Emily

Activity 4: I definitely want to keep learning about birds and learning their calls and behaviors to better identify them in the field. I do want to become more active in bird conservation and knowing the 7 simple actions to protect birds is something I can work on and implement.

Activity 1: Birds have become a hobby I enjoy. It probably stems from going out camping or on a boat with my dad and he would point out different birds to me and I wanted to be like him and know different birds just from sight. Now I can tell him what cool birds I saw on a long drive or name a bird he doesn't know. I still have a lot to learn, but i've turned my girlfriend onto birding as well. She loves to identify birds with me and she's already learned more then she knew before she met me.  

Activity 2: The bird feeder in my parents backyard always has a bunch of activity. From blue jays and cardinals, grackles and doves to the seasonal warblers and painted bunting. Jays and grackles are big for the feeder so they will grab and go. cardinals will land for a few minutes or will fly to the fence 3 feet away. Mourning doves normally hangout on the ground and grab what other birds have knocked off the feeder. The warblers won't stay long on the feeder taking what they grab to the oak tree on the other side of the yard. Painted buntings will sometime sit and eat but seem to be easily scared off and will retreat to a near by bush or tree.

I haven’t ever done field notes. I’ve tried just a handful of times to write down what i saw , but with the easy of technology, the merlin bird app allows me to observe and quickly identify most of the time. I’ve recently been really liking the sound ID feature so if i can get a sound registered then i will see if that suggestion matches what i see. On the occasion the app doesn’t suggest the bird i saw i try to get a picture or will then make a few notes about distinguishing colors, patterns, etc, to search through my bird book at a later time.

Activity 1: 2 different habitats near me would be the beach/sea shore and pine forest areas. These areas can be relatively close but the species found in them varies greatly. In the ocean/ sea shore habitat i see a bunch of shore birds like sanderlings, plovers and sandpipers. I also see gulls and pelicans flying around. In the pine forests, there are song birds like cardinals, various warblers, chickadees and nuthatches to name a few.

Activity 3: The male American Goldfinch in summer is this brilliant bird of yellow with dramatic black wings with some white bars on the wings and some percent of their head wearing a black cap. The winter bird loses its brilliant yellow color for a more muted yellow or more tan color. the dramatic black wings remain, with the white bars. I have not seen this bird in person. They seem to be infrequent in South Florida, only in the winter in some areas, but I will keep my eyes open for that winter plumage.  The Common Loon has some striking plumage in the summer. A jet black head with a checkered body. His neck has some black and white stripes with a bit of iridescent color. The winter bird looks completely different in his plumage. he loses his flash and turns to a drab bird with a grey black back side, neck and head and a white under side and throat. I have not seen a Common loon. they don't seem to make it to south Florida and they come through Chincoteague VA in the winter when I will not be here. they are in northern Canada in the spring and summer. Maybe one day I'll get to see that breeding plumage in person, very stunning.

Activity 1: It was so interesting to see the different range maps and migrations of these chosen species. With the Cardinal I noticed there wasn't really any migration maybe just a bit here and there. For the most part cardinals are around year round. The Blackburnian Warblers winter in the north western countries of South America. The abundance has an interesting pattern, maybe influenced by a river or mountains. They summer in Canada and the Northeast states of U.S. It looks like their path is north through central American countries and south Mexico and then they fly over the gulf perhaps. The Scarlet Tanager winters in the northwest countries of South America and summers in Northeast U.S and Canada. Their summers abundance show a high abundance in and around the Appalachian mountains. The Western Tanager winters in Mexico and the central America countries. They summer in western U.S and Canada. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird winters in the South of Mexico and the central American countries. they summer in the east half of U.S and some in Canada. The Rufous Hummingbird winters in Mexico and spends the summer on the west coast of U.S and Canada. I found their migrations interesting. Travelling North they really stay along the coast. Travelling South they spread further east into Texas. Maybe has something to do with the Rocky mountains and weather at the different times of year. The Sandhill Crane spends the winters in dense populations in Texas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and California and some other states. They spend the summer s in North Canada and Alaska with some populations in northern U.S states like Montana, Idaho, Michigan with an outlier population in Florida. Their migration path is interesting too. Headed North they stay in their respective flyways and merge together in the Central Northern States, then spread north all over Canada. The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher winters in central American countries and spends the summers in Eastern Canada and some in western Canada. They migrate through Mexico and central U.S than spreads out throughout Canada. These migration paths are so interesting. I'd love to see their relations to elevations of the land.

Activity 2: merlins most likely feature for Chincoteague today which is 8/30 shows laughing gulls, great egret, snowy egret, forester terns, double crested cormorants, willets, tricolored herons, willets semipalmated plovers and great blue herons just to name a few. I've seen laughing gulls (heard as well), a great egret, a snowy egret and i still struggle with terns but i have seen some terns which i believe are the forester terns.

Activity 4: One of my favorites is the brown headed nuthatch. I learned its sound before i ever saw one. Their habitat and range is pine forests in the southeast. Their behavior is they stay at the tops of pine trees walking all around and up and down the trunk and branches looking for food. Their sound is unique. They truly sound like a rubber ducky being squeezed then released to inflate again. Their size is small, sparrow small. If seen, the observer may notice a white neck and underbelly with a brown cap on the head and the back and wings look grey.

Activity 2: I live by water and many birds have the same color. Wading birds and shore birds have the same colors just often times in different areas or with with slight differences. The 3 egrets: the great, snowy and cattle are all white with either black or yellow legs and beak. The great egret is much larger then the other 2 so they aren’t too easy to confuse. They have a yellow bill with black legs and feet. The snowy and cattle egret are closer in size and can get confused. The snowy has a black beak with black legs and yellow feet, whereas the cattle egret has yellow bill with yellow legs and feet in breeding and grey to black legs in winter. Really have to notice the yellow and where it is located to correctly identify. using merlin and saying you saw an all white bird wading in the water will bring them all up as possibilities.