I went to a local park along the Bow River in Calgary hoping to observe and watch some of the birds local to the area at this time of year. I did not expect to see these two American White Pelicans so that was an unexpected surprise. They both stood on this rocky outcrop for some time before one ventured out into the water.

I chose the wood duck as it had been reported at Irvine Regional Park (CA) where I planned to bird today (May 14). Here's what I found out about wood ducks from Allaboutbirds.org and the CA Nature Mapping Program: Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. Wood Ducks have a unique shape among ducks—a boxy, crested head, a thin neck, and a long, broad tail. In flight, they hold their head up high, sometimes bobbing it. Habitat? These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches. They are considered a "dabbling" duck species as they do not "dive" for food. Food sources? Wood Ducks eat seeds, fruits, insects and other arthropods. When aquatic foods are unavailable they may take to dry land to eat acorns and other nuts from forests and grain from fields. Breeding/nesting seasons? Wood Ducks pair up in January, and most birds arriving at the breeding grounds in the spring are already paired. The Wood Duck is the only North American duck that regularly produces two broods in one year. The female lays a clutch up to 15 cream colored eggs (normal 6-10). The hen incubates the eggs for 25 to 37 days. The young can fly at about 8 to 10 weeks. The Wood Duck breeds from British Columbia south to California, and from Montana east to Nova Scotia and south to Texas and Florida.  Winters near Pacific Coast north to Washington, and to New Jersey in East, rarely farther north. All ducks live near water. The wood duck, as its name implies, requires wooded cover for nesting. In California, breeding season begins in April. What distinctive behaviors can I expect to see? They hang around the peripheries of water bodies in groups of 20 or fewer birds. Favored habitat: wooded swamps, marshes, streams, beaver ponds, and small lakes. They stick to wet areas with trees or extensive cattails. Is the bird migratory or does it stick around all year?  In my area (southern CA), there are both year-round and migratory wood ducks. On my birding trip, I saw three male birds, all on a small man made lake bank.

Research helps me because i will know the perfect time to take a picture but yet at the same time be able to understand what enviroments i can find birds and also when birds will be in my area by what migration habits they have. Understanding those things are important to understand birds and photograph them. .

I read about e-Bird sightings of the Common Merganser in a river at a large park in Ann Arbor (Southeastern Michigan). I had never seen one, but thought the male was stunning - with its large red beak, dark irridescent head & neck, black and white body and orange feet. So, I decided to research it and set out, hoping to find it. I have a beautiful new bird book, "Birds of North America", by the National Audubon Society. It has the unusual addition of conservation notes about every bird, which is important to me. I was interested that the Common Merganser is at the top of the aquatic food chain, meaning that its populations predict the health of their local habitat. Ann Arbor is known for its environmentalism, so the presence of mergansers is not surprising. I also read that Common Mergansers prefer wooded rivers, such as the one I hoped to find them in, and are often seen in flocks of 10-20. I read that they swim upstream and dive often for fish. So, I set off in search of Common Mergansers at the location they had been seen. As soon as I arrived at the river bank, I saw a beautiful male Common Merganser swimming and diving often. I'm sharing my favorite photo with you, which shows his colors the best.  He also seemed to be playing at times - just splashing a lot - and even went skidding through the water at top speed!

My first Western Meadowlark showing its bold black "V" on its yellow breast in the grassy fields was near Boulder, Colorado. This one is from Turri Road in Los Osos, California in the rolling pastures where Black Angus cattle roam. I did read that it may flock with other blackbirds. Some of those seen were feeding near the feet of the cattle on the other side of the road. During the spring mornings the lovely melodious songs are frequent. On an overcast windy late afternoon it was fairly quiet. I read that it feeds mainly on insects and caterpillars, with seeds and berries later on in the season. It hides a well constructed nest in a depression possibly a hoof print  which can be deepened a bit with its bill and covered with grasses that make a waterproof roof. Often other grasses overhang the nest for camouflage.

I am hoping to photograph sandhill cranes as they come in to land.  Sandhill cranes migrate through my area in large numbers and can be found reliably at Roswell Marsh Wildlife Management Area near the Idaho/Oregon border and at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. Because of COVID I can’t get to Malheur right now.  So I’m hoping to catch them at Roswell Marsh.  Access is limited but there are a couple of spots close enough to allow for decent photography.  Unfortunately, their comings and going’s are somewhat irregular as they fly out to feed in the nearby agricultural fields and then come back to the Marsh to rest and spend the night.  Late afternoon or early evening may be the best time to catch them coming in to land in the Marsh.

I saw a Great Horned Owl female nesting.  I expected her to be low in the nest since it was snowing.  There was an owl upright blocking the entire hole.  On closer observation, I decided it was the male because I could see the tufts of a second owl in the tree hole cavity that looked to be lower as if sitting on the nest.  I knew from the research to listen.  It was the second time back that I saw the tree with the owls in it.

I chose the belted kingfisher.  There is one along the brook near our backyard.  I first encountered it during the spring shut down 2020.  I even observed one kingfisher chase another one.  I've learned that that is a courtship behavior.  I learned that they need clear water to find prey.  I knew they perch on overhangs.  There are power lines that run across the brook and that is one of its favorite perches.  I learned that they nest in exposed vertical banks along water and roots of upturned trees (there are plenty of them around here.)  They are one and done with nests.  There aren't many tall banks along my brook and the ones we do have are close to trails.  I have consistently seen or heard a male kingfisher year around.  Now that breeding season is upon us I will keep an eye out to see if I spot two of them

I often bird in a local City Park, which contains a wetlands and quiet wooded trails, and which is in walking distance from my home. Over the past 6 years, I've observed approx. 110 species of birds, including migrants which show up for a few days in Spring or Fall, then move on, and birds which nest here. For the assignment suggestion, I chose the Red-winged Blackbird. Typically they show up here in March, although I've already seen them (Feb. 26) at another location about 15 miles from here. They're pretty much gone by August, and then I see some in October, which I believe are birds that have nested north of here, and are on their way south as part of the Fall migration. In past years, I've seen males in early March, then it seems like the females show up a week or two later.  However when I saw the ones (25 or so) on Feb. 26, there were males and females together.  When the ice clears from the wetlands in the above referenced Park, I'll be watching for the return of the Red-winged Blackbirds, and looking to see if the females show up right away, or later.

I chose the Eastern Bluebird to research, and my husband chose the White-breasted Nuthatch, which is becoming his favorite bird at our feeders.  We only get the bluebirds at our feeders in Ohio when there's snow on the ground every year.  I learned that they like mealworms.  Perhaps they have trouble finding food when there's so much snow, and that's why they are coming to our feeders now.  The snow is melting now, but my husband was ready with his camera when we learned that we would be getting a big snowfall, and sure enough a family of them showed up.  The nuthatch is a frequent visiter.  One tip to getting him is to know that he will be facing down the tree, will fly in quickly for a seed or peanut, and then be off to the tree to eat it.  Here are our best photos from the last two weeks of each bird.

Late in the afternoon, on February 21, a flock of cedar waxwings visited our neighbor's arrowwood viburnum bushes and made short work of their bountiful harvest of berries.  From our kitchen window, I was able to take a few photos as the waxwings were cooperative (somewhat still and came close) and seemed practically drunk with the bounty of berries.  They all started out in a large nearby bare oak tree and in small groups swooped in for a fruit course before heading back and swapping places with their compadres.  At first the closest individuals were wary but after I'd sat still watching for a few minutes, they rapidly returned to their feast.  In spite of their numbers, they seemed relatively quiet.  The entire feeding episode took about 30-45 minutes and although they didn't quite strip the branches bare of the berries, they certainly depleted most of them.  Once they'd all finished eating, they returned group by group to the oak tree, seemed to digest for a few minutes and flew away in one group as the sun set.  However, they came back in smaller numbers over the next two or three days to take care of any remaining tidbits.  I see how cedar waxwings are very effective disperser of the seeds of fruiting plants.

Hi! My bird is the Red-Bellied Woodpecker. I've only seen them here in NH since 2015. They've been gradually extending their range northward. Literature says they will eat from seed feeders and suet feeders in winter, and indeed the male and female I see do just that. This week (Feb 19) they have just started singing their quavery spring song. Glad they think it's spring, but it's snowing!

I chose Pileated Woodpeckers for this lesson.  We have a pair living in a small wooded area on our property and they come each morning to feed on suet then often come to the birdbath. They also are large enough that the slower movements and size are easier to capture, especially through a window. It was surprising to learn from Bird's of the World and Sibley's Guide to Bird Life and Behavior that not much research has been done on the displays of these magnificent birds. The Peterson Sound Guide helped discern the keek, whinny, and drum. Two were observed going through some sort of ritual dipping and spreading and my research indicated this was possibly pair bonding. I did observe that while they were participating in this behavior with each other they were less concerned with me. They traveled both on the ground and in the trees repeating the behavior.  Their caution was readily visible going up and down tree and I learned to recognize and predict their next move or position to prepare to photograph. Additionally, I was able to view photos made prior to beginning this course to re-evaluate how I might have handled the behaviors differently in the photos.

I chose a couple of species to apply the lesson. In winter a lot of activity may be found on the river, in this case the Bow, which flows through Calgary where I live. So morning pictures from the east bank were productive. I chose the Goldeneye which are plentiful and fun to watch feeding in the current I was hoping to find a Barrow’s Goldeneye which are uncommon, although there have been recent sightings. Also along the river are Bald Eagles swooping on their prey from the shore. In this case what looks like a second year immature.

Discussion on "Practice Understanding Birds for Better Photos": Did your sightings surprise you? How do you think the research you did might help inform your photography? Black turnstones, sited January 26, 2021. I hadn't yet chosen which bird I wanted to study when I came across this group of about 10-15 black turnstones while walking on the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail in central California. As I stopped to watch them, I realized they are a species I don't know much about, so researching a little bit about their lives was a treat. They're wintering here now, as they do all along the Pacific coast, from southeastern Alaska to Baja California, but by spring they'll head up north to breed in Alaska. They prefer grass to rock for their ground nests, but while they're overwintering here, they'll stick to the rocky coastline. They prefer a variety of aquatic invertebrates to eat, as is the case with a lot of shorebirds in this area, but the turnstones have a unique adaptation: their bill is short and slightly upturned, and they use it to turn over small rocks and debris to find food underneath (hence the name "turnstone"). This group was hunkered down on the rocks to avoid a particularly strong storm swell and high surf, so I didn't get to observe this behavior. Guess I'll have to come back at low tide one day and see if I spot them again!

My daughter and I were in the Faroe Islands and serendipitously misread the ferry schedule for the small island (Nolsoy) we had just popped over to. We ended up having to wait an extra 3 hours for the ferry back. My daughter suggested we head overland to the other side of the island. We were excited when we saw some Atlantic puffins playing and diving off the cliffside into the wind. I started to take pictures from a distance, but I noticed they seemed to jump off every time I tried to get closer. I decided to make my moves into them much more gradual, taking one step about every 5 minutes. They actually became more curious and almost seemed interested in me. After about 45 minutes I was able to capture some great moments. I learned the lesson of respecting their space and being rewarded.

Northern shovelers! I first noticed these birds in Central Park a couple months ago (early November) because a pair was engaging in a mesmerizing behavior of swimming together in circles with their beaks down, almost in a dance-like spiral. I originally researched yellow-bellied sapsuckers for this exercise, but on my latest bird outing (January 1) I did not see any sapsuckers and instead saw the shovelers at it again, spiraling together beaks-down, this time in a group of three with a few other individuals joining in occasionally. Inspired by these two observations, I researched shovelers retroactively, but I'll continue to stay on the lookout for sapsuckers. It’s not cheating, it’s investigating a new observation in the spirit of inquiry. ;-) And one takeaway from not seeing sapsuckers is that I need to work on my tree IDs because I learned they favor hickories, pines, and oaks in the winter, so I’ll probably have better luck if I hang around those trees. Was pleased to learn the shovelers were in fact feeding by filtering small crustaceans through comb-like structures called lamellae on their bill. This is something I knew flamingos did, but I didn’t know some ducks also do. From my research also learned that shovelers are long distance migrants who are only in NYC in the winter. And they favor shallow wetlands, which makes sense because I saw them in a shallow part of The Lake both times. Now I know where and when to find them again. :) Jan 1, 2021 observation:

Discussion on "Practice Understanding Birds for Better Photos": Did your sightings surprise you? How do you think the research you did might help inform your photography? I was already somewhat familiar with American Coots but was surprised to see them cross a busy trail, leaving the freshwater Adobe Creek habitat (in the Palo Alto Flood Control Basin) to get to the salt-water Charleston Slough (Santa Clara County, California).  They ran across the trail the same way they run on water before taking off in flight.  I reviewed Melissa Groo's six areas (habitat, food, season, behaviors, sounds, migratory) using allaboutbirds.org.  Many of the Coots in each habitat were foraging in the mud but I don't know if they were finding the same food in each habitat.  In the future I will trying to photograph what they are eating.  Doing some research is very helpful.

Decided to focus on the Inca Dove that we have here in southern Louisiana, at the eastern edge of its distribution.  I read that it typically likes to feed on the ground, which is where I typically see them feeding.  One or more though feed on the bird feeder at times. One of the pictures shows it sitting on top of the feeder. It then slides down the roof of the feeder and  tries to jump on the platform of the feeder on its way down.  Doesn't always work, but at times it does.  Guess the lesson is to be prepared to see your target bird outside of its typical habitat.

My dad and I went to look for the continuing White Winged Scoter off the Huntington Beach Pier, near where I live in Irvine, California. This female was associating with 80 or so surf scoters. Periodically, a group of scoters (including the white wing) would dive near the pillars holding up the pier, probably to feed on the mussels under the water. 

I went to look for a Ridgway's Rail, and to my surprise, I actually found one. I went out at low tide, and this one was taking advantage of the exposed mudflats to search for bits of food.

I photographed this Red-Bellied Woodpecker in my yard. I had tried previously to find one on a trail, and had no luck. So knowing I sometimes see them at my feeder, I got up early and waited. Luckily I got to see one! It was hopping around a Popcorn tree picking the seeds and hiding them in crevices.

These are a few shots of a Superb Lyrebird in the Dandenong Ranges not too far from home in Melbourne, Australia. These birds tend to be shy and difficult to spot. Getting close can be an issue! This male crossed a track just in front of me and stopped a few metres into the scrub, started to sing and display. Magical to listen to the variety of calls and watch the display.