Ryan

Activity 1 Yesterday I went to the nearby nature reserve called the Marshlands Conservancy, and there are primarily two different habitats.  At the beginning of the trail, it's heavily forested; however, the trees gradually ease off until you arrive at a large marshy wetlands.  In the forested area, I saw many different songbirds, including Robins, Blue Jays, Tufted Titmouse, Downy Woodpecker, and Red Bellied Woodpecker, as well as some Wild Turkey.  When we got to the wetlands, I started seeing less of these species, and started seeing Great Egrets, Osprey, Red Winged Blackbirds, Mallards, and Herring Gulls.  And this is all in the same square half mile!  It just goes to show how many different species can live in very different habitats, in a very small space.

While looking at this incredible course, and discovering the wall of birds, I have my bird feeder right outside the window, and I'm watching Northern Cardinals, Brown Headed Cowbirds, and White Throated Sparrows fly in and out, plucking up the seed.  Thank you so much for organizing this course!  I look forward to the other lessons ahead!  Does anyone have any field guides that they recommend.  I got the Merlin app this morning.  For activity 3, my personal favorite bird that I see around my house is the red bellied wood pecker.  I love the black and white patterns on the back of their wings!  They occasionally stop by at my homemade bird feeder!  Thank you!