Dear Charles

I really enjoyed this class and I had a lot of fun with the activities you planned. I loved the bird watching and field trips, and I also had a really good time with the Close Readings. I'm glad this class was focused on poetry, because it goes so well with environmentalism, and also because got me more excited about reading and analyzing poetry than I have been in the past. Also, this Journal assignment was fun and very useful for me.
Thanks for a great semester!

Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch: A small bird with bright yellow to brownish coloration on the body, dark wings with a large white wingbar. Color variations occur with location - for example, black backs are found in Texas birds, but backs are usually green in all birds west of Texas. These birds are found across the southwest United States and all of Mexico. They do well in suburban habitats and are common in areas inhabited by humans. 

Rosalia and I saw a Lesser Goldfinch on the Crissy Fields trip. It was fairly dull and very small - probably a juvenile. It was quite cute :)

Common Peafowl

Common Peafowl (Pavo cristatus): Very large exotic game bird, around 40 to 90 inches. Some feral populations may exist in Southern California, but otherwise they are introduced.

I saw a peacock in my yard in Oregon once and I am still very curious as to where it came from. I also saw and got to photograph common peafowl at a farm in Central Oregon. I think it's interesting that peacock feathers are a current fashion among teenage girls and young women. The design is super common in earrings, shirts and even dresses (and sometimes prom dresses! Yuck!). This strange phenomenon has got me pondering how many other fashions have been directly or indirectly derived from the animal world.

Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura): A common, native bird found across North America. This is a medium sized bird with a light brownish-gray body, long tail with white tips and sometimes a slightly iridescent coloration on the back of the neck. They are widespread and common in suburban areas and on agricultural land. 

I saw (and identified) my first Mourning Dove in the USF garden and have seen many more since. It is one of the few birds that I can somewhat identify by it's voice.