Jane

I live in Norfolk, Virginia, and I am new to birding. I have a lot to learn. I completed this exercise by looking up birds of the Wall of Birds that are common in my area and I derived a short list of backyard birds for my zip code using eBird. I then took my lists to All About Birds and looked up five birds to learn more about their colors and sizes, behaviors, foods and habitats. The birds I researched were the Northern cardinal, American Robin, Red-shouldered Hawk, Blue Heron and the Mallard. I listened to the songs of each bird to see if I could hear any of the calls in my surroundings. I have seen the cardinal and robin in my yard and a Blue Heron and Mallard on my daily walks. Today I think I heard a cardinal singing while I was gardening. This exercise had heightened my awareness of the birds in my local environment.