I noticed that a female ruby-throated hummingbird would often perch on an apple tree near my back porch. I put up a feeder and saw a second mail hummingbird come to feed. The male started aggressively squawking and chasing away any other hummingbird that showed up at the feeder. I read that hummingbirds are very territorial and can be quite aggressive and violent. To counter this behavior, I put up for different feeders around various locations around the outside of my house. I noticed that other hummingbirds are now able to feed at different times and locales because the aggressive male cannot patrol all feeders at once.

This spring a pair of Robins made a nest next to my front porch in a Rhododendron bush, next to where my wife and I enjoy coffee at various times of the day.  We observed the Robins sitting on the gutter above the bush making certain that we had not moved and making certain that we knew they were watching us by making calls, switching their tails and flying up to the electrical lines and repeating all the same antics in full view.  During periods of heavy feeding times we had the pair waiting, with food in beaks, to suggest that we should move to allow them to continue to feed their  young which we fully complied with their request.  During the entire summer my wife and I never made an attempt to locate or observe the pair on the nest itself, just enjoyed being fussed at and watching the pair accept our presence.

I came across this communication behavior completely by accident. Two Canada geese in an urban pond in Vancouver, Canada, (these photos are extracted from a video taken on an iPhone), swimming around seemingly at random and then they both eventually line up, their honking starts at the exact same time, and takeoff and flight begin at exactly the same time.  How was the decision to fly made and communicated, and how was the timing of the flight decided upon and communicated? I’ve played this video over and over again and simply can’t find any cues, but there was communication of the most intimate kind.  They probably left both knowing exactly where they were going. I will never tire of this little video and I often come back to the words of Gilbert White, “The language of birds is ancient, and like other ancient modes of speech, very elliptical: little is said but much is meant and understood.”  

I selected the Little Pied Cormorant as I had seen it at my local park a few weeks ago. Typically these birds dive for food under water but, as they do not have water resistant feathers like ducks, they have to dry themselves while roosting ashore. One bird was present on the lake in the local park but rather than diving for food it was vigorously bathing. This went on for about 15 minutes and the splashing was so loud that it could be heard for a distance from the water. After bathing the bird roosted on a nearby tree where it displayed the typical drying behaviour. I've never seen this bathing before and the bird seemed oblivious to people by the lake and other birds swimming nearby. Fortunately, from a photographic point of view, the bird bathed and dried itself on the sunny side of the lake. The wind was from the same side of the lake which meant that when it dried itself the bird had its back to me as they prefer to have the wind on their backs when they dry.

I chose the Common Loon and I'll admit I wasn't too surprised with finding them as I always know there's Loons on the lakes nearby, when I started doing more research into another bird - the Trumpeter Swan - I found myself surprised on how much information was out there. While I use the eBird app and Merlin ID frequently, I never really knew how much my data would be helpful. After all, sometimes I like to log birds just to give me something to do as opposed to fidgeting with other apps on my phone. Finding out the migration tracking and how helpful it is to see when reports have come up for a lot of birds was fantastic! I started making more Trip Plans with the idea of seeing as many birds as possible using this research during peak times they come into my province. Such as May or the fall migration at the end of September. That was great and hopefully I'll find more birds to take pictures of before honing myself further!

It was a nice cloudy afternoon right before sunset, my birding buddy and I decided to go to our regular birdwatching spot near home, hoping that we may see the white-throat kingfisher again. We saw its dazzling blue back swept by for three times last week, but never got a chance to see it in detail, let alone taking any shots. However, once we got there, we knew we were sure to be disappointed because the tide was too low. It's nice afternoon to see wading birds.  Herons and egrets were in a distance, waiting for prey patiently. So we quickly gave up after a quick scanning, and looking for other birds. Though we didn't see much birds of interests, there were several surprises from our regular neighbors. A male plaintive cuckoo was perching on a bare branch, singing pre-song. Though we hear this species singing every day since spring, we only saw one once. Today's encounter might be a juvenile? There are tens of house swifts hovering above the mangroves, they are not-so-regular visitors in this area! We also saw a mysterious brown bird... Merlin and another software says it's a light-vented bulbul, while it is 90% is one of the most common birds here according to the profile and some features, but its color marks is so different than the typical look! Perhaps some sort of mutated one? It was pretty late and the lighting was not good. So I only got some blurry images. There are for record only :P

I kept hearing these birds on my walks after work. I used Merlin sound id. Bullock's Orioles. I finally spotted them after 4 tries. I payed attention to when I was hearing their song, the area and what time. this was taken around sunset time. Two males and one female perched up and displayed courtship behavior. I really enjoyed your videos on how to become a better naturalist and all the information you provided on how to research the bird before looking for it. I am planning on looking for a Red Knot in its breeding plumage. I read about this bird and now feel like my birding experience will be so much more comprehensive and meaningful. Thank you

I have had frequent visits from male and female Purple Finches at my feeder.  Your pictures are lovely.

I am fortunate to live fairly close to a large River in my hometown.  This time of the year there are lots of gulls, Mallards, and other variety of ducks.  I am usually on a mission to get photos of as many as I can.  A couple of days ago I was hoping that I might see a cormorant, and to be honest I wasn't completely sure if it might be too early.  Any way to my delight there was this lone Double Crested Cormorant with a traveling companion.  It was quite a distance away, swimming down the river, so I was only able to identify the other bird after taking the picture with my zoom lens.  Turned out to be a Surf Scoter (as best I can tell after consulting Merlin and my Bird ref).  Calm waters, I think around 10 am and not many other birds, ducks, gulls around.  These two traveled down the river for quite a while together. As an aside, when I took the picture I was on a walking bridge over the river and as I brought my camera over the railing, my lens hood was nudged off so down the bank and into the river it went.

I love watching birds at all times (and often to the annoyance of my family). I work from home and am always watching and listening to what birds are in the yard or at the feeders. Today, a special treat! A male purple finch perched right outside my window. Only the third time in 5 years we have had one in the yard. They seem to show up mid- to late winter. (April is still winter here in Minnesota.) I have found that becoming exceptionally familiar with the common birds (sights, sounds and behaviors) helps the unusual ones stand out. We have house finches every day, but the purple was an unexpected surprise..

I observe birds in front of my apartment, here in France. Most of the time, there are numerous House Sparrows, Common Woodpigeons, Eurasian Collared-Doves, Eurasian Magpies, Eurasian Jays, European Blackbirds, etc. Last year I purchased a Sony DSC-RX10 iv, as I want to use the camera for bird identification and recording my field observations. But unfortunately, I have no enough knowledge in photography and sometimes I think that I am not improving my photography skills despite my efforts. This is why I decided to take this course.

I often walk or run the same trail along the Jordan River in Salt Lake City.  As it is winter, waterfowl dominate the picture.  However, I love seeing Northern Flickers, who migrate down and spend the cold months here.  They (and the various guides) have taught me about their foraging, which often happens on the ground.  I learned to recognize their typical undulating flight pattern with the beautiful read color of the wings (and the flash of white when seen from behind).  Seeing them in the tree, I saw the reliance on berries or other fruits and read that this may account for about one third of their wintery diet.  And sure enough, they made me look into the anatomic mechanisms that protect them from brain injury, when they do their staccato pecking.

Practicing and learning a lot with this great course. I decided to go for different types of sparrows, as they offer lots of chances for exercising focus and settings --and, as common as they are, I sometimes forget they are sweet and pretty! Enjoying this lessons a lot :)

My "gateway" birds were Anna's and Allen's hummingbirds.  In Los Angeles we see hummers all year. I realized they will come if you put out a feeder or plant appropriate flowers. They love the pentas I have planted in my yard. They do spend a lot of time resting and make great bird portraits. 

I enjoy seeing egrets at a local wetlands where I am a docent, and have seen them at a nearby beach. We tell our guests that Snowy Egrets have yellow feet and a dark bill, and Great Egrets the opposite. It is beautiful to watch them fly as well!

The bald eagle is a year-round resident here in New York State. They have made a tremendous come-back after their populations were decimated by industrial pollutants, namely DDT. In winter they can be found fishing at openings in the ice on frozen water bodies like lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds. The bald eagle is opportunistic and will eat carrion like road-kill and remnants that hunters leave behind from field-dressing their kills. I was out doing a raptor survey in a field looking specifically for short-eared owls and northern harriers when I happened upon this bald eagle snacking on a ribcage from what looks like a deer. This picture was captured in Monroe County, NY with a Sony A6000. Cheers Sean.

Hello everyone, the bird I chose is The Black Swan. I chose this bird because I see it almost every day and it is easily accessible from my home. The habitat that it depends on ranges from fresh, brackish, saltwater lakes to swamp, river and permanent wetlands. Its food sources include aquatic and marshland plants such as underwater algae, leaves of reedmace, stonewort, etc. Occasionally they feed on pasture plants on shore. The current season January is not their breeding/nesting season. The breeding/nesting season for this bird is from February to September in the southern hemisphere. There is no set migration pattern but rather opportunistic responses to high rainfall and drought conditions. It sticks all year-round. The Black swan makes a range of high pitching, musical, bugling and trumpeting calls along with some varieties of softer crooning notes. But when disturbed while nesting or while with young they make a whistling sound. The distinctive behaviors which we can expect to see include both parents share the responsibility to take care of the nest and the cygnets (young swan). For example, while incubating the eggs if an egg accidently rolls out of the nest, then both of the parents will retrieve the egg using their necks. They can become very territorial and aggressive especially during mating/nesting season or when protecting their young. I personally experienced this aggression while I was trying to get a picture of the cygnets during the nesting season. The father swan adopted an aggressive posture which is when the swan constantly stares at you, gives out hissing sounds, stretches its neck upwards, opens its wings wide or when it flaps it wings in an aggressive manner. Even after this, if the perceived threat does not back out it may directly charge at the threat which can be followed by biting. I however understood at the first warning sign itself that the bird does not look normal which was when it was constantly staring at me and arching its neck upwards. I backed out immediately. When I did the research and watched some videos of this course, I got to know what I was doing wrong. I was not being an ethical photographer. I was not using empathy as my guide. My research has now helped inform my photography and going forward I will be careful enough to not disturb the bird or its habitat and not put my ambition before the bird itself. I have attached some pictures of the Black Swan with the cygnets and also the picture where it was constantly staring at me. (Picture 2) Kind regards, Deeksha Goyal

The bird I am interested in is the Great Blue Heron. What kind of habitat does this bird depend on? Wetland habitat with shallow water for feeding.  Trees for nesting. What are their food sources? “Highly variable and adaptable. Eats mostly fish, but also frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes, insects, rodents, birds. Has been seen stalking voles and gophers in fields, capturing rails at edge of marsh, eating many species of small waterbirds.”  From Audubon.com Is it breeding or nesting season for this bird? Neither.  Looks like breeding occurs from March to May with 2-7 eggs laid. What distinctive behaviors can I expect to see? Solitary stalking food in shallow water.  Nesting in trees in colonies - sometimes very large colonies. What sounds do they make, and why?  From all about birds.org: CALLS Great Blue Herons are most vocal on the breeding grounds, where they greet their partner with squawking roh-roh-rohs in a “landing call” when arriving at the nest. A disturbance can trigger a series of clucking go-go-gos, building to a rapid frawnk squawk that can last up to 20 seconds. If directly threatened, birds react with a screaming awk lasting just over 2 seconds. Chicks give a tik-tik-tikcall within minutes of hatching. OTHER SOUNDS Both male and female Great Blue Herons snap their bill tips together as part of breeding and territorial displays, a behavior that may be analogous to a songbird’s territorial song. Paired birds often “clapper” at each other, chattering the tips of the bill together. Is the bird migratory or does it stick around all year?  Remain all year.   I spent some time a few months back trying to catch a GBH catching a fish.

These are not the world's best pictures, lol. But after studying owls for so long and having zero success ever finding them, I picked this little golden-crowned kinglet to find. I didn't know if I could, because they are listed as uncommon here. But not rare. So, I tried. I learned they perch high in trees, like these. And they often frequent cemeteries, so I headed to the closest one. Sure enough, there they were! So fun to look for a bird and actually find it! This was a lifer for me, so that's always fun, too.

I am just learning and know very little about birds but I am thrilled with the information in this course so far.  It is late in the season but I have previously seen Meadowlark's and I figure that is a fine place to start.  I do not have a very advanced camera but I have to start some where!   

G'day from Australia, I am currently studying a bird called: Tawny Frogmouth. There is a breeding pair at my work that I have been following for a few years now. Watching them roost throughout the day in the same positions nearly every morning and changing different positions occasionally by midday due to either weather conditions or perceived threats from other people on-site (that don't know the birds are there). They are currently on the nest with at least two chicks visible at the moment. I have noticed that if I get too close to the nest site for photo, the male lets me know by giving me the "move away" look. I am also very mindful of not drawing too much attention to the nest site when there is a raptor about. Cheers Darren

Instead of the Swainson's hawk that is leaving for the winter, I think the Blackcap Chickadee is a better choice because it pretty much stays here all year. Also I searched for a quiet place to sit and search for birds with decent light. Outside yesterday I soon realized that even though it was still above +5C, I felt cold! If I feel cold now, then in a month or so, I'd probably get frost bite from being outside. From my home, chickadees come and feed at my suet blocks and I can sit comfortably. It is not what I would choose in warmer climes, but what comes to mind now as autumn is here. Chickadees were busy yesterday and it is time to wash and set up my suet feeders again. I took these images of some autumn and winter birds that are common to my area in Canad. My cameras are Sony 7R4 with 100-400mm lens + 1.4x teleconverter and NikonD850. Blackcap chickadee, junco and Harris sparrow are my images here. a

I chose the Swainson's hawk because it is a prairie bird and a pair lives within walking distance from my home. It is a large bird easy to spot. Here they are very common. But I am unsure about working on these hawks as it is migration time for them now. They will be gone all winter and it is a very long winter on the prairies. Nuthatches, chickadees, house finches and house sparrows are what stay. So I will probably change to something that I can photograph over the winter in order practice the various techniques taught in this course.

In choosing a bird to study up on I rejected several because they didn't breed locally. I chose the Black Phoebe since it stays in my part of California all year and is an easy bird to find. That said it is not an easy bird to photograph because I want the bird in flight catching an insect. The good thing about the Phoebe is that they take off from a perch, fly out, catch a bug and return to the same perch if I don't ge too close. That way I get many opportunities. To get sharp images I find 1/4000 works best. To keep noise in control I shoot wide open, F4 so focus is critical.  The other challenge is that if I get too close I can’t keep the bird in frame when it takes off so most shots get cropped to 1/4 picture width. Birds of the World states that they prefer perches 1 to 1.5 meters off the ground. It is easier to follow a bird that is perching higher, so I planted some 1.5 bamboo stakes in the marsh where the background was favorable. I saw 3 Phoebes while doing this. The next two days I checked for Phoebes several times and saw none which is unusual.  Thinking that they a wider perch I made one from a piece of driftwood. Then I noticed a pair perched on a pipe under the bridge. The book says they separate in the fall but I have seen them flying together though they hunt separately. Checking the 800 phoebe pictures that I have kept since January, I can confirm that they molt in July and August as the book says. They sure did look shabby.  Regrettably I was away from April to June and missed the breeding season. I guess this little bird is going to be running my life.