Category: Backyard Birds

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Our June Bird Study: Lesser Goldfinches Eat My Sunflowers

6 27 11 Sunflower Leaves - Eaten by Finches
Sunflowers in our garden (self-seeded). Tasty snack for the goldfinches.

We have a beautiful songbird in our backyard that sings to us as we garden. He often is seen in our finch feeder but he also has another part of his diet that is interesting. The Lesser goldfinch eats our sunflower’s leaves! They must be so very light because they can land on the leaves and they hardly dip under the weight. They nibble the green parts of the leaves and leave holes and skeleton leaves on the plants.

I found this video on YouTube.com that shows what we observed in our garden.

5 11 11 Garden birds Goldfinch in the Birdbath
I caught this Lesser goldfinch in our birdbath….bathing and singing.

There is a lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 10) and a previous Outdoor Hour Challenge (Yellow Birds) for the goldfinch which includes this link: Get Gorgeous Goldfinches! The article gives you tips for attracting and then feeding your own goldfinches. If you would like to hear the goldfinches song, you can listen at AllAboutBirds.com.

Goldfinch Notebook Page
We used a photo and the notebook page from the June Newsletter.

We read on AllAboutBirds.com that the Lesser goldfinch sometimes makes its nest in among grapevines to shade the nest from the sun. We think our finches are nesting in our grapevines that are near our back birdfeeder. I never thought to look there.

We love these little birds and even though they cause a little mischief in the sunflower patch, we hope they stick around for awhile.

This is the last of our June Newsletter Challenges. We were able to complete all four this time.
Here are links to the other three:
Garden Critter: Honeybee
Tree: Sitka Spruce
Crop Plant: Corn

Tweet and See button

Now for our Tweet and See list for June 2011
Backyard and Neighborhood:

  1. Turkey vultures
  2. Steller’s jay
  3. Oak titmouse
  4. Lesser goldfinch
  5. Anna’s hummingbirds
  6. California quail
  7. Western scrub jays
  8. Mourning doves
  9. Acorn woodpecker
  10. Common raven
  11. Wild turkeys
  12. Cooper’s hawk
  13. White-breasted nuthatch
  14. California towhee
  15. Spotted towhee
  16. House finches
  17. American crows

Tidepool morning and Crows
Trip to Oregon-There were more birds that I didn’t know so I can’t list:

  1. Osprey
  2. Brown pelican
  3. Song sparrow
  4. American crows
  5. Turkey vultures
  6. American robins
  7. White-crowned sparrows
  8. Western gull
  9. California quail
  10. Black oysercatcher
  11. Winter wren

Tidepool Morning and the Gulls

Happy Birding!

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Tweet and See – Delighted With Our May Bird List

5 26 11 Hummingbird in Feeder
We can stand inches from the feeders and the hummingbirds still come to eat.

May 2011- This list is testimony that keeping a list makes you more aware of the birds as you go about your everyday business. I started off the month thinking that our feeders were empty and that most of our resident birds were gone. But….when I slowed down, wrote down each bird that I saw each day, the list is full and rich and even includes a new bird to our life list. I love the mental exercise of keeping track of the birds we see and it makes me more aware of each winged creature that we saw during the month.

We are leaning towards studying our backyard hummingbirds for our June bird since they are such a willing subject. You can join us with a hummingbird study by clicking over to the Outdoor Hour Challenge for Hummingbirds and Flight.

Hummer in tree (3)

Tweet and See button

From Our Backyard

  1. Western scrub jay
  2. White-crowned sparrows
  3. Anna’s hummingbird-Resident hummers are all over the place right now!
  4. Common raven
  5. Black-headed Grosbeak* Our new bird that we first observed on the trail and then at our very own feeders!
  6. Red-tail hawk
  7. Turkey vultures
  8. Mourning doves
  9. Great horned owl *Mr. A was up early one morning outside and he called me out to listen to two owls
  10. House finches – Sweet singers in our yard
  11. White-breasted nuthatch
  12. California quail-A pair in our backyard…not usually seen so close to home. Lots as we drive around town.
  13. American crow
  14. Canada goose
  15. Acorn woodpecker- swings from the suet feeder like an acrobat
  16. Lesser goldfinches – so brilliant and yellow right now…..in the feeders and the birdbath
  17. House sparrows
  18. Oak titmouse
  19. California towhee
  20. Starlings
  21. American robin – another bird bath participant

Hummer in tree (2)
Out and About

  1. Brewer’s blackbird
  2. Tree swallows
  3. Wild turkeys – whole flocks
  4. Spotted towhee
  5. Red-wing blackbird
  6. Mallard ducks
  7. White Goose….not sure what the name is yet.
  8. Rock pigeons
  9. Emu – sort of a crazy bird to add but we did see several, obviously not native….neighbor has a few

You can share your link with Tweet and See…click the button above to learn more about the monthly meme.

Hummer in the Feeder Flying

Hummer in the Feeder Still

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Bird Study May 2011: Black-headed Grosbeak

Black Headed Grosbeak 1

We have a new feeder bird! I changed up our seed in the feeder and I started to catch a glimpse of a new colorful bird coming to visit. I could hear a new song in the backyard trees as well and I knew it sounded a bit familiar. It finally occurred to me that this was the same song that I heard earlier in the month on our hike to the natural bridge. It was the Black-headed grosbeak!

Black Headed Grosbeak 2
Sure enough….there are three that come to our feeders now.

They are such beautiful birds and I know now why they are called songbirds.

My field guide says this, “Song, rising and falling passages, resembles a robin’s song but more fluent and mellow.” This is the perfect description of their song. You can hear it in the video in THIS ENTRY or at this link on AllAboutBirds.

Black Headed Grosbeak 3
NotebookingPages.com has a great free resource for those of us who live on the West Coast…free bird notebook pages for the following birds: Red-tail hawk, Western scrub jay, Spotted towhee, House finch, Black-headed grosbeak, and Black-capped chickadee!
Here is your link: Free Bird Notebooking Pages
 
I took advantage of the free page for the Black-headed grosbeak and used it for my nature journal.

Black-headed Grosbeak Nature Journal
What a thrill to add a new bird to our backyard bird list….we started off the month of May thinking that our Tweet and See list was going to be sparse. Boy were we wrong! We not only have a large number of birds but a new one to report as well.

Another great week of nature study….another topic from the May Newsletter completed. We have our mammal still left to find but we may just revisit a wildflower instead if we can’t come up with a good mammal to study using the Handbook of Nature Study. Remember to submit your entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival to share your links just like you would for Mr. Linky.

You can really do any topic for your entry….I am hoping that you pick at least one thing from your own backyard and that you give the nature journal idea a try.

 
Don’t forget to use my discount code:
Use discount code = discount5 to save $5 on your $10+ purchase at NotebookingPages.com
Use discount code = discount10 to save $10 on your $20+ purchase at NotebookingPages.com

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Spring Robin and Wildflower Hikes – Robin Nature Study

We took a walk to look for birds as part of the Spring Bird Observation Challenge from last week. It had been raining earlier in the day but we took off for our hike as soon as the clouds parted a little. The walking trail had lots of earthworms wiggling across which is why we saw A LOT of robins. The robins were singing and then hopping along side the trail as we hiked.

American Robin in a Pine

I think I was too distracted to capture a good photo but you can see him up there on the branch of the pine.

Robin nature journal

He did make it into our nature journals though….big fat red belly and all. There is lots of information in the Handbook of Nature Study for the robin. I encourage you to use this information as the basis of a great spring study of birds. There is an official Outdoor Hour Challenge for robins: Red Birds.

Here is an additional printable brochure on American Robins that is excellent: American Robins.

Yellow Globe Lily

We were lucky to catch this wildflower blooming…

Yellow Star Tulip

Yellow star tulip.

Scotch Broom along Trail

Part of the trail is lined with Scotch broom….yellow boughs make a beautiful setting. I know it is considered a “noxious” weed and invasive but I will enjoy it as I walk the trail this spring.

4 23 11 Red Shack wildflowers Sierra Pea

On another section of the trail the Sierra peas are in bloom giving the grass dots of purple and pink.

4 19 11 yard and walking trail CA Poppies

The California poppies are really blooming now and this section of the trail full of them.I am working on a new blog entry featuring poppies that I will post soon.

4 19 11 yard and walking trail Blue Eyed Grass

We recognized this flower from last year…Blue eyed grass which isn’t a grass at all but it is in the iris family.

Tweet and See button

Here is our list for April:

  1. Canada goose -on the move, although we have some that stay year-round in a marshy area at the edge of town
  2. Mourning doves (always a pair)
  3. Anna’s hummingbirds
  4. White-crowned sparrows
  5. White-breasted nuthatch
  6. Acorn woodpecker
  7. California towhee
  8. House sparrows
  9. Brewer’s blackbirds
  10. American crow
  11. Turkey vultures
  12. Red-wing blackbirds
  13. Western scrub jays
  14. Common ravens
  15. Cedar waxwings (saw these yesterday) – heard their high pitch whistle
  16. Oak titmouse
  17. American robins -counted 47 one day
  18. California quail – flock of them
  19. Yellow billed magpie – on a day trip, distinctive sound
  20. Blue heron – on another day trip
  21. Steller’s jays
  22. Cooper’s hawk – we hear this sound a lot in our yard (nest call/alarm call)
  23. Red-tail hawk
  24. Rock pigeons

I think the most interesting thing about our list is the absence of some of our “regular” feeder birds. It appears that some of them have moved on: House finches, Lesser goldfinches, Spotted towhees, Dark eyed juncos.

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2011 Spring Series – Spring Bird Observations

“The springtime belongs to the birds and me…..The birds and I get acquainted all over again every spring. They have seen strange lands in the winter, and all the brooks and woods have been covered with snow. So we run and romp together, and find all the nooks and crannies which we had half forgotten since October.”
Liberty Hyde Bailey. The Birds and I, 1898

There has been a definite change in our yard’s bird population since our bird count in February and our winter observations of birds. Our feeders are not so crowded and I hear different birds in the early morning hours. This is a time for spring birds like robins and geese flying overhead, making their return to our part of the world. I sincerely hope that this bird challenge encourages your family to spend a little time outside this week to look for some birds in your world. It will be a great excuse to get outside and have a reason to look around for some feathered friends.

For this week’s challenge we will be making our Spring 2011 Bird Observations – Click over to read more about the spring bird challenge. The focus can be on bird song or any other aspect of birds that your family is interested in learning about. Check the Handbook of Nature Study for more information.

Don’t miss this website!
Songs, Calls, Bird Identification

Here are specific challenges from the Handbook of Nature Study for different bird topics if you are interested in learning more:

Follow up your outdoor bird observing with some looking at field guides and perhaps a nature journal or notebook page. The notebook page is included in the Spring Series ebook.

You may also be interested in my Spring Nature Study Ebooks!

Spring Series Cover

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Tweet and See – March Birds and Free Bird Notebooking Pages

3 14 11 Hawk (5)

We had a pretty exciting month as far as the number of different varieties of birds to report for the month of March 2011.

The most outstanding find was our new hawk visitor that comes quite a few times a week now to both the backyard and the front yard. He visits the trees and sits there for periods of time before swooping down to actually chase some of our feeder birds away. He isn’t very large and we think we have identified him as a Red shouldered hawk or a Coopers Hawk. He is featured in the photo above. He was sitting in the tree in the early morning sun and was flaring his feathers out as he looked at me watching him. Thanks for the photo Mr. Hawk!

Tweet and See button
March 2011 Birds – 31 

Birds seen at our feeder or in our yard:
American crow
Red shouldered hawk
Turkey vultures
Western scrub jays
Common raven
European starlings
Oak titmouse
Cedar waxwings
Canada geese
Mourning doves
Norther flicker
Dark-eyed juncos
White-crowned sparrows
White-breasted nuthatches
Acorn woodpecker
Nuttall’s woodpecker
Spotted towhee
California towhee
House finches
House sparrows
Lesser goldfinches
American robins

These were seen outside our yard:
Anna’s hummingbird
Rock doves
Snowy egret
Brewer’s blackbirds
Steller’s jay
California gull
Mallard ducks
Red-wing blackbirds
Red-tail hawk


You can find free bird related notebooking pages at the following links:
NotebookingPages.com – Free Pages (scroll down)

Bird Notebook Pages for Copywork and Narrations

Free Backyard Birds Lapbook

Audubon Notebook Pages on Jimmie’s Collage

Feeder Birds Coloring Book from Cornell

 

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Spring Cattail Nature Study and Voles…Oh My!

Cattails in Spring

Our Cattail Adventure- Spring Cattail Outdoor Hour Challenge

I already hinted about our cattail spot….the one that was cut down and cleaned out. We were a little disappointed but not discouraged. We have two others places to check but one has so much water right now because we have had heavy rains. Eight inches from Thursday to this morning….crazy wet! The boys were upset about the cattails being cut down but there is hope if you look at the photo below.

Spring Cattail Spot 1

We are going to watch this spot to see if those little baby cattails will fill in the creek area like they were before. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to have another batch of cattails to observe. If you haven’t seen Creation Wiki yet, give this LINK a try to read more about cattails.

Cattail Nature Journal
Watercolor pencils, background semi-moist watercolor, Prismacolor Pen

On another note…

Vole Tunnels

We came across something that was interesting. Our retaining wall had started to fall over and Mr. A helped me fix it but in the process we realized the problem was caused by a system of vole tunnels directly underneath the cement blocks. The wall is right near the birdfeeder (find the green in the photo and then you will see the post) and the voles are tunneling up underneath…in fact there was a hole earlier in the year that came up directly under the hanging feeder and the spilled seed just went down the hole, a very convenient set-up for the vole. Not sure how to solve the problem but we got the wall back up and we will see how long it lasts.

How about a couple pretty images to end this entry?

Goldfinch 2

We have had quite a variety of birds at our feeders during the month of March…lots of Lesser goldfinches, even in the cold snowy weather we had last week.I am keeping a list of our birds observed for the month to post on Heather’s Tweet and See.

Goldfinch 1

They are one of my favorite feeder birds right now and I cannot stop taking photos of them.

We are going to have an on-going study of cattails again this year because I think we can glean some new information for our nature journals.One thing we will research is how they reproduce and how the seeds are spread…..which we sort of know a little about already but we want to have some concrete facts to include in a future journal entry.

Hope you have a chance to check out your cattails soon!

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Bird Stories for the Week: Hummingbird, Hawk in the Feeder, Raven, and Doves

Spring is a time for the birds. They seem to be everywhere and always making beautiful songs or calls to get each other’s attention. We have been keen to look out for new birds but the birds that came along this week were totally unexpected.

3 11 11 walking trail hummingbird

First, there was this Anna’s Hummingbird along our walking trail….he was giving his little squeaky sound which caught our attention. (If you click the link, there is a button to listen to what he sounds like.) I’m surprised that we were able to snap a good image of him before he sped off up the hill. I love that it is getting closer to hummingbird time in our yard….time to clean up the old feeder and get it hung on its hook.

3 10 11 Raven

Here is another bird that we heard before we saw him in our front yard. This Common Raven was up atop the utility pole across the street making a terrible racket. HERE is what he sounds like. There is a distinct difference between the sound of a crow and that of a raven. We have never had a raven here before at the house but I have seen them just up the road a bit so perhaps he was just passing through. (Sorry for the blurry photo but he didn’t let me get ready before he flew away.)

Mourning Doves on the Wall

The mourning doves have made themselves a common visitor to the frontyard feeder. They show up in a pair and strut around under the feeder to clean up after the sparrows who spill seed. The doves took a break on the new retaining wall, perhaps they felt at home with the metal quail sculptures there along the edge. It was worthy of a photo.

Mourning Dove 1

Here is a close up of one of the doves in my front yard under the feeding station. They are typically found scratching around the base looking for a little nibble. The sound they make as they fly away is like a whirring, you can hear it on the Cornell page.  (Scroll down and listen to the “wing whistle” clip.)

Swainsons Hawk

This one is hard to see but it is a Swainson’s hawk that is tormenting the birds in my yard. It has been here every day and is getting bolder and bolder. Mr. A saw him swoop down and get a sparrow and fly away. I have seen him making a move to the birds in the feeder and he actually perched on top of the feeding station one time. Today he landed on the ground near the feeder and looked right at me. Although I really think he is a beautiful, fascinating creature….I wish he would eat his lunch somewhere else.

“Their eyes are remarkably keen; they can see a moving creature from a great height, and can suddenly drop upon it like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky. Their wonderful eyes are far-sighted when they are circling in the sky, but as they drop, the focus of the eyes changes automatically with great rapidity, so that by the time they reach the earth they are nearsighted, a feat quite impoissible for our eyes unless aided by glassses or telescope.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 108 (section on hawks)

We had robins and cedar waxwings pass through again which is always interesting. There was also a honking V of Canada Geese that flew overhead this morning.  So ends our bird week in review….

What have you seen this week? Leave me a comment with your most interesting bird observation this week. I love to learn about new birds.

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My Fine Feathered Friends and Those With Bushy Tails

Tweet and See button

It’s been a week for the birds…..

Finch 3
Who are you looking at?
Finch 4
Camera shy…or is this his better side?
Finch 5
Me and My Gal!
Snow Day Goldfinch
Who you callin’ yellow?
Finch 2
Playing Statue.
American Robin in the Tree
Puffed Up With Pride….King of the Tree…Lord of the Flock.
Finch in the Blossoms 1
Snacking on the Pink Stuff.



Now on to the furry friends…

Gray Squirrel in the Tree
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel, swish your bushy tail.
Fox Squirrel on the Road
Late for the fun…snow storm slowed me down…just a little.

“Where have you seen a squirrel? Does the squirrel trot along or leap when running on the ground? Does it run straight ahead or stop at intervals for observations? How does it look? How does it act when looking to see of the coast is clear?” Handbook of Nature Study, page 236.

If you have a squirrel to observe, I highly recommend looking at Lesson 57 in the Handbook of Nature Study. There are quite a number of questions to answer and to record in your nature journal. In this section Anna Botsford Comstock also gives the account of “Furry” their pet squirrel in journal style that you might like to read for fun to your children.

Hope you enjoyed taking a look at my friends.

House Finch ID

Goldfinch ID

As part of Tweet and See, here is our list of February 2011 birds observed for the month:

  1. Mourning dove
  2. Acorn woodpecker
  3. Nuttall’s woodpecker
  4. Northern flicker
  5. Oak titmouse
  6. White-breasted nuthatch
  7. American robin
  8. Cedar waxwing
  9. Spotted towhee
  10. California towhee
  11. White-crowned sparrow
  12. Dark-eyed junco
  13. House finch
  14. House sparrow
  15. Canada goose
  16. Western scrub jay
  17. Anna hummingbird
  18. Lesser goldfinch
  19. Red-shouldered hawk
  20. American crow
  21. Brewer’s blackbird
  22. Turkey vulture
  23. Rock pigeon
  24. California quail

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Nature Loving in February-It’s For the Birds

DSCN7872

“To the nature-lover February is the winter month of special charm. The forests on the snowy hills take on many lovely tints varying from dull to dark blue and from lilac purple to amethyst. The snow is toned with purple shadows and the skies in the morning are dull blue at the horizon and rosy and misty above until the blue of the upper skies is reached. Let us enjoy every day of February whatever the weather and then will our spirit be strong for blustering March.”
Anna Botsford Comstock, The Nature Study Review.

Snow Day 3

Yes, we really do get snow here in our part of California…..not much and it doesn’t stick around too long but this was the second of our snowstorms of the season and we are expecting a much bigger storm over the upcoming weekend (predicting 4-8 inches). We will get to enjoy some winter nature study and winter walks in our own neighborhood.

Snow Day 4

For now our focus outdoors is observing birds as part of the Great Backyard Bird Count but now that the counting time has passed we will continue to enjoy our feathered friends.

Snow Day Bird on the Fence

I already shared our first list of birds spotted on Friday and pretty much our list didn’t change for Sunday and Monday except to add Lesser goldfinches and Canada geese. I love sharing my snow day with the birds.

I think part of the charm of participating in the GBBC is that we get to see what other homeschooling families observe along with their list of common birds. Apparently this is something that has held its charm for over a century. I read this excerpt in the Nature Study Review….copyright 1917. It was titled, “A List of Birds That Easterners Would Like To See”.

“The editor is recipient of the following record from Miss Barbara Marx, eleven years old, and a member of this bird class.”

“I am enclosing the list of birds we have observed. We means the fifth and sixth grades of the Catilleja School of Palo Alto, California. The other morning Miss Hayes, our teacher, divided us up into groups so that we wouldn’t frighten the birds away, and it was then we the owl, cedar waxwing and woodpecker. The only peculiarity we have found worthy of note is that the towhee scratches with both feet at once.

White Crowned Sparrow, Gold Crowned Sparrow, Oregon Robin, California Robin, California Towhee, Willow Goldfinch, Bush-tit, California Jay, Crested Jay, Anna Hummingbird, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Bluebird, Woodpecker, Barn Owl, Cedar Waxwing”

It warmed my heart when I read that little letter. I realized that watching birds was an activity that children enjoyed a century ago and today we still enjoy taking a few minutes to observe the many birds we have in our own neighborhoods. Let’s hope that in another hundred years children are still taking time to learn about the birds in their world….whatever that world may look like.