I have really enjoyed this course, it's been well worth it! Even though it did concentrate more heavily towards North American species, which is what I was expecting, it was also very adaptable/relevant to where I live (Australia).
As far as actions I have taken to help birds, I can honestly say I do all of them! I am a responsible pet owner and my two moggies are 'indoor only' cats. They enjoy their time out in their 'catio' and they are also harness trained. I work with the local shorebird recovery coordinator in our area to keep watch over our shorebirds during peak nesting/breeding times. I'm a big advocate for eating seasonally and buying locally grown produce that is farmed without the use of pesticides and I keep my plastic use to an absolute minimum; no single use plastic in this household! My garden is made up of natives, fruit trees and vegetables and I am very selective about the products I purchase and how/where they were made and the packaging it comes in.
I think we all have a duty to take these simple steps and keep our impacts to a minimum.
I'm definitely going to do another course with the Cornell Bird Academy. I would love to see a course specific to shorebirds:-) I will endeavour to use ebird more consistently from here on to assist with the data collection which I realise is so important for conservation work.
Thank you for all the work you do to protect and conserve our precious birds throughout the world. Well done Cornell team:-)
We often have female Satin Bowerbirds visit our garden. They are entertaining to watch... Superb Fairy Wrens, New Holland Honeyeaters and Eastern Spinebills are current visitors, they are enjoying the bird bath.
Enjoy your birding in Berlin! A place I would love to visit some day:-)
Hi there from Australia. I live on the far south coast of New South Wales and spend many hours walking the beaches and inlets in search of shorebirds, they are my favourite group of birds. This is a family of Double banded Plovers that I managed to get a picture of while out and about.
I'm really enjoying the course and look forward to gaining further understanding and knowledge of these incredible group of animals. They never cease to amaze and delight!