Yvonne

Activity 3:   After studying about how birds changing environment and food supply also impacted my world.  Last year in Iowa, we had a hurricane  called "drecho".  A first in history with winds of 112 miles per hour.  The aftermath were the downing of thousands of trees, fields leveled, homes and farms destroyed and much more. I live in a townhome in the south part of Ames , Iowa.  This area had a lot of old trees, shrubbery, huge lawns and gardens.  I didn't notice the real impact of the storm till I took this course.  I had noticed some of my favorite birds missing in my patio.  The goldfinches are very sparse, as well as, blue jays and woodpeckers.  I finally saw my first Ruby-throated Hummingbird this week.  I had planted Hostas  that have a long tubular flowers that hummingbirds love. The flowers were blooming and the humming birds returned.  I am so happy. I plan to incorporate adding a larger variety of bird feed and  check on information for bird nests.  Maybe in a small way I can help in my part of the world.

My neighbor had a robin build a nest in a hanging planter.  Sarah had planted fresh lettuce in it and the robin decided it would make a great nest.  We watched the robin gather weeds, straw, little twigs and whatever she could find in our flower garden to complete the job.  It was only a few feet from both our front doors, but the robin didn't seem to feel threatened. She soon laid the  eggs and spent a lot of time on the nest.  Her attitude seem to change when we would enter or leave our homes.  She would give some loud chirps and start to fly very close letting us know we had to leave the area. We also noticed the robin also kept other birds at bay.  The aggressive flying also was used to keep prey or nosey bird away.. The American Robin soon had some hatching eggs and ended up with 4 out of 5 eggs making it.  Mama spent a great deal of time feeding the birds, keeping them warm, and guarding their home.  We never saw the male. After  some days and the babies had grown their feathers the mama started coaxing the babies to flap their wings and move around the nest.  I thought it would take a long time for them to fly. It didn't.  In about 4 days they were flying about.  They stayed close by our homes and visited our flower gardens for worms and water.  I'd like to think they were coming by to say hello.

I can't seem to keep my remarks when I go back to look at other activities..  I am using the Midwestern Birds backyard guide to help me with these discussions as my bird watching is somewhat limited.  AS we all venture out over time I expect to increase the number of birds I see.  The 2 I have chosen to look at are woodpeckers.  Colors are red, black and white and of course the bills are different and the size of head.  The bill is longer on the Hairy Woodpecker and the head is somewhat  larger. The woodpecker that feeds at my bird feed is a Downy Woodpecker, it the Downey is much smaller both bill and head. The Downey's red patch is a little larger, but it is definitely smaller.

Is there a special time of day to make it easier to spot the birds.  I put all kinds of birds seed out for the birds, but they dont eat much.  How may I set up a place to see them better?  I've never watched for birds before.