Project FeederWatch begins November 11 and continues through April 13. A joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada, Project FeederWatch invites you – and the children in your life – to observe and count the birds that turn up at your bird feeder. You can contribute to a nearly 30-year database that helps scientists understand bird biology, population trends, and migrations. New participants receive a FeederWatch handbook, a full-color poster of common feeder birds, a bird-watching-days calendar, the annual report on Winter Bird Highlights, and a subscription to the Cornell Lab newsletter. Membership costs $18. Explore Project FeederWatch and the FeederWatch Cam.
I’ve been feeding birds daily at our feeder for thirty-five years, so you can imagine that they know my schedule and my voice. But two years ago, it occurred to me that I could call the birds by whistling. I whistled a three-note call, my best attempt at a birdcall, and they came immediately. Birds, like other animals, are curious, so it wasn’t surprising that they came to investigate. But in just a few days, they responded to my whistle by flying in from all directions. I can watch them land in the trees around me, quickly coming nearer, until they dart into the feeder, so close I can hear the soft whoosh of their wings. It’s thrilling to have this sense of communication and understanding!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorToni Albert, M.Ed., is an award-winning author of more than 40 books. Her lifelong love for nature, children, and books inspired her to commit her publishing business, Trickle Creek Books, to “teaching kids to care for the Earth.” Archives
April 2018
Categories
All
|