Spreading our Wings in Spring

Just like families who return home from their March Break vacations, many of our birds who migrate south once the snow comes also have to make the long journey back once winter turns to spring. The questions we were curious to find the answer to were “Which birds have already returned to our area and what are they doing now that they’re back?”

How did you choose to start your day? Were you one of the lucky ones who was able to escape the claws of the hawk in our group game?

Remember how we used a map of the area on the west side of the pond to record where we were seeing and hearing birds? We noticed that cardinals were calling to each other on the east side of the pond and we heard a woodpecker drilling for insects. We saw birds flying, sitting on branches, hopping on the ground and we’re sure one bird was even building its nest. If you liked this activity, all you need to do is to take a blank piece of paper and a pencil outside and find a good place to sit and observe. 

Bird guides are not only helpful for naming birds but they also give you great information about the difference between the way male, female, and young birds look. After observing the birds in our area for a period of time, we used our Cornell Bird ID cards to identify which birds we had seen or heard. Here's our list: Cardinal, Blue Jay, Sparrow, Chickadee, Red-winged Black Bird, Canada Goose, a female mallard, and possibly a Hawk. What other large bird were we surprised to see? Why do you think it was circling around and around in the sky?

Wander time allowed us to investigate spring changes in Cedar Hideaway. The highlight was to be able to reconnect with the water. Were you someone who spotted a crayfish or a water strider or were you the person who ended up with wet socks? The plan for our next visit will be to work on building a low bridge that will allow us to walk across to the other side without getting wet!

Just like there are many different types of birds around Harrington, we learned that they all design their nests a little differently. We had gathered nesting materials on our walk back to the hall in the morning you found lots of mud in Mystery Forest later in the day. Were you one of the people who decided to have your fingers taped together in order to get the full ‘bird experience’ when you tried to build a nest? How did it feel? Now that we have a better understanding of how much work goes into making a sturdy nest, we will be able to appreciate our feathered friends’ feats of engineering each time we’re lucky enough to spot a nest!

We decided to set up our own backyard bird experiment. Can you explain what a nesting materials board is and how it can help birds with nest-building? Remember to watch for bird activity before choosing a place to hang your nesting materials board. The more bird traffic there is, the more ‘customers’ you might get! Which material do you think will be the most popular? 

Did you prefer being a bird or an ornithologist (a person who studies birds) today? Which job do you think would be easier and why? If you are outside this weekend or next week, take a few moments to notice the birds in the area where you live. You could even use the Great Backyard Bird Count tally sheet to keep track of what kind of birds you see. Let’s be ornithologists again next Friday and talk about our bird findings!