I wondered if the people here have interesting birds living in their towns.  In the small town where I have lived for almost all of my life birds such as cardinals and finches have frequented the yards where people live. It is generally a bird friendly town. The flickers and downy woodpeckers are occasionally seen here although mainly in the spring and summer months. It is worth putting out bird feeders to attract the seed eating birds such as finches, chickadees, and native sparrows. I wonder if it is the nearby city parks which helps to maintain the bird population since they have more trees than suburban lawns.  The yards often have large trees which may offer considerable shelter and have a large bird population. I wish there were less house sparrows and starlings and more native birds. Usually the county parks have more native birds because they can offer more bird friendly habitat such as woods and other natural areas.  Robins will appear often in towns during the spring and summer months, but they can be found in the city parks and suburbs in all seasons of the year. 🙂
This is a wonderful video about the conservation of the wood thrush, my favorite songbird. 🙂
This is an interesting CD with the calls of loons. I remember seeing loons at the Seney National Wildlife Refuge in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan when we were on vacation there many years ago.Â
Here is an interesting article about the wood thrush:
The videos were apparently made in a forest in western Michigan, where I live, although no specific location is given. It is amazing footage of a wood thrush’s nest, and you can hear the wonderful flutelike song of the bird. The article and the videos are well worth viewing.  🙂
@Narnian78: I wondered if the people here interesting birds have living in their towns.
When the Blue Mountains escarpment & National Park begins on the other side of the Nepean River, we do get many birds around here. When it stops raining, there is a bird called the rainbird, whose call after a period of rain, is like an "all-clear". There are Australian magpies with a most musical "kyogle" sort of call. Australian ravens nesting around a local shopping centre, making “aaah—aaah—aaah—aaaaaaaah” noises, like disapproving great aunts. Last year, in March, we saw Rainbow lorikeets at the local school, whilst flocks of sulphur-crested cockatoos, or pink and grey galahs screech to each other constantly.Â
We don’t have wild parrots here in Michigan, but there are many other beautiful birds such as cardinals, finches, and of course thrushes.  I guess there is an advantage in living in warmer or tropical countries in that parrots live there.  And we also have kingfishers,which I guess are also found in Australia. We also have woodpeckers in the forests which are very beautiful to look at. Not all species are found worldwide, but there often are similar species found in other countries. Every country has its own interesting bird life. 🙂
@Narnian78: Â And we also have kingfishers, which I guess are also found in Australia.Â
Yes, we do have a sort of kingfisher, the laughing kookaburra. I included a picture of one. We also have Barn owls, the Superb Owl and other raptors like eagle hawks, wedge tailed eagles, and ospreys. Your description of birds in Michigan sounds fascinating. But since Europeans arrived in Australia, we have introduced species like the Indian Mynah as well as the ubiquitous pigeons, turtle doves and others. The popularity of small birds like budgerigars means they are seldom, if ever, seen in the wild.Â
I saw a beaver while I was birdwatching this morning in a county park about ten miles from where I live.  Of course it was not a talking beaver but an ordinary one going about its business about thirty feet away from me along the river. 🙂  I also heard the flutelike songs of wood thrushes, which was why I came to the park. Unfortunately, they didn’t come close enough for me to see them. I have seen them at other times in the park. It was a very nice walk with pleasant weather. 🙂