Date: 4/10/24 6:53 am From: Sid Stivland <norlastiv...> Subject: [mou-net] Good birds
Yesterday, we had our first actual outside birding day this spring for my 3rd grade Youth Mentor class. This also included debugging all of the Merlin apps on iPads, not a simple task since there are 30 of them (I previously had to call in technical assistance - thanks to Rich Gotz for his expertise). But I digress.
Bird highlights in addition to our 'regulars' were: 1) an enthusiastic Song Sparrow who was either vigorously defending his territory from marauding 3rd graders or simply broadcasting his excellent repertoire, 2) a Kildeer, 3) a small flock of Kinglets, Golden-crowned seen and heard, 4) a very noisy Northern Flicker, 5) a Chickadee building a nest in a hole in a small tree,
Overhead, spotted by the kids: 1) pair of Bald Eagles circling in their elegant aerobatics - courting, playing, other interaction? 2) pair of Turkey Vultures catching thermals, 3) a single flyover Sandhill Crane, croaking along, 4) One Sharpie zipping through - kids ambivalent about birds that eat other birds.
The kids were really into it - they didn't want to go back in. It was probably just spring fever - anything outside has to be better than arithmetic. But I choose to believe it was the birds..
