Britney

Activity 1: After exploring the Wall of Birds, something I'd like to see in-person, one of my favorites is the Blue-footed Booby. Call me immature, but the name alone still gives me a chuckle even at 30 years of age. I cannot imagine a more fitting bird for the Galapagos Islands than the Blue-footed Booby. For such unique beautiful birds, their calls are less than desirable. It was interesting to learn that since males and females look incredible similar, both with bright blue coloring whereas normally females are always drab, you can tell the female from the male by their star-shaped pupils. I did not see this bird on the Wall of Birds (unless I overlooked it), but another one of my favorites is by far the Paradise Bird. The shape they take on when dancing around to impress females is so unique - with their solid black coloring and bright bits of blue coloring coming through. Their dancing rituals puts even the most trained dancer to shame - I have never watched a Paradise Bird dance video that did not bring an instant smile and chuckle. Activity 2: There are three main bird groups I spot in my backyard: sparrows, woodpeckers, and tree creepers. It is not uncommon to talk outside and see a dozen or more Song Sparrows at any given time. I haven't seen any House Sparrows in my backyard, but I have spotted them outside more downtown on the sidewalks outside of businesses. As for the woodpeckers, my most frequent visitors are a male and female Downy. Often times they are both going to town on one particular pine tree, but they also seems to very much enjoy the suet cakes I put out. I have seen one Hairy male woodpecker as well as a Red-bellied woodpecker. Neither the Hairy nor the Red-bellied seem to stick around whenever I come outside. My favorite tree creeper I have is a Red-breasted Nuthatch. There is only one, whereas there are multiple White-breasted Nuthatches that visit. The little Red-breasted one is very friendly - like will sit on the feeder as I'm filling it up watching me and has even landed in my hand before to take unshelled peanuts. Activity 3: For me it is so hard to pick a true favorite. I feel each bird has it's own personality and it is such a joy to be able to watch them daily and see how they interact with each other. As mentioned, above I have a Red-breasted Nuthatch that visits daily and she is one of my favorites. She along with a Carolina Wren have such larger than life personalities and have absolutely no issue with making noise and messes until I fill up their feeders. I just recently spotted, for the first time, a Yellow-rumped Warbler. My Merlin app had been picking up his sound for a while, but I wasn't able to ever physically ID him until recently. He is my first Warbler so I am quite found of him. The Blue Jays, while incredibly loud, are a site to see - their coloring is just downright beautiful.