This bird is diurnal, plentiful, and gregarious, getting together in flocks of hundreds, sometimes, but also spreading out over several acres. Once a whole line of them, about forty, landed on the path, as though to block it. It perches in high tree branches and fence posts, visibly, and also flies around a lot between trees and grass. It is loud, wanting to call attention to itself, and with a distinctive call. It is visually unmistakable, black with red and yellow markings on the wing. It is relatively unafraid of people.
In short, six or seven factors make this bird impossible to miss. Just one or two of these would make it easy to see, so its visibility seems "overdetermined."
The same goes for the Canada goose. It is large, with loud and distinctive barking honk, plentiful, easy to spot in the air as well as on the water, with its long neck and vee shaped flying formation.
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Today I saw a cardinal in a tree in the wetlands. I see them every day on my own balcony, so this seems a bit odd: I had to walk a long way to see common bird-feeder songbird.
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Turkey vultures, a pair of wood ducks. Mallards and white-billed ducks. Other species I couldn't identify. This is still bird-watching 101.
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