Among my favorite bird calls would be the "who cooks for you" of the barred owl, or the various calls of the common loon. Both are common here in Minnesota and bring back fond memories of time spent in the north woods or camping closer to the Twin Cities, stargazing while their calls echo in the night.

I'm not an avid birder but have several long-time friends who are. Both of our interests are outdoor nature hobbies so that proved to be a good fit.

@stargazer

I love owls and loons. One of my favorite characters in the Narnia books is Glimfeather in The Silver Chair . I guess there are  many owls in Minnesota-- especially in the wild lands of the north.  The Swainson's thrush would be there too (I think its song is just as beautiful as the wood thrush). I remember seeing loons years ago in the Seney Wildlife Refuge in the U. P. of Michigan. They are very graceful swimmers, and their call is haunting.  If you want to see a wildlife refuge Seney is one of the finest.  🙂

I wish there were more orioles.  The orange and black color of the male is really beautiful, and the female with its olive green and yellow color is also pleasing to look at.  I put out orange halves every year, and I usually see at least one pair each spring.  Orioles will drink nectar designed for them, but they will also drink sugar water made for hummingbirds, and these birds are also well worth attracting. I have tried attracting both with some success, but orioles are easier to get in my location.

Here is a Baltimore Oriole singing:

Such beautiful birds, and calls! We have upped our birdfeeder selection this year, and have hummingbirds coming regularly to our sugar water feeder (no red food colouring!), plus orioles (both male and female) eating the small orange sections, but even more, gobbling down the grape jelly. The finches and wrens like this too. I'm glad you're enjoying the birds too, @narnian78!

One of my old field guides had a very useful suggestion.  It is a good idea to write down the names of unfamiliar birds with their descriptions in a pocket notebook. Most field guides will provide accurate descriptions of each species found in your area. The notes helped me to learn my birds many years ago when I started the hobby of birdwatching. Remember that often birds are visible for only a few seconds and one cannot always remember all of the details after seeing the birds for the first time. Writing notes does require some discipline, but you become a better observer when you train your mind to remember what you see.

In my yard, we've had crows grazing on the grass. Crows actually filled our bird bath. It's hard to believe how big they are. Difference between a crow and a raven is that a crow makes a "kaw, kaw" sound and a raven makes a croaking sound.

In honor of Halloween (I don't know if anyone on the forum celebrate Halloween so I won't get into that much), the black birds almost make me think of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. Ravens have been associated with insights and wisdom as well as death and omens.

@jasminetarkheena 

Crows are intelligent, but I never thought of them as being beautiful birds.  The blue jay, which is in the same family as crows, is a very beautiful bird in spite of its aggressive nature.  Hawks and eagles are beautiful and among our largest birds here in Michigan. Swallows are masters of flight, which is graceful and lovely, but they do not sing like thrushes.  Although I do like birds of prey, my favorites are the songbirds, which includes thrushes, orioles, cardinals, and grosbeaks. I see beauty in them like some people admire God’s handiwork in flowers. They are among the small creatures of the natural world which I like the best. 🙂

Here is an interesting article about birds and flowers:

https://flyinglessons.us/2021/08/13/birds-and-flowers-more-than-just-a-pretty-picture/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=birds-and-flowers-more-than-just-a-pretty-picture

Enjoy!

There's been wild turkeys in our backyard. I think they're hiding out now because it's getting close to Thanksgiving.

I'd forgotten we had a birdwatching thread! I'm in North Wales for a couple of days at the moment and here's a swan (mute swan, to be exact) that I photographed on the Conwy Estuary yesterday:

I miss seeing our beautiful black swans in Australia, but they do crop up occasionally as an exotic species in parks and grand gardens in Britain!  

@courtenay 

We also have mute swans here in Michigan, and they are an introduced species from Europe. Some people have said that they have driven out the native Trumpeter Swans that were more abundant many years ago in our state of the U. S.  The mute swans are very beautiful to look at in spite of their aggressive nature. But I still have the feeling that they don’t belong here— especially when the native swan population is so low (I believe it is still endangered).  So I like to look at them, but I don’t like it that they have taken over our lakes and ponds. 🙂

Here is an article about mute swans in Michigan:

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/MuteSwanFacts_final_366761_7.pdf

Posted by: @courtenay

I'm in North Wales for a couple of days at the moment and here's a swan (mute swan, to be exact) that I photographed on the Conwy Estuary yesterday:

Conwy swans

I wonder if one of these could be the same?  This was June of 2019, so maybe not, but then again, they do tend to hang about in the same spot, so perhaps....

(Other Conwy shots, if you're interested, including a rook(?), pigeons and gulls.  Did you see the "Smallest House"?)

@aileth The one in my photo has only just reached adulthood — if you look carefully you can see some brown feathers low down on his front — so he* can't be much over a year old. (Juvenile mute swans have grey-brown feathers for their first year.) So he won't be in that photo from 2019, but maybe his parents are! Did you take the photo?

* I'm guessing "he" because of the knob at the base of his bill — adult males and females both have that, but it's larger in the males. I hope this swan won't be too insulted if I'm wrong, though.  

Posted by: @courtenay

@aileth The one in my photo has only just reached adulthood — if you look carefully you can see some brown feathers low down on his front — so he* can't be much over a year old. (Juvenile mute swans have grey-brown feathers for their first year.) So he won't be in that photo from 2019, but maybe his parents are! Did you take the photo?

* I'm guessing "he" because of the knob at the base of his bill — adult males and females both have that, but it's larger in the males. I hope this swan won't be too insulted if I'm wrong, though.  

Hey, if "he" can read enough to be insulted, we might have other issues!

That's from my brother's camera (I didn't have my long lens that day, which is a rather long, sad story :-O) We were able to spend four months in the UK, and Conwy was one of those highlights you remember forever.