In the Sparrow's Nest - Beautiful Birds ~ Beginning our Studies

Feb. 2, 2009

Beautiful Birds ~ Beginning our Studies

Today we launched off our official more in depth study of birds!

Tufted Titmouse and Carolina Wren

We started by reading Psalm 84:3-4 (my blog verse) which says:

"Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you."

After having a quick discussion about this verse we went over the following interesting facts about birds:

There are around 10,000 species of birds known in the world.
You can find birds in every climate, from the poles to the tropics.
By some estimates there are around 100 billion birds in the world, roughly 20 billion of them in North America alone.
The world's most abundant birds are oceanic.

Next we began reading Chapter 1 in the The Burgess Bird Book for Children, oh, that was so delightful!! Because the author's writing is so VERY delightful and entertaining this was a true treat today. If you are not familiar with this book, I highly recommend it! Mr. Burgess takes birds and brings them to life, personifying them into lovable characters which teach lessons about the real-life birds. The first chapter was about Jenny Wren (House Wren). From reading this fun story we learned the following things about Wrens: they are quite bold and brave, they are brown to be camouflaged, they migrate in the winter because of lack of appropriate food, they often return to the same nest they previously nested in, they nest in cavities, and they sing and work with much energy. There are some who say this book is geared towards younger children, but my older kids and I too loved it!

After reading the story, we listened to the sound of a House Wren, and we all about fell out of our chairs laughing! Because we knew right away what Jenny Wren was talking about when she was worrying about Mr. Wren because he would sing so hard she thought she would hurt himself! Give it a listen and see yourself!

After that both of the kids completed nature notebooking pages, Hannah did one for the House Wren, and because my son always does the opposite of what you want him to do, he did one on the Pileated Woodpecker. I learned not to fight certain battles, he's still learning right?! Besides I think he did a great job on the drawing, and then he wrote up a whole page describing the Pileated....I'll take it.

Next, we grabbed up our clipboard with a file I had typed up for a Signs of Birds Nature Hunt and headed outside. You can download this file which I put in Adobe by clicking the link. We had so much fun on our walk! It was still quite cold though because it was still pretty early, and the top layer of snow on the ground had melted a bit and then refroze into an ice rink overnight. So we didn't stay out too long, but we managed to find several items on our hunt. We also found animal tracks all over the place! Such as these turkey tracks and squirrel tracks.

Which we knew the turkey tracks came from the herd of them that was at the feeders this morning!

But, I must admit that the kids were quite distracted by the ice rink yard which made a great surface for sledding on your belly.

It wasn't long before Gabby was jumping on their backs for a ride down.

That was it for the beginning of our bird studies. Tomorrow we have plans to do a few more things including some bird feeder watching. I have lots of neat things planned, so stay tuned! And soon I'll have a Bird Book Basket put up on my side bar. I will be taking a very short blog break of just a few days, I have a toddler needing extra attention right now.

In the meantime don't forget to check out the Nuts About Nature Giveaway below and don't forget about the The Great Backyard Bird Count coming up soon!

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Comments

Feb. 2, 2009 - birds

Posted by toodlebugz

We are reading the Burgess Bird Book, and are really enjoying it.You should check out Parables from Nature also.I just love books from Yesterday's Classics.

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Feb. 2, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by westward

Great tracks in the snow! Our dogs pretty much ruined any tracks we might have found. We really need to learn to put them up when we go on nature walks. All the birds and animals run for cover with big labs jumping around all over the place!

Love ya!

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Feb. 3, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by loobylou1971

We love the Burgess Bird Book too (and Parables of Nature).

Great photos.

Hope you have a good week.

Lou x

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Feb. 3, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by loobylou1971

We love the Burgess Bird Book too (and Parables of Nature).

Great photos.

Hope you have a good week.

Lou x

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Feb. 3, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Lynn

glorious pics, Melissa!

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Feb. 3, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by jiffy11

Okay, first I have to tell you that I got a good giggle out of Gabby climbing on big brother and sister's backs for sled rides! I can just see it. Ha!

I am very interested in reading that bird book you recommended (sorry, I forgot the name already and I'm too lazy to look back). I think I'll make it one of our read-a-louds for next year since I have all the read-a-louds planned out for this year. Lovin' your bird study!

Miss ya,
Jennifer

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About Me

My name is Melissa and I am a homeschool mom of three beautiful blessings ages 12, 10, and 4; and blessed wife to my husband for 16 years. We use Charlotte Mason's educational philosophies of learning the natural, everyday hands-on life way. We especially enjoy learning and growing together beyond the classroom doors in God's amazing creation in nature.

"Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God." ~Psalm 84:3-4