JackBird21

Activity 1 - Look for two birds (either outside or on Bird Cams) that you can tell apart just by shape. I decided that I wanted to use Merlin to ID a Barred Owl and a Greater Yellowlegs.  As I have made more and more journeys into the field this year (my first year birding), these are two birds that I can easily ID accurately just because of their body shapes.  Merlin was easy to use too !  I went through the menu and answered the questions and the next thing I knew, Merlin offered several choices based upon my answers and sure enough the Barred Owl was there !  I took a few moments to read the description and then I played it's songs and studied its usual ranges. Then I started at the beginning again and entered the data that best describes the Greater Yellowlegs.  After answering each question, Merlin provided me with a few choices and the Greater Yellowlegs was one of them.  Pretty cool.  I often am up early and head to the shore this time of year and although I try to position myself where the wind and the sun are at my back, it is fun to note that even in silouette - the Greater Yellowlegs is a bird I can positively ID now every time based on its shape.  It's foraging style of rapid leg movements while it sweeps its bill through the water is distinctive too, and these two elements make them easier for me to ID correctly !  I took a few moments to read the description and then I played it's songs and studied its usual ranges. Merlin is a pretty cool, and very accurate tool to assist me in ID'ing birds correctly !   Activity 2: Look for three different birds that have the same color (e.g., black, white, or red), but on different parts of their bodies. The Red-winged Blackbird; the Red-bellied Woodpecker and the Northern Cardinal each have red coloring on their bodies.  Obviously, the Northern Cardinal (Male) is almost fully adorned in red !  But the Red-winged Blackbird only has red coloring on its shoulder patches !  The Red-bellied Woodpecker has red coloring on the crown of its head and it continues down on its nape !  Merlin was very helpful in accurately id'ing these 3 birds, providing me with photos of each, along with a description of each detailing where to find the red (as well as other) coloring on the body of the bird. Activity 3:  Look for three different birds that are searching for food today. What are their food-finding behaviors ? I decided to focus on Shorebirds today for activity # 3 as now (Late August) the Shorebirds are migrating through New England along the shoreline and it is interesting to watch each of their foraging behaviors.  The Snowy Egret is a graceful bird, and I found it today running in shallow water near mud flats chasing and then spearing smaller, minnow size fish.  The Great Blue Heron in contrast positions itself on shoreline edges or in the water and doesn't move at all.  It almost becomes a statue until an unsuspecting smaller fish comes by, and the Great Blue Heron will move swiftly be striking with its neck and bill to snare its food.  The Greater Yellowlegs, moves around shallow and mid-deep water with erratic movements as it swings its bill back & forth side to side to catch fish and other food ! Activity 4: Pick your favorite bird, and see if you can describe it using at least three of the bird ID strategies (size and shape, color pattern and markings, behavior, habitat and range, and sounds). One of my favorite birds has become the Alder Flycatcher.  While it is small and somewhat drab (olive green) colored bird, with black wings.  It is larger than a sparrow but smaller in size than a robin.  It has two distinctive, white wing bars on its black wings and it has a distinctive "rreeBEER' song.  It also will make a "pip" call !  The Alder's we observed nested in bushes approximately 5 feet above the ground and immediately adjacent to a pool of water.  This Spring and Summer, a close friend uncovered this pair of Alders and allowed me to observe them with him several times a week !  We watched them bring nesting materials, then we discovered their nest in the bushes, and we observed them feeding their newborn in the nest with food they would catch; and then finally we observed the newborns leaving the nest ! This was an exciting breeding season for me to watch, and that fact that Alder Flycatchers have not been confirmed breeding up here in Essex County, made this fun for me !