• gretchen
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      I have noticed that the birds in my yard are most active in the morning and only a few are active later in the day. imageThe chickadees and a wren are more bold, the sparrows stay close to the trees and are only visible in the morning. Are birds like us, needing breakfast after a long night of no food? Where do the sparrows go for the rest of the day ? Why are city sparrows so bold and my gold crown and white crowned sparrows so shy? Do birds have different personalities?
    • Jessica
      Participant
      Chirps: 10
      I looked at a plant that had palm-like leaves (I don't know what the name is) and noticed it's form and function. The leaves looked as though they were sliced up, causing them to have large gaps in between them, which could be due to the wind action since the leaves felt thin. Also, the stem was thick and curved downward to the roots, this could help the water slide down the leaves and reach the roots without any water being lost. It's interesting to see how plants are able to adapt to their environmental conditions and it seems that this plant was thriving since it was about 10 feet in height. Palm Leaf
    • Lily
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      The cooler weather is creating very obvious and not so obvious change here.  Most of the trees have not started to loose leaves or have the leaves change color yet, but the ground plants are brown and mostly dead.  The birds that come to my feeders have changed since some have started migration.  There are now many cardinals, sparrows, nuthatches, chickadees.  There is one hummingbird still coming in for a drink, and I am concerned about why she hasn't migrated with the others.  The birds are eating more now, and eating differently.  They are eating more from the suet than in the summer.  The feeders that have mealworms are the more popular now also, so the birds must be stocking up for winter.  The deer are changing from the red brown to the brown gray which is much harder to spot amongst the bare gray trees.  The deer are also not traveling in very large groups right now, and they are more skittish.  When horseback riding in the woods, the deer don't normally take much notice of me, but now they are more wary.
    • Montecito
      Participant
      Chirps: 22
      I never thought before about asking myself why things are like they are in nature. It has been difficult for me doing this assignment because i have not so much nature close to me, but I was observing a dove near my house, It was alone, Why? Why was that dove alone in a really small park? Was it a young male with out a partner? Probably is not time for mating. Was it searching for food? or just resting a while before completing its journey?
    • Joannie
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      Virginia Creeper JPeg
    • Judith
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      I observed the top portion of the trunk of a white birch that fell in my yard.  The tree is a victim of disease caused by a birch borer.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, the tree has an abundance of moss and lichens along its trunk.  I noticed that the mosses tend to cluster on bumps on the trunk.  Do they find a better grip there?  Are there more nutrients?  What about the tiny green dots that grow in irregular clusters on the trunk near where it touches the ground.  Are they algae?  Do they like being close to more moisture?  Perhaps they like being more sheltered from the  bright morning sunlight.birch log
    • William
      Participant
      Chirps: 10
      I was a bit aggravated when I noticed the squirrels digging in the new mulch, planting acorns around my bushes.  While standing there looking at their handiwork I saw a pattern in the squirrels digging.  This makesDSC_9451 me wonder was this a method that they use or was it a random thing that just happened.  I will pay attention and see if it will happen next time.
      • Elizabeth
        Participant
        Chirps: 9
        That’s a very interesting observation! Nice sketch too.
    • Christine
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      F62AA41C-D218-4B89-9264-3BC715E08CEB
    • Peggy
      Participant
      Chirps: 10
      A8FF5790-1772-43DE-8930-52C167324564Spent about 20 minutes watching a  Great Blue Heron on the S Platte River this morning. Watching him (or her?) I kept wondering how and where they sleep and if they are prey for all of the coyotes in this area. It was interesting when I first sat down on the opposite shore, the heron immediately moved about 10 ft away and seemed very alert to my presence. By the time I got up to leave, I made a little noise but it didn’t seem to bother him at all.
    • Sandy
      Participant
      Chirps: 32
      IMG_2600
    • Sandy
      Participant
      Chirps: 32
      IMG_2599-1
    • kathleen
      Participant
      Chirps: 7
      image
      • Karen O
        Participant
        Chirps: 14
        Nice milk snake drawing! I think they are carnivorous: rodents insects, small invertebrates. Their name is a misnomer. But their patterns  beautiful.
    • Cheryl
      Participant
      Chirps: 12
      I have noticed over the past few years of observing birds in our yard that the small Inca quail have been pushed out while more and more white-winged and mourning doves have appeared. Eurasian collared doves have moved into our area, but not my yard yet, thankfully. However, I have observed rock doves (feral pigeons) moving steadily eastward in our valley. They used to congregate further to the west. A year ago I saw them in a neighbor's yard, less than a mile west of me. This year one found our feeders and now we get up to eight at a time. (I was surprised to see how big a pigeon appears next to a dove!). I wonder if the pigeon and larger dove habitats are expanding because they've been successful and need more room. Why did the Inca doves, once fairly regular visitors to my yard, disappear? Could they not compete with the larger doves? I've noticed how aggressive the larger doves are, especially to others of their species as well as the Gambel's quail. Did they drive the Inca doves away? Are the quail still successful because they stand their ground? Finches and sparrows are also smaller, but are holding (more than) their own, but the doves tend to ignore them. As I write, I hear the rather annoying sound of a white-winged dove driving another bird away. I'd like to figure out how to feed the Gambel's quail and not the doves!
    • Susan
      Participant
      Chirps: 13
      Observation: In fall when leaves turn Burning Bush is a pale pink in 3 areas of my yard and bright red/pink at the end of the driveway. They are offshoots of the same plant so no difference in type/genus. Possible Explanations: Different soil make up with more of a particular nutrient to cause brighter color? Questions:  What soil compositions affect color? Can it be added to other Burning Bushes to brighten color?
    • Donna
      Participant
      Chirps: 34
      imageA friend found this insect in the grass of the field that we were in today, we held and looked at if for a few minutes before it flew away. I documented it in my nature journal when I got home, since I did not have it with me in this field today.
    • Donna
      Participant
      Chirps: 34
      image It is foliage season in New Hampshire, dusk this time of year is interesting.  I wonder why dusk seems so much brighter.  Do yellow and orange leaves reflect the sunset better than green leaves? I used pencil to sketch in some trees using some hatching practice, then used colored pencils in the same method to represent the foliage colors. My dog and I walk the same nature path often, today there were not many birds.  Do hawks hunt better when it is overcast? Most of the birds we saw kept to the lower shrubbery and under the leaves.
    • Susan
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      IMG_4073There were over 100 sea gulls at the Lagoon why so many birds? perhaps there are a lot of fish in the Lagoon this year. our summer was cooler this year, perhaps the fish were more abundant because of the higher water levels and cooler temperatures. More gulls because of more food
      • Tom
        Participant
        Chirps: 20
        I liked your “report” as I enjoy looking at and trying to ID all birds and was told by a Serious Birder that gulls are great subjects to hone the art of seeing.  They are plentiful (as you’ve noted), many of them sit still for long periods and perhaps most useful, there may be several different types (species?) in the same area which allows for comparisons to be made.  I like to use binoculars and when appropriate, a small spotting scope for up-close observation.  I really enjoy reading others’ entries after the chapters in this course. I wish some of the photos were clearer, it’s often hard to read what people wrote though like you, some type in the main notes.  Thanks for uploading your pic and report.
    • Jean
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      We had a vary wet spring and summer. Now we have a super mast crop.  We are also dealing with an outbreak of EEE and they are warning of a spike in tick borne illnesses this fall.  Changes in weather patterns have many consequences for most systems.  Changes in populations can affect many species, more ticks means fewer moose. More coyotes seems to mean fewer foxes.  I find it interesting that bald eagles and ospreys are both recovering at the same time, which suggests that they have not yet reached carrying capacity of the fish population. (That is the most positive thing I’ve said in a long time.)
    • Sarah
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      There seem to be fewer raptors/predators than prey. Knowing they are unsuccessful more often than not, how is the abundance of prey designed to help both predators and prey survive? Examples: dozens of frogs in a pond with one Great Blue Heron and one Green Heron; 30 or so Eastern Bluebirds in a flock with one Sharp-shinned Hawk zooming by; 12 squirrels in my back yard area but one pair of Red-shouldered Hawks raising one or 2 young.