I used All About Birds to learn more about red-bellied woodpeckers, and also northern flickers. These are both birds I might be able to see in my own backyard, but haven't seen yet. I also read about great horned owls, because I'm pretty sure I saw one the other night. It was just a silhouette against the sky, really high up at the top of a tree. It was definitely the size and shape of an owl, and I could plainly see the two tufts with my binoculars. Almost every night after I get into bed I hear an owl, and listening to the calls of the great horned owl, that could be it. I'd like to learn how to go out at night and see the owl. Owls definitely have a special fascination, maybe because they are mostly nocturnal so sightings are more rare. I'm used to hearing owls only when I'm camping in Vermont, and really never seeing them. But it seems I must have one or more living near me!
I watched FeederWatch for 15 minutes, and saw 8 different birds, and one cheeky squirrel. I saw: mourning dove, grackle, blue jay, red-winged blackbird, hairy (I think) woodpecker, European starling, cardinal, and red-bellied woodpecker. That was my first time seeing the red-bellied woodpecker, and I used my field guide to be sure what it was. I think I'm starting to get straight the woodpeckers I'm likely to see. I need more practice distinguishing hairy and downy woodpeckers. The feeder in NY is helpful because it has similar birds to what I have here in Massachusetts.
Today I took a walk and brought my binoculars, which I have recently learned how to use thanks to this course! I live on a country road in rural Massachusetts, with both wooded and meadow areas. Lots of birds and bird songs today! The first thing that happened was I heard a song that was unfamiliar to me. I stood still and looked for the bird, and then kept my eyes on it as I brought the binoculars up. But I didn't really need to look through them to know it was a Baltimore Oriole! Beautiful. It stayed with me as I walked, and kept singing that same song of an upward note and then a downward note. I started trying to copy it, and it seemed to be answering me!
I also saw what I knew was a woodpecker from the coloring of black with bright red, and also because it was walking up the trunk of a tree. I was assuming it was either a downy or hairy woodpecker, and was focusing on the beak to see if I could figure out which one, and had settled on hairy. But the thing was that it seemed too big. I knew it wasn't big enough to be a pileated, but it had a red crown like the pileated. I checked Merlin, which suggested Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker. Ooo maybe! Reading about it in my book, I think that's what I saw. I learned about a new bird today. I also think that might be the drumming we hear in the evening, because the book says they are territorial and drum loudly.
I also saw an Indigo Bunting today! I have caught sight of some beautiful blue birds flying in front of my car on occasion, and today I saw one through my binoculars, and got a much better look at it. I'm much more sure that it is an Indigo Bunting that I have been seeing.
Reading people's posts here reminded me of this bird picture I took a couple of years ago. A Greater Roadrunner posing (with a dead lizard) in front of Monument Valley's iconic view!
Three favorite local birds from three different groups:
1. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds - I like these because they are so small and fast, it always feels special to actually be able to observe one. Last year we had many at our hummingbird feeder outside our kitchen window, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them again this summer.
2. Mourning Doves - I'm such a beginner with bird watching, that I love birds that I can easily identify by their song. These guys have such a distinct, lonely song that really reminds me of being outside as a kid. I've been hearing mourning doves around our house a lot this spring.
3. Red-winged Blackbirds - Again, a bird that has a very distinctive call, and they are pretty easy to spot in wet areas when I'm taking a walk along my road. I'm always trying to mimic bird songs, and this one I find impossible to mimic! Maybe that's why I find it so special.