Handbook of Nature Study - December Bird List with Two New Birds!

December Bird List - 
Our Family's On-Going Record of Our Bird Sighting 
A Life Project

We have had a busy and full month watching birds in our yard and as part of our December travels. Project Feederwatch has become a natural part of our weekly routine and helps us take a few minutes two days a week to count birds that come to our feeders. First a few interesting photos and then this month's bird list!



First off, our sweet and fabulous White-breasted nuthatch resident...or at least one of the three that entertain us everyday with their acrobatics on our backyard tree trunks. Ups and downs and lots of pecking are observed as we watch out the window. They also have a very distinct bird sound that they make and we are alerted to look up when we are outside and they are present. If you click the link above and click the Pacific song, you will hear what our nuthatch sounds like (there is an Eastern song as well).


I had to zoom this one in and crop it to show you this cute little guy and his expression.



Our beloved California Towhee in the feeder....usually he scratches around under the feeder but today he showed up for pictures. Isn't he interesting with his pink-orange rump and pink-orange around the eye? There is always a pair in the yard and they don't ever stray very far from each other. We learned that the colored patch under the tail is called the "crissum".



Here is the other half of the pair....up on the branch, waiting for a turn in the feeder. (Males and females look alike.)



Since we started participating in Project Feederwatch, we have seen three of these Spotted Towhees in the yard. They are strikingly beautiful birds and since they are not year-round residents we try to enjoy them while they are here.



I love the way this bird friend is clinging to the twig and posing. You can see the dried up blackberries on the vine that we left from the summer garden. The birds are seen frequently stopping by for a purple snack.


The Western bluebird enjoys a little bath this time in our front yard. I still get excited when he comes to visit. They usually come in a small bunch and then leave all at the same time. Lovely.


Here is the very best shot of the Anna's Hummingbird at our feeder that I could capture to share. The flash accidentally went off but that really shows his beautiful ruby/pink/iridescent color. We have one or two at a time in the feeder these days, usually a male and a female. There might be more than two since the feeder is emptied frequently even at this time of the year.

In Our Yard - mostly at the feeders

1. Spotted towhee
2. Dark-eyed junco
3. House sparrow
4. White-crowned sparrow
5. Mourning dove
6. Western bluebird
7. Mockingbird
8. Western scrub jay
9. American robin
10. White-breasted nuthatch
11. California towhee
12. House finches
13. Lesser goldfinches
14. Anna's hummingbird
15. Oak titmouse
16. Ruby-crowned kinglet
17. Acorn woodpecker

Out and About:

1. American crow
2. Northern flicker
3. California quail
4. Steller's jay
5. Wild turkeys
6. Brewer's blackbird
7. Pigeons
8. White-tailed kite ***New to our life list
9. Red-tail hawk
10. Barn swallow
11. Bewick's wren ***New to our life list
12. Downy woodpecker - hanging on a tall weed (more on that later)

There is a wealth of birding information on the internet but I have not found a more homeschool-friendly site than the ones sponsored by Cornell University. I would love to encourage you all to subscribe to their homeschool blog (click the logo above to pop over there now).

You can also follow them on Facebook .
You can download their FREE Homeschool Guide to Project Feederwatch.  
Of course, my favorite resource is their AllAboutBirds website which is a great tool for identifying and learning more about birds in your own neighborhood.

I would love for other families to join ours in watching your feeder birds. It is super easy and you just need to devote a few minutes a week to getting to know your feeder birds one bird at a time. Email me with any questions you have about the program.

So which bird photo did you like the most? I think I like the California towhee in the feeder the best since it is one that I have been trying to snap for awhile now.

Handbook of Nature Study - November Bird List

Our front yard feeder has been busy, busy, busy the last few weeks. The colder nights and mornings seem to draw the birds out to our feeders and it is a joy to watch each day from our front window. I joined Project Feederwatch this year for the very first time and I am thoroughly enjoying counting birds two days a week...just a few minutes a day.

We have had some wonderful bird visitors to enjoy and it makes me happy to see them spending time in our yard plantings and feeders.


Here is our beautiful Western bluebird in the Pistache tree. We don't see these regularly so it is a treat when they flock into the trees to snack and then sun themselves.


Our most exciting new friend is the Ruby-crowned kinglet. We have nicknamed him Rudy the Ruby. He looks much like a little goldfinch but there is a bright orange patch on the top of his head...the feathers sort of ruffle up to show the color. These images are taken through our living room window when Rudy was sitting in the bushes looking into the house right at me. He came four days in a row and landed on the same branch....I loved being able to get a really good look at him up close. Thanks Rudy.



Here he is with his feathers down. Interesting huh?



This is the first year we placed a birdbath in the frontyard and I am always amazed at how many birds each day come to bathe and drink from this water source. I highly recommend putting out a birdbath to attract bird visitors. We found that if we put a few rocks in the middle of the birdbath, making the water a little more shallow, more birds actually bathe. Don't they look like they are having fun?


Now for our November Bird List:
Yard and Feeders

1. California Towhee
2. American Robin
3. Western scrub jay
4. House sparrows
5. House finches - really pink right now
6. Lesser goldfinches
7. Anna's hummingbird - still several birds that come everyday to the feeder
8. White-breasted nuthatch
9. Spotted towhee
10. Oak titmouse
11. Dark-eyed juncos
12. White-crowned sparrows
13. European starlings
14. Western bluebirds
15. Great horned owl - hooting 5 AM
16. Mourning doves - sweet pair
17. Ruby-crowned kinglet - new to our life list!

Travels around town and to the Sierra

1. American Crow
2. Canada geese
3. Brewer's blackbirds
4. Steller's jay
5. Pigeons
6. Turkey vulture
7. Snowy egret - flying
8. Red-tail hawk
9. California quail
10. Bald eagle!
11. Mallards
12. White-headed woodpecker
13. California gulls
14. Osprey
15. Common raven

This was the best birding month in a very long time. My field guide has been busy and our bird list is always handy.


There is a wealth of birding information on the internet but I have not found a more homeschool-friendly site than the ones sponsored by Cornell University. I would love to encourage you all to subscribe to their homeschool blog (click the logo above to pop over there now).

You can also follow them on Facebook .
You can download their FREE Homeschool Guide to Project Feederwatch.  
Of course, my favorite resource is their AllAboutBirds website which is a great tool for identifying and learning more about birds in your own neighborhood.

We also are submitting this post to Heather's Tweet and See link-up.

August Birds - Summer Birds and a Nest!

Our August 2011 List

House Finches
Lesser Goldfinches- in the sunflowers and birch trees
White-Breasted Nuthatch
Oak Titmouse
Mourning Doves
California Towhee
American Robins
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub Jay
Acorn Woodpecker
Great Horned Owl
Anna's Hummingbird
House Sparrows
Canada Goose
American Crow
Turkey Vultures
Red-tail Hawk
Black-headed Grosbeak
California Quail
American Ravens - what huge birds with big pointy beaks!
Mallard ducks at the lake
Osprey - heard it but did not see it (Yosemite)
Snowy egret - out and about 

Our list is pretty much the same as it was last month...summer birds. I am guessing that this month we will begin to see a change in the birds we have visiting our feeders. I think this is the most interesting aspect of keeping a monthly list...it brings into focus the cycle of birds and they rhythm of the seasons.

Now our exciting bird story!



We were able to observe a Lesser goldfinch sitting on a nest in the bushes at my dad's house. Mama was sitting on the eggs but when I came a little too close with the camera she flew away to a near-by branch. My dad says that there were two little birds that hatched. He has a whole flock of goldfinches in his garden so it doesn't surprise me that he had a nest this year.

Don't forget to pop over and share your list with Heather's Tweet and See!

Birds of Summer: July List

Nest on a Utility Pole - Southern Wyoming

We spent quite a bit of time away from home in July so I will attempt to break the list down by location.

Backyard/Local

1. European Starlings
2. House Finches
3. Lesser Goldfinches - they sound like they are laughing
4. White-Breasted Nuthatch
5. Oak Titmouse
6. American Robins
7. Mourning Doves - our constant companions, everyday under the feeders, always a pair
8. California Towhee
9. Steller's Jay
10. Western Scrub Jay
11. Acorn Woodpecker
12. Great Horned Owl - early morning
13. Anna's Hummingbird - males chasing each other, not so many in the feeders but in the flower garden
14. House Sparrows
15. Canada Goose
16. American Crow
17. Turkey Vultures
18. Red-tail Hawk
19. Mountain Chickadee
20. Black-headed Grosbeak
21. California Quail
22. Brewer's blackbirds

Santa Cruz

1. Brown Pelicans
2. California Gulls

Grand Tetons/Utah Trip

1. Osprey
2. Trumpeter Swans
3. American White Pelicans
4. Lots of gulls - not sure what kind
5. Killdeer
6. Barn Swallows
7. Red-winged blackbirds
8. Western meadowlark

If I ever go back to Yellowstone, I will print this bird list. 

You can share your link with Tweet and See...click the button above to learn more about the monthly meme. This exercise of keeping a list of birds has opened my eyes to a whole world. I highly recommend this activity for all families, no matter where you live. 

Our June Bird Study: Lesser Goldfinches Eat My Sunflowers

Sunflowers in our garden (self-seeded). Tasty snack for the goldfinches.

Bird Study for the June Newsletter Challenge

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.

Lesser goldfinch eating sunflower leaves

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.

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

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

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

Happy Birding!

Tweet and See - Delighted With Our May Bird List

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.

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

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.

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.



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



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.



We were lucky to catch this wildflower blooming...



Yellow star tulip.



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. 



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



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.



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

We spent additional time this week reviewing our spring bird list and updating it for Tweet and See over on Heather's blog, Kingdom Arrows.

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.

Tweet and See - March Birds and Free Bird Notebooking Pages

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!



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)

Complete Notebook (made to go along with Flying Creatures)

Bird Notebook Pages for Copywork and Narrations

Free Backyard Birds Lapbook

Audubon Notebook Pages on Jimmie's Collage

Feeder Birds Coloring Book from Cornell

Click over to Kingdom Arrows and share your birds from March 2011!

My Fine Feathered Friends and Those With Bushy Tails

It's been a week for the birds.....

Who are you looking at?

Camera shy...or is this his better side?

Me and My Gal!

Who you callin' yellow?

Playing Statue.

Puffed Up With Pride....King of the Tree...Lord of the Flock.

Snacking on the Pink Stuff.

Now on to the furry friends...

Gray squirrel, gray squirrel, swish your bushy tail.

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.





Barb-Harmony Art Mom



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