The Birdman's Blog

Wordless (well almost wordless) Wednesday

2012-01-25T20:31:00.007-05:00

22 inches previously knit +38 inches in the past 48 hours = 1 finished scarf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (although I still need to knit the second pocket and sew it on)

I Learned to Knit!

2012-01-07T22:14:00.001-05:00

When I was younger (toddler age) I remember that I loved yarn. I liked to touch it. There were so many pretty colors and it was so soft and fuzzy. My favorite blankets were all knit or crochet.

I have always loved wearing knitted clothes. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to someday be able to knit something to wear for myself.

I have been trying for years to do it. For close to six years I kept trying. Some of that time I just didn't understand it. I tried and tried, but mostly just ended up with knots. I didn't really have anyone to show me. So I just kept trying.

Then in 2008 we visited our friends in North Carolina and they tried to teach me. I did okay and spent the whole seven hour trip home working on a washcloth. (I ended up frogging it) I finally had the concept in my brain now. The problem was that I couldn't quite get my fingers to do the work. That was frustrating!

I kept trying and kept trying and kept trying. When I would get frustrated or bored I'd stop for a while. Then I'd forget how and have to start over. Getting my fingers to do what my brain was telling them was the hardest part.

I finally got to the point that I could start a real project. I didn't end up finishing that one, but I got further than ever before. That got me even more excited about knitting. It encouraged me to keep trying and never give up.

In April 2011, I got a knitting book (Kids Knitting by Melanie Falick), yarn and some knitting needles. A friend from church and my Mom-mom gave me a bit of help to get that first project going. It was a washcloth which I found yesterday and my mom is going to keep as my first attempt at knitting a washcloth (well, I tried several times before, but none of those were save-able). It is not very good and is full of yarn overs and dropped stitches, and is shaped more like a shirt collar than a washcloth. That doesn't matter much to me. I'm just happy that I finally accomplished my goal!

here is a picture of that first washcloth:

In June 2011 I finally finished a real project. It was a small diamond made from increasing and decreasing in the knit stitch. I'm keeping it, mom can have the other stuff.

I have since learned how to do the purl stitch, and the stockinette stitch. I am trying to do ribbing too, but it is hard. I am currently watching a class on the knit picks website, on how to knit lace. It's pretty neat, but I don't have any lace yarn yet.
(correction, I started this post yesterday, and finished the class today)

In October, I knit a green dishcloth. I used red heart spring green super saver economy yarn(which really isn't dishcloth yarn but that's okay) and used a pattern in a book called kids knit by Sarah Bradberry. It's my first pattern that I've accurately followed. My mom wants to keep it forever. I wanted her to use it, but I changed my mind. It is kind of neat for her to keep it as my first real completed knitting project. I'm pretty proud of it after all those years of work!

here is a picture of it:

(The small black spot in the upper right of it is an accidental yarn over.)

I have many projects all going at once right now. Some of them are:
a scarf for myself. Finally after all these years I'll have something cool to wear that I knit!
(A scarf is the thing that I have always wanted to knit more than anything else I think)

a p... sorry can't post what this is (It is a late Christmas present for my dad and I don't want him to read what it is)

a dish cloth (with cotton yarn this time). My mom has several that her friends have knit for her, but they are all falling apart. I hope the next new one she uses is made by me! (it's red, because red is one of her favorite colors)

and finally, a hat on my new circular needles. My Nana and Grampie gave me circular needles and other knitting stuff for Christmas, I'm really excited about using them.

Also, this yarn is really cool. My brother, Rocklin gave it to me for Christmas. It's called a wonderball. During the Victorian times, it was common for someone to unroll a ball of yarn and re-roll it adding little charms and trinkets as little surprises inside. Since it was mostly girls that knit in those days, it was usually little girly things and as the girl would knit, she would find the little treats. Well, Rocklin did his own version for me. So far I've found some coins-pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters and a few lifesaver candies. I'm not sure what else might be in there, but it's kind of fun!

When I get a bit better, I really hope to knit a sweater for myself. I'm not sure I can do it for this winter. Maybe next year!

I also knit Christmas presents for my siblings:

an owl for Parker
a dog for Aaron
Mag's is not finished yet so I can't post what it is
three bean bags for Rocklin

I added a knitting page with some instructions and pictures so you can learn to knit too!

In closing I would like to also say that whatever you do be it knitting or something else do not ever give up! If I had given up knitting years ago, I would never have learned how. you will never gain anything by giving up! Even if you don't accomplish your goal, keep trying and the trying is the most important thing!

-the birdman-

A Christmas Poem

2011-12-07T19:23:00.002-05:00

A son have we,
born in Bethlehem.
Men and angels worship him,
who came to save us from our sin.

An angel in the sky we see,
we fall down on bended knee.
Others appear and begin to sing,
"A child is born who is the King."

We are wisemen three,
bringing gifts to the king.
We followed a star very far,
and finally have arrived.

Another haiku

2011-10-06T17:23:00.004-05:00

Today I wrote another haiku. It is about Japan, and haiku's. Here it is:

Japan is the land,

Where haiku's were created.

They are fun to write.

A Haiku for you

2011-10-05T10:18:00.004-05:00

I love poetry.
Recently I have written several haiku's.
I wrote some of them before I knew all the rules of writing haiku's though. last night I wrote my first real haiku.

Here it is:

In the countryside,

a bluebird sings on a fence.

He flies far away.

Bird of the week: Magnificent Frigatebird

2011-08-30T17:40:00.005-05:00

We started the new school year yesterday, and I am starting bird of the week again. This week is the Magnificent Frigatebird. These birds are sometimes called "bird pirates" because they will steal fish from other birds (such as gulls and terns). They are big black birds. the males have bright red patches on their throat, which they can inflate like balloons. Here are some websites with more information about these birds

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Magnificent_Frigatebird/id

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/398/_/Magnificent_Frigatebird.aspx

my life list...

2011-07-28T09:12:00.011-05:00

Ever since I joined Ebird 3 years ago, I have been trying to get to 600 birds. This is something that requires a lot of travelling, and sometimes even traveling around the world! there is only a few species over 600 that live in the U.S.A. some of these are very rare and nearly impossible to find. in the first year that I kept a life list, I saw 113 species. Now, two years later, I have finally made it to 192 species! Just nine species left until 200! I have seen almost every species that lives here except for a few Warblers and the Brant (a type of goose). Just 408 species to go to 600!
Here are the 192 species that I have seen:

Greater white-fronted goose
snow goose
ross's goose
canada goose
mute swan
tundra swan
wood duck
gadwall
american wigeon
american black duck
mallard
northern pintail
canvasback
greater scaup
lesser scaup
common eider
surf scoter
black scoter
long-tailed duck
bufflehead
common goldeneye
common merganser
ruddy duck
northern bobwhite
ring-necked pheasant
wild turkey
red-throated loon
common loon
horned grebe
northern gannet
double-crested cormorant
great cormorant
anhinga
least bittern
great blue heron
great egret
snowy egret
little blue heron
tricolored heron
cattle egret
green heron
black-crowned night heron
yellow-crowned night heron
glossy ibis
turkey vulture
black vulture
osprey
bald eagle
northern harrier
sharp-shinned hawk
coopers hawk
red-shouldered hawk
broad-tailed hawk
red-tailed hawk
golden eagle
american kestrel
merlin
peregrine falcon
clapper rail
virginia rail
common moorhen
black-bellied plover
american-golden plover
semipalmated plover
piping plover
killdeer
american oystercatcher
black-necked stilt
american avocet
spotted sandpiper
greater yellowlegs
willet
lesser yellowlegs
wood sandpiper
ruddy turnstone
red knot
sanderling
semipalmated sandpiper
western sandpiper
least sandpiper
pectoral sandpiper
purple sandpiper
dunlin
stilt sandpiper
short-billed dowitcher
long-billed dowitcher
laughing gull
ring-billed gull
herring gull
lesser black-baked gull
greater black backed gull
least tern
common tern
caspian tern
forster's tern
black skimmer
parasitic jaeger
rock dove
mourning dove
barn owl
eastern-screech owl
great horned owl
northern saw-whet owl
chimney swift
ruby-throated hummingbird
belted kingfisher
redheaded woodpecker
red-bellied woodpecker
yellow-bellied sapsucker
downy woodpecker
hairy woodpecker
northern flicker
pileated woodpecker
olive-sided flycatcher
eastern wood pewee
eastern pheobe
great-crested kinfisher
eastern kingbird
white-eyed vireo
red-eyed vireo
bluejay
american crow
fish crow
common raven
horned lark
northern rough winged swallow
purple martin
tree swallow
bank swallow
barn swallow
cliff swallow
carolina chickadee
black capped chickadee
tufted titmouse
red breasted nuthatch
white breasted nuthatch
brown-headed nuthatch
brown creeper
carolina wren
house wren
marsh wren
blue-gray gnatcatcher
golden-crowned kinglet
ruby-crowned kinglet
eastern bluebird
hermit thrush
wood thrush
american robin
gray catbird
northern mockingbird
brown thrasher
european starling
cedar waxwing
northern parula
yellow warbler
magnolia warbler
yellow-rumped warbler
pine warbler
ovenbird
common yellowthroat
hooded warbler
eastern towhee
chipping sparrow
savannah sparrow
seaside sparrow
song sparrow
lincolns sparrow
swamp sparrow
white-throated sparrow
white-crowned sparrow
dark eyed junco
summer tanager
scarlet tanager
northern cardinal
rose breasted grosbeak
blue grosbeak
indigo bunting
bobolink
red-winged blackbird
eastern meadowlark
rusty blackbird
common grackle
boat-tailed grackle
brown-headed cowbird
orchard oriole
purple finch
house finch
pine siskin
american goldfinch
evening grosbeak
house sparrow
zebra finch

the wood sandpiper and the zebra finch are not native to north america. the wood sandpiper is native to asia and has only been seen on the east coast a few times. the time I saw one in 2008, in 1990, and before that, 1907. the zebra finch is native to australia and it is the kind of bird that Henry and Hannah were. the one that I saw was probably somones pet that had escaped.

the great backyard bird count 2011!

2011-02-10T16:22:00.010-05:00

The Great backyard bird count starts next Friday! If you want to participate go to this website. there is a photo contest and other fun things that you can do. Have fun!

I've enjoyed participating in the great backyard bird count for the past three years and am excited about it again this year!

Here are a couple of other good websites to help you learn about birds and what species you might see in your yard this year.

www.whatbird.com

www.allaboutbirds.org

Happy Birding!

-the birdman-

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-03T16:06:00.003-05:00

Great Egret at Bombay hook

you can see some other wordless wednesday posts, even some from other birders by clicking here

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-27T08:31:00.003-05:00

A teaser for an upcoming blog post. Can you figure out what this is?

what we've been doing this year

2010-10-26T09:05:00.001-05:00

(Just letting you know ahead of time this is going to be a loooooooooong post because I haven't done one since March). Here is what we've been doing...

March

I won third place in the junior duck stamp competition for my drawing of a Tundra swan (I will post pictures at a later time). Rock and Mag were going to enter but decided against it, so I was the only one.

April

For an April fool's joke, I let the dogs out in the back yard and said "Mommy, the dog's are out!"
She looked out the window and said "well don't just stand there telling me, go chase them!". She thought that they had got out the front door and were running away! It was pretty funny.

May
May 21st was Parker's fourth birthday (did I really start this blog when he was 2 months old?) on the 22nd we saw three of our cousins for the first time ever. We had fun riding bikes, playing and jumping on the trampoline with them.

June
I started tennis lessons in May and finished in June, that was fun! Also, we three bigger kids did a week long drama camp. We practiced all week and then did a show for all the parents at the end of the week. We had a great time! It was sort of a hodge podge of songs from various musicals/movies and a few skits including Robinhood and a great version of Abbott and Castello's "Who's on first?". I even got to sing a solo, "Tomorrow" from the musical Annie.

July
On the 4th of july we had a church picnic and then went to see the fireworks. Then on the 5th of July we got to see some more fireworks a day late, as another town did them on the 5th. A few weeks later was the state fair and I won 4 ribbons. I got 3 Honorable mentions for a crayon human head drawing, painted stone or brick and something else that I can't remember. I got 2nd place for a chalk drawing.

August
My birthday was on the third so I am eleven now! (Rock started football on the second)
Then Mags birthday was on the 26Th and those are about the only exciting things that happened this month. It was really busy with football practices and games.

September
Daddy took off from work the whole labor day week and that Friday we went to Asseteague, Chincoteage, and Wallops islands. We went to Wallops Island first and enjoyed the nasa museum there. Then we climbed to the top of the lighthouse at Assateague (I was the first one to the top). Then drove to the nature center and saw lots of neat things inside. We drove around and saw some wild ponies then we were going to go see the stuffed misty of Chincoteage but found out that they close on labor day weekend. Instead we went to Tom's cove where I saw my first tricolored heron (actually we saw two) and we each got a post card and something else (I got a bird memory game). There were several other birders with a spotting scope set up at Toms cove. I had fun birdwatching with them for a little bit. We got a copy of the book Stormy misty's foal and then headed to leave. As we were walking to the suburban we saw two great egrets sitting in a tree right behind where we were parked! I've never gotten that close to them before.

October:
Aarons birthday was the 13th. Then this weekend me and daddy went to Pennsylvania for a father/son getaway. It was fun!

We went to a Saw whet owl banding on Saturday (I'll blog more about that soon). On Sunday, we went to hawk mountain to hike and bird watch. I saw three new birds (common raven, purple finch, red-shouldered hawk) and several others I haven't seen for a long time (tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, chickadee, northern harrier, downy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker). We had a great time, but it was a lot of walking and climbing.

Today is rocks birthday...he's ten now!

Thats pretty much everything exciting that has happened so far this year.

-the birdman-

Happy (belated) birthday James Madison and Andrew Jackson

2010-03-17T11:25:00.009-05:00

and Happy (upcoming) birthday to Grover Cleveland and John Tyler.

Andrew Jackson was our 7th president. His birthday was Monday, March 15th.

James Madison was our 4th president. His birthday was yesterday, March 16th.

Grover Cleveland was our 22nd and our 24th president. His birthday is tomorrow, March 18th.

John Tyler was our 10th president. His birthday is March 29th.

Here is a link that has coloring pages for all of the presidents.

I really like learning about Presidents. There are lots of neat facts you can find, like that Grover Cleveland was president twice. Did you know that already? I did because I learned that years ago.

How about that Ronald Reagan was an actor, did you know that?

Did you know that Thomas Jefferson had a pet mockingbird. When I was younger, I thought he broke the law. It is against the law to keep songbirds for pets. Back then, I didn't understand that he had one before that was a law.

a funny little poem I made up...

2010-03-15T09:45:00.002-05:00

There once was a boy named Jim.

Who lived in a town called Piddle-o-pim.

All of the people were after him.

One day they caught him and pulled on each limb,

until there were two of him.

Now if you go to Piddle-o-pim, you will see the two of Jim.

Junior Duck Stamp Contest

2010-03-15T08:06:00.006-05:00

I entered the Junior Duck Stamp competition this year and I drew a Tundra swan. Rock and Mag were going to enter too but then they decided not to this time around. It's too late for you to do it this year, the deadline is today. Here is a link, maybe you can enter next year. Sorry I didn't post this earlier.

-the Birdman-

our special white 'soda'

2010-02-24T18:33:00.008-05:00

On the 15Th we made our own 'soda' called fizzy white water, it was kind of yucky because it had baking soda and baking powder in it. Next time we will leave out the baking powder, here is the recipe:

1 teaspoon baking powder (optional)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup granulated sugar

about a cup of water

for more information on this recipe go to this post on mommy's blog.

bird of the week: Northern Cardinal

2010-02-11T20:11:00.000-05:00

The Northern Cardinal is one of the most common Songbirds in North America and lives in almost every state. They are the state bird for Illinois,Indiana,Kentucky, North Carolina,Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. They are a favorite at our house and even my littlest brothers can identify them. We all get excited to see them in our yard.

Here is some info on them...

nesting female and singing male video

all about birds info

birding.com

Here are a couple of coloring pages...
Northern Cardinal coloring page and info from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Kidszone Cardinal page with a few fun facts

Here are a couple of pictures of a cardinal that was in our yard last week.

my 2010 booklist...

2010-02-02T10:21:00.005-05:00

Here are the books I want to read for 2010 (not including books mom assigns for science and history or the bird books,etc. that I enjoy. Some of these are picture books and easy readers, but I still want to read them.)

Once On A Time by A. A. Milne
Pleasant Field Mouse Storybook by Jan Wahl
Real Mother Goose illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright
Ruth Ainsworth Book by Ruth Ainsworth
Stories Around the Year by Thornton W. Burgess
Tom Thumb & Other Stories by L. Leslie Brooke
Amish Christmas by Richard Ammon
Christmas in the Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
First Christmas by Robbie Trent
First Christmas by Tomie de Paola
Grumpy Shepherd by Paddie Devon
Mary, Did You Know? by Mark Lowry
Modestita’s Gift, El Regalo de Modestita by Inez Torres Davis
Peter Spier’s Christmas by Peter Spier
Rembrandt: The Christmas Story published by Thomas Nelson
Silent Night by Susan Jeffers
Story of Christmas: Words from the Gospels of Matthew & Luke by Jane Ray
Who Is Coming to Our House by Joseph Slate
Always Room For One More by Sorche Nic Leodhas
Amos and Boris and others by William Steig
And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street! by Dr. Seuss
Angus and the Ducks by Marjorie Flack
Animals of Farmer Jones & other Little Golden Books illus. by Richard Scarry
Apple Pie by Kate Greenaway
Apricot ABC by Miska Miles
Baby Farm Animals & other Little Golden Books illus. by Garth Williams
Bambi’s Children by Felix Salten
Beetle Bush by Beverly Keller
Big Book of Brambly Hedge and others by Jill Barklem
Big Snow by Berta Hader
Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward
Biggest House in the World and others by Leo Lionni
Christine's Picture Book by Hans Christian Anderson
Church Mouse and others by Graham Oakley
Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen by Felicite LeFevre
Crane Maiden by Miyoko Matsutani
Cross Country Cat by Mary Calhoun
Dandelion Hill by Clyde Robert Bulla
Deer at the Brook and others by Jim Arnosky
Doctor Dan the Bandadge Man by Helen Gaspard, ill. by Corinne Malverne
Dogger by Shirley Hughes
Edward Lear Alphabet by Edward Lear, illustrated by Carol Newsom
Emily by Michael Bedard
Emperor’s New Clothes and others by Hans Christian Anderson
Empty Pot by Demi
Fairy Caravan by Beatrix Potter
Faster Sooner Hound by Ama Bontemps
Fiona's Flea by Beverly Keller
Five Hundred Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss
Flip by Wesley Dennis
Frog Band and the Onion Seller by Jim Smith
Frog, Frog, Frog by Robert Welber
Gift for Grandpa by Angela Hunt
Gift for Tia Rosa by Karen Taha
Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
Hilda the Hen Who Wouldn't Give Up by Jill Tomlinson
Hole is to Dig by Ruth Krauss
House that Jack Built by Antonio Frasconi
I Saw the Sea Come In by Alvin Tresselt
In the Forest and others by Marie Hall Ets
James & the Rain by Karla Kuskin
Johnny Crow’s Garden by L. Leslie Brooke
King at the Door by Cole Brock
Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky
Lillie at Ballet by Rachel Isadora
Little Old Mrs. Pepperpot and others by Alf Proysen
Little Red Hen and others by Paul Galdone
Little Toot by Hardie Gramatky
Luckiest One of All by Bill Peet
Marshmallow by Clare T. Newberry
May I Bring a Friend? by Beatrice S. De Regniers
Midnight Adventures of Kelly, Dot, and Esmerelda by John S. Goodall
Mr. Brown and Mr. Gray by William Wondriska
My Island Grandma by Kathryn Lasky
My Little Golden Book About God & others illustrated by Eloise Wilkin
My Mother is the Most Beautiful Woman in the World by Becky Reyher
N. C. Wyeth's Pilgrims by N. C. Wyeth and Robert San Souci
Noah's Ark by Peter Spier
Noah's Ark: Words from the Book of Genesis by Jane Ray
Old Rosie, the Horse Nobody Understood by Lilian Moore & Leone Adelson
On Mother’s Lap by Ann Herbert Scott
Paper Crane by Molly Bang
Pelle’s New Suit by Elsa Beskow
Penny Wise - Fun Foolish by Judy Delton
Peter Spier's Rain and others by Peter Spier
Petunia by Roger Duvoisin and other Petunia stories
Picture Books by Randolph Caldecott published by Frederick Warne
Pimm’s Place by Beverly Keller
Rain, Rain Rivers by Uri Shulevitz
Rome Antics by David Macaulay
Shy Little Kitten by Cathleen Schurr, illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren
Sir Francis Drake: His Daring Deeds by Roy Gerrard
Smartest Bear and His Brother Oliver by Alice Bach
Snuggle Bunny by Nancy Jewell
St. Francis and the Friendly Beasts by Margaret Hodges
Stone Soup and others by Marcia Brown
Story of the Creation: Words from Genesis by Jane Ray
Three Little Horses by Piet Worm
Three Little Kittens by Paul Galdone
Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
Toad for Tuesday by Russell Erickson
Two Roman Mice by Horace, retold by Marilynne K. Roach
Uncle Wiggly Book by Howard R. Garis
Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Veronica by Roger Duvoisin
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Crash! Bang! Boom! by Peter Spier
Do You Know What I Know? by Helen Borten
Fire Cat by Esther Holden Averill
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and others in the series by Maj Lindman
Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus
Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel
Snipp, Snapp, and Snurr by Maj Lindman
Stop That Ball! by Mike McClintock
Amelia Bedelia and others by Peggy Parish
Animals Do the Strangest Things and others by Leonora Hornblow
Bedtime for Frances and other Frances books by Russell Hoban
Bravest Dog Ever by Natalie Standiford
George and Martha by James Marshall
George Washington’s Mother by Jean Fritz
Granny and the Desperadoes by Peggy Parish
Greg's Microscope and other Science I Can Read books by Millicent Selsam
Horse in Harry's Room and others by Syd Hoff
Night Noises and Other Mole & Troll Stories by Tony Johnston
One Bad Thing About Father by F. N. Monjo
Trojan Horse, or How the Greeks Won the War by Emily Little
Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire
Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse by Ursula Moray Williams
Adventures of Tom Bombadil by J. R. R. Tolkein
Alligator Case and others by William Pene du Bois
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? by Jean Fritz
Angry Giant by Oscar Wilde
Apple & the Arrow by Mary Marsh Buff
Bard of Avon: the Story of William Shakespeare by Diane Stanley
Benjamin Franklin by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
Benjamin West and his Cat Grimlakin by Marguerite Henry
Betsy & Billy and others by Carolyn Haywood
Billy & Blaze and others by C. W. Anderson
Book of Cowboys by Holling C. Holling
Book of Indians by Holling C. Holling
Bright April by Marguerite de Angeli
Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? by Jean Fritz
Capyboppy by Bill Peet
Castle by David Macauley
Chalk Box Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla
Charles Dickens: the Man Who Had Great Expectations by Diane Stanley
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
City by David Macaulay
Cleopatra by Diane Stanley
Coll and His White Pig by Lloyd Alexander
Columbus by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
d'Aulaire's Norse Gods & Giants by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
Eric the Red & Leif the Lucky by Barbara Schiller
Fairy Doll by Rumer Godden
Finn Family Moomintroll and others by Tove Jansson
George Washington by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
Good Queen Bess by Diane Stanley
Grain of Rice by Helena Clare Pittman
Happy Hollisters and others by Jerry West
Happy Orpheline and others by Natalie Savage Carlson
Henner's Lydia by Marguerite de Angeli
I, Columbus and others by Peter & Connie Roop
In Search of Troy by Piero Ventura
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Kindle of Kittens by Rumer Godden
Least of All by Carol Purdy
Leave Horatio Alone by Eleanor Clymer
Leif the Lucky by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
Leonardo da Vinci by Diane Stanley
Marco Moonlight by Clyde Robert Bulla
Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds
Michelangelo's World by Piero Ventura
Mouse House by Rumer Godden
Nothing is Impossible, The Story of Beatrix Potter by Dorothy Aldis
Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle by Rumer Godden
Ordinary Princess by Mary Margaret Kaye
Pagoo by Holling C. Holling
Peter the Great by Diane Stanley
Pilgrims of Plimoth by Marcia Sewall
Puppy Summer by Meindert de Jong
Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame
Rocking Horse Secret by Rumer Godden
Seabird by Holling C. Holling
Shhhh … We're Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz
Ship by David Macaulay
Shoeshine Girl by Clyde Robert Bulla
Skippack School by Marguerite de Angeli
St. Philip of the Joyous Heart by Francis X. Connolly
Tale of Jolly Robin and others by Arthur Scott Baily
They Were Strong & Good by Robert Lawson
Three Dollar Mule by Clyde Robert Bulla
Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness
Tree in the Trail by Holling C. Holling
Truthful Harp by Lloyd Alexander
Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop
Twenty Elephant Restaurant by Russell Hoban
Where do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus? by Jean Fritz
Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? by Jean Fritz
Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams? by Jean Fritz
Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? by Jean Fritz
Beowulf, the Warrior by Ian Serraillier
Best-Loved Poems of the American People selected by Hazel Felleman
Blue Fairy Book and others by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford
Book of Americans by Rosemary & Stephen V. Benet
Cautionary Tales for Children by Hilaire Belloc
Child’s History of England by Charles Dickens
Child’s Geography of the World by V. M. Hillyer
Child’s History of Art by V. M. Hillyer
Child’s History of the World by V. M. Hillyer
Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson
Favorite Poems Old and New by Helen Ferris
Hero Tales by Dave and Neta Jackson
Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Walter Crane RA
John Gilpin’s Ride by William Cowper
Little Bookroom by Eleanor Farjeon
LuLu’s Library and other short story anthologies by Louisa May Alcott
Moral Compass by William Bennett
Myths of the World by Padraic Colum
Perrault’s Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault
Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning, illustrated by Kate Greenaway
Poems of Thomas Bailey Aldrich and others by Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Sketch Book by Washington Irving
Stories of Great Americans by Edward Eggleston
Story of the Greeks and others by H. A. Guerber
Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Treasury of Children’s Literature by Armand Eisen
Wonder Book by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Wonder Clock by Howard Pyle
Bells of Christmas by Virginia Hamilton
Christmas Stories of George MacDonald by George MacDonald
Good King Wenceslas by John Mason Neale, illus. by Christopher Manson
Good King Wenceslas illustrated by John Wallner
Littlejim's Gift, An Appalachian Christmas Story by Gloria Houston
On That Night by Elizabeth Yates
Oxford Illustrated Dickens’ Christmas Books by Charles Dickens
Patricia St. John Christmas Book by Patricia St. John
Rembrandt: The Christmas Story published by Thomas Nelson
Adventures of Mabel by Harry Thurston Peck
Adventures of Tintin by Herge
Adventures of Ulysses by Charles Lamb
Aeneid for Boys and Girls by Alfred J. Church
Aldo Applesauce by Johanna Hurwitz
Alexander the Great by John Gunther
Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
All Sail Set and others by Armstrong Sperry
America's Paul Revere by Esther Forbes
Arabian Nights translated by Edward Lane
Archimedes & the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick
Aristotle, Dean of Early Science by Glanville Downey & other Immortals of Science biographies
At the Back of the North Wind and others by George MacDonald
Augustus Caesar's World by Genevieve Foster
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit
Beauty and the Beast by Charles Lamb
Behind Rebel Lines by Seymour V. Reit
Ben and Me by Robert Lawson
Bevis by Richard Jefferies
Big Day For Scepters by Stephen Krensky
Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard
Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck
Birth of Rome by Laura Orvieto
Black Stallion and others by Walter Farley
Blue Willow by Doris Gates
Book of Three and others by Lloyd Alexander
Borrowers and others by Mary Norton
Boy Apprenticed to an Enchanter by Padriac Colum
Boy's Life of Edison by William Meadowcroft
Brady by Jean Fritz
Bright April by Marguerite de Angeli
Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry
Buffalo Knife by William O. Steele
By Pike and Dike: a Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic by G. A. Henty
Calico Bush by Rachel Field
Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
Call of the Wild by Jack London
Canterbury Tales retold by G. McCaughrean
Canyon Winter by Walt Morey
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
Cattle Brands by Andy Adams
Charlemagne and the Twelve Peers of France by Alfred J. Church
Children of Odin by Padraic Colum
Children's Homer by Padraic Colum
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming
Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
Daniel Boone and other biographies by James Daugherty
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
Destination Moon by James Irwin
Dobry by Monica Shannon
Doctor's Boy by Karin Anckarsvard
Dog on Barkham Street by Mary Stoltz
Dragon Slayer by Rosemary Sutcliff
Dvora's Journey by Marge Blaine
Eagle of the Ninth and other historical fiction by Rosemary Sutcliff
Early Thunder and others by Jean Fritz
Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden
Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
Far Frontier by William O. Steele
Five Children & It by Edith Nesbit
For the Temple: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem & others by G. A. Henty
Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright
Freedom to Dream by Cynthia Blair
From Anna by Jean Little
Further Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlof
Gathering of Days by Joan Blos
Gentle Ben by Walt Morey
George Washington's World and other histories by Genevieve Foster
God Made Them Great by John Tallach
Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Golden Key by George MacDonald
Good Master by Kate Seredy
Grandfather's Chair by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Great Brain and others by John Fitzgerald
Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
Guns for General Washington by Seymour Reit
Hakon of Rogen's Saga and others by Erik Christian Haugaard
Hannah by Gloria Whelan
Henry Reed, Inc. by Keith Robertson
Heroes of Asgard by A. & E. Keary
Home of the Sailor by Rumer Godden
Huguenot Garden: A Children's Story of Faith by Douglas Jones
Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth de Trevino
Iliad for Boys and Girls by Alfred J. Church
In Freedom's Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce by G. A. Henty
Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
Ink on His Fingers & other hero tales of the Reformation by Louise Vernon
John Treegate's Musket and others in the series by Leonard Wibberley
Journey to America by Sonia Levitin
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
Jungle Doctor and others by Paul White
Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry
Kateri Tekakwitha: Mohawk Maid by Evelyn Brown
Kildee House by Rutherford George Montgomery
King of the Golden River by John Ruskin
King Without a Shadow by R. C. Sproul
Lad: a Dog and others by Albert Payson Terhune
Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daugherty
Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight
Legend of the Cid by Robert Convoy Goldston
Little Fishes by Erik Christian Haugaard
Little Lame Prince by Dinah Maria Mulock
Little Lord Flauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Log of a Cowboy by Andy Adams
Lone Cowboy by Will James
Lone Journey by Jeanette Eaton
Lost Princess by George MacDonald
Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsey
Magic Summer by Noel Streatfeild
Magical Melons by Carol Brink
Many Moons by James Thurber
Mary Poppins and others by Pamela L. Travers
Master Cornhill by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Master Skylark by John Bennett
Medal of Honor Heroes by Colonel Red Reeder
Mine for Keeps by Jean Little
Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden
Moth Manor by Martha Bacon
Mr. Revere and I by Robert Lawson
Mr. Small and others by Lois Lenski
Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and others by Betty MacDonald
My Daniel by Pam Conrad
My Indian Boyhood by Luther Standing Bear
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Myths of the World by Padraic Colum
National Velvet by Enid Begnold
Niko, Sculptor's Apprentice by Isabelle Lawrence
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Odysseus the Wanderer by Aubrey De Selincourt
Odyssey for Boys and Girls by Alfred J. Church
Old Bones The Wonder Horse by Mildred Mastin Pace
Outlet by Andy Adams
Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat
Paul Bunyan and His Blue Ox by Wallace Wadsworth
Paul Bunyan by James Stevens
Peppermints in the Parlor by Barbara Wallace
Perilous Road by William O. Steele
Peter Pan by James Barrie
Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Phoenix and the Carpet by Edith Nesbit
Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (children's version)
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Pippi Longstocking and others by Astrid Lindgren
Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter
Prairie Boy's Summer by William Kurelek
Prairie Boy's Winter by William Kurelek
Prairie School by Lois Lenski
Princess and Curdie by George McDonald
Princess and the Goblin by George McDonald
Problem With Pulcifer by Florence Parry Heide
Proud Taste for Scarlet & Miniver by E. L. Konigsburg
Pushcart War by Jean Merrill
Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
Rainbow Garden by Patricia St. John
Rascal by Sterling North
Rescuers series by Margery Sharp
Return to Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
Ride the West Wind by Barbara Chamberlain
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer
Secret at Pheasant Cottage by Patricia St. John
Seven Years From Home by Rose Blue
Seventeenth Swap by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Shadrack by Meindert de Jong
Silver Chief: Dog of the North and others by Jack O'Brien
Singing Tree by Kate Seredy
Smoky the Cowhorse by Will James
Sounder by William Armstrong
Spiderweb for Two by Elizabeth Enright
Star of Light by Patricia St. John
Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden
Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow by Allen French
Striped Ships by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Swallows & Amazons and others by Arthur Ransome
Sword and the Sundial by Phyllis Prokop
Swords of the Vikings by Julia Davis Adams
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles & Mary Lamb
Tales from the Arabian Nights by H. J. Dawood
Tales of the Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang
Tales of Troy and Greece by Andrew Lang
Tales of Uncle Remus retold by Julius Lester
Tanglewood Secrets by Patricia St. John
Thee, Hannah by Marguerite de Angeli
Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright
They Shall Be Mine by John Tallach
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
This Dear Bought Land by Jean Lee Latham
Three Children and Shakespeare by Anne Terry White
Three Go Searching by Patricia St. John
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
Time at the Top by Edward Ormondroyd
To Catch a Golden Ring by Marilyn Donahue
Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John
Trial by Poison and other Trailblazer books by Dave and Neta Jackson
Turn Homeward, Hannalee by Patricia Beatty
Twenty One Balloons by William Pene DuBois
Twice Freed by Patricia St. John
Uncle Remus and others by Joel Chandler Harris
Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Viking Tales by Jeannie Hall
Vinegar Boy by Alberta Hawse
Voyage to Freedom by David Gay
Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Wharton & the Castaways by Russell Erickson
What Katy Did and others by Susan Coolidge
Where the River Begins by Patricia St. John
White Stag by Kate Seredy
Why the Chisholm Trail Forks by Andy Adams
Winged Watchman and others by Hilda Van Stockum
Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlof
Wonderful Wizard of Oz and others by Frank Baum
Yankee Doodle's Cousins by Anne Malcomson
Year of the Black Pony and others by Walt Morey
Young Carthaginian, A Story of the Times of Hannibal by G. A. Henty
Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Boy's King Arthur by Sidney Lanier
Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling
Complete Peterkin Papers by Lucretia Hale
Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens
Freckles by Gene Statton Porter
Girl of the Limberlost and others by Gene Statton Porter
Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge
Heidi by Joanna Spyri
Heroes by Charles Kingsley
Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates and others by Howard Pyle
Indispensible Information for Infants by Owen Wister
Jim Davis by John Masefield
Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling RA
Kidnapped and others by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Wyeth
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
Last of the Mohicans and others by James Fenimore Cooper
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
Little Women and others by Louisa May Alcott
Main-Travelled Roads and others by Hamlin Garland
Masterman Ready by Frederick Marryat
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
Mr. Midshipman Easy by Frederick Marryat
Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
Penrod and others by Booth Tarkington
Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Wyeth
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and others by Jules Verne
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Water Babies by Charles Kingsley RA
Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley
Willis the Pilot by Johann Wyss

-the birdman-

We wish you a merry (belated) Christmas!...

2009-12-28T09:28:00.003-05:00

...And a happy new year!

Merry Christmas! I hope you had fun and remembered that jesus is the real meaning of christmas (Not getting presents or putting up the christmas tree).

Bentley's first real snow!!

2009-12-20T07:59:00.004-05:00

Friday night at 11:00 It started snowing and sticking, by the time we got home from shopping (at midnight) it was already about 2 inches deep. Now, (sunday morning)it is about 15-20 inches deep I hope we can get a sled and go sledding soon (ours broke in march)

-the birdman-

bentley's first snow ! ! !

2009-12-07T08:04:00.003-05:00

It snowed saturday night and sunday morning, so bentley saw her first snow! Too bad it did'nt stick though :>( (except to the cars) I hope we have more snow soon!

-the birdman-

Bird of the week: Dark-eyed junco

2009-11-09T09:12:00.008-05:00

The Dark-eyed juncos are back! On saturday morning, I saw 2 flickers so I went outside and started watching them with my binoculars. Then they flew to the neighbors yard so I walked over to the fence to get as close to them as I could. when I got over to the fence I saw a little gray and white bird in a tree so I focused my binoculars on it and saw that it was a junco. Here is some information on Dark-eyed juncos:

http://www.birding.com/topbirds/8888jnco.asp

by the way...

2009-11-02T12:25:00.003-05:00

In the project feederwatch post,I said it started nov 1st, really it starts nov 14th sorry for the wrong info.

-the birdman-

NaNoWriMo

2009-11-02T12:15:00.007-05:00

It's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and I am determined to writing another book! (this time I am going to finish it!) I think I can write 6000 words in a month(that's what I set as my goal). You can find out more about NaNoWriMo by checking out this website if you are adult or this one if you are a kid. Let me know if you sign up! It'll be great fun, so go for it!

-the birdman-

happy birthday rock!

2009-10-26T08:51:00.004-05:00

Happy ninth birthday Rock! I can't belive you're nine already! I hope this is your best birthday ever. Love,
Jay

Pileated woodpecker at last!

2009-10-19T10:04:00.006-05:00

Last Friday, I saw my first Pileated woodpecker in one of the most unlikely spots to find one, our yard! When I took Bently out I heard it, but thought it was a Flicker (their calls are very similar.) Then I saw it fly away and saw that it was black with white spots on its wings, so I came in the house and put all of the information I could on whatbird. It came up as Pileated woodpecker. So now I have finally seen one!

-the birdman-

project feederwatch...

2009-10-19T06:48:00.006-05:00

Project feederwatch starts in two weeks! I can't believe almost a whole year has gone by already! So if you are going to sign up, better do it soon. (by the way you can sign up late). I did it last year and it was lots of fun. (actually I didnt sign up until January and didnt get my stuff until Febuary so it was really this year. It starts November first). They also have lots of neat stuff like pictures from previous feederwatch seasons on their website. Also there are several bird counts coming up soon such as the christmas bird count,great backyard bird count and the delaware bird-a-thon (if you live in Delaware or are in Delaware then).

-the birdman-

wordless wednesday

2009-10-12T06:37:00.005-05:00

Dogs Dogs Dogs...

2009-10-12T06:23:00.006-05:00

Or maybe I should cut the title down to two dogs, meet our new puppy Bentley! She is a mixed breed with a basset hound and a Swiss entlebucher mountain dog. the picture at the top of that link does'nt look exactly like her (she has freckles) but it does look similar to her. Here is a picture of her...

our trip to North Carolina...

2009-08-25T13:28:00.011-05:00

Day 1: A warm welcome (by bees)

In our family, when we turn ten, we get to pick a trip. Since I turned ten this year I decided to go to Cape May and spend the day birding. A few days after I had decided to go to Cape May, I changed my mind. I thought going to go visit the Tribe was a better idea. On Friday (the 14Th) we were finally on our way. At about 7 pm (and 8 hours later), we pulled into their driveway and started playing in the front yard. A few minutes later, we hear Aaron screaming "I have a bee on me". Our wonderful mutt a.k.a. Rafferty had stepped into a ground bees nest :(. A minute later Rock gets stung on his neck (and also three times on his knee although he didn't notice it then. sigh). Then Parker starts screaming, (ugh)a bee had stung him on the shoulder (through his shirt!). Mommy ended up being stung by the bee on Aaron as she tried to get it off of him. Thankfully, at this point we went in the house so me and Mag escaped being stung. The daddies then rushed to the store for wonderful benedryl cream (and of course some wasp and bee killer spray).

day 2: The bird park

The next day, (Saturday) we went to sylvan heights waterfowl park they had lots of neat birds there such as Golden pheasants,Mountain quail,Common eiders and even Trumpeter swans! we had a very good time there and hopefully we will go again next time we go to North Carolina. We spent the rest of Saturday playing and just having a good time together.

day 3: Church and goodbye

on Sunday, we had church and sang some songs such as "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" and "In the garden". After that, we went outside for a little bit while mommy packed up. Then came in to get ready after we had done our goodbyes, we had an emergency (at least, it was a little bit of an emergency for Parker) green white (Parker's webkinz frog) was missing. We searched the whole house for him, especially the room we were staying in and I finally found him under the couch and brought him back to Parker. (to bad it didn't take longer to find him so we could have stayed longer.)

We had a great, but short visit and I really hope we can see the Tribe again soon!

-the birdman-

Bob-white/144 species on my life list...

2009-06-02T09:55:00.004-05:00

This morning I was outside filling my bird feeders. I had just finished putting the bird seed away, and was getting ready to come back in the house when I thought I heard a Bobwhite. A lot of other birds were singing at the same time, so I wasn't sure. I decided to try calling so i did the Bobwhite call and I heard it again. This time i was sure it was a Bobwhite. Since I had never seen or heard a bobwhite before (except in captivity) this is a new species for me, when i add it to my life list, I will have seen 144 species since last may! ;)

-the birdman-

a new bird website...

2009-04-28T10:04:00.005-05:00

Here is a new bird website that I found the other day. It has information,pictures, and movies of birds and how to attract them.

-the birdman-

a new poem...

2009-04-27T11:36:00.003-05:00

I just wrote a new poem last night, here it is...

The Rain
The rain is raining all around.
It rains on trees and on the ground.
The rain is raining all around.
It rains on me and on my hound.
The rain is raining all around
and it makes a
drip
drop
sound.

-the birdman-

Happy Birthday Nana!

2009-04-25T21:00:00.000-05:00

bird of the week... pileated woodpecker

2009-04-20T09:17:00.004-05:00

The Pileated Woodpecker (this is the kind of woodpecker my blog woodpeckers are) is one of the biggest woodpeckers in the USA. The very endangered Ivory-Billed woodpecker is the only one bigger. When this woodpecker calls it sounds like it is laughing. You can hear them pecking a quarter of a mile away! here is some information about them. Here is a video and a photo of males.
here is a picture of some Pileated woodpeckers and here is a coloring page just like it.

-the birdman-

neat thing about Titmouse name

2009-04-20T09:08:00.004-05:00

This is a neat thing I found out the other day about the Titmouse name. The word Titmouse comes from the old Icelandic word mase wich means small and the Anglo-Saxon word tit which means bird. So, the name Titmouse literally means small bird.

-the birdman-

april fools day fun

2009-04-01T11:20:00.002-05:00

I mixed up some stuff on my blog. See if you can find out what the funny things in "around the feeder", "my favorite birds", and "what im reading" are supposed to mean. If you can figure them out please leave a comment telling me what each one is supposed to mean. Have fun!

-the birdman-

wing banded ring-billed gull

2009-03-26T08:57:00.003-05:00

Back in January we saw a wing banded Ring-Billed Gull in the Walmart parking lot. I entered it on a banding website. Today, I got a certificate of appreciation for entering the information. It was banded in Worcester County, Massachusetts a year ago today (3/26/08). It hatched in 2005 or earlier,they do not know the sex of it.
If you ever see a banded bird, write down the band number and the species,location, etc. Then, go to this website and enter the information. They will send you a certificate with all of its info. This is not just for fun, it also helps scientists track them. Scientists can learn important stuff about birds behavior,movement and other important things.

-the birdman-

Wordless Wednesday: Surprise Pie...we made it ourselves

2009-03-04T09:22:00.003-05:00

the great backyard bird count...

2009-02-05T09:08:00.003-05:00

Don't forget to mark your calendar to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, February 13-16,2009!
For more info visit The great backyard bird count website!

guest blogger ... Mag

2009-01-14T21:02:00.006-05:00

The other day the Bald Eagle was very close. He was out in the front field, he was feeding on 2 Canada Geese. Jay got some pictures, here are two of them:

**Birdman's note...although he was the closest we have ever seen him, it was still too far to get very good pictures with our camera.

wordless wednesday : 11 busy children = 1 tired doggy!

2009-01-14T20:11:00.002-05:00

the Eagles

2008-12-23T11:34:00.002-05:00

There were 6 Eagles in the back field yesterday. There were 2 Bald Eagles and 4 Golden Eagles, they were feeding on something. They were fun to watch! I sent an email to possibly have them added to the rba (rare bird alert) and posted them on ebird.

-the birdman-

Wordless Wednesday...

2008-12-03T12:22:00.001-05:00

wordless Wednesday

2008-10-22T08:49:00.003-05:00

Any guesses on what these are?

a new member of the family!

2008-09-16T11:23:00.007-05:00

On Sunday, we went up to Pennsylvania and got a basset hound! His name is Rafferty and he is four years old (we think). He just started playing catch with us today but instead of bringing the ball back to us he ran over to the slide and dropped it there :). He is learning how to sit and barks at tractors a lot. He is the fastest runner in the family so I made him a little trophy out of cardstock yesterday. Here is a picture of him laying in his bed on Sunday night:

-the birdman-

a new bird website...

2008-08-21T09:10:00.002-05:00

A couple days ago i found a new bird website which has online coloring pages,purple martin house plans, printable calanders ect.

-the birdman-

Guess what!

2008-07-18T08:55:00.003-05:00

I won ribbons at the fair- 4 of them!
3rd place for my cookies
1st place for my woodburning
and honorable mention for my painted brick and rubber stamped greeting card

here are a couple of pictures...

Ornithological Societies of North America (OSNA)...

2008-07-18T08:23:00.003-05:00

The other day i found a neat bird website called OSNA which stands for Ornithological Societies of North America on their website you can join bird societies, subscribe to
Ornithological Newsletter and more!

nesting birds!

2008-07-18T08:12:00.002-05:00

In an earlier post, I said that Bluebirds were nesting in our birdhouse I actually found out that was a house sparrow nest. However, the bluebirds started building a nest in our other birdhouse on Sunday. I think it is finished or almost finished so they should start laying their eggs soon. Also, some mockingbirds are nesting in our neighbors tree. This morning we saw two little babies heads peeking out of the nest. I have seen the parents bringing them food in their beaks.

We are studying birds

2008-06-24T10:07:00.004-05:00

This week, we are studying birds. I get to be the teacher some of the week, but not today.

I just wrote my first cinquain type of poem.

Beak
different shapes
spearing,pecking,skimming
Used in different ways.
mouth

Happy (belated) Father's Day Daddy!

2008-06-18T09:53:00.001-05:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Wordless Wednesday

2008-06-18T07:16:00.003-05:00

Eastern Screech Owl...

2008-06-16T15:11:00.008-05:00

The Eastern Screech Owl is the smallest owl in the Eastern side of the USA. They eat mice,bugs,birds, and amphibians. Here is a link to a website where you can dissect a Screech Owl pellet.

Screech Owl info

Screech Owl movie

We have a Screech Owl house that we put up the other night. They have not used it yet.

weekly quiz...

2008-06-11T15:32:00.003-05:00

The cornell lab of ornithology has started a weekly bird quiz.

-the birdman-

a neat bird website...

2008-06-11T15:27:00.005-05:00

I found a neat bird website where you can disect owl pellets do an owl crossword puzzle and more!

wordless Wednesday

2008-06-11T08:55:00.002-05:00

Robin,Bluebirds and Brown thrasher

2008-06-05T12:45:00.007-05:00

The Bluebirds are building a nest in our birdhouse!

also we have Brown thrashers & a partial albino robin! The Robin is regular colorings, except it has two white patches. One white stripe on each wing. I keep trying to get a picture, but he's gone too fast.

Wordless Wednesday (a day late)

2008-06-05T12:39:00.002-05:00

ebird

2008-05-20T08:11:00.007-05:00

yesterday i started doing ebird
you write down all the birds that you see and then enter them on their website. this helps you keep track of all of the birds that you have seen.

-the birdman-

happy mothers day mommy 2008!

2008-05-11T20:06:00.005-05:00

happy mothers day mommy! i just made this slideshow for you:

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

great horned owl

2008-05-07T09:46:00.004-05:00

Great horned owls are about 22" tall. They can eat anything from the size of a fly to the size of a great blue heron! they also eat: squirrels,mice,rabbits,snakes,skunks,weasels,porcupines,
domestic cats,crows,ospreys,and other owls and hawks.
here is some info...

lots of pics and info
picture

movie of a great horned owl

black-capped chickadee

2008-04-18T07:21:00.004-05:00

Black-capped chickadees weigh the weight of four pennies. Their favorite food is sunflower seeds. The reason that their name is chickadee is becuase their call is chickadee-dee-dee. chickadees are very easy to hand feed just hold some sunflower seeds in your hand and sit very still.

here is some info:

black-capped chickadee info

more black-capped chickadee info

black-capped chickadee picture

-the birdman-

bird of the week... lesser and american goldfinches

2008-04-08T14:37:00.003-05:00

There are two kinds of goldfinches that live in North America. The Lesser Goldfinch is mostly in the Western part of the US and American Goldfinches are found across the whole continent. Their favorite foods at bird feeders are hulled sunflower seeds and niger (thistle) seed. Americans are 5" tall and Lessers are 4 1/2" tall.
We saw male and female American Goldfinches yesterday. The American Goldfinch is also called the Eastern Goldfinch. It is the State bird of New Jersey,Iowa and Washington State. Here is some info...

american goldfinch info

male and female American Goldfinches

more american goldfinch info

Lesser Goldfinch info

American Goldfinch Coloring page

-the birdman-

Bird of the Week...Eastern Bluebirds

2008-03-31T15:16:00.006-05:00

Eastern bluebirds are my favorite kind of bird. Their eggs are pale blue & the nest is made out of grass or pine needles. Their nest is in a tree cavity or nest box.
You should not mount nest boxes on trees because snakes, raccoons, and squirrels may climb the tree to eat eggs and nestlings. Three kinds of bluebirds live in north america Eastern, Western, & Mountain. After 3 years of trying, we finally attracted eastern bluebirds!(we saw them the other day) :).

Here are some links for you...
attracting bluebirds
ibc eastern bluebird movie
bluebird secrets
eastern bluebird info
mountain bluebird info
bluebird male and fledgelings
more eastern bluebird info
all about eastern bluebirds
Siala Sialis (Eastern Bluebird)
Western Bluebird

a neat bird website...

2008-03-25T18:51:00.003-05:00

My good friend Timothy, gave me the link for this website. There are lots of neat bird videos and other information. I even found a video of a red-crested pochard and one of a white-breasted nuthatch.

The Internet Bird Collection

Pictures...

2008-02-21T21:14:00.003-05:00

Some of these, I took and some Trumpeter(AKA Rock) took. Oh and the one of me with the swans is one that mommy took. They are all from our backyard.
American Robin:

Tundra Swans:

Common Grackle:

European Starling:

Northern Mockingbird:

Redwinged Blackbird:

-the birdman-

the nature reserve...

2008-02-21T20:39:00.006-05:00

Last saturday we went to a nature reserve. We saw a lot of birds like american coots, tundra swans, canada geese and on the way out we saw a perigrine falcon. We got 2 pictures of an american bittern.
Here are the pictures of the Bittern...

-the birdman-

The Great Backyard Bird count

2008-02-15T09:03:00.005-05:00

Calling all birdwatchers, grab your notebook and binoculars and lets watch some birds! This weekend is the Great backyard birdcount and it's gonna be fun! You can find out more information here. There is a checklist for birds you might see in your area, a neat page full of games and stuff for kids and all sorts of neato stuff. There's even a participation certificate you can print out.

Snow Geese

2008-02-08T15:31:00.000-05:00

Some snow geese are staying in the field behind our house (with the swans). Last week they came right up to our fence! We got a bunch of pictures. here are a few of them

the eagle

2008-01-12T19:28:00.000-05:00

This is a picture my Grandpa took the other day. He and I went for a nature walk and a Bald Eagle flew right over us.

swans...

2007-12-29T14:34:00.000-05:00

This past week about 50 swans have been staying in the field behind our house. I will post a movie of them flying away later. (I think they are tundra swans but they could trumpeter or mute swans).

-the birdman-

Amazing Grace

2007-12-27T21:39:00.000-05:00

I sang two verses of Amazing Grace today and my mom recorded it. Here it is...

The Butterfly is Fluttery...

2007-12-14T17:36:00.000-05:00

Here is a new poem for you.

The Butterfly is Fluttery.
She flutters here and there.
The butterfly is fluttery.
She flies around everywhere.
The butterfly is fluttery.
She is also very colorful.
The butterfly is fluttery.
Sometimes she has circles on her wings.
The butterfly is fluttery.
Sometimes she can be orange, yellow or blue.
The Butterfly is fluttery.
She is afraid of you!

-The birdman-

John 3:16

2007-11-15T11:31:00.000-05:00

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life

John 3:16

ding...

2007-11-02T10:03:00.000-05:00

On tuesday night daddy kept hearing this low ding noise & mommy called me upstairs to try and figure out what it was and i tried to but could'nt figure out what it was. so me and daddy went downstairs to see if we could figure out where it was coming from. daddy went into the kitchen and i stood in the hallway daddy said he had heard it but i hadnt. then we went back upstairs. and when we figured it out guess what it was it was daddys silly cell phone telling him that the battery was low! he had never used it that much before so he had never heard it

-the birdman-

happy birthday Kaira!

2007-11-01T11:17:00.000-05:00

This is just for Kaira i hope you had a great birthday! enjoy

blue jay info

since you like blue jays, you might like
green jays too.

blue jays like black oil sunflower seeds a lot. the best thing to do if you ever find a baby blue jay is to leave it alone or feed it some bugs.

a blue jay coloring page

-the birdman-

the polar bear...

2007-10-31T19:19:00.000-05:00

A few minutes ago i wrote a poem here it is:

The polar bear lives where its cold,
where it snows & snows & snows.
The only place that cant get warm
is the very tip of his nose.
Even though he lives where it snows a lot
he knows a lot.
I like the polar bear that lives where it snows a lot
a lot.

-the birdman-

spinning and carving...

2007-10-26T09:52:00.000-05:00

last saturday me and daddy went to the agricultural museum and i got to learn how to spin, and card wool and I watched the woodworkers do some woodcarving. and i got to spin a whole ball of yarn all by my self! the carving was pretty neat too and i collected some of the shavings. i will post pictures later.

-the birdman-

my brothers blog...

2007-10-26T09:46:00.000-05:00

today trumpeter got his own blog. he is very exited. check it out here

-the birdman-

We have a winner!

2007-10-15T09:36:00.000-05:00

Actually, we have 3 winners. Congratulations to Mary, Christopher and Kim! Kim actually got all three correct, Stellar's Jay, Great Egret and wood duck. Since she is a bird photographer, it was easy for her. So, I am also going to give a prize to Mary and Christopher because they each got two right. Thanks for participating. Please leave me a comment (or send my mom a PM) to tell me if you want a stellar's jay paper puppet or a bluebird drawing. I need your addresses too.

-the birdman-

I'm having a contest

2007-10-12T19:06:00.001-05:00

My brother is having a contest to name his blog so check it out here. I want to have a contest too.
Below are pictures of three birds. The first person that identifies all three of them wins. If no one gets them all, then the first one to get the most wins. The winner will get their choice of a drawing of a bluebird or a paper Stellar's Jay puppet. You have until Monday at 10am to identify the birds. Leave your answers in a comment. Happy birding.
-the birdman
Number 1

number 2

number 3

the 2nd part of the book i am writing...

2007-10-03T12:57:00.000-05:00

The first part can be found here.
Here is the second part of Jay-jay the jet jay:
That night when he went to bed it started snowing. Brrrr he said i better find a birdhouse or something or i will freeze. So he flew away to find some shelter. When he had been searching for 30 minutes he found an old woodpecker hole so he went inside and went to sleep. The next morning when he was washing his wings for breafast he made up a new song "wash your wings then your face then sit down on a piece of lace". then he went to eat breakfast. after breakfast he went outside to play in the snow. then he built a snow jay that looked so real that he thought it was alive and started talking to it. Then he made a snow cave it was very big so he went inside and lived there until the snow melted. The next week after the snow had melted he moved into the old woodpecker hole. he was busy all day moving stuff from his branch. That night 1 minute after he was finished dinner he went to bed and fell asleep. The next morning
it was christmas.
part three coming soon!
-the birdman

All about mallards

2007-09-25T08:30:00.000-05:00

This is just for Junie. I hope you had a great birthday Junie! Enjoy.

mallard info

mallard coloring page
Since you like mallards you might like the wood duck too.

another printout

Lots of good stuff here

our first week of school...

2007-09-19T15:34:00.000-05:00

This past week is our first week of school. I have to do:languge arts, math, latin,
spelling, and a whole bunch of of other stuff. :-)

here are some of the latin words i have learned...

sanctus=holy
oremus=let us pray
deus=God

-the birdman-

a book i am working on...

2007-09-01T07:45:00.000-05:00

i am working on a book. it is called jay- jay the jet jay it is about a stellers
jay.
his name is jay-jay.

here is my story so far...
once upon a time there was a stellers jay named jay-jay. he could fly faster than the speed of sound! one day he made up a song. "I am faster than a shooting star I am faster than a racing car so better just stay out of my way & dive into a pile of hay!"

p.s. I am writing it
trumpeter is drawing the pictures

-the birdman-

Pictures from the weekend

2007-08-24T12:04:00.001-05:00

the tribe...

2007-08-21T14:17:00.000-05:00

This week the B family visited us. They got here on Friday night. We went to the
agriculture museum on Saturday. We got to make mud and i told the story of henry and henry. they left yesterday.

I'll post pictures later, my computer time is up.

-the birdman-

bird coloring pages...

2007-08-13T11:09:00.000-05:00

Trumpeter made me & chickadee coloring books for our birthday presents. Here are some of the pages he used. Enjoy!

Our trip to Africa...

2007-08-10T11:28:00.000-05:00

Trumpeter, Chickadee and me are going on an adventure. We made it up together. Mommy posted it on her blog, so I'll just copy it here.

"We started in Canada and went to Florida by driving a buggy. It was pulled by a horse. She was too old for us to ride on her back and didn't like us on her back anyway. So, we were in the buggy and she pulled us. She's a grey horse. We were gonna take a ship from Florida to Africa, but a flood washed us into the ocean. It took us a year to get to Antarctica. The buggie sunk, but it had a basement. The basement was sort of like a submarine, so we stayed there. It had candy, icecream, and waffles and that's what helped us survive. There were 800 waffles and seventy hundred pieces of candy. Thirty hundred bags of icecream, two containers in each bag. We finally floated to Antarctica and then the horse pulled us as she swam to Madagascar. Now we are on our way to Africa. We are going to Africa because we need to take the icecream there. It has now taken us almost two years to get there. We are taking the icecream to all the people of Congo. We will just ride through the towns and toss icecream, just like they do with candy at parades. Then we'll go to Ethiopia and do the same thing with all the candy. We mostly ate the waffles on our trip, so we could have the icecream and candy for the people of Africa. We liked traveling this way, so we'll go home the same way probably. Or we might just get on a ship and sail home."

we won ribbons!

2007-08-07T18:54:00.000-05:00

We entered projects at the fair and won 8 ribbons. I won 4 and trumpeter won 4. I won 2 honarable mentions and 2 1st place. Trumpeter won 2 honarable mentions and 2 2nd place.

here are some pictures...

Mommy Blog Hijack

2007-08-03T01:08:00.000-05:00

I am hijacking your blog to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAY!

I love you and I hope it's a wonderful day!

While you were sleeping, Parker and I stayed up late to make this slide show for you, I hope you like it.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

the eagle...

2007-07-20T14:55:00.000-05:00

the other night we saw an eagle. we tried to get up close, but we made too much noise. but i found 3 adult feathers & 2 feathers from an eaglet.

-the birdman-

Breakfast and other stuff...

2007-06-29T15:25:00.000-05:00

Guess what! I am now the family chef for breakfast. I am so excited. I've been having lots of fun making pancakes and sausage, strawberry shortcake, eggs and all sorts of stuff. My favorite breakfast to make is pancakes. My favorite breakfast to eat is strawberry shortcake. The pancakes have 1/3 of a cup of sugar in them. The strawberry shortcakes only have 1 tablespoon. Did you know that 24 times three is 72 and that 24 times 4 is 96? We have lots of baby birds in our yard. We have seen chickadees, robins, mourning dove and some other fledgling that I haven't figured out yet.

Here is a picture of a chickadee fledgling

chickadees eat sunflower seed..

-the birdman-

The Shed...

2007-06-18T16:14:00.001-05:00

Here's a poem I wrote today. Hope you like it.

-birdman

The Shed

By The birdman

So much like a house,
But the shed is something else.
It holds so many toys, and other things too.
Like a lawn mower and wheel chair lift too.
So many things
And so much to do.
The shed is a wonderful thing for me and you.

Happy Father's day to My Daddy!

2007-06-17T13:48:00.001-05:00

Happy Fathers Day daddy!
You are the best daddy in the world. You are the best because you take us on field trips and you work hard to provide for us. You love us and always have fun with us. I love you daddy and I hope it's a great day!!

Love,
your little birdman

P.S. Look in the walnut tree for clue number one to your Father's Day surprise!

Pictures from the bird festival...

2007-06-08T14:32:00.000-05:00

field trip 2

2007-05-24T10:35:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we went to a bird festival at a local wildlife refuge. We had lots of fun! We got to see a great horned owl, Eastern Screech owl, American Kestrel, Red-tailed Hawk, and Turkey vulture up close. I made a bluebird house and Trumpeter and Chickadee did teamwork and built a feeder. The bugs ate us alive! Also, we went exploring in the brackish water...that's water that has both fresh and salt water mixed. I found a couple of shrimp and some sort of beetle and Trumpeter caught a tiny crab and an eel. The eel was FAST, it was about four inches long. Then we went to the freshwater area and I didn't get anything, but Trumpeter got a HUGE tadpole and a mud minnow. We were supposed to go look for salamanders, but it started storming so we had to go home. On the way back to our van, the refuge driver lady almost hit a deer! He ran right out in front of us, I bet he was running for shelter from the storm. There was a tent set up that had different booths with lots of neat things to look at. Some people had carvings of birds and some had pictures and a bunch of other stuff too. I liked talking with the different people and trying to guess what all the bird carvings/pictures were. My favorite was one of the photographers. Here's her website
Kim Steininger Bird Photography

Mom has pictures but they aren't on the computer yet. I'll upload them soon.

-the birdman-

Pictures from Tristate Bird Rescue

2007-05-16T13:05:00.000-05:00

This is one of the places they keep the baby birds. They go in here after they are big enough to come out of the incubator, but not yet flying. Our own little baby nestling (AKA Park) has this same pac-n-play ;-)

Telling me how banding works

Explaining about rescuing birds after an oil spill

field trip 1

2007-05-16T12:11:00.000-05:00

we went to Tri-state Bird Rescue for a
open house. We got to see what they feed the birds,where they put the babys,where they band & weigh the birds, where they give the birds baths, and we got to see the empty cages. the cages were empty because they move the birds for the open house.they don't want them disturbed, we got to see the live eagle cam of a baby bald eagle. we had a lot of fun. i hope someday i can volunteer there.

-the birdman-

we've been busy

2007-05-16T11:57:00.002-05:00

Since I last blogged, we went on vacation, took lots of field trips and have done all sorts of things. I hope I can write lots of entries soon to tell you about it all. For now, mom says I can only do one entry to tell you about one of the field trips. I will give it its own entry in a minute.