Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Learning Something New
There are many birds that use the hedge behind my condo as a shelter and every morning I am greeted by a chorus of birdsong that is a bright and cheerful start to my day. A few weeks ago a friend introduced me to an app called Merlin Bird ID by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I have never tried to identify which birds are singing at any given time and thought it would be fun and interesting to try out the Merlin app. Some birds I recognize by their song such as cardinals, blue jays, grackles and crows. But there are many I had no idea what kind of bird is singing. All I do is press record and wait for the app to identify its best suggestion for the bird I am listening to. When I click on the bird’s picture I can read about the different characteristics of that bird and different call that it makes. Also, there a map of North America marked where it can be found year-round, migrations, breeding and nonbreeding grounds. There is a place to keep track of the birds I have identified and so much more. Learning something new about the world around me helps keep my mind active. The next step is for me to recognize the bird sounds without the app. That will make what I have learned even more fun. Picture taken and written by TC