Mary
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Activity 2: I found three birds in my neighborhood that have black on different parts of their bodies. The male House Sparrow has black on his throat and upper chest and around his eye. His back is brown and gray with narrow black stripes. His tummy is very light brown. His head is gray on top and on the cheek with a thick brown stripe in between. The Dark-eyed Junco is black all over except his belly, legs, and beak. The beak is pink and the belly is white. The Black-capped Chickadee has a black throat and top of head. There is a white band extending from the beak almost to the back of the neck. The back and tail are gray and the belly is very pale. The beak is black and the legs are gray.
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Activity 4: My favorite bird is the Northern Flicker. According to my National Geographic field guide, a call that is given year-round is a loud klee-yer. The breeding call is a long, loud series of wick-er notes. The size of the Northern Flicker is about the size of an American Robin. The tail is medium in length and spreads out moderately (to about the width of the bird’s body) in flight. The bill is long and thin and curves slightly downward. The body is moderately stout and the neck is short. The Northern Flicker’s preferred habitat is open woodlands and suburban areas. The breeding range spreads across Canada and all but the western edge of Alaska. It can be found year-round across all of the United States except Texas and the southwestern corner of the country. In winter the Northern Flicker can be found in Texas, the southern tip of California, and southwestern Arizona.
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Activity 3: I saw a House Sparrow looking for food in my neighbor’s yard. He was pecking in the dirt in my neighbor’s flower bed. My guess is that he was looking for seeds that have been lying dormant (it was early December when I watched him). I also saw a Black-capped Chickadee looking for food in the bark of my neighbor’s tree. He used his beak to quickly peck in the bark. I think he or she was probably looking for insects. I saw a Dark-eyed Junco eating the seeds of the purple coneflower in my backyard. Normally the American Goldfinches in my neighborhood like to eat these seeds, so it was surprising to me to see the Dark-eyed Junco eating this food.
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Activity 3 - My favorite bird is the Northern Flicker. This species is my favorite because of his striking appearance and long bill. I also love the way he pecks at the ground as he hunts for insects. My mom and I have seen them returning to our home in southern Minnesota this spring and the previous spring as we participated in Project Feederwatch. They have very long bills to help them hunt for insects, a black stripe running under each eye, and a beautiful black bib. There are small black spots underneath the bib. When the flicker flies away, you can see a large white spot on his rump. In my field guide I can see two types of Northern Flickers, the yellow-shafted and red-shafted. When I have observed the flickers in my neighborhood fly away, I have seen yellow on the underside of the wings. This helped me identify them as the yellow-shafted type. The red-shafted type has dark pink on the underside of the wings.
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Activity 2 – One of the birds migrating north right now where I live in southern Minnesota is the Canada Goose. Their loud, distinctive honks and the way they often fly in large groups in a “V” shape makes them very fun to watch and a reminder that spring is here! They are in the swimming birds/waterfowl group, family Anatidae. Sometimes when I am driving in the countryside I see Red-tailed Hawks. I love these big, beautiful birds! I have seen one or two of them flying around so far this spring. Red-tailed Hawks are raptors and are in the family Accipitridae. Just recently my mom and I were walking to the doctor when we saw a Killdeer in the unplowed field by our house. My mom was commenting on how pretty he was. He had a black-and-white striped head, a brown body, and short legs. He gave a pretty call as he flew a short distance away from us, staying close to the ground. Killdeer are shorebirds and are in the family Charadriidae.
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Activity 1 - The Wall of Birds was so cool! There are so many neat birds from all over the world to learn about on the map. I especially enjoyed listening to their vocalizations. Here are three of my favorites: Great Gray Owl - I love their large, round faces, and I learned that they hunt during the day and are found across the north in both the eastern and western hemispheres (I always thought they were only in the western hemisphere). Sunbittern - I really like this bird's colorful markings that he shows when displaying for a mate. His call was also really cool! Common Loon - I was awed by the mysterious, ghostly call of the loon. I really appreciated being able to hear it because, although this is my state bird (I live in Minnesota), I have never heard the call before. In the painting of the loon on the Wall of Birds, it was also very interesting to see how far back on the body the bird's feet were placed.
Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)