The Cornell Lab Bird Academy Discussion Groups Joy of Birdwatching Activities: Noticing Behaviors

    • Jana
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      1. Song sparrow flits around on ground and visits the ground below the feeder. Seems to go to the feeder when there are very few other birds present. Also spends time holding to branch, singing. 2. Song sparrow eats on the ground below and doesn’t stay too long. House finches sit on feeder and on the ground.  Seem to stay longer, usually in a group and will fly up to tree then right back for more food. 3. Song sparrows sings very often. Northern cardinal and house finches can also be heard.
    • Liz
      Participant
      Chirps: 14
      Watching a couple of feeders outside my windows has certainly taught me much. A smaller finch feeder brings lots of chick-a-dees and red breasted nut-hatches. A suet feeder brings these same birds, plus, hairy and downy wood peckers, white breasted nut hatches and blue jays. I even saw a brown creeper today. A bigger open feeder at the back of my house holds mostly sunflower seeds which the same birds (except the wood peckers) visit. Sometimes mourning doves come there as well. They all seem to take turns. Blue jays first, then comes the little red squirrel for  while. When he leaves the smaller birds have their turn. The blue jays hold the sunflower seeds in their toes, whack it open with their beak and then eat, all the while sitting on the edge of the feeder. The smaller birds grab a seed and sit in a nearby tree to eat.
      • Karrin
        Participant
        Chirps: 47
        I have learned A LOT from watching my feeders, too. I am up to 12 lifer birds on Merlin - how about you?
    • Elizabeth
      Participant
      Chirps: 7
      There are ospreys nesting near my grandmother's house in Melbourne Beach, FL, and I caught this photo of a pair in a tree nearby--turned out to be a lucky shot of a mating attempt!P1000648
    • Kathleen
      Participant
      Chirps: 28
      Activity 1: I watched the Cornell Bird Feeder Cam and saw a number of birds that frequent my feeders in southeastern Michigan. The chickadees and titmice grabbed something to eat and flew away quickly. I read that the chickadees like to store food, which is one of the reasons they don't stay to eat. The white-breasted nuthatch spent a few minutes eating and then flew away. The downy woodpecker pecked steadily at the suet for several minutes and then flew away. The starlings stayed a little longer, eating seeds constantly. The Mourning Dove stayed the longest and ate very steadily. The dove's behavior was very docile and he/she shared the space easily with the smaller birds - who all seemed unconcerned about the presence of the larger bird. I read that doves fill their 'crops' and then fly away to digest while resting. Activity 2: I watched the Ontario Bird Feeder Cam, where I saw birds that frequent my feeder in southeastern Michigan, as well. Once again, the Chickadee was remarkably fast at grabbing food and leaving. The red-breasted Nuthatch spent a little more time but also left relatively quickly. Activity 3: I listened to the dawn chorus in a forest in central New York. The photo was quite lovely - I think it was of the beaver pond. The recording of the dawn chorus was really beautiful but I did not recognize any bird songs.
    • Loyal
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      We are fortunate enough to live in an area with a lot of open spaces. There are several red tailed hawks that frequent the area. We also have a large number of crows and mockingbirds. As such, “mobbing” is observed quite often.
    • Anonymous
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      I notice a number of comments about Blue Jays.  I have had a lot of fun watching a group of about five come to a flat feeder for peanuts in the shell at my feeding station.  One, who appears to be a dominant male, provides the most interesting behavioural traits.  (I am assuming this bird is male so I'll call it 'he').  He appears to the feeder first and calls out to the others who only help themselves once he has picked through the offerings which are only one handful a day.  He fussily chooses one which he gulps down his throat then takes a second peanut crosswise in his beak before flying off.  The other jays can then take their turns but none have mastered the art of getting two peanuts at a time!
    • Activity 1:    A few days ago I observed a Canada Goose doing "summersaults" and found it quite intriguing and amusing.   I've looked up the behaviour and it seems it has been observed in many places, always surprising the birders who witness it.   While not seen often, it doesn't seem to be as uncommon as I first thought, although nothing I read seemed to know why the birds were doing it.   Perhaps bathing, stretching and exercising all at once! Activity 2:   I enjoyed looked at all the bird cams.  It is stunning the amount of knowledge being gained and shared about birds (and probably other things too) with the advent of the internet and computers.   It leaves me totally awed!   At the fruit camera in Panama, some birds did a quick peck at the fruit while others stayed and ripped and tore at it.  Others flew in, took a quick peck and were off again. Activity 3:   It's a nasty raining day here in Vancouver and all I can hear outside are the crows, and the occasional Anna's hummingbird chirp.
    • John
      Participant
      Chirps: 9
      Activity 1: I have been actively participating in the eBird data collection for about a month and have had a chance to observe the birds at my feeders.  Of particular interest is the behavior of the woodpeckers.  I have three Downy woodpeackers, though rarely see all three at the feeder.  I believe that they are a pair and a single or a pair and an offspring from this year, that is now on it's own.  Where the paid seems to be around the feeder, the third will be nearby but will not venture in until the other two have fed and moved off.  In my Red Bellied woodpeckers, I have two, I think a pair.  However, one will often hide behind the trunk of the tree until the other moves off before moving to the feeder.  I am not yet sure which is female and which a male. Activity 2: Dark-eyed juncos primarily feed on the ground.  While Black-capped chickadees feed on the suet cakes, the general feeder, and on the ground.  There does not seem to be rhyme or reason as to why, though it may be because of the the birds at the general feeder.  All of the woodpeckers prefer the suet feeders.  Tufted titmouse I have seen take the larger seeds with shells and move away to crack them. Activity 3: I listened to several recorded sessions and could identify the calls of Blue jay, irritation chatter of a Black-capped chickadee, the sound of a Mourning dove flying away, and the calls of Grackles who are in a group feeding.
    • I used the Ontario Feeder Cam and looked at the footage from 1-19-21, which included a group of Common Redpolls feeding on a flat feeder.  Most of the birds ate and were neither aggressive, nor submissive.  There were two aggressive birds that seemed to shoo at least two other birds from the portion of the feeder occupied by the aggressors.  The more timid Redpolls simply moved to another part of the feeder; they were not completely run off.  The aggression probably related to rank within the Redpoll group.  Something spooked all of the Redpolls, as they all flew away at once, with the exception of one bird, which eventually left.  I couldn’t tell what startled them.
    • Nancy
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      Bluejays have been busy at my feeder. They make loud calls in the trees before they approach the feeder. They grab peanuts, which they take away to eat. They don't remain long at the feeder, but do like to sort through the seed to find the sunflower seeds. I enjoy their calls and turn to the feeder to watch these fellows. The red-bellied woodpecker also comes every day, to enjoy bird seed. He hangs from the bottom of the feeder, eating for several minutes before leaving to cling to a near-by tree trunk. I have heard his persistent drum on the tree but I will pay closer attention to identify his call which I discovered on the Merlin bird ap
      • I had no idea until taking this course that the loud call of the blue jay is how they keep track of each other.  I always thought it was more menacing, since all the other birds fly away from the feeders.  I guess the jays are calling to one another, and since they are some of the largest birds in my area, the others get out of the way.
    • Michael
      Participant
      Chirps: 11
      Listening to the birds in our backyard we can usually hear the chickadee's distinctive song as well as the northern cardinal's call. The blue jay announces itself before swooping in, and the downy woodpecker seems to have a warning call when we disturb it by passing too close to the feeder. There are some pre-dawn songs, but I don't know which birds are up singing that early. This morning a small flock of geese passed overhead. It sounded like Canada geese, but when they came into view they seemed to be a much lighter color. Will check my guide to find some suspects.
    • Michael
      Participant
      Chirps: 11
      The white-breasted nuthatch that visits daily has a definite preference for our peanut feeder. It pecks away until it gets a peanut in its beak and then immediately leaves the feeder. This behavior contrasts with the tufted titmouse that perches on top of a seed cake and only seems to leave when challenged by a larger bird.
    • Michael
      Participant
      Chirps: 11
      We have a pair of northern cardinals (male and female) that appear to take turns at our feeders. It could be that one is keeping watch while the other feeds. They don't seem threatened by any other birds (except perhaps the blue jay). Perhaps they are keeping an eye out for cats and hawks.
    • Stacey
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      I noticed that when the Pine Siskin were by themselves (or sometimes with one more), it was displaced by every bird who came to the feeder. They were very timid and scattered easily. But once there was 3 or more Siskin at the feeder, they didn't budge. At one point a Black-capped Chickadee was trying to land at the feeder, where 5 Siskin had planted themselves firmly for a snack. The Chickadee tried several times, even flapping its wings and trying to lunge forward, and the Siskin didn't move, almost even ignored him. Finally, a couple of the Siskin opened their beaks at him and that was enough to scare him off.
    • Kyle
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      I observed several bird cams so that I could closely see what they're doing.  I saw a lot of blue jays, and they were interesting because they seemed to get several seeds in their beaks before they swallowed them.  The goldfinch, titmouse and cardinals were comfortable to sit on the feeder and enjoy the food.  The chickadee grabbed a seed very quickly and then flew back to a safe spot. A group of pine siskins came to the feeder, and it was cool to see them watching constantly for threats.  I was also happy to finally see a northern royal albatross on the webcam, and it was preening.
    • Alison
      Participant
      Chirps: 10
      I saw a hairy woodpecker at my feeder today, and it actually seemed to be eating seeds from it- I’d thought they didn’t come to feeders for some reason. It was pecking the nearby tree trunk and eating from the feeder alternately. The other birds, Juncos and Pine Siskin, were cautious of the much bigger woodpecker, and avoided the feeder when it was nearby.
    • Erin
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      Activity #1- I watched the feeder in my yard this morning and had lots of options as it was bustling with activity! I landed on a little bird I didn't recognize but found it very beautiful- mostly brown with a streaky belly and a beautiful black-and-white striped crown with two points of yellow by its eyes.. a White-throated Sparrow I learned, with the help of Merlin. It was foraging below the feeder, for the seeds that had dropped to the ground. It looked liked it was mostly using its beak to grab seeds but I also noticed it scratching at the grass/leaf-litter with its feet.. was this double-scratching? The movement was so fast it was hard to tell but cool to see a different foraging technique in action.
    • I watched a bird - wasn't able to ID it at the time - at the Panama fruit feeder using its foot to preen the head feathers.  Cool to realize now that of course they have to use their foot on their head for this very important task.  It was also rubbing its beak back and forth on the branch.  I often wondered about this behavior and it seemed almost of a social one, now I know it could be, but primarily is for cleaning the beak area. I identified a Summer tanager at the Panama Fruit feeder as well - it was eating not from the fruit, but from within the wood.  Wondering if there are insects placed there - I read that it eats bees and wasps in a rather violent matter to first remove the stinger. Some birds seem to stay for a longer period of time, while some others just grab a seed and go - but have seen this happen as a result of displacement. I am growing very familiar with the birds outside my house and can readily ID the songs/sounds of at least: dark eyed junco, chickadee, Steller's Jay, golden crowned sparrow, bushtit, Northern flicker, and song sparrow.
    • Sara
      Participant
      Chirps: 9
      1. While watching the Panama Fruit feeder cam after one of the attendants put out more fruit these large chicken like birds came crashing down from above the camera and descended on what looked like papaya, it was intense and there were so many of them, had never seen anything like it. When I used merlin to ID them taking a photo of my screen one of the sentences said "small flocks crashing clumsily through the trees" and I was like yep that's them hahaha  Another bird I ID'd last year for the first time was the double crested cormorant and confirmed the ID with the description that after they dive they perch and spread their wings to the sun to dry their feathers, I like when the birds behave in the ways that they guide says they do I find it fascinating:) 2. At the Cornell Feeder I noticed the chickadees do just grab a seed and quickly fly off as well as the tufted titmouse, while the gold finches and jays just sit their eating till they are done. 3. The only ones I have been able to identify by sound are the red-winged blackbird, the blue jays, and cardinals. I did utilize the merlin ID sound bytes to confirm a bunch of golden-crowned kinglets with their high-pitched calls, they answered audio I was playing on my phone kinda cool
    • Aiden
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      I saw a number of Dark-Eyed Juncos feeding. They appeared to just be pecking the ground. All about birds says that they do this by hopping around on the ground and also glean insects. At the Panama feeder cam, the hummingbirds take quick sips from the feeder then dart away. Given that it is nighttime, that's all I could see. At the Ontario feeder cam, I listened to a previous highlight recording. I heard at least four different species: a loud call that I presumed to be the woodpecker shown in the video, a whooping call (Northern Cardinal? We don't have any where I live), a number of higher pitched calls (maybe chickadees) as well as a common raven.
    • Activity 2 - The larger birds, like Cardinals and Blue Jays, do not get displaced as easy. A Junco, or Chickadee, gets easily scared, and displaced. By, the larger Birds, and the threat of predators. The smaller birds, seem to stay at the feeder for less time. By putting food in their cheeks, and then depositing them at a safe nest. The larger birds, Cardinals and Blue Jays, crack the nut and seeds, at the feeder. Also, they are not as super scared, of predators, or other birds. They are still flighty, and they fly away over sounds, or perceived threats. But not as much, or as in such a hurried frenzy, as Juncos, Sparrows, and smaller Finches. Larger billed birds, seem to have an easier time, with seeds and nuts. Taking more at once, and eating in place. Smaller birds, are scared of being out in the open. So they eat less in place, and take more back to home base. (nestled nest.)   Activity 3 -  I hear a lot of Blue Jays, and Cardinals. With the background of Chickadees and Nuthatches. I would say, the most common sounds are, the WHOOP TK WHOOP TK WHOOP, of the Northern Cardinal. And the JEER JEER, of the Blue Jay. The Blue Jay, has an ugly sound, for such a beautiful bird. Strange, that the best looking bird, sounds so off/weird. The Cardinals' sound is more, easy on the ear. Those two, make the loudest sounds. And the Chickadees, and Nuthatches, and Titmice, make softer, background noises. In more constant bunches. ????
    • Activity 1 - I went on a nature walk today, and saw a whole pond of Ducksblue duck 2, in a DABBLING PATTERN. Where every Duck, would dunk, and bob, in a pattern. For minutes on end. The same way a Robin, on the lawn, or a Shorebird, on the sand, would routinely forage. The Ducks, would go under, and come back up, for minutes on end. They seemed to dunk, and come back up, without really hunting. I know, that they are not Diving Ducks, they were Dabblers. So it seems they would dunk a few feet, and 'buoy,' back up. But without any real aim. Because the whole pond of ducks, were doing so, for the whole time I was there. What energy ! Do they get tired ? Does it work ? Fish or/and plant hunting ?
    • Activity 3: I chose to listen to bird songs by watching and listening to the Canopy Lodge Bird Cam for five minutes.  While there were many  different species on screen, they were not vocalizing.  What I have discovered in my first year of birding, is that "hearing" the birds is critical to finding the birds.  I am studying bird song each day on Merlin and challenging myself with app games.  My hearing is not as good as others, but with time I am hoping to get better at knowing many of the species songs.
    • Activity 2:  I chose to watch several beautiful birds at Canopy Lodge in Panama on Bird Cam.  While watching these birds on Bird Cam, I focused my attention to how the different species use different techniques for eating.  The Gray-colored Thrush never seemed to leave the table with the fruit and while they grabbed pieces to eat, they were constantly looking around and guarding this food source.  The Blue-Gray Tanagers, The Green Honeycreepers were NOT to be driven completely away by the Thrushes, however they were clearly intimated by them.  Especially the Green Honeycreepers would not leave and they would sneak in grab fruit and sometime continue to eat if not bulled away too badly by the Team of Thrush Guards !  The Flamed-rumped Tanager (in his striking yellow & black plumage and white/blue beak) would fly in and charge the Thrushes and drive them off !  It would then leisurely eat as much fruit as it wanted and withing 20 seconds it would be gone again !
    • Activity 1: What could be more fun than to watch beautiful birds at Canopy Lodge in Panama on Bird Cam !  I have been watching for over 30 minutes and have been able o observe the foraging behavior of Clay-colored Thrush, Green Honey Creepers, Blue-gray Tanagers, Crimson-backed Tanagers, Flame-rumped Tanagers, Chestnut-headed Oropendolas and Gray-headed Chachalas !  These would of course, all be Life Birds for me if I were there live!  5 pieces of cut fruit are laid on a board on a table and 2 sugar feeders hang from nearby posts.  The Gray-colored Thrush' are dominating the table and they chase off the smaller species from the fruit.  The Green Honeycreepers cleverly sneak in and grab fruit when the Thrushes are pre-occupied chasing others or flying away.  The Green Honeycreeper is bold enough to never fly off and it continued to hop around the table waiting for another chance to get some fruit ! It was obvious that the Green Honeycreeper continually looked up & around between bites of fruit to stay on guard for predators. The Blue-gray Tanagers were much more timid and kept their distance from the Thrushes.  They would land on corners, farther away from the Thrushes and only move in for the fruit when the Thrushes had completely flown away.  However, the Flame-rumped Tanager is aggressive and it charged the Thrushes with its beak extended and chased them off.  It then took its time eating the fruit.  This was a fun assignment !