This is Bird Note. I'm Jonies Franklin, content director at Bird Note, and I'm a newer birder.

It kind of feels weird to call myself a birder, but if I've learned anything during my time at Bird Note,

it's that birding is for all of us, even if we're just

getting started. My wife and I often sit with our dogs on the back deck and watch as different

birds visit the yard. I love seeing a pair of Northern Cardinals at the feeder, or a Blue

Jay cracking open a peanut.

And it may not be very cool to say, but I also enjoy those birds that are sometimes considered a nuisance.

I like the rock pigeons, the European starlings, and house sparrows.

I love watching common grackles build their nest.

Watching a pair of grackles work as a team, female gathering materials while the male stands watch,

being up close and seeing their dedication to making sure their nest is just right

for raising their young is pretty extraordinary. raising their young, it's pretty extraordinary.

I know some people are bothered by them.

They bully other birds and they clear out feeders.

But this is where they live.

It's their home.

They might be a nuisance, but they're our birds too.

For bird Note, I'm Joni's Franklin.