Carol

Birds matter to me because of their beauty and the joy they bring to the world. I have many memories of birdwatching when camping as a child, or just in our backyards. As and adult, I have always been fascinated by birds all around the country. Woodpeckers are a personal favorite. Years ago, I was recovering from surgery and a pileated woodpecker came into my yard every day. I looked forward to his visits. This course has reinforced my love of birds and their import roles in the world. My family is trying to use less plastic and recycle more. We have made a bird-friendly garden that attracted many humming birds last summer. I think the coffee we buy is shade grown, but I will look into this. I never thought about that before. Now that I think of it, it seems that we have less cardinals and blue jays in my area. They used to be all over, but now I don't see them quite as often, or as many of them. I will be paying more attention to this. I hope it is just me not being as observant as in the past. I am going to be doing a lot more bird watching and I will report my findings. I just signed up for the backyard bird count. I am very excited to be a birder. Thanks for a great course!

I live in a rural and heavily wooded area in northern New Hampshire, In the warmer months, we see a lot of woodpeckers, hummingbirds, wrens, cardinals, crows, ravens, etc. Right now, in January, it is hard to find birds. I have heard blue jays, though. A second area would be by Moore Dam near me - I would expect to see ducks and herons.