WLMII

I love the Sound ID too! It has been a life saver lately.  Its helped me with a lot of wren IDs and silhouettes deep in swamps.

An angry Red-Winged Blackbird telling me to get away from his harem.

ACTIVITY 1: Its interesting how many winter in Central and South America and then head to Canada to breed. Also interesting many birds like both the Summer Tanager and the Western Tanager avoid the Great Plains in both directions of their migration.  I imaging food and shelter aren't nearly as plentiful for these types. Its amazing how far those little hummingbirds travel.  I wonder why so many Ruby-throated Hummingbirds concentrate in my home state of Missouri. The Sandhill Crane's migration from the Southern US and Northern Mexico to the far north and even parts of Siberia really shocked me.  I also thought it was interesting that a small portion of them just stay in Florida the whole year. ACTIVITY 2:  My year-rounds in Missouri are the Northern Cardinal, Killdeer, and Northern Bobwhite.  I see cardinals all of the time and Killdeer frequently.  This spring was the first time I'd seen or heard a Bobwhite since I was a kid. My part of the year birds are the Common Gallinule, Screech Owl, and the Scissor-tailed flycatcher.  Of these three, I have only seen the Screech Owl, way back in 2011, and for years I thought I had seen a similarly small Northern Saw-whet owl.  The Common Gallinule and the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher are definite goals of mine.  The latter seems like a long shot. ACTIVITY 3: It is interesting how the male American Goldfinch becomes duller but also, id a way, more ornate with bars appearing on its wings.  The breeding male Common Loon reminds me of a wealthy elderly woman wearing chunky jewelry and expensive clothes while out shopping.  The non-breeding winter type reminds me of that wealthy woman's landscaper. ACTIVITY 4: I expect Bald Eagles, hawks, and Cardinals to still be there.  I imagine the area will be a haven for wintering American Robins.  Perhaps some waterfowl but I'm not sure.  Obviously the Canada Geese will still be there.

Activity 1: I tried to go for birds that aren't completely obvious like a Northern Cardinal or Canadian Goose.  I've noticed I can tell the Common Grackle https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Grackle/overview , the European Starling  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/European_Starling/overview , and the Brown-headed Cowbird  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown-headed_Cowbird/overview apart just by their shape.  This is a recent discovery I made while driving through an area that has all three of these birds.  I was able to identify them rapidly and (mostly) pay attention to driving. Activity 2: Coincidentally, all three of the birds above have similar colors and work for activity 2.  All three are blackbirds with iridescent glossy effects on their feathers.  The brown-headed cowbird lacks these colors and effects on its brown head and its iridescence is more subdued than the other two birds.  The Common Grackle seems to have large regions of color/iridescence while the European Starling's colors are more mixed and nearly seem to be displayed feather by feather. Activity 3:  Today three of the birds I saw obviously looking for food were the Blue Jay, the Green Heron, and the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.  The Blue Jay was going back and forth from low tree branches to the grass near a trail.  Whatever it was finding, a bug I assume, it would pick up, tilt its head back, and quickly gobble down the snack. The Green Heron was quietly and slowly searching through the tall reeds lining a shallow pond.  I didn't observe him make any catches. Finally, I saw what I believe to be a female or immature Blue-gray Gnatcather.  It was darting around, back and forth across a path from tree to tree. Constantly searching, something caught her eye.  She hopped up to what appeared to be part of a branch.  Suddenly she snapped it up and it began to thrash.  It was some kind of insect larva.  I have photos of this event: Activity 4:  Right now, my favorite bird is the Pied-Billed Grebe. It's a cute bird that at first appearance may be confused for a small duck.  Closer inspection shows it to have a shorter and sharper bill with a black ring (in season) vertically crossing both the upper and lower bills.  The ones I've seen this year were reddish-brown and their bills were light gray.  They have a long neck like a duck but a very understated pointy tail.  Unlike ducks, they look very wet when returning from a dive.  Unlike most ducks, they completely submerge and stay submerged for some time.  They dive for fish and other aquatic animals. I have not been able to hear them make a sound yet.  This is the first year I even knew they existed but I am now a very big fan.

@Helen great photo and great memories.  My 4 year old son is interested in getting birds to eat out of his hands but he gets a little too boisterous when they come near.  We may have to wait a bit.

Cool photo and cool opportunity!

What a great find!  I just observed a Northern Flicker for the first time a few days ago and I was thrilled.

It is nice to have an consistent subject to photograph.  I have a lot of Robin photos for the same reasons, everywhere and easy to find and photograph.  I'm sure you've seen that even common sights like the Mourning Dove and American Robin can reveal a lot when observed for a while through a camera lens.  Thanks for sharing.