobody comes down to the yard. If the dove doesn't come down to look for snacks, I probably won't see the sparrows either. The sparrows wait in the bushes and then some will go to the seeds to forage. They like it best when it's in the shady evening. If the dove flutters in, the sparrows are pretty quick to join. There are always hidden sparrows looking out for the foragers, but I think seeing the dove foraging makes them feel more comfortable. After all, it's very easy to hear when a dove gets spooked and flies away. The dove is much less timid than the sparrows and eats its fill before leaving. Sometimes a single male Common Grackle will come to eat some leftover corn, but nobody likes being around him. The robins always throw a fit when the grackles are too close. The grackle doesn't care if people are in the yard or not. He is a hardened corn-snatcher, and he chews his food loudly.

I watched and heard some birds at The Cornell Lab Feeder Cam.  I recognized the call of the red-wing blackbird and downy woodpecker.  They both came to eat.  The red-wing black bird ate several seeds at a time whereas the cardinal ate one seed at a time from the tray.  The black capped chickadee ate one seed at a time from the tube feeder.  The downy woodpecker took a quite a bit of time to eat from the center feeder and ate a lot at once.  It was fun to see all the activity!

Activity 2 - Cornell Lab Feeder Cam 5th May 2020 7:35 AM to 7:45 AM 1. A male and female Northern Cardinal were there. 2. I think it was a forest which came and disturbed the Cardinals. 3. There were couple of yellow sparrow sized song birds. Black crown, white stripes on black wings. Stayed for very short periods. warbler ? 4. Again Raven came and they went away. 5. Red winged black birds were there. I saw one showing it's red wings to other with an aggressive call. 6. Yellow-Crowned wood pecker was attracted towards only one feeder which looks like tree's trunk. It and dove were the only birds not afraid of Raven. 7. A squirrel also was seen enjoying the feed.