Julian

Activity 2: I like to reuse all my shopping bags, and I think it's important to bag up trash before putting it in a dumpster. I've noticed that a big source of litter in my town is when the automated garbage truck moves trash inside its different compartments. Especially if it's windy, loose trash blows right out and ends up in ditches which lead to bigger waterways. I would love it if there were biodegradable garbage bags, but at least I can bag something up tight to keep it from blowing around. Yard fertilizers and pesticides are harmful to ocean fish after rains wash the chemicals eventually to the oceans. Does a yard really have to be free of weeds and covered with water-hogging unnatural grass? I let my backyard grow a little wild, and the birds love it.

2: I have enjoyed watching White-Crowned Sparrows, Harris's Sparrows, and a Mourning Dove graze on scattered seeds as the day cools down. When I go outside, nobody comes down to the yard. If the dove doesn't come down to look for snacks, I probably won't see the sparrows either. The sparrows wait in the bushes and then some will go to the seeds to forage. They like it best when it's in the shady evening. If the dove flutters in, the sparrows are pretty quick to join. There are always hidden sparrows looking out for the foragers, but I think seeing the dove foraging makes them feel more comfortable. After all, it's very easy to hear when a dove gets spooked and flies away. The dove is much less timid than the sparrows and eats its fill before leaving. Sometimes a single male Common Grackle will come to eat some leftover corn, but nobody likes being around him. The robins always throw a fit when the grackles are too close. The grackle doesn't care if people are in the yard or not. He is a hardened corn-snatcher, and he chews his food loudly.

Using eBird would be a loss for me without also using my Merlin BirdID app! I am new to bird watching, so before I go out I use Merlin to predict what birds I might see. It helped me today when I saw Harris's Sparrow. I knew it was a sparrow, but it had an "oil spill" on its face and neck that the House Sparrow doesn't have. Because I studied the birds in advance, it really helped me out! Then I was able to match that bird with the birdsong I had been hearing.

Activity 3: American Robin: raking leaves—I thought it was a person by the sound of it! Eastern Bluebird: Flying to just above the ground, hovering a bit, snatching a bug and flying back to its perch. Cedar Waxwing: I thought, why are they flying away from the tree perches and then flying back? They were catching flying insects. Activity 4: Northern Mockingbird: Main color gray with long tail. When flying, white patches on wing and outer tail stand out, outlined by black. Its head is more sinister-looking than a dove's. It has a black line from its eyes to its dark beak. It does not come in flocks and is often active and aggressive. When perched, it sings the calls of many birds—very loudly. Then it repeats the process from a new perch. A call unique to this bird is its buzzy scolding call that it directs at things that make it agitated.

Cute!

1: The inclusion of the proto-birds and extinct birds in the bird wall was really cool! I'm glad that ostriches are still here, but I wish moas were too. I had no idea that a type of albatross has an 11+ foot wingspan. That's crazy! I thought eagles would have the longest wingspan. I'm a fan of the monkey-snatching Harpy eagle.   I was obliged to read more about the oilbird online. ...Is it oily? The parents make the chicks fat with fruit (a third heavier than the adults), and people would use the chicks to make oil. The parent birds probably feed the chicks out of guilt for raising them in a nest made of droppings.   ~~~   3: There is a bird in my neighborhood that I have never seen, but I sure can hear it. It is my favorite bird because it is my quest to classify it, and it has the prettiest song. It sounds most like a white-throated sparrow, but I haven't found a recording that sounds like it. Very long notes that sound like someone whistling. It is high in dense trees. There are multiple birds, and they take different notes. One will do two long, high whistles. The other will do the same whistle, but a perfect fourth lower. Later I'll hear three descending pitches, with the final one sometimes in the "Canada, Canada" rhythm. I could try to lure it to a feeder, but my neighbors have an outdoor cat and I don't want to put the birds in danger. I live in the non-breeding range of the white-throated sparrow, so it may disappear soon.