Eva
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Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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Activity 1: Birds matter to me because they are incredible animals, and when you bird watch, you feel so many incredible emotions such as curiosity when you spot a new bird, surprise and/or wonder when you see it and identify it, and joy when you see how far you've come from seeing and identifying your first bird. This course taught me so many different things about birds and some bird species that I had no idea about, and now I know exactly why we have to protect birds today.--------Activity 2: Out of the seven actions, my family and I are currently doing 3: we buy shade-grown coffee when we have the chance, we try to use less plastic, and we do Citizen Science (we use eBird). When we had a garden, we didn't use pesticides, and we used bird-friendly plants, although we aren't really sure if they were all native. Right now, these actions are the only ones we can take, and after this course, we will try our best to do more to protect birds. I also told my friends about the Seven Simple Actions to Protect Birds, and that is another action that will help protect birds; if more people know about the actions, more people will apply them, and the more people that apply them, the more birds that are protected.-------Activity 3: My lifetime has been short, so I haven't seen any big changes in bird populations.--------Activity 4: After doing this course, my family and I want to buy a new pair of 10x42 binoculars and eventually a spotting scope. I want to take the Photography Course by Melissa Groo to see if I can take better and more advanced photos of birds, and, of course, my family and I will try our best to implement the Seven Simple Actions to Protect Birds. This course has been so informative and fun!
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Activity 1: I have recently been to a coastal habitat by the Pacific Ocean and a mixed forest habitat at 900 meters above sea level on the Caribbean slopes. In the coastal habitat, I saw: the Common Gallinule, Yellow-throated Toucans (Chestnut-mandibled), the Red-crowned and Hoffmann's Woodpecker hybrid, Scarlet Macaws, and Great Kiskadees. In the mixed forest habitat I saw: lots of different hummingbird species, tanager species, euphonia species, woodpecker species, raptor species, and some other species like the Rufous-tailed Jacamar, the Brown Jay, the Keel-billed Toucan, and the Red-bellied Pigeon. In both habitats I saw woodpeckers and flycatchers, and different toucan species, but each habitat had very different species.
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Activity 1: A common bird around here is the Rufous-collard Sparrow, who hops around and is brave enough to enter my house, probably to look for food, although it quickly flies away when I come down. Another bird I have seen around here is the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, who comes and drinks nectar from red flowers outside of my house. It usually doesn't stay still but hovers when drinking nectar. Activity 3: I can hear Crimson-fronted Parakeets every day. Today they were very noisy when they were perched in the tree by my house. I have also heard and seen the Great Kiskadee when it flies by my house too. Here is a photo of the Crimson-fronted Parakeet.
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Activity 3: - Male American Goldfinches: during the summer, the male American Goldfinch is bright yellow with black and white tail feathers and wings, a black crown, a bright orange beak, and a white rump. In the winter, however, the male American Goldfinch changes several things: its head is a duller yellow, its back turns into a light brown, its chest and belly become a very light brownish-yellow color that looks almost white, and its beak becomes a duller orange with some black surrounding it. Also, there seemed to be a dull gray stripe around its neck that wasn't there during the summer. What always stays the same is its white rump and black and white striped wings. - Common Loons in summer and winter: during the summer, the Common Loon has a black head which turns into a dark metallic green along the neck, which also has a line of white dots right at the top, and further down there is a line of white vertical stripes. The wings, back, and belly - it was sitting on the water at that moment, so I'm not so sure about the belly - are black with white dots that get smaller at the back of the bird. The biggest dots are squarish. The Common Loon also has a red eye and a long thick grayish beak. The Common Loon in winter is different in almost every way. The wings, back, crown, and back of the neck are all a grayish-brown, and the rest of the body (the belly - also underwater at that moment -, and the neck) is white. The only thing that stays the same is the thick, long, grayish beak and the red eye.
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Activity 2: Birds in my area all year round - 1) The Crimson-fronted Parakeet is one of the residents in my neighborhood. I have seen and photographed it recently. It is endemic from south-eastern Nicaragua to western Panama, and occurs in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, in which it is the most common parakeet:
2) The Great Kiskadee is also one of the year-round residents in my neighborhood. Even though I have not photographed it, I have heard and seen it around here. It is one of the largest Tyrant Flycatchers and it's common throughout most of Costa Rica.
3) The Clay-colored Thrush, the national bird of Costa Rica, is the last bird that I will mention, but there are still many others that occur year round around here. It is the national bird because of its incredible songs that it whistles from March to June. This bird is very common around here.
Birds in my area for part of the year -
1) The Summer Tanager is a bird that migrates north to breed during the months of June, July, and August, and comes back to Costa Rica (Central America) to winter.
2) The Chestnut-sided Warbler has a similar migratory pattern as the Summer Tanager: it migrates north to breed from mid-March to August, and then comes back to Costa Rica (Central America) to winter.
3) Yet another bird with a similar migratory pattern is the Broad-winged Hawk, a raptor: it migrates north to breed from June to September, and then comes back to Costa Rica (Central/South America) to winter.
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Activity 1: - Northern Cardinal with Blackburnian Warbler: the Northern Cardinal stays in the same areas all year round, although very few fly a little bit more south and west during the summer. On the contrary, the Blackburnian Warbler winters in the northern Andes Mountains and the mountains of Costa Rica, and then migrates up to northern U.S.A. and Canada to spend the breeding season during the summer. - Scarlet Tanager with Western Tanager: the Scarlet Tanager winters in the western Amazon rainforest, and then migrates up to northern U.S.A. to spend the breeding season during the summer. Similarly, the Western Tanager winters in western Central America and Mexico, and then migrates up to Pacific U.S.A. and Canada. - Ruby-throated Hummingbird with Rufous Hummingbird: the Ruby-throated Hummingbird winters in western Mexico and Central America, and then migrates along eastern U.S.A. until it reaches northern U.S.A. and Canada to spend the breeding season during the summer. Similarly, the Rufous Hummingbird winters in Pacific Mexico and migrates along Pacific U.S.A. until it reaches Canada. - Sandhill Crane with Yellow-bellied Flycatcher: the Sandhill Crane winters in several spread out areas in southern and central U.S.A. and then migrates in a big group until it reaches Canada and Alaska. Similarly, the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher winters in Central America and southern Mexico, and then migrates up to Canada.
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Activity 2: Merlin gave me many likely birds that I could see today, and the top 5 were: the Rufous-collared Sparrow, the Clay-colored Thrush, the Blue-and-white Swallow, the Great Kiskadee, and the Blue-gray tanager. I have seen all of those species around here. Activity 3: the 5 birds that I didn't know passed through here are: the Blue-vented Hummingbird, the Collared Redstart, the Flame-throated Warbler, the Ringed Kingfisher (the largest kingfisher in the Americas), and the Sooty Thrush, which has a marvelous song. These are only a few from the long list of Likely Birds near me that Merlin listed.
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Activity 4: A bird I really liked was the blue-crowned Motmot:
The Motmot is between the size of a sparrow and the size of a crow; it is around a foot tall. It has distinctive blue tail feathers, which end with feathers that seem almost separated from the actual tail feathers. We saw the Motmot in Carara National Park in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
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Activity 1: My favorite bird in the Wall of Birds was the Marvelous Spatuletail because I love that it is so regal and so incredibly colorful and amazing! Activity 2: I opened my field guide to random pages, and the first bird was the Black Hawk-Eagle, which is in the Raptor group. I also opened my field guide to the page where the Limpkin is, which is in the Wader group, and to where the Slate-Colored Seedeater is, which is in the Finch and Bunting group. Activity 3: My favorite neighborhood bird is the hummingbird that quickly flitted past our backyard one day, and even though we have doves, flycatchers, sparrows and clay-colored thrushes, I feel like the hummingbird is so dainty and regal that it just surpasses all the other birds that we see here. We haven't identified this species of hummingbird yet, but from the quick glance I got before it flitted away, I saw dark green and maybe some white, although it could have had more colors that are only visible when the light shines on them. I didn't get the chance to take a photo of it, but last weekend, when we were outside of our neighborhood, I took a photo of a female Green-Crowned Brilliant, and I have to say that hummingbirds are just so extraordinary!
2) The Great Kiskadee is also one of the year-round residents in my neighborhood. Even though I have not photographed it, I have heard and seen it around here. It is one of the largest Tyrant Flycatchers and it's common throughout most of Costa Rica.
3) The Clay-colored Thrush, the national bird of Costa Rica, is the last bird that I will mention, but there are still many others that occur year round around here. It is the national bird because of its incredible songs that it whistles from March to June. This bird is very common around here.
Birds in my area for part of the year -
1) The Summer Tanager is a bird that migrates north to breed during the months of June, July, and August, and comes back to Costa Rica (Central America) to winter.
2) The Chestnut-sided Warbler has a similar migratory pattern as the Summer Tanager: it migrates north to breed from mid-March to August, and then comes back to Costa Rica (Central America) to winter.
3) Yet another bird with a similar migratory pattern is the Broad-winged Hawk, a raptor: it migrates north to breed from June to September, and then comes back to Costa Rica (Central/South America) to winter. 
The Motmot is between the size of a sparrow and the size of a crow; it is around a foot tall. It has distinctive blue tail feathers, which end with feathers that seem almost separated from the actual tail feathers. We saw the Motmot in Carara National Park in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. 
Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)