Am I Going To Lay An Egg?

Taking advantage of a huge painting bonanza that seems to be going on in our playroom this week, Grace and Mom traced around some of our wooden half eggs of different sizes and then made 2D replicas of a number of bird eggs including: the chickadee, mockingbird, loon and robin. Tomorrow we'll be cutting them out and adding them to paper nests for display. Grace used a number of field guides for reference and did an excellent job of working on matching the colors of the eggs to the field guides. After using a lot of brown and beige, she let out a big sigh and asked when she would get to use her orange, purple and yellow paint on an egg. After wrapping things up, she had free reign over painting and entire page of bright neon eggs.The highlight of our conversation during egg painting (and one that will stay near and dear to my heart):

Mom? Am I going to lay an egg?
No, hun you are not going to lay an egg.
Is my gerbil going to lay an egg?
No. Gerbils are like people. Their eggs stay inside.
Mom?
Yes?
You had two eggs!
Me...and Jack.

To Be Like "Marie"

Degas has taken a bit of a back seat this week as we have been more into our bird studies. However, he is not forgotten. Grace mentioned today that she wanted to be like "Marie". The only Marie I knew was from the Degas children's book...of which I verified. She said she wanted to be like Marie, "The most famous dancer in the world". Ballet lessons here we come! Grace can hardly control her excitement.

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of...

...bird song. As the kids are out on the swing set, and our back door is open, the air is a-buzz with our daily visitors. Our most frequent birds are still the chickadees and tufted titmice. The red finch and sparrows have also dropped by for a bite. My personal favorite are the chickadees who do a fun swooping toward the feeder (as if they were riding an air roller coaster).We have another new visitor who has just popped up today, which may be the same bird Grace was trying to mention to me today. I've never seen him before in this neck of the woods. Just a little guy, with white, black and brown on his head...back to the bird books.

I Heard A Bird Mom!

Grace and Jack have a new sensitivity to bird sounds. They will run in from various rooms in the house, saying, "Mom! I hear a bird!" while the radio is playing loudly or Ken and I are talking. Today I watched from a window as they turned instantly in the direction of a blue jay screeching while they were outside. With interest, they began to creep up the stairs on our lawn to see how close they could get to our neighbor's birch tree (the retreat for the birds between seeding collecting).

Think Big With Feeders

We're learning that the window feeder alone, just doesn't cut it for bird visitors. Having the big wooden feeder on the deck is a better attraction, and then if the feeder is busy, the chickadees and tufted titmice choose the window feeder.

Mystery Bird Solved

After a day of trying to solve the mystery, I'm pretty sure we had the gray bird was a mockingbird. Mystery solved and logged in our Habitat web site. The squirrel population has now picked up from the bird chatter that there is a new seed line in town. Grace and I also had the treat of watching a flock of geese do a low fly over in V-formation. After watching the scene it was off to log in our new bird.

Jack & Bird Identification

Jack has surprised us all with his correct identification of both male AND female cardinals. I can't remember formally teaching him this. It is not unusual for him to say from another room, "Ohp, there is the mommy cardinal!"

Name That Bird

Grace has spotted a new bird! She was taking cover from the rain in our holly tree when Grace was doing her morning chore of cleaning our outside door windows. We had fun watching her eat the holly berries and puff up to stay dry. She was just a few yards away from us and didn't seem to mind us watching her. I just can't figure out what kind of bird she was... and Jack keeps inquiring if I know yet. :) Her gray drab color is making it hard to identify.

Save The Birds! Scare The Cat!

Grace is becoming the "great protector" of our birds. Our next door neighbor's cat has been seen conspiring and creeping up our deck while the birds are around. Mom has even saved a bird or two from the jaws of that cat in previous years, so we know he is capable!!! What once was a friendly cat visitor has now become a new danger and concern for Grace. She has found a new thrill in scaring the tar out of the kitty when he has a mind now to visit.

The Ivory Gull Video Addiction

Jack has become addicted to an online video of a special white bird. He has been asking over and over again to watch it. We have gone over Cornell Lab's Orthinology site at least a few times now, and their favorite part are the videos of birds. Not sure what it is but the Ivory Gull has caught Jack's heart and fancy. View Video

I Spy Edgar Degas

A non-school day, but Grace suggested another game of "I Spy". This time Grace had the joy of picking out the cards and finding the items to spot for us to find. Jack was quick to participate in the fun.

Enter Mother Wren

With a little research we discover that our brown "something-or-other" is a wren. He (she?) is a doll!