Use The Screen To Get Into The Green . . . Week Nine
Welcome to Week 9, our final week, of “A Little Screen Time to Find More Green Time.”
This week’s focus will be a celebration of our feathered friends of the Northeast. We are excited to end this week with a webinar with Bridget Butler, the “Bird Diva”, called Birdsong Tune Up on May 29th at 7:00 PM. Learn more and register here.
Share and Be Entered in the Spring Outside Raffle!
Inspired by our prompts this week? Let’s keep the exchanges flowing - send us what you see!
Ways to share your inspiration with us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and share your photos on the weekly posts for each of the themed activities, being sure to use the hashtags for each activity. You can also simply send us an email at info@nature-museum.org.
Every time you share, you’ll be entered into our Spring Outside raffle for a $150 gift card to help get out outfitted for the season ahead. We’ll hold the raffle in early summer (we hope) and look forward to a jar full of entries to pull from!
Seeing Birds
Parks, ponds, shores, marshes, meadows, and fences are all great places to find birds. Not to mention the trees and gardens in your own backyard. Take your journal outside, find a comfortable place to sit, and get ready to quietly watch for birds. Bring binoculars if you have them to make sure you can see their unique details.
Sketch a bird you see as quickly as possible (before it flies away!), or describe as many of its features as you can. You can use your notes and sketches to try to identify it later. Write about what it is doing. Is it eating, flying, or singing? (Can you describe the song in words?) You can learn a lot about birds by keeping a bird journal, from which ones merely migrate to your area for a short stay, to others that move in for a whole season or year. You’ll also begin to recognize which birds are the most common where you live. Happy birding!
Which tree has bark like this? See our Facebook page on Tuesday for more photos, clues, and the answer!
Build a bird’s nest with clay and natural materials. If you don’t have clay, mud will work just fine. Just ask the birds!
https://lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/family/activities/bird-watching-activities-for-kids4.htm
Trace a Bird’s Track
Important note: Don’t use a bird feeder. This could attract bears. Instead just use a small handful of birdseed and do this during the day rather than leaving it out overnight.
https://lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/family/activities/bird-watching-projects-for-kids3.htm
Bird joke: What kind of soap does a bird use? Dove, of course!
Birds don’t need soap, of course, but many like to take a quick bath!
Make a bird bath from found objects for your feathered friends to frolic in!
Friday Feather Hunt
Take a walk around your yard, local park, or forest and search the ground for bird feathers.. Take a photo, or sketch and take notes about each feather in your nature journal, including the size, shape, and colors. This will help you identify them when you get home. Use a magnifying glass to look more closely at the tiny details that make each feather unique, and a ruler to determine its size. Why do you think feathers come in so many different shapes and sizes?
Special note: Although birds can carry diseases, responsibly handling and observing bird feathers poses a very low risk. To ensure a safe and fun feather hunt, never take feathers from a dead bird, leave feathers in the outdoor place where you collected them when you’re done, and be sure to wash or sanitize your hands after handling any feather finds. As well, there are laws to help protect birds. This means that you need special permission to take feathers and keep them at home. This is another reason to simply leave feathers in the place where you found them.
Bird Snapshot
Head outside to capture your own unique and amazing bird photo! Patience is a virtue! Find a cozy spot to relax in while combing your environment for a bird to make its appearance. Even if you don’t get a photo, you’ll enjoy this time to slow down and observe.
Check out these amazing bird photography pictures:
Interested in getting into some serious bird photography? Check out this link from the Audobon Society for tips and tricks:
The American Woodcock
Susan Morse, founder of Keeping Track in Huntington, VT enlightens us about these endearing birds in the following article, Tracking Tips: American Woodcock.
https://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/american-woodcoc
Click on the link to learn why Vermont’s forests aren’t “just for the birds.”
https://vt.audubon.org/news/vermont%E2%80%99s-forests-not-just-birds