The other day we decided to take a heel of bread out and break it up for the birds. I split it in two giving one to Corynn and keeping the other for myself, showing her what to do. I broke apart my piece and looked up, and here was Corynn chomping away on her bread-halfway done. Needless to say, she didn't share her half with the birds.
We have two birdfeeders up, one in a lilac tree near our driveway and the other hidden away in the trees in the very back of the yard. All sorts of birds have come to feast, some just for a day and many come back each day-sometimes, several times. We have also been fighting with the squirrels, grackles, and blackbirds.
Matt (conveniently) got a pair of binoculars for his birthday from his parents, and so it is quite fascinating to watch their antics from the mudroom. A pair of bluejays grace us with their presence daily-at least two or three times a day. They have the same routine too. The female bird sits enthroned among the lilacs while the male bird gets seed from ground under the feeder. Then, he flies up to the female and gives her the seed. As I watched through my binoculars, I was surprised by their actions. I knew adult birds fed babies but I had never seen or heard of males feeding females. As beautiful and stately a Blue Jay is, it has an awfully ugly call. It sounds like a crow, which is not hard to understand because it is from the crow family. (There is a children's book called Rainbow Crow. I really enjoy it,as it is an Indian legend of the crow. Certainly, it goes against the whole creation concept-but it all comes together in a neat way. I would suggest you read it to your kids...just let them know it is an Indian folklore.) My least favorite attribute of their is that they are a very skittish bird-and very cautious. If they see me move too quickly in mudroom they will fly off. This is very frustrating to me because I keep trying to get some photos of them! Grrrr....If only I had a telephoto lens!
I much prefer the American Robin in my backyard. Though nothing stands out about their features, their disposition is wonderful. They are not afraid of people, and "Rob" from our backyard, actually sees us and comes for a closer look! I love also, how they find food themselves and only occasionally go for some dessert of bird seed. And I mustn't forget their beautiful song.
Here is a bird QUIZ for you...take it if you dare.
1)The American Robin cocks it's head to the ground as a way of ______________ it's food.
2)An American Robin belongs in the __________ family.
Okay-so it is only two questions...one easy, one more tough. The answers are in the comments section.
I guess that is all for now.
4 comments:
Answers to the Quiz:
1) While it has been thought that the Robin cocks its head to listen for the ground moving for earthworms;in actuality, they are looking for the ground to move. Their eyes are on the side of their head, it must turn to see it's prey.
(That was the easy one...)
2)The American Robin is not a true "robin". It is actually a thrush-misnamed by our founding fathers. It's red breast reminded them of the European Robin-a smaller,dainty bird with a red breast that is not found in N. Amerca.
Another interesting tidbit is that, as all other thrush babies, Robins have spotted breasts as babies but that is replaced when they get their adult plumage.
This is a fun post, and I love the word "thrush." It's fun to repeat it over and over out loud; try it--thrush.
Millie is always disappointed that our robins don't stay still long enough for her to pick them up.
What do we get for getting both answers right? Or wrong?
well, since I posted the answers before I got responses, I couldn't possibly know whether or not you were right or wrong...therefore, the only thing you are rewarded with is the great knowledge of being a smarty-pants: along with a virtual pat on the back....
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