Getting Ready for YBC 2014

Dear Readers,

Hello!

The Olive Plants are still alive and well and birding!

Two years ago, I was diagnosed with an auto-immune condition, MCTD, and have since been diagnosed with lupus as an overlap condition.

For this reason, I have had to put many projects, including my Birding 101 series, way, way back on the farthest back burner. :)

After a few months of immunosuppressive therapy, which has included giving myself weekly injections of a drug used in chemotherapy, I am starting to feel better than I have in a long time. I may get back to writing soon.

Today, I would like to ask you to support my sons and their birding teammates in a fundraising effort for the ABC. You can read all about it here. As an avid birder myself, it is exciting to see young people enthusiastic about enjoying the creation. (Yes, I am a bit biased where these guys are concerned.) ;-) These young men have worked very hard over the years to be able to identify the birds they encounter, and this year, they hope to reach a record goal of 120 identifications in 24 hours.

Here they are getting ready for the competition.
I hope they remember how to use their binocs
before this weekend!

These young men have been birding together
since they were 4-6 years old!

Click this link for instructions on sponsoring Team Birds of a Feather.

Thank you so much!
Dawn

Youth Birding Competition 2012

Left to right: K of CC School, Orville, Wilbur, C of CC School

The Olive Plants boys competed in the Georgia Youth Birding Competition on April 27 & 28, 2012 with two of the Counter-cultural School boys.  In 24 hours, they identified 105 different species!  We are so incredibly proud of them and are so thankful to God for blessing us with a fabulous weekend filled with good weather, lots of birds, and amazing teamwork.  You can read more about the boys' birding adventure at my homeschool blog, Olive Plants.

Listed below are the birds they identified in the order they were found.   Birds 1-7 were spotted in a small town in western Georgia.  Numbers 8-34 were spotted at a Georgia state park- forested, mostly pine trees.  Some of the birds at this location were near a small pond.  The chimney swifts circled the ranger station.  Birds 35-43 were spotted on private property.*  There were several feeders near the house.  The backside of the property was wooded.  The rest of the property contained open, grassy fields.  We were there from 30 minutes before sunset until 15 minutes after sunset.  Birds 44-62 were found at a state park located along a lake.  There are a variety of habitats in this park, and we were there from 15 minutes before sunrise until 8 a.m..  Numbers 63-68 were found at a variety of spots, mostly wooded and close to water.  Numbers 69-86 were found at EL Huie; numbers 87-90 were found at Newman Wetlands; numbers 91-93 were found at Shamrock/Blaylock Lakes- all in Clayton Co. GA.  Numbers 94-95 were found near feeders on private property.*  Numbers 96-100 were located at Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge in central Georgia.  Number 101 was found near a feeder on private property. *  Numbers 102-105 were identified at Charlie Elliot Wildlife Center in Mansfield, GA.

1. American Crow
2. Brown Thrasher
3. Northern Mockingbird
4. Brown-headed Nuthatch
5. Blue Jay
6. Mourning Dove
7. Red-shouldered Hawk
8. Summer Tanager
9. Eastern Towhee
10. Scarlett Tanager
11. Black and White Warbler
12. Northern Cardinal
13. Carolina Chickadee
14. Pine Warbler
15. Mallard
16. Tufted Titmouse
17. Hairy Woodpecker
18. Red-eyed Vireo
19. Eastern-wood Pewee
20. Red-bellied Woodpecker
21. Red-headed Woodpecker
22. Pileated Woodpecker
23. Dark-eyed Junco
24. Carolina Wren
25. Downy Woodpecker
26. White-eyed Vireo
27. Fish Crow
28. Gray Catbird
29. Chimney Swift
30. Worm-eating Warbler
31. Eastern Bluebird
32. Chipping Sparrow
33. White-breasted Nuthatch
34. Yellow-breasted Chat
35. Indigo Bunting
36. Wood Thrush
37. Eastern Phoebe
38. Yellow Warbler
39. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
40. Field Sparrow
41. Great Horned Owl
42. Barred Owl
43. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
44. Green Heron
45. Great Blue Heron
46. Killdeer
47. Northern Bobwhite
48. Brown Creeper
49. Canada Goose
50. Common Grackle
51. Bobolink
52. Belted Kingfisher
53. Osprey
54. Bay-breasted Warbler
55. Tennessee Warbler
56. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
57. Common Loon
58. Northern Flicker
59. American Redstart
60. Prairie Warbler
61. Black-throated Green Warbler
62. Yellow-rumped Warbler
63. American Robin
64. House Sparrow
65. Northern Waterthrush
66. Song Sparrow
67. European Starling
68. Black Vulture
69. Tree Swallow
70. Purple Martin
71. Northern Shoveler
72. Lesser Yellowlegs
73. Spotted Sandpiper
74. Red-winged Blackbird
75. Turkey Vulture
76. Magnolia Warbler
77. Chestnut-sided Warbler
78. Hooded Warbler
79. Cape May Warbler
80. Eastern Kingbird
81. American Coot
82. Blue-winged Teal
83. Pied-billed Grebe
84. Rock Dove
85. Black-throated Blue Warbler
86. Common Yellowthroat
87. Blue-headed Vireo
88. Cerulean Warbler
89. American Bittern
90. Brown-headed Cowbird
91. Northern Parula
92. Orchard Oriole
93. American Woodcock
94. Eastern Meadowlark
95. American Goldfinch
96. Broad-winged Hawk
97. Blackpoll
98. Bank Swallow
99. Kentucky Warbler
100. Red-cockaded Woodpecker
101. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
102. Pine Siskin
103. Orange-crowned Warbler
104. Yellow-throated Warbler
105. Blackburnian Warbler

*We were careful to respect the privacy of others.  We were given the owner's direct permission to bird on private properties or we were on adjacent public property and could hear birds at the nearby private feeders.

Tweet and See: July 2011

Join Heather at Kingdom Arrows for more
Tweet and See fun!

Yippee!

This month, I got to go bird watching with my birding chick buddy, Heather!  That's my best birdie moment for the year.  Unfortunately, I did not get to take any pictures because I left my camera at home.  :(

Our friend, Amy, went birding with us, too!!  She was nice enough to drive around a nature center (very slowly) and pull over every few minutes so Heather and I could hop out and work on identifying what we heard.  She even put up with me playing bird and frog songs on the Identiflyer from the back seat!  Now that is a GREAT friend!  :)

The list isn't long this month since my birding time was greatly limited before the get-together and not very profitable (in terms of number of birds seen/heard) while birding with the girls (it was totally profitable in the phew-I-get-some-time-off-to-hang-out-with-my-friends-and-relax-and-be-silly way, though).

Okay, so here's the list.  It's not as long as that last hyphenated adjective!

1. Common Grackle
2. Black Vulture
3. Turkey Vulture
4. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
5. Northern Mockingbird
6. Mourning Dove
7. Red-headed Woodpecker
8. Chimney Swift
9. European Starling
10. Common Yellowthroat
11. Brown-headed Nuthatch
12. White-breasted Nuthatch
13. Carolina Chickadee
14. Louisiana Waterthrush
15. Yellow Warbler
16. Tufted Titmouse
17. American Crow

The other BEST BIRDIE MOMENT this month was that MY BOYS AND THEIR BIRDING BUDDIES WERE FEATURED ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER!!!  They were the top story with a big, full-color picture and everything.  Our Audubon plushies were even featured with a picture of their own!

The best part is that Orville, when asked what he liked about bird watching, replied, "We get to hang out with our friends and enjoy God's creation." 

That was the caption above their picture (in large print) as well as the ending quote.

Congratulations, Orville, Wilbur, K, and C!  I am really pleased with you all!!  You are my best birding buddies!!!

Until we tweet again...
Dawn

Birding 101: Birding by Ear

When we started bird watching, I thought being able to distinguish between bird songs was some kind of special ability that only truly gifted naturalists possessed.  I never imagined that the boys and I would be able to quickly and easily identify a long list of birds just by hearing their songs/calls.

Birding by ear took birding to a whole new level for us, and I highly recommend you take some time to listen to recordings and do memory work indoors so that you can have greater success while outdoors.  It's a lot more fun than it sounds.

Mnemonics have helped us greatly, and over at Olive Plants, I published a little piece about it last year.  Rather than write a new post, I'll just link you to it.  Fly on over to get a list of our favorite mnemonics and other birding by ear resources!

Though slow-going, this series is not dead!  Subscribe or follow so you won't miss any of our future posts on how to teach your kids to use a field guide, write bird stories, keep a birding journal and life list, and much more!

Consider keeping a journal of the birds you hear or see this month and Tweet and See with Heather.  You can link in with other bird enthusiasts on the last day of each month.  I really enjoy reading the reports of birders from Georgia to Washington.  Maybe one day we'll be able to read reports from around the world!

Until we tweet again....
Dawn

Tweet and See: June 2011

Visit Kingdom Arrows
for more Tweet and See fun!

We had a great month of birding.  The backyard is still in disarray as my husband is completing a backyard remodel which includes the removal of a rather large magnolia tree. 

The Magnolia Tree sans Branches
The trunk is about to go soon.  :(

However, I am an English tutor who travels to the homes of my students.  While driving around town this month, I saw lots birds.  Then, on the last day of June, we went to a local state park (one of my favorite local spots) and identified 39 species.  Some were on the list already, but most were new additions.

One of the birds I saw in a student's neighborhood: the Killdeer!
My husband took this picture at the lake,
not in the subdivision, however.

Here's our list:

1. Killdeer
2. Barn Swallow
3. Carolina Wren
4. Brown Thrasher
5. Northern Mockingbird
6. American Robin
7. Eastern Bluebird
8. Blue Jay
9. Belted Kingfisher
10. Great Blue Heron
11. Red-headed Woodpecker
12. Black Vulture
13. Turkey Vulture
14. Broad-winged Hawk
15. Chipping Sparrow
16. Red-bellied Woodpecker
17. Pileated Woodpecker
18. Downy Woodpecker
19. Eastern-wood PeeWee
20. Osprey
21. Bank Swallow
22. Snow Goose
23. Fish Crow
24. American Crow
25. Tree Swallow
26. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
27. Great-crested Flycatcher
28. Common Grackle
29. Palm Warbler
30. Pine Warbler
31. Canada Goose
32. Eastern Kingbird
33. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
34. Catbird
35. Brown-headed Nuthatch
36. Cape May Warbler
37. Northern Parula
38. Eastern Phoebe
39. Mallard
40. Mourning Dove
41. Tufted Titmouse
42. House Sparrow
43. Rock Dove
44. Green Heron
45. Cowbird

Hubs took this pix during our birding outing.
This is one of his faves.
The bluebird really is looking at two
eastern kingbirds.
That's not a digital trick!

The Best Birdie Moments:

1. While stopped at a red light on a main thoroughfare, a red-headed woodpecker landed in front of our car, grabbed a bit of food, and flew off just as we started to move again.  
2. Killdeer have nested in the brush behind the house of one of my students.  The "dad" hops around the back porch, singing away, while I tutor.  From time-to-time the "baby" comes out to sing, too,.  VERY CUTE!
3. While driving from one student's house to another, I saw a bird perched on a wire, quickly found a place to pull over, and spotted the broad-winged hawk!
4. One of my students went with us to the state park, and we had a great time teaching him how to identify birds!  After we left the state park, I decided spur-of-the-moment to drive over to a local marina.  Sitting on the edge of a pond beside the marina was the green heron on our list.  My student got to see LOTS of interesting birds that day!  Too bad the camera batteries had died by the time we reached the marina.

Favorite Pictures

Eastern Kingbird





Canada Geese

We THINK this is a female
Brown-headed Cowbird.

She was hanging out with this male cowbird.

More Cowbirds

If you think we're right,
please let us know.
If you know we're wrong,
please help.

Red-headed woodpeckers
were common visitors this month.

I think they're just beautiful!

Another beauty...
The Great Crested Flycatcher!

Happy Tweeting!

Dawn

Tweet and See May 2011

Visit Heather where you can find
links to more birding reports.

Has it really been a month since I last wrote on this blog?!?

There hasn't been much time for blogging this month and there has been even less time for birding.  My husband is in the middle of a backyard project which involves the removal of a rather large magnolia tree.

I'm 90% happy about this project of his because it also involves the removal of a rickety old fence and a broken down picnic table.  However, as a true southern gal, it was a life-long dream of mine to have a magnolia tree in the backyard.  It is a wonderful place for hanging a variety of feeders and provides great shade for us and for the birds. 

However, our yard is very small, and the tree really is too big for our space.  I always wanted a magnolia tree in my backyard but do not want one as my back yard.  That is why it is so easy for me to be 80% happy about its removal.

Also, it drops leaves year round which creates a huge and constant mess to clean up, and we can't get any grass to grow.  Our backyard looks like a wasteland, and we think it is due to the tree.

So, please, don't hate us, but she has to go.  And really, I am 70% happy about it.

All of that is to say, the birds have not visited us much this month, and we have not had time to go looking for them either.  I think this is our smallest bird list to date, not just since the beginning of Tweet and See but since we started birding almost six years ago!

It may be small, but here it is:

1. American Robin
2. American Crow
3. House Sparrow
4. Eastern Bluebird
5. Blue Jay
6. Eastern Towhee
7. Red-bellied Woodpecker
8. Kingfisher *
9. Prairie Warbler *
10. Eastern Phoebe *

* I heard these while tutoring.  One of my student's house is near the lake, and they keep the windows open.  I can hear the birds while I teach. 

I hope you had a better month bird-wise than I did and look forward to reading your reports!  And really, don't worry about me.  I'm easily 60% happy about the backyard project.

Happy Tweeting!
Dawn

I'm a Bird Brain!

I accidentally posted my Tweet and See list for April over at my homeschool blog, Olive Plants.  You can click on over to read it.

Please forgive my faux pas.  I injured my eye last week and am still having some trouble seeing. 

Dawn