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.. ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
