What? The Great Backyard Bird Count When? February 12-15, 2016 Who? Anyone around the world…for the first time ever! How? Count birds in your yard and at your feeders. Report the data to the Great Backyard Bird Count
Of course, the week we had scheduled to observe and learn more about starlings…they have vanished from the neighborhood! They were constant visitors during the autumn months right outside my office window in the pistache trees that line the side of our house. I could hear them out there as they ate the bright red fruits from the tree. But even though the opportunity had passed see them in person, I have plenty of photos from my archives to use as the basis for our study.
I decided to try to determine where they go once they leave our neighborhood. I did some online research and found that most starlings stay right here in the continental U.S. during all seasons. But, I have been watching and they are definitely gone from our area. I think it has something to do with the food supply…which I note later below.
Journal Idea: Coloring Page from Cornell’s Bird Coloring Book (page 28). I cut the blackline drawing out and used colored pencils to attempt to show the speckles but wasn’t successful. It is really hard to get it right. Anyway, I decided to use the drawing anyway and focus on the recording good information on the page instead. This is actually quite an interesting bird.
Here are two sort of blurry images of starlings I have in my archives. This one from November 2014 shows the speckled look to the bird during autumn and winter. The starlings seem to be around our house only as long as there are those fruits on the pistache tree. Now that the fruits are gone, so are the starlings. We will look forward to their appearance again when the season is right.
This is an image of a starling from 2011 in February. I also have a really bad video of this bird from that day (it was just too far away for a good one). There were two of them along with some robins in the trees across from our house. They were eating something off the tree….not sure what. Anyway, this photo shows the iridescent color of the starling at certain times of year. So pretty!
Have you had a chance to look for some birds this month? Don’t forget that the Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up February 12-15, 2016! Mark you calendars!
Read the identification page on All About Birds for the European starling. Advanced students may wish to also read the Life History page, especially the “Cool Facts” section. Make sure to view the images on the Identification page and note the field marks for the starling.
Great Information: Discover Nature Close to Home (one of my Nature Book Project selections) – see pages 59-66. This is my affiliate link.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Take a bird walk and note any birds you observe during your fifteen minutes. During the autumn and winter, starlings have their speckled plumage and look like they have white spots. If it is the spring and summer, notice their iridescent sheen. If you happen to spot a flock of starlings, try to count them!
If you don’t see any starlings this week, make sure to take a few minutes to make careful observations of any bird found during your outdoor time. Talk about the color, shape, size, beaks, feet, or wings of the bird with your children. Give them some words to use and have them make a journal entry once you are back inside. Keep it simple and fun.
Follow-Up Activity
Create a nature journal entry for the starling. Use the notebook page in the January 2016 Handbook of Nature Study newsletter if you have access to a membership here on the website. Or, you can create a simple entry with a sketch and some notes.
Advanced study: Learn about how birds sleep! This is something that I am interested in learning more about and here is a great starting point: Where do birds sleep? Write a short summary of what you learned in your nature journal.
I highly recommend the NotebookPages.com North American Birds set for your nature study notebooks. Please note I am an affiliate and have used this product in the past and loved it.
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Contents of this edition of the newsletter include:
Bird related resources and articles with a contribution from Shirley Vels of Under an English Sky.
Starling bird study and notebook page
Bird Tally List printable
Resources for your Nature Library: I have started to build a nature library store on Amazon that will feature by category my favorite nature study books and resources. Take a look and see if there is anything you would like to put on your wish list for your family’s nature study library: Handbook of Nature Study Nature Library Suggestions on Amazon.com.Note this is my affiliate store to items I personally recommend and have read or seen in person.
Please note that Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level members have access to members only printables each month in addition to the newsletter printables. You will need to log into your account and then go to the “Other Releases” section.
Need help getting started with your nature study using the Handbook of Nature Study? Check out the fresh “Getting Started” page here on the website!
I am thoroughly enjoying my Project Feederwatch counting this year…we added a few new feeders that are closer to my viewing window and that makes counting super easy. Even watching our “ordinary” birds gives me such pleasure. Here are some images from my counting days of my fine feathered friends.
Finches!
Loving our mockingbird and watching him visit every morning to a particular tree and then to a blackberry vine in the corner of our yard…always sitting at the top.
I caught this sparrow with his mouth full of seed. Love his feet too!
This is one of the woodpeckers that visit our feeders and trees just about every day now. They aren’t very big but they are beautiful birds.
Here is my list of birds that have come to visit during the months of November and December.
November and December Bird Lists
White-crowned sparrow
Dark-eyed junco
House finch
White-breasted nuthatch
Western scrub jay
Anna’s hummingbird
Spotted towhee
Northern mockingbird
Evening grosbeak
American robin
Mourning dove
Nuttall’s woodpecker
Lesser goldfinch
Titmouse
Northern flicker
European starlings
California towhee
Bewick’s wren
Fox sparrow
What birds did you see this month?
These are affiliate links to products I have used and love.
“They are particularly fond of the sap of the mountain ash, apple, thorn apple, canoe birch, cut-leaf birch, red maple, red oak, white ash, and young pines. However, the sapsucker does not live solely on sap; he also feeds upon insects whenever he can find them.”- Handbook of Nature Study
Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 74-75 (Lesson #16) in the Handbook of Nature Study.
Read all about the Yellow-bellied sapsucker, the Red-breasted sapsucker and the Red-naped sapsucker, noting their ranges. The Handbook lesson features the Yellow-bellied sapsucker but for those of us in the western United States, we can hope to see the other species in our location.
Advanced study: This may be a great bird to use as a subject for a winter bird migration project. Read more about bird migration on Wild Birds: Bird Migration. Migration information for each sapsucker species is found at the links above.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Go on a sapsucker hunt! Make sure you know the sound that the sapsucker makes so you can listen as you take your nature walk. Also, look for signs of the sapsucker in trees. Keep up the watch for sapsuckers since they may not be our woods at this time of the year. Make this a fun outing by scouting any birds in your deciduous or coniferous forests.
Follow-Up Activity:
Create a nature journal entry for the sapsucker. What an amazing bird! Make sure to include any interesting facts you learned about this bird along with the field marks and a sketch.
As an alternative, create a nature journal entry for any bird that you observed this week.
Start a bird life list using the printable in this entry: Bird Life List.
Advanced study: Read this article and summarize any interesting facts into a concise nature journal entry: Master Sap Tapper.
If you want to purchase the Autumn Nature Study 2015 ebook so you can follow along with all the notebooking pages, coloring pages, and subject images, you can join the Ultimate or Journey Membership Levels. See the Join Us page for complete information. Also, you can view the Autumn Nature Study 2015announcement page for more details.
Please note that I am an affiliate for NotebookingPages.com. This is a product I have used for many years and highly recommend.
Use code discount5 to save $5 on any purchase $10 or more from the NotebookingPages.com Shop. (This does not include membership purchases.)
“The purpose of all these lessons on the hen are: (a) To induce the child to make continued and sympathetic observations on the habits of the domestic birds. (b) To cause him involuntarily to compare the domestic with the wild birds. (c)To induce him to think for himself how the shape of the body, wings, head, beak, feet, legs, and feathers are adapted in each species to protect the bird and assist it in getting its living.” Handbook of Nature Study
Inside Preparation Work:
Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 27-31, 38, 40-42, and 47-50 (Lessons 1, 4, 6, and 8). Create a list of suggested observations from each lesson. There is a lot of information in these lessons on the chicken so pick the most interesting or relevant topics to cover one at a time with your children if needed.
Advanced study: Plan on creating a comparison of the chicken and the duck using Lessons 5 and 6 in the Handbook of Nature Study. Read through pages 39-42 and use the suggestions in the lessons to observe the differences and similarities of the chicken and the duck. There is a notebook page in the ebook to record some of your results.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Use your outdoor time this week to observe a chicken up close if possible. Make sure to note the main parts of each lesson you prepared from the Handbook of Nature Study.
Basic Observations Ideas:
Observe the feather’s three parts as illustrated in the Handbook.
Make sure to look closely at the chicken’s eyes.
Look for the scales on the legs and feet.
Note the ways a chicken uses its beak.
Follow-Up Activity:
Create a nature journal page or two for the chicken and include any information you found interesting, your observations if possible, and a sketch of the hen.
If you collected some chicken feathers, look at them closely using a microscope. Sketch the three parts of the feather in your nature journal.
Advanced study: Create a nature journal entry that explains and illustrates how a hen oils her feathers.
If you want to purchase the Autumn Nature Study 2015 ebook so you can follow along with all the notebooking pages, coloring pages, and subject images, you can join the Ultimate or Journey Membership Levels. See the Join Us page for complete information. Also, you can view the Autumn Nature Study 2015announcement page for more details.
Read pages 95-97 (Lesson #24) in the Handbook of Nature Study. I really love the narrative part of this lesson and I would encourage you to read it and highlight some interesting sections to share with your children before you go outside this week.
Look up the range map on All About Birds to see if you have catbirds in your area. Here in California we don’t have catbirds but an alternate study could be the cowbird or the mockingbird.
For this challenge, use your sense of hearing to listen for bird sounds. This can be done just about anywhere, even your own backyard. Teaching your children to listen carefully is a huge part of a successful nature study program so use birds as a way of practicing this life skill.
Look for catbirds but make note of any birds that you see during your outdoor time. Have your child use as many descriptive words as possible if you happen to observe a bird. If they are new to bird study, make sure to give them some vocabulary like beak, tail, wing, feathers, etc.
Follow-Up Activity:
Create a nature journal entry for the catbird or any other bird you studied this week. Have your child recall the sound of the catbird (use the link in the preparation section if necessary). Have them describe the catbird’s song and call. Do they think it sounds like a cat?
If your family can provide a birdbath, set one up within sight of a window for observation. Keep the birdbath filled and then watch to see if you get any visitors like the catbird. Keep a list of birds you observe in your birdbath.
Advanced study: Compare the catbird with the mockingbird.
If you want to purchase the Autumn Nature Study 2015 ebook so you can follow along with all the notebooking pages, coloring pages, and subject images, you can join the Ultimate or Journey Membership Levels. See the Join Us page for complete information. Also, you can view the Autumn Nature Study 2015announcement page for more details.
Bird watching is an active sport. With each new bird you identify you are inspired to get out and look some more! The life list is a simple way to not not only encourage your young birder but also to help them view birding and nature study as a life long habit. Creating a life list is an extension of your time outdoors that helps your child learn how science can be documented and analyzed over a period of time.
Keeping a life list of birds is a simple project. It can be kept in a variety of ways as shown below.
Ways to Keep a Bird Life List
On paper – in a journal dedicated to keep track long term.
Back of a field guide – in the back of many bird field guides there is a place to record your life list.
On the pages of a field guide – I have seen people make a note with pen next to the photo or the illustration of each bird they observed right in the field guide.
Notebook page- there are notebooking pages from various sources (including the one below) that you print and keep in a binder as an on-going record.
Online – there are websites specifically dedicated to keeping a birds life list (like e-birdwhich is an app for your phone as well).
Online- I have discovered several people who create a Pinterest board sharing their life list (like this one Bird Life List).
Computer spreadsheet – some people take their field notes and consolidate them on a spreadsheet on the computer.
Checklist – Find and print a bird list for your local area. Use this as a checklist as you observe each bird, recording your observation data right on the checklist.
Your own cards – Create a field guide card for each bird on your life list (use my printable and idea).
Special Activity:Life List Printable
Bird Life List Printable
I have attempted to create a Life List Printable that will be flexible for you to use in your nature notebook. Your list can be as detailed as you wish. Things to include: Date and Time of Day. Location. Gender. Weather. Bird Sounds. Number of birds seen.
You may be interested in the Learning about Birds ebook available here on the Handbook of Nature Study. If you have an Ultimate or Journey level membership, you have access to this ebook that covers every single bird included in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock.
Also I am highly recommending that you purchase the Bird Bundle from NotebookingPages.com as a great supplement to your study of birds using the Outdoor Hour Challenge. Note: These are affiliate links.
Use code discount5 to save $5 on any purchase $10 or more from the NotebookingPages.com Shop. (This does not include membership purchases.)
Read pages 109-115 (Lesson #28) in the Handbook of Nature Study. This lesson includes information on several different birds. There are links below to the All About Birds website and location maps so you can pinpoint which birds you have in your local area and what they look like.
Cliff Swallow: These are winter migrators so you will need to look for these next summer. Make sure to click the “video” tab and see them in action.
Barn Swallow: These are winter migrators so you will need to look for these next summer. Make sure to click the “video” tab and see them in action.
Bank Swallow: These are winter migrators so you will need to look for these next summer.
Tree Swallow: These are winter migrators so you will need to look for these next summer. Make sure to click the “video” tab and see them in action.
Chimney Swift: These are winter migrators so you will need to look for these next summer.
Learn about bird migration as part of this challenge. Make sure to note where your swallows and swifts migrate during the winter. Here are some links:
Advanced study: Read through these facts about bird migration and create a nature journal page that features any facts you found interesting: Bird Migration and Fun Facts About Bird Migration.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Make sure to look for any local resident birds that you can observe as the season is changing. During your walk, talk about bird migration and introduce the idea that not all birds stay in one place for the whole year.
Use your observation skills to listen for birds or look for signs of birds in your neighborhood.
Follow-Up Activity:
Create a nature journal entry for a swallow you have in your local area.
In addition, create a nature journal entry for any bird you observed this week. Make sure to look up information about the bird and include any interesting facts on your page.
Advanced study: Draw a map featuring a swallow’s or other local bird’s migration path.
Advanced study: View this link and create a sketch of a swallow in your nature journal: Swallow Naturalist Notebook.
If you want to purchase the Autumn Nature Study 2015 ebook so you can follow along with all the notebooking pages, coloring pages, and subject images, you can join the Ultimate or Journey Membership Levels. See the Join Us page for complete information. Also, you can view the Autumn Nature Study 2015announcement page for more details.
(one of my Nature Book Project selections) – see pages 59-66. This is my affiliate link. I also used the 
