Mark

Activity 1: I watched the Cornell bird cam in New Zealand that focused on Northern Royal Albatrosses. The cam was shooting live footage of a nest. In the nest was a single albatross that appeared to be a juvenile. It had a lot of downy feathers down its back giving me a clue that it was a youngster waiting for its adult feathers to come in. Perhaps this albatross was an adult that was molting, though. This bird appeared to be resting and, in fact, fell asleep after about five minutes of looking all around him, presumably for predators. It also preened itself during that time. At one point, it appeared to remove ectoparasites or insect nuisances from its back an eat them.   Activity 2: I watched the Cornell feeder watch cam and at first saw 4 doves eating seeds off the ground. They were constantly bobbing their heads up and down eating lots of seeds. There were also 4 grackles either eating food off the ground or straight out of a bird feeding. The banded together and forced a cardinal away from the feeders. Two woodpeckers pecked at the vertical bird feeder made of suet and the log bird feeder.

Activity 1

• Northern Cardinal with Blackburnian Warbler - I noticed that the Northern Cardinal remains in the same location all year round and does not seem to migrate. The Blackburnian Warbler, however, does migrate pretty far from northern Canada during the breeding seasons to northern South America during the non-breeding season. I noticed that this bird migrates through Northern Ohio in the fall and spring so I hope to spot one in the fall.
• Scarlet Tanager with Western Tanager - I noticed that the scarlet tanager follows the same migratory path in the spring and fall. They travel from South America to the Eastern United States and back again. The Western Tanager, on the other hand, travels from Mexico to the western part of the United States. It shocks me these two different types of tanagers take migratory paths that do not overlap
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird with Rufous Hummingbird - Ruby-throated hummingbirds travel from Mexico to the Eastern United States during their yearly migrations. They are abundant in my area of Northern Ohio in the summertime. The Rufous hummingbirds winter location is the same as the ruby-throated hummingbird. However, it breeds in a totally different place: the western part of the United States. The chances of my seeing one in NE Ohio are slim to none
• Sandhill Crane with Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - Sandhill cranes travel quite a long distance when migrating. They fly from Mexico and the US south all the way up to the northern Canadian Arctic and Alaska. The yellow-bellied flycatcher, in contrast, flies from southern Mexico to southern Canada, a shorter distance.

Activity 1 I have seen various various woodpeckers in my yard. It is sometimes difficult to tell them apart since they can be the same size and have similar plumage coloration. I saw a woodpecker last night at a bird feeder. I wasn't sure if it was a downy, hairy, or pileated woodpecker, which I have seen in the past. I used the Merlin app to help be determine that it was in fact a hairy woodpecker because it had a long bill as long as its head compared to a downy woodpecker which has a short bill. I also was able to tell that it wasn't a pileated woodpecker because of its small size compared to the much larger pileated woodpecker. Plus the shape of its neck is much shorter than a pileated woodpecker.   Activity 2 I saw three different birds (a black-capped chickadee, an American goldfinch, and a blue jay) in my yard with the color black on different parts of their bodies. A black-capped chickadee has a black "cap" on the top of its head and a black patch on its throat. In contrast, an American goldfinch has black feathers on its forehead and wings. Meanwhile, blue jays have black "necklaces"around their necks and black and white markings on their wings and tails.   Activity 3 I saw a mourning dove foraging for food on the ground under some bird feeders in my backyard. They eat pretty quickly and then fly off. I've seen house sparrows eat from my bird feeders for lengthy periods of time. I have also seen them hop around on the ground looking for food. The are many cardinals that come to eat seeds from my bird feeder. They love sunflower seeds. I have also seen them hopping around on the ground foraging for food. I read that they also forage in bushes or up in trees. Activity 4 One of my favorite backyard birds is the American crow. It is the largest of the small birds. It has a short, stout bill and tail. It has a short neck. It has broad wings compared to other crow species. It is completely black with wings that can appear purplish in sunlight. They make a loud caw, caw, caw, sound. They are highly social and live in flocks. They are often aggressive towards other birds. They live mostly in open habitats over much of Canada and the United States.