Sunday, April 22, 2012

Neighborhood Birds


Yesterday I spotted the first eastern bluebird in a tree at our neighborhood park. The owls occasionally still talk to each other at night. The chickadees and cardinals communicate each morning. Geese and ducks honk and quack overhead as they go from lake to lake.

For those unfamiliar to the bird world in our state, Adele Porter's latest book - Birds in Our Backyard - is the perfect resource. Bill Marchel's fabulous photographs are highlighted by her rhymed couplets and fact bubbles. Best of all, it is organized by the season. Winter begins the book with owls and ruffed grouse, waxwings and pheasants. In spring, the trumpeter swans return, red-winged blackbirds call, and wrens sing. Birds work hard as parents in the summer; the loon turns its eggs to keep them warm and carries its babies on its back. Finally, in fall, the birds store food and fat sources in preparation for colder weather and migration.

The copy for my neighbor children came with binoculars from Minnesota Historical Press. Even better for bird watching.

1 comment:

  1. this looks like it was such an informative and delightful sharing.

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