tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817964083374520062024-03-12T23:29:20.658-04:00Discover BirdsVickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-33543315397930999902020-08-01T16:54:00.001-04:002020-08-01T17:19:37.470-04:00Discover Birds Is At Work in Venezuela!The <a href="https://tnbirds.org/education/" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book </a>has traveled to Guanare, Venezuela, to help youth and their communities discover birds!<br />
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<i>Grupo Scout Guanaguanare gathers for a presentation on their Discover Birds project. Ana is holding up both Spanish and English versions of A Guide to the Birds of Venezuela </i></div>
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The <a href="http://asojabiru.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Asociacion Civil Jabiru</a> in Guanare, Venezuela, is working with youth from the Venezuela Scout Association, Grupo Scout Guanaguanare, to help them learn about the importance of birds and develop an environmental education program for families in their community. This educational project is part of a larger effort to preserve an area of land with 3000 hectares of undisturbed forest that is home to over 223 species of birds and the secretive Andean Bear. The preliminary inventory of birds in this area also includes over 20 migrating bird species that breed and raise their young in Tennessee (and other US states)! </div>
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The Discover Birds Activity Book is playing an exciting role in this project. With permission, the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Woj4dYt77WII_NkMB7zlvV3DONhraXn1/view" target="_blank">Spanish</a> version of the book is being adapted and local birds added to its content and illustrations. This adaptation enables area youth and their families to learn about and recognize the birds they hear and see in their own community.<br />
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This project represents an important and innovative expansion in the way the <a href="https://tnbirds.org/education/" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a> is partnering with world communities to help educate and inspire their youth's interest and enjoyment of birds!<br />
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<i>Above, Ana gives a presentation on the importance of the conservation of birds to the health and economy of the community using beautifully illustrated charts.</i><br />
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We are excited to be contributing to this project and look forward to sharing more details and photos with you about their activities <i>A Descubrir Aves</i>!<br />
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<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Woj4dYt77WII_NkMB7zlvV3DONhraXn1/view" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book pdf in Spanish</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="https://tnbirds.org/" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife</a> sponsored by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources AgencyVickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-7339223291656110712020-07-13T11:44:00.002-04:002020-07-20T15:28:34.189-04:00The Discover Birds Activity Book reaches 30,000!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Since its first printing eight years ago, 30,000 Discover Birds Activity books have been distributed to youth around the world!</div>
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Each book delivered represents inspiration and education provided to the youth of our world who are learning to interact with the environment and appreciate the joy and benefits that come from protecting and engaging with our natural world, especially with birds! </div>
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Credit for this milestone accomplishment goes to Cyndi Routledge, member of the Tennessee Ornithological Society and founder of <a href="https://southeasternavianresearch.org/" target="_blank">Southeastern Avian Research</a>. Cyndi tirelessly promotes this book, ensures the funding for its continuing publication, and distributes the books! As the book's author and illustrator, I cannot thank Cyndi enough for her efforts. </div>
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Cyndi also coordinates the printing of the books and she reports that an additional 3000 books have been printed in 2020 and are ready for distribution! Thank you, to Cyndi and Steve Routledge for providing their safe storage! </div>
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The current printing of the Discover Birds Activity Book is made possible though generous matching donations from the Tennessee Ornithological Society (TOS) and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. </div>
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TOS member Cyndi Routledge, of Clarksville, coordinates the <a href="https://tnbirds.org/education/" target="_blank">free distribution</a> of the Discover Birds Activity Books. The only requirement is that the books be used as part of an educational program that includes a bird walk experience introducing children to the birds around them. Educational programs are also asked to provide a brief description of their activities and photographs that can be shared with others on the <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Discover Birds Blog</a>.</div>
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To make a request for <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">activity books</a> for your classroom or program, contact Cyndi Routledge at routledges@bellsouth.net.<br />
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To download and print a copy of the activity book, visit: <a href="https://tnbirds.org/education/" target="_blank">The Tennessee Ornithological Society--Educational Resources page.</a><br />
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<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Woj4dYt77WII_NkMB7zlvV3DONhraXn1/view" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book pdf in Spanish</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="https://tnbirds.org/" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife</a> sponsored by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency</div>
Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-84490900828985882562017-02-10T15:02:00.000-05:002017-03-11T15:29:39.200-05:00Sharing our Discover Birds Activity Books with CubaDiscover Birds activity books are now in the hands of many of our new Cuban friends and teachers to help children learn about birds. On a recent trip to Cuba, I along with my <a href="http://www.naturalistjourneys.com/destinations/mexico-caribbean/cuba" target="_blank">Naturalist Journeys</a> traveling companions enjoyed the honor of gifting Discover Birds Activity books to the people who welcomed us into Cuban life and culture.<br />
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Coffee grower, Omar Ramirez and Vickie Henderson Photo by Billie Cantwell<br />
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We took both <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2017/02/discover-birds-activity-book-in-spanish.html" target="_blank">Spanish</a> and English translations of the activity books to share in Cuba. The printing of the <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2017/02/discover-birds-activity-book-in-spanish.html" target="_blank">Spanish translation </a>was made possible through a generous donation from <a href="http://www.naturalistjourneys.com/" target="_blank">Naturalist Journeys</a>. Naturalist Journeys will be taking the books to Cuba and other Spanish speaking countries as they continue to travel throughout 2017. <br />
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The printed English books were <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2016/11/new-printing-of-our-discover-birds.html" target="_blank">funded with matching donations</a> from the <a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/education.html#ActivityBook" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society</a> and the <a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/" target="_blank">Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency</a><br />
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Our tour of Cuba traveled from Santa Clara to Cayo Coco, to Topes de Collantes and Trinidad, to the Zapata Peninsula and west to Vinales, Soroa, Las Terrazas and Havana. We covered a lot of territory in nine days and had the opportunity to learn about many aspects of Cuban life. Among my fifteen <a href="http://www.naturalistjourneys.com/" target="_blank">Naturalist Journeys </a>touring companions were <a href="https://vickiehenderson.blogspot.com/2012/01/rufous-hummingbird-wintering-in.html" target="_blank">Billie Cantwell and Colin Leonard</a>, also from Knoxville, and fellow members of the <a href="http://www.knoxvillebirding.org/" target="_blank">Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society.</a><br />
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One of our reasons for traveling to Cuba was to see Cuba's beautiful birds, of course! Among many bird species we met the smallest hummingbird in the world, the 2 inch Bee Hummingbird, a bird endemic to Cuba.<br />
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We also enjoyed seeing Cuba's national bird, the Cuban Trogon, along with 17 Cuban endemic species and 17 regional endemics found only in the West Indies.<br />
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In Las Terrazas we visited a community and it's school. School was letting out as we arrived and children were skipping rope and playing games as they also headed toward home.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVmWIgBLhG75znigrwjYKaPbw0y8Ua7-cWDL6G43UNiea6AxgfheIC1C-cvumkjrEw0dmmITblhg5-O8W3QLNiJq2kbXDaODvWLiHqz_1uFMijkGIssjeOUadl6GCVNld-l8aZ_gf6Dbv/s1600/vichie+School+master_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVmWIgBLhG75znigrwjYKaPbw0y8Ua7-cWDL6G43UNiea6AxgfheIC1C-cvumkjrEw0dmmITblhg5-O8W3QLNiJq2kbXDaODvWLiHqz_1uFMijkGIssjeOUadl6GCVNld-l8aZ_gf6Dbv/s640/vichie+School+master_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Las Terrazas' school master with Vickie Henderson. Photo by Billie Cantwell<br />
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Otis Campa was our guide for our visit and walking tour of the Las Terrazas community and its school. He teaches children about birds and conservation and about the value of keeping birds in the wild and out of cages. We were delighted to present him with activity books both in Spanish and English to use with his students. In the photo, below, we are standing in the area where we also saw an endemic Cuban Kite.<br />
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Billie Cantwell, Vickie Henderson, Otis Campa and Otis' son, in Las Terrazas, Cuba. Photo by Colin Leonard. <br />
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On our last day in Havana, we presented books to our Cuban guide, Liudmys Ramirez, and bus driver, Alexis Alfonso, pictured here with Vickie Henderson. Both Lu and Alexis were with us for the nine days of our tour and made our journey unforgettable. Photo by Billie Cantwell.<br />
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A big thank you to <a href="http://www.naturalistjourneys.com/" target="_blank">Naturalist Journeys </a>for making the printing of the Spanish books possible!<br />
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<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2017/02/discover-birds-activity-book-in-spanish.html" target="_blank">New Spanish translation</a><br />
<a href="http://www.naturalistjourneys.com/" target="_blank">Naturalists Journeys</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2014/07/susan-hollyday-takes-discover-birds.html" target="_blank">Visit to Cuba in 2014</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/index.shtml" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife</a> sponsored by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency<br />
<br />Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-6414792331350885502017-02-07T21:20:00.001-05:002017-02-07T21:20:30.131-05:00Discover Birds visits Nature's Way MontessoriOn January 25th, 2017, <a href="http://www.knoxvillebirding.org/" target="_blank">KTOS</a> Discover Birds volunteers, Tom Howe, Doug Schneeberger and Merikay Waldvogel presented the Discover Birds Program to two student classes and their teachers and aides at Nature's Way Montessori in Knoxville, Tennessee. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbt9uGEMlg8jwi_KMaObL8utvFCFOee0sJ8nA0CPXrWlm2MtYV8Tod-2HDDKiSpyf7DkjwbNWKT_SuUy-AsNrZCXktO-JwZkGOEgRT-Na8qxXWWB2KT-EKRwDevtw7-JJTOOK4GY4CLew/s1600/merikay-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbt9uGEMlg8jwi_KMaObL8utvFCFOee0sJ8nA0CPXrWlm2MtYV8Tod-2HDDKiSpyf7DkjwbNWKT_SuUy-AsNrZCXktO-JwZkGOEgRT-Na8qxXWWB2KT-EKRwDevtw7-JJTOOK4GY4CLew/s640/merikay-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Tom gave a slideshow overview of birds showing some of the beauty, uniqueness and variety of birds around us. Doug showed students the many interesting characteristics of birds, with close-up looks at models of their skeletons, eggs, nests, feathers and other bird-related items. <br />
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After the introductory sessions, students went outside for a guided bird walk to find birds in their school yard. The best bird sightings for the children were a Pileated Woodpecker and a Red-tailed Hawk circling overhead.<br />
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Above, a male Pileated Woodpecker.<br />
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All the children received a <a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/education.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a>, complements of the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society. A BIG THANK YOU to our Discover Birds volunteers and Nature's Way Montessori for making this program possible.<br />
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To see our previous visits to Nature's Way Montessori, click this link: <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/search/label/Nature%27s%20Way%20Montessori%20School" target="_blank">Nature's Way</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.natureswaymontessori.com/" target="_blank">Nature's Way Montessori School</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleTOS" target="_blank">KTOS on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a><br />
<a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/" target="_blank">eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">Tennessee Birds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/birds.cfm" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds</a><br />
Cornell's free beginning birding app--<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell/id773457673?mt=8" target="_blank">Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/mobile-apps.html" target="_blank">Audubon Mobile Field Guides</a></div>
Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-16042602641197255592017-02-03T18:25:00.000-05:002020-07-13T12:38:08.496-04:00Discover Birds Activity Book in SPANISH!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Inspired by a desire to take activity books to Cuba on a planned visit in 2017 and made possible by a slew of generous volunteers, we now have a Spanish translation of the Discover Birds Activity Book! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0bLZzsGP81xOo7evRy15B6vXOUmwJNWQmjQlzXiCFxoNVPgBPf-anEv8K5Xd42hKkZjd9mFNrL0WioT5i8JhqQBbbeyFUFbm37Ovdf8nMwpJ8IziOdgSRol8ZuwDfFduuXD8Aku1FhZaf/s1600/DiscoverBirds_Spanish_2017_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0bLZzsGP81xOo7evRy15B6vXOUmwJNWQmjQlzXiCFxoNVPgBPf-anEv8K5Xd42hKkZjd9mFNrL0WioT5i8JhqQBbbeyFUFbm37Ovdf8nMwpJ8IziOdgSRol8ZuwDfFduuXD8Aku1FhZaf/s400/DiscoverBirds_Spanish_2017_cover.jpg" width="306" /></a></div>
This translation was accomplished by Barbara Routledge of Calera, Oklahoma, a Spanish teacher at Durant Middle School in Durant, Oklahoma. The translation process took about two months and Barbara expresses gratitude and heartfelt appreciation to students Jhoana Ramirez and Angel Lopez who helped her tremendously. <br />
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Jhoana's parents also helped when they got ‘stuck’ translating a phrase or word. On behalf of Discover Birds and the Tennessee Ornithological Society, we extend a very big thank you to all who helped. We are indebted to Barbara and her students for their time and perseverance!<br />
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The translation was further edited and revised for science-related content by Toby Koosman of the <a href="http://www.nimbios.org/" target="_blank">National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) </a>in Knoxville, TN. A big thanks to Toby for her help also.<br />
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As with every new edition of the publication, Mindy Fawver of Knoxville is our go-to person for design, arrangement and print-ready format. We greatly appreciate her dedication to this project! <br />
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A big thank you also to<a href="http://southeasternavianresearch.org/" target="_blank"> Cyndi Routledge</a> of Clarksville, TN, who recruited Barbara for the translation project and coordinated all aspects of printing and shipping! <br />
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The Spanish translation is available as a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Woj4dYt77WII_NkMB7zlvV3DONhraXn1/view" target="_blank">free pdf</a> on the <a href="https://tnbirds.org/" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society</a> website. The printing of a limited number of books was funded by <a href="http://www.naturalistjourneys.com/" target="_blank">Naturalist Journeys</a> in December with the goal of taking these books as gifts on birding and naturalist tours to Cuba and other Spanish speaking countries in 2017. We thank Naturalist Journeys owner, Peg Abbott, for her interest and enthusiasm and for making our first printing of the Spanish translation possible!<br />
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To make a request for printed English <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">activity books</a> for your classroom or program, contact Cyndi Routledge at routledges@bellsouth.net. To download and print a copy of the English version of the activity book, visit: The Tennessee Ornithological Society--<a href="https://tnbirds.org/education/" target="_blank">Educational Resources</a> page.<br />
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<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="https://tnbirds.org/" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife</a> sponsored by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources AgencyVickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-41226619528702579892016-11-17T20:35:00.000-05:002016-11-17T20:45:33.823-05:00New Printing of our Discover Birds Activity Books!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Eleven thousand new Discover Birds Activity Books have just been delivered to our storage facility in Clarksville, Tennessee! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9AQ0C4PGmPvsqPb7ANvvZlherrevVkexnzTAA38jGn0ym0mrGr-_0oL_DDT4jbJsc2JgW4u6D4a8X117XX-t8mnrdT_xjqMn4mLwPNxv7ZOL70mflX_UgFeGPCrTjPxCvaH3hyphenhyphenQ4ICHdo/s1600/DiscoverBirds_72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9AQ0C4PGmPvsqPb7ANvvZlherrevVkexnzTAA38jGn0ym0mrGr-_0oL_DDT4jbJsc2JgW4u6D4a8X117XX-t8mnrdT_xjqMn4mLwPNxv7ZOL70mflX_UgFeGPCrTjPxCvaH3hyphenhyphenQ4ICHdo/s400/DiscoverBirds_72.jpg" width="307" /></a></div>
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A special THANK YOU to Cyndi Routledge for her efforts in securing funding and for coordinating the printing of the books. A big THANK YOU to the Tennessee Ornithological Society and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency for their generous donations of matching funds for this printing. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7xNQkRi5nXs8qQry6dBPHi8DyQ4hCS1sLAwlnslaT-5EIza_cnAUtvYb4iDKiZnYyU5TJ2XwWtL-j_BKsj8-yg5Rx6HQbMw4BV_FsYEwdWcECv3tLxrsyqdNBaQWbLZXfyGsMHUBFfy-/s1600/IMG953365+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7xNQkRi5nXs8qQry6dBPHi8DyQ4hCS1sLAwlnslaT-5EIza_cnAUtvYb4iDKiZnYyU5TJ2XwWtL-j_BKsj8-yg5Rx6HQbMw4BV_FsYEwdWcECv3tLxrsyqdNBaQWbLZXfyGsMHUBFfy-/s640/IMG953365+%25281%2529.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
We also owe a debt of gratitude to Steve and Cyndi Routledge for their generous donation of space for storage while the books are being distributed. <br />
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TOS member Cyndi Routledge, of Clarksville, coordinates the <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2014/08/weve-got-books.html" target="_blank">free distribution</a> of the Discover Birds Activity Books. The only requirement is that the books be used as part of an educational program that includes a bird walk experience introducing children to the birds around them. Educational programs are also asked to provide a brief description of their activities and photographs that can be shared with others on the <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Discover Birds Blog</a>.</div>
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To make a request for <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">activity books</a> for your classroom or program, contact Cyndi Routledge at routledges@bellsouth.net.<br />
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To download and print a copy of the activity book, visit: <a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/education.html" target="_blank"> The Tennessee Ornithological Society--Educational Resources page.</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/index.shtml" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife</a> sponsored by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency</div>
Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-10305305826483742252016-06-07T21:59:00.000-04:002016-06-07T22:02:14.958-04:00Discover Birds Visits 240 Students at Sevierville Primary School!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Seven volunteers from the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society visited <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/search?q=sevierville+primary+school" target="_blank">Sevierville Primary School </a>on May 23rd to present the Discover Birds Program to 240 second graders and their teachers! </div>
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Photo by Tom Howe</div>
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Students were divided into groups to rotate through the three parts of the program, a slide show introduction to birds, a show-and-tell session with bird related items, and a guided bird walk. </div>
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Photo by Warren Bielenberg.<br />
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Suzie Kaplar introduces students to birds with a slide show. Photo by Tom Howe.</div>
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Photo by Warren Bielenberg. Doug Schneeberger, above, talks with students about bird skeletons, feathers, nests, eggs and other items that are passed around for students to see closely.</div>
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Students were equipped with binoculars and bird ID cards to help them see and identify birds as they broke into small groups of twelve for their bird walks. Bird walks were led by Chris Welsh, Tony King, Warren Bielenberg, Kris Johnson and Tom Howe. </div>
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Photo by Warren Bielenberg</div>
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Tom described his experience with students: "It was great fun with great weather. The students had awe-inspiring looks at birds through the spotting scopes including Tree Swallows, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Mourning Doves and an Eastern Kingbird. Students saw many more birds with binoculars, including Chimney Swifts, Blue Jays, Eastern Towhees and Carolina Chickadees. The big birds elicited the biggest response--a monstrous great blue heron, a red-tailed hawk and turkey vultures!" </div>
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Photo by Tom Howe</div>
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"Sarah Greene, the lead teacher, filled the school's bird feeders and put seed on the classroom window sills which afforded many good looks at a variety of birds. Shortly after explaining how pishing provokes birds into mobbing behavior, because, it's believed, that it sounds like a wren scolding a predator, we saw a Red-winged Blackbird chasing off a predatory Red-tailed Hawk by dive-bombing it. Other highlights included Chris Welsh finding a gray catbird's nest and showing the students a picture he took of the eggs, explaining, it's best not to disturb a nest with a crowd. We had a great time and look forward to next year!"</div>
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Above, Warren shows students a bird they've identified on their ID guide. Photo by Tom Howe</div>
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Photo by Warren Bielenberg<br />
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Warren described the students as very knowledgeable about birds and nature and interested, asking many questions. "I think we ended up with about 25 species during the morning. We, had great views of Eastern bluebirds and Tree swallows in the birdhouses. Carolina chickadees, Mourning doves, Northern Cardinals and Eastern Towhees were seen at the feeders. We also found some spittlebugs, caterpillars, raccoon tracks and scat. All in all, a good morning!"<br />
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Above, Tree Swallows in the process of nest building on the Sevierville Primary School campus. <br />
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A big thank you to Sarah Green and her fellow teachers at <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/search?q=sevierville+primary+school" target="_blank">Sevierville Primary School</a> for inviting the Discover Birds Program into their classrooms and for sharing their bird-friendly outdoor campus.<br />
Each student and teacher received a <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book,</a> compliments of KTOS.<br />
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Thank you also to KTOS Discover Birds volunteers Susie Kaplar, Tony King, Chris Welsh, Kris Johnson, Warren Bielenberg, Doug Schneeberger and Tom Howe for making this program happen!<br />
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Links and Resources:<br />
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<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/search/label/Sevierville%20Primary%20School" target="_blank">Sevierville Primary School</a></div>
<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleTOS" target="_blank">KTOS on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/education.html" target="_blank">online version--Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a><br />
<a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/" target="_blank">eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">Tennessee Birds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/birds.cfm" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds</a><br />
Cornell's free beginning birding app--<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell/id773457673?mt=8" target="_blank">Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/mobile-apps.html" target="_blank">Audubon Mobile Field Guides</a>Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-44918126861127201412016-05-03T10:23:00.001-04:002016-05-03T10:25:42.551-04:00Discover Birds Visits Lakeway Heritage Community Cooperative Students!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On April 22nd, Discover Birds Volunteers visited Lakeway Heritage Community Co-op students in Jefferson City for a fun day of learning about birds.</div>
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Students met at the Jefferson City Library for an introductory slide show about birds and a show-and-tell session with bird-related items. Bird feathers, eggs, nests and skeletons were available for close examination and discussion of the unique characteristics of birds. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99q7-axDutgg9kQ5ocBwPtk2QU2yBsWrAJABAj7Oe0B4rA8GRAgYtZeysckriqVWsDFULPOw2q-pmfjYdjLezRmQ-AZQF9nNyzncgEohvom5MJHcIG6hPLV9BnA97-8_7sPD_r4ie90Di/s1600/IMG_4720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99q7-axDutgg9kQ5ocBwPtk2QU2yBsWrAJABAj7Oe0B4rA8GRAgYtZeysckriqVWsDFULPOw2q-pmfjYdjLezRmQ-AZQF9nNyzncgEohvom5MJHcIG6hPLV9BnA97-8_7sPD_r4ie90Di/s640/IMG_4720.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
Volunteer Tom Howe reports, "After a good indoor session with lots of student interaction, forty parent and teacher participants went on a short walk at Mossy Creek Wildlife Viewing Area. Most of our birding was along the trail leading to a double-decker overlook of the marsh. The children were quite enthusiastic and were well prepared. Even a teacher was pleasantly surprised how well they recalled what they had been taught in class. Twenty bird species were identified and students got good looks at a Mallard, Black Vultures, a Red-tailed Hawk, Tree Swallows, Northern Cardinals, Red-winged Blackbirds and American Goldfinches. A few got to see a Redwing through the scope, but they were using the binoculars so well, they mostly just launched out on their own."<br />
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All the students received a Discover Birds Activity Book, complements of the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society. A big thank you to Discover Birds volunteers Tom Howe, Tony King, Suzie Kaplar and Doug Schneeberger!<br />
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Images in this post were contributed by co-op teachers.<br />
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Links and Resources:<br />
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<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society</a></div>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleTOS" target="_blank">KTOS on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a><br />
<a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/" target="_blank">eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">Tennessee Birds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/birds.cfm" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds</a><br />
Cornell's free beginning birding app--<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell/id773457673?mt=8" target="_blank">Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/mobile-apps.html" target="_blank">Audubon Mobile Field Guides</a>Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-1950111457014291832015-10-07T21:16:00.004-04:002015-10-07T21:16:46.300-04:00Home-schoolers Discover Birds at Halls Branch--Knox County Library!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Monday, October 5, 2015, a Discover Birds program was held for home schoolers at the Halls Branch, Knox County Library. </div>
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KTOS members Doug Schneeberger, Billie Cantwell, Morton Massey and Merikay Waldvogel met with 13 home-schooled students and their parents who gathered at the library on beautiful clear day. </div>
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The group ranged in age from 4 through 12. Doug Schneeberger held them all in rapt attention as he showed them bird skeletons, feathers, and other interesting bird-related items that they could see at close range. </div>
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After Doug's session, Merikay handed out binoculars to each student and demonstrated how to use them. </div>
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The whole group then took a walk along the Halls Marsh Greenway. Near the start, they had a wide view of the wetlands. </div>
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A Northern Mockingbird was chattering away in a tree top and on the ground in the shadows, the students easily focused on an Eastern Towhee. </div>
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Morton heard a Song Sparrow, but for the most part, the birds were quiet and the water was higher than normal. The students used their binoculars to get closer looks at tadpoles in the puddles and to spot the beaver lodge. </div>
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Finally, at the bridge, a Downy Woodpecker landed on a nearby tree and everyone was able to see details on the bird. Morton pointed out that this bird was a female because it did not have a red patch on the back of its neck.</div>
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Below, Morton shows students a Downy Woodpecker on his phone bird app. </div>
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On the walk back, we heard Carolina Chickadees and got close-up looks of two crows on a wire. </div>
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The checklist of birds found were submitted to <a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/" target="_blank">Ebird</a>. It included: Carolina Chickadee, Song Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Northern Cardinal, American Crow, Blue Jay, Northern Mockingbird, Downy Woodpecker, and American Crow. </div>
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When asked what impressed him the most, Malaki (age 12) said seeing the Northern Mockinbird was cool, "I've never seen one before.” Ginger (age 8) liked the Downy Woodpecker because she learned how to tell whether or not it was a girl. Beth (age 5) liked the crows because she learned how smart they were. <br />
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Above, Merikay talks with students about what they enjoyed most about their bird walks. Each child received a copy of the Discover Birds Activity Book from the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS).<br />
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A special thank you to Billie Cantwell for providing the photos in this post and to our Discover Birds volunteers for making this program possible! A big thank you also to the home-school teachers and students who participated in the program and to Halls Branch Library for providing an excellent location! <br />
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Links and Resources:<br />
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<a href="http://www.knoxlib.org/about/hours-and-locations/halls-branch-library" target="_blank">Halls Branch--Knox County Library</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society</a></div>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleTOS" target="_blank">KTOS on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a><br />
<a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/" target="_blank">eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">Tennessee Birds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/birds.cfm" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds</a><br />
Cornell's free beginning birding app--<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell/id773457673?mt=8" target="_blank">Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/mobile-apps.html" target="_blank">Audubon Mobile Field Guides</a></div>
Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-70925772135334808062015-10-02T21:21:00.000-04:002015-10-02T21:55:05.123-04:00Creative Learning Academy Students Discover Birds!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
On October 1st, Discover Birds volunteers presented the Discover Birds Program to 30 home-schooled students from Creative Learning Academy at the Dean Hill Recreation Center in West Knoxville. </div>
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Above, Discover Birds volunteer Jerry Ledbetter with Creative Academy students.</div>
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<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">KTOS</a> members Morton Massey, Doug Schneeberger, Jerry Ledbetter and Merikay Waldvogel presented the program to students from pre-kindergarden to 5th grade on an overcast day. </div>
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The students were divided into three age groups and cycled through the three parts of the program: a bird slide show, a bird walk, and a hands-on bird show-and-tell activity. </div>
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While Morton showed a slide show about birds inside to one group, Jerry and Merikay gave binoculars to another group of students and demonstrated how to use them. </div>
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Inside, Doug had many bird-related items to show the students, including feathers, bones and skulls that students could pick up and examine closely.</div>
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All the students, no matter what age, had lots of questions. Some had hung bird feeders fashioned from plastic drink bottles and spoons the week before. </div>
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The checklist of birds found included: Carolina Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, American Crow, Blue Jay, Northern Mockingbird, Chimney Swift and Great Blue Heron. We heard a Carolina Wren. </div>
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The best look occurred when the older students climbed to the top of a piece of playground equipment. With their binoculars on their eyes, a Great Blue Heron flew slowly and gracefully by. </div>
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Asked what impressed him the most, Jackson, a 5th grader, said, “I’m impressed with these binoculars. I’m going to use my money and buy some. I’d go over to the Cove [in Farragut] and look at birds there.” </div>
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Carpenter, who kept spotting birds no one else had seen, also liked the binoculars, and said it was the Great Blue Heron that impressed him the most.</div>
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The group's sponsor, Clare Dattilo, and other parents present were impressed with the Discover Birds program activities. Several were birdwatchers themselves. Each of the students were given a Discover Birds Activity book to take home, presented by the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society and the Discover Birds Program. </div>
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Creative Learning Academy meets twice a week at the Dean Hill Recreation Center. They take advantage of the outdoor environment to study nature, including trees, butterflies, and birds.</div>
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A big thank you to our Discover Birds volunteers, and to Merikay Waldvogel for sharing her photographs and details about this event!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6AOhBbXX1bxgCRfRrvrMTVrDW_FYM-3f0TKeuS9ddbyzGBP1bQVC5MGznzS4iKADASftgUwnr-97TN4TmCQov3DvkLwPEM3_Cv7un5vtg4IKtCRhMptJCRZEVwinJyD5GGjCu8nwNWWA/s1600/DiscoverBirdsCover5_200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6AOhBbXX1bxgCRfRrvrMTVrDW_FYM-3f0TKeuS9ddbyzGBP1bQVC5MGznzS4iKADASftgUwnr-97TN4TmCQov3DvkLwPEM3_Cv7un5vtg4IKtCRhMptJCRZEVwinJyD5GGjCu8nwNWWA/s1600/DiscoverBirdsCover5_200.jpg" /></a>Links and Resources:<br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/creativelearningcooppublic/" target="_blank">Creative Learning Academy website</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society</a></div>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleTOS" target="_blank">KTOS on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a>Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-37321309446208776672015-09-20T05:00:00.000-04:002015-09-20T05:00:02.576-04:00Discover Birds Inspires Second Grade Art and Research!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IXEYpGykOLw/VW-sArUfbUI/AAAAAAAARVc/o_72JKMY7jM/s1600/Vickie_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IXEYpGykOLw/VW-sArUfbUI/AAAAAAAARVc/o_72JKMY7jM/s200/Vickie_300.jpg" width="153" /></a>
In May of 2015, the KTOS Discover Birds Program visited Sevierville Primary School for the third consecutive year, enjoying an outstanding morning Discovering Birds with 280 second graders and their teachers.<br />
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You may enjoy seeing our morning activities, including a low pass over our heads by a magnificent Bald Eagle at <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2015/05/discover-birds-visits-280-second.html" target="_blank">Sevierville Primary 2015</a>. This posts revisits that day to show you how some of the students got ready for our visit!<br />
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As the program was coming to a close, Ms Kathy Porter, second grade teacher, caught my attention and showed me a bulletin board filled with her students' art and research. I was so happy she showed it to me!<br />
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In preparation for our upcoming Discover Birds Program, her students each selected a bird from anywhere in the world, researched the bird on the internet, drew the bird and wrote about what they learned. The results of their efforts were beautifully displayed as "Birds of a Feather Flock Together!"<br />
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I wanted to read every word and savor the art the way I would a gallery of art in a museum! Everyone's work was so creative! I will share a few of them here, but they were all wonderful!<br />
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Hummingbirds were a favorite bird selected. "Let me tell you about hummingbirds." one artist wrote. "A hummingbird sings with its wings."<br />
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"Some hover like bees." another wrote. "They lick nectar with its quick tongues. Bugs get licked too."<br />
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Some of the birds chosen were selected for their unique feathers or behavior.<br />
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"Male Peacocks find an enemy and they shoot their feathers up and it looks [like] eyes watching them." <br />
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"A Roseate Spoonbill is a wading bird. It has long legs to keep it high above the water. It also has a big beak to help it catch fish....A Roseate Spoonbill swings its beak underwater."<br />
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"The Yellow-billed Woodpecker eats only ticks and other bugs [on the animals] it rides. The animals it rides are giraffes, zebras and oxen. The Yellow-billed Woodpecker lives in Africa because the big animals it rides live there....They clean the heads of the animals they ride."<br />
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"Wild parrots live in North America, South America, Australia, Asia and Africa. The Macaws are the biggest parrots. Wild parrots screech when they try to talk....Many parrots wear brilliant green, yellow, red and blue." <br />
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"Flamingos are pink and reddish. They live in Asia, Africa and North America. They live near mud and water. Flamingos like to sit in water."<br />
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A big thank you to <a href="http://www.sps.sevier.org/" target="_blank">Sevierville Primary School</a> and Ms Porter for sharing their students' creative work with us!<br />
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Links and Resources:<br />
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<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2015/05/discover-birds-visits-280-second.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Visits Sevierville Primary School</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sps.sevier.org/" target="_blank">Sevierville Primary School</a><br />
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<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a></div>
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a>Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-65107208201512786042015-09-13T08:55:00.001-04:002015-09-14T15:50:15.199-04:00Discover Birds Participates in July Youth Naturalists' Rally!The Friends of Roan Mountain sponsor a summer naturalist rally for youth at Roan Mountain State Park each summer. Volunteers Brookie and Jean Potter and Joe McGuinness, members of the Herndon Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society, brought the Discover Birds Program to the rally and enjoyed a day of getting children excited about birds!<br />
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Photo credit: Jean Potter</div>
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The presentation part of the program included viewing and learning from specimens of birds, bird feathers and nests that were loaned to the program by Milligan College ornithologist, Dr. Gary Wallace. Larry McDaniels, Steele Creek Park Naturalist, provided binoculars for students to use during their bird walk, and the Herndon bird club provided bird check lists for participants. </div>
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Photo credit: Jean Potter</div>
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A slide show showed birds often seen in the Roan Mountain area, and participants learned about the characteristics that make a bird a bird and what birds need to survive. The recovery of the Bald Eagle in upper east Tennessee was used as an example of population changes and a species that has been helped locally by conservation efforts.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_B39AJLOIUUozpSV_NKgG1DLWHBTeJXzugDI-7xyow74XSU45BryfLmc143mQQqrq629CX52pABplB5Qa5NQ6nqsSaZOB011rc1OBzdHEKsc0pa9JWWJqa48-d8rLGMUPeD1Mqf_8ihC_/s1600/Great+Horned+Owl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_B39AJLOIUUozpSV_NKgG1DLWHBTeJXzugDI-7xyow74XSU45BryfLmc143mQQqrq629CX52pABplB5Qa5NQ6nqsSaZOB011rc1OBzdHEKsc0pa9JWWJqa48-d8rLGMUPeD1Mqf_8ihC_/s640/Great+Horned+Owl.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Bay's Mountain State Park's educational Great Horned Owl was shown to participants during the program. Photo credit: Jean Potter<br />
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A 30 minute bird walk included some great finds! Participants got good looks at a Gray Catbird in a marshy area. Eastern Bluebirds were also present along with Mourning Doves and American Goldfinch.<br />
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Gray Catbird Photo credit: Cephas/Wiki Commons<br />
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In addition to binoculars, a spotting scope was set up and students got close-up views of an American Robin and a Song Sparrow. <br />
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Each of the children participating in the program received a free <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book </a>provided by the <a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society</a>.<br />
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Jean reported that the table exhibit set up for the rally attracted a lot of attention from children and parents participating in other programs at the rally. The Herndon club volunteers were invited to bring Discover Birds back again next year! Birds and children--a fun combination!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInpbP9L0x7JkX61NUYHiFCG6wAByqMmRPkXRqvXNavvBUe7SZyEyRL49u5LusPjN2QT91rDeJGbm3EKsn3w_9cO81wH_DHTlG5lsyX3eGWXzOj_eT12Tt4CE7pFB6wrim-_c-5Z2yCpeG/s1600/DiscoverBirds_72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInpbP9L0x7JkX61NUYHiFCG6wAByqMmRPkXRqvXNavvBUe7SZyEyRL49u5LusPjN2QT91rDeJGbm3EKsn3w_9cO81wH_DHTlG5lsyX3eGWXzOj_eT12Tt4CE7pFB6wrim-_c-5Z2yCpeG/s400/DiscoverBirds_72.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
The Discover Birds Activity Book and its curriculum guide are available online at the following link:
<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/education.html#ActivityBook" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a>
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Links and Resources:<br />
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<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a></div>
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/chapters.htm#elizabethton" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society, Herndon Chapter</a><br />
<a href="http://xtremeroanadventures.org/schedule/" target="_blank">Xtreme Roan Adventures--Youth Naturalist's Rally</a>Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-81837687749259101752015-07-15T09:57:00.000-04:002015-07-15T21:32:49.013-04:00Discover Birds Program Featured in ABA's Birder's GuideWhen Noah Stryker, editor of Conservation Milestones, asked for information on how others are getting conservation information out into their communities, Cyndi Routledge seized the opportunity to tell him about our Discover Birds Program in Tennessee. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVuc33hBbn3_5p_oRwt7Dfwx_vXxpzVxhr0wFHHBxhwB8rLJCKQ6eyPtmWRdFT_QcjJcJ89jiOmTPXqpl5ZVCRWgT4JBYLybfrnvbzBaFpxs26EseUPXh0sQPXorN_QtOTB_XEp2Ot7VOb/s1600/Screenshot+2015-07-14+08.41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVuc33hBbn3_5p_oRwt7Dfwx_vXxpzVxhr0wFHHBxhwB8rLJCKQ6eyPtmWRdFT_QcjJcJ89jiOmTPXqpl5ZVCRWgT4JBYLybfrnvbzBaFpxs26EseUPXh0sQPXorN_QtOTB_XEp2Ot7VOb/s400/Screenshot+2015-07-14+08.41.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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As a result, the Discover Birds Activity Book and program are featured in the current issue of Birder's Guide, published by the American Birding Association! The article describes the initial beginnings of the program, the book's expansion into an educational tool with its own core curriculum guide, and the program's increasing out-reach with the publication of 12,000 books in August of 2014 through a generous grant!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2amj7D9yhMhmUggWq5Cu9zyfbaHY49aj4LlhdWSaMXZ4DtOTp1TUZKnDI32Cu5DRBr893AYHbVUZOBaZOOgF7WEiqWt18crK2zx49DQV78FgUG_qm-6tM0sB1OFqYFnFVhg88LVvt36U3/s1600/Screenshot+2015-07-14+08.37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="521" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2amj7D9yhMhmUggWq5Cu9zyfbaHY49aj4LlhdWSaMXZ4DtOTp1TUZKnDI32Cu5DRBr893AYHbVUZOBaZOOgF7WEiqWt18crK2zx49DQV78FgUG_qm-6tM0sB1OFqYFnFVhg88LVvt36U3/s640/Screenshot+2015-07-14+08.37.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Read the entire article by clicking on this link: <a href="http://bg.aba.org/i/521079-may-2015/7" target="_blank">ABA's Birder's Guide</a></div>
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<a href="http://bg.aba.org/i/521079-may-2015/7" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMA4Dl7AYBn2DH9XM6-kqaVPit433_FeotspdUjUfOsGLkTfSpMMSCK7pCK_CsFZgaQKBAb5p4Mnuj22Ozoz5Yh-qnT9Ik10uUiCvIjYWgNZdheAjvZ4_ca9GEahJMNJb7V9rDkmv1medZ/s640/Screenshot+2015-07-14+08.40.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Thank you, Noah and Cyndi, for this national visibility! And a big THANK YOU to all our many Discover Birds volunteers and participants!</div>
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The Discover Birds Activity Book and its curriculum guide are available online at the following link:</div>
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<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/education.html#ActivityBook" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a></div>
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Links and Resources:<br />
<br />
<div>
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a></div>
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a>Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-54700965712573387222015-05-17T13:51:00.000-04:002015-06-02T09:00:34.253-04:00Discover Birds Visits 280 Second Graders at Sevierville Primary School!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On May 15, 2015, Discover Birds volunteers from the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society visited <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/search?q=sevierville+primary+school" target="_blank">Sevierville Primary School</a> to present the Discover Birds Program to 280 enthusiastic second graders and their teachers!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_LLikejysYph3-9Bjlh-JFCfDF6vtwOWjZpbnierpPW5J7y44TTlO1Am_mj7HYOD1TlHyyI5k-og-Kp0ImZib45X8GmYNDSMzfYSPiHSs_mC6a3gfkxl-wNfEp6usHKHxHr-yLWEyu3qv/s1600/IMG_3513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_LLikejysYph3-9Bjlh-JFCfDF6vtwOWjZpbnierpPW5J7y44TTlO1Am_mj7HYOD1TlHyyI5k-og-Kp0ImZib45X8GmYNDSMzfYSPiHSs_mC6a3gfkxl-wNfEp6usHKHxHr-yLWEyu3qv/s640/IMG_3513.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The Discover Birds Program is a three-part program to introduce children to birds with a variety of interactive experiences. The program is presented in three parts: a slide show, a show-and-tell session and a bird walk that includes the use of binoculars and birding scopes. <br />
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Above, Billie Cantwell asks children about their favorite birds. She then presents a slide show showing a variety of birds that live in different habitats with a variety of sizes, shapes, beaks and feet. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1A1YqQ1wIJZUjvxYLVr5kM5cOklYF_-3YHfw-5u6r4Bjiu36eEhp6Uhpcx_AtinOkZk57PbcBw4vIAIxWpJpmCcHC5dtX1COAL1Dbmab5-2rU8TR2aLEm-c9hoveJMED0f0FxMA59qi38/s1600/IMG_3475.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1A1YqQ1wIJZUjvxYLVr5kM5cOklYF_-3YHfw-5u6r4Bjiu36eEhp6Uhpcx_AtinOkZk57PbcBw4vIAIxWpJpmCcHC5dtX1COAL1Dbmab5-2rU8TR2aLEm-c9hoveJMED0f0FxMA59qi38/s640/IMG_3475.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The children also get to hear the bird's songs and stories about birds that Billie has in her own yard, including wintering Rufous Hummingbirds and a pair of nesting Screech Owls.<br />
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The children are divided into three to four groups to include a guided bird walk around the school grounds to find birds and learn to locate them with binoculars. Above you see students practicing with their binoculars. The Discover Birds Program recently acquired twelve new pair of student binoculars through a generous donation from the <a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological society</a> and a matching donation from Eagle Optics.<br />
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Above Chris Welsh leads students on a bird walk along the creek that borders the school grounds. Among the birds found on our bird walks was the Mourning Dove, a bird whose name comes from the "mournful" sound of its song.</div>
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Sometimes the doves were seen on the electrical wires overhead. At other times, they visited the bird bath. At first glance the Mourning Dove looks like a large plain brown bird with some dark spots on its back. </div>
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A closer look through binoculars or a scope shows that it is a colorful bird with a light blue eye ring, pink at the corner of its bill and pink feet!</div>
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Below, Doug Schneeberger shows students the difference between the size of a Bald Eagle egg (left) and the egg of a hummingbird. The hummingbird's egg is about the size of a jelly bean. The eggs he is showing are replicas of eggs made to the size and color of the actual bird's eggs.<br />
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Doug brought a variety of skeletons, samples of talons, eggs, nests, and other bird-related items to show the children, many of which were in cases and passed around for closer inspection.<br />
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Below, a display of owl pellet castings and the skulls and bones that can be found in them. Owls eat small rodents with hair and bones that can't be digested. These indigestible parts are gathered into a pellet in the owl's stomach and "cast" out or "thrown up" to expel them. <br />
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Below, Warren Bielenberg gets his telescope focused on a Tree Swallow perched on a wire so the students can see its shiney greenish-blue feathers that often look black in flight.<br />
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Sevierville Primary School has created a bird-friendly yard with many nest boxes erected to support cavity nesting birds. A pair of Eastern Bluebirds, below, were on the nest box they have chosen for nesting. The bright blue male is on the left in back, and the female, more grayish in color, is in the front. Both the male and female have a rust breast.<br />
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Tree Swallows are also cavity nesting birds. On the walk along the creek we encountered a male Tree Swallow bringing feathers to his mate who was waiting in the nest box. Tree Swallows form a nest of dry grasses that is hollowed out and lined with feathers. The feathers are often placed so that they curve over the nest. In Massachusetts, 147 feathers were counted in one nest box! <br />
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Below, volunteer Karen Wilkinson talks with second grade students as they view birds through a scope.<br />
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Students rotated through each of the activities. Below, Chris Welsh helps students get organized into smaller groups with an assigned leader for their bird walks.<br />
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As students looked at birds through binoculars and scopes, Chris asked them what they noticed about the bird. What color is the bird? What color is it's beak? Can you see the eye color? Is the bird large or small? These details help you recognize the bird the next time you encounter it.<br />
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Above, a student tells Karen Wilkenson about the birds he saw on the creek trail. <br />
(Don't miss the feet in the air behind him! One of the students was turning cartwheels as she returned from her birding walk!)<br />
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Above, Morton Massey leads a group of birders back to the school! <br />
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A mature Bald Eagle treated us to a low fly-over carrying food in its talons with a small bird chasing it! This was an exciting sighting for all of us!<br />
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A pair of Bald Eagles Photo credit: David Roemer<br />
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All the students knew that the Bald Eagle is our country's national symbol.<br />
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Chris Welsh recorded an <a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/" target="_blank">eBird</a> list of the birds he encountered on our bird walks. Thirty-one (31) species of birds were found in and around the school yard, many of them involved in various stages of nesting activities!<br />
<br />
May 15, 2015<br />
Sevierville Primary School<br />
Traveling<br />
0.2 miles<br />
190 Minutes<br />
Observers: 1<br />
All birds reported? Yes<br />
Comments: Discover Birds program for -280 2nd graders at Sevierville Primary School. Exciting flyby by the eagle; falcon more distant and moving away.<br />
1 Osprey<br />
1 Bald Eagle -- Adult, roof level flyover with something dead in its talons<br />
1 Red-tailed Hawk<br />
1 Peregrine Falcon -- Large falcon flyover, too big for kestrel or Merlin, but no details other than silhouette<br />
4 Mourning Dove<br />
1 Chimney Swift<br />
2 Red-bellied Woodpecker<br />
2 Downy Woodpecker<br />
3 Eastern Phoebe -- 2 young in nest under bridge<br />
1 Blue Jay<br />
2 American Crow<br />
2 Northern Rough-winged Swallow<br />
3 Tree Swallow<br />
1 Barn Swallow<br />
1 Carolina Chickadee<br />
1 White-breasted Nuthatch<br />
2 Eastern Bluebird<br />
2 American Robin<br />
2 Gray Catbird<br />
1 Brown Thrasher<br />
5 European Starling<br />
1 Common Yellowthroat<br />
2 Eastern Towhee<br />
2 Song Sparrow<br />
2 Northern Cardinal<br />
1 Red-winged Blackbird<br />
3 Common Grackle<br />
4 Brown-headed Cowbird<br />
2 House Finch<br />
2 American Goldfinch<br />
2 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)<br />
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Each of the students and teachers received a Discover Birds Activity Book compliments of KTOS and the Tennessee Ornithological Society!<br />
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A big thank you to Sarah Green and her fellow teachers at <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/search?q=sevierville+primary+school" target="_blank">Sevierville Primary School</a> for inviting the Discover Birds Program into their classrooms. THANK YOU also to KTOS Discover Birds volunteers Susie Kaplar, Morton Massey, Chris Welsh, Warren Bielenberg, Karen Wilkinson, Billie Cantwell, Doug Schneeberger and Vickie Henderson for making this program happen!<br />
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Links and Resources:<br />
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<div>
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/search/label/Sevierville%20Primary%20School" target="_blank">Sevierville Primary School</a></div>
<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleTOS" target="_blank">KTOS on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a><br />
<a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/" target="_blank">eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">Tennessee Birds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/birds.cfm" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds</a><br />
Cornell's free beginning birding app--<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell/id773457673?mt=8" target="_blank">Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/mobile-apps.html" target="_blank">Audubon Mobile Field Guides</a>Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-12669746639870868372015-04-19T11:39:00.000-04:002015-04-19T19:44:54.028-04:00Discover Birds Visits After-Schoolers at Norwood Elementary School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On April 13th, Discover Birds Volunteers from the <a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society</a> had a great time introducing 60 Norwood Elementary School Students, 3rd. 4th and 5th graders, to the wonder of birds in their after-school program.</div>
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Above, Billie Cantwell, coordinator of the program, shares her slide show presentation and encourages students to share what they know about the birds presented. Her presentation includes birds nesting in her own yard and many of the birds are presented with their songs and calls.
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At the same time, another group of students met with our Discover Birds bird-walk leaders, Merikay Waldvogel, center, Jerry Ledbetter, Christine Hamilton, and Susie Kaplar. Students were introduced to binoculars, and given opportunity to learn to focus them before beginning their bird walks.</div>
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Jerry Ledbetter, above, helps a student adjust her binoculars.</div>
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Above, Merikay, Vice-President of KTOS, helps students find the bird first and then raise their binoculars to where their eyes are looking. The bird they are viewing is a male Eastern Bluebird, (shown below) that was hunting in the school yard. Bluebirds hunt from a perch and drop down to the grown to capture insects, then fly back to the perch to eat.<br />
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Bluebirds are well known for the bright blue plumage and soft warblering song. The male is brighter in color than the female, who is more <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">gray-blue in plumage</a>. <br />
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Above, Merikay shows students the bluebird's field marks or identifying characteristics using a Tennessee <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2014/02/waterford-press-pocket-guides-are-big.html" target="_blank">pocket field guide by Waterford Press</a>.</div>
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Susie Kaplar and Jerry Ledbetter, lead students back to the school after finding robins, a Mourning Dove, starlings and a blackbird near the bamboo thicket. The students rotated from field walks, to the slide show, to the "show and tell" demonstration which includes bird-related items they can see close-up, such as feathers, talons, skeletons, eggs and nests. <br />
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Doug Schneeberger shows students the skulls of a Wood Stork and a commorant, illustrating the ways in which the birds beak is suited for their unique foraging habits and food source. <br />
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Above and below, another group of students receives instruction in the use of binoculars.</div>
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A European Starling was discovered on her nest in a tree cavity. Other starlings were present in the tree limbs nearby. <br />
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Volunteer, Phil Kaplar, brought his birding telescope to share with the students. The scope enabled students to see a closer view of the starling on her nest.<br />
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Two starlings perched in the nearby maple, as though guarding the nesting territory. Starlings form monogamous pairs and nest in cavities. Occasionally, nesting may include another bird helper, or they may form a community of nests. <br />
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Credit: Wiki Commons<br />
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Above, the colorful iridescent feathers and bright yellow beak of the European Starling. During the winter months the starling's beak changes to black. <br />
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Marikay and Jerry compiled an <a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/about/" target="_blank">eBird</a> report from our Norwood bird walks! Here's how our bird count looked.<br />
<br />
Apr 13, 2015<br />
US-TN-Knoxville Norwood Elementary School<br />
Stationary<br />
0 miles<br />
120 Minutes<br />
Observers: 60<br />
All birds reported? Yes<br />
Comments:<br />
Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.8<br />
1 Turkey Vulture<br />
1 Cooper's Hawk<br />
1 Mourning Dove<br />
2 Blue Jay<br />
4 American Crow<br />
1 Carolina Chickadee<br />
1 Eastern Bluebird<br />
4 American Robin<br />
2 Northern Mockingbird<br />
4 European Starling<br />
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler<br />
1 Eastern Towhee<br />
4 Northern Cardinal<br />
1 Red-winged Blackbird<br />
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A big thank you to <a href="http://www.knoxschools.org/norwoodes" target="_blank">Norwood Elementary School's</a> After-school Program for hosting the <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program!</a> A special thank you also to <a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">KTOS</a> <a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/education.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds </a>volunteers: Merikay Waldvogel, Billie Cantwell, Jerry Ledbetter, Doug Schneeberger, Christine Hamilton, Susie Kaplar, Phil Kaplar and Vickie Henderson. Each of the students received an <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">activity book</a>, donated by KTOS.<br />
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Links and Resources:<br />
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<a href="http://www.knoxschools.org/norwoodes" target="_blank">Norwood Elementary School</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleTOS" target="_blank">KTOS on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a><br />
<a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/" target="_blank">eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">Tennessee Birds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/birds.cfm" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds</a><br />
Cornell's free beginning birding app--<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell/id773457673?mt=8" target="_blank">Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/mobile-apps.html" target="_blank">Audubon Mobile Field Guides</a>Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-77023458686942407262015-02-06T18:58:00.000-05:002015-02-06T19:26:52.997-05:00Discover Birds Visits Ms VanWinkle's Class at Nature's Way MontessoriOn February 2nd, the <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2014/03/discover-birds-visits-natures-way.html" target="_blank">Nature's Way Montessori School </a>seventh and eighth grade students in Nancy VanWinkle's class enjoyed an introduction to birds provided by <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">KTOS Discover Birds </a>volunteers, <a href="http://vickiehenderson.blogspot.com/search/label/Billie%20Cantwell" target="_blank">Billie Cantwell </a>and Paula and Doug Schneeberger.<br />
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A blustery, cold winter day may seem like an unlikely time to look for birds, but this is exactly the time of year that birders can find some of Tennessee's exciting winter visitors. <br />
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Doug Schneeberger, above and below, talks with students about finding birds and how to get the bird focused in the binoculars. <br />
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Getting the binoculars on the bird takes some practice. The best way is finding the bird with your eyes, then raising the binoculars to your eyes while continuing to look at the bird. The binoculars bring the bird closer, helping the viewer see details like the eye color and facial markings.<br />
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Birds are often located by sound but they sing less in the winter. They do make calls and chipping sounds as they forage, but the best aid to locating them is that the tree limbs are mostly bare of leaves this time of year!</div>
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On their bird walk, students found two <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/golden-crowned_kinglet/id" target="_blank">Golden-crowned Kinglets,</a> above, a small bird not much bigger than a <a href="http://vickiehenderson.blogspot.com/search/label/Rufous%20Hummingbird" target="_blank">hummingbird</a> that breeds in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montane_ecology" target="_blank">montane</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boreal_forest_of_Canada" target="_blank">boreal</a> forests in Canada and moves very quickly while foraging. Kinglets only come as far south as Tennessee to find food during winter months.<br />
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The bird walk revealed several other species including Northern Cardinal, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tufted Titmous, Blue Jay, Mourning Dove and Song Sparrow.<br />
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Another favorite wintering species, the White-throated Sparrow made an appearance!<br />
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White-throated Sparrows are one of the species <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/white-throated_sparrow/sounds" target="_blank">we listen</a> for to discover their arrival. They often sing when they arrive on their wintering territory and begin singing again in the spring before departing for their breeding grounds in the forests of Canada. With the help of binoculars, students were able to see the sparrow's bright yellow lores or bird eye-brows!
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Above, Paula Schneeberger shares her collection of bird related treasures including bird skulls, skeletons, nests, replicas of eggs and other items related to the biology and activity of birds. <br />
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Barn Owl Credit: Wiki Commons<br />
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The small size of the barn owl skull caught some attention. Most of the size we see in the barn owl's head is its feathers!<br />
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Students handled feathers and could see the individual feather filaments. Each filament also has barbs that helps the <a href="http://www.asknature.org/strategy/c2f8abc558cb3adef7df08b5eb2b4846#.UxHdd_ldXO0" target="_blank">filaments</a> hold together. Birds take care of their feathers by preening. Paula compares preening to a zipper on a jacket--preening zips the filaments back together!<br />
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Above, Paula shows students a variety of bird talons before passing the case around for closer examiination.<br />
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Students engaged in a lively discussion about the difference between reptile eggs and bird eggs, noting that bird eggs have a hard shell while reptile eggs remain soft. The hard shell of the birds' eggs is essential to support the weight of the parent bird's body during incubation. <br />
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Ms VanWinkle's class is enjoying an intensive series of lessons about birds called "Feathered Friends", including field trips and guest speakers to help expand student's knowledge and awareness of birds. <br />
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Students also enjoyed a slide show presented by Billie Cantwell that showed many different species of birds with a variety of beaks and feet adapated for the habitat and foods that the bird requires. The presentation included bird songs played electronically.<br />
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Students examine owl pellets and indentify the prey by looking at the skulls that are expelled in the pellets! <br />
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Each of the students received a Discover Birds Activity book. Ms VanWinkle has used the book to help introduce vocabulary related to the study of birds.<br />
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Above, the "Feathered Friends" class. Following the Discover Birds visit, Ms VanWinkle shared the following: "My 'Feathered Friends' students really have caught bird fever! The KTOS program really opened up their eyes to how diverse and interesting different species of birds are--seeing the variations in nests and eggs, hearing the different calls, and understanding the value of birds in the ecosystem were all powerful lessons." <br />
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Ms VanWinkle's students are creating a field guide of the birds they find! I hope they will allow us to share some of their projects with you on this blog!<br />
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A special thank you to Billie Cantwell for the images appearing in this blog post and to Ms VanWinkle and her class for a great experience! <br />
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<a href="http://www.natureswaymontessori.com/" target="_blank">Nature's Way Montessori School</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleTOS" target="_blank">KTOS on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a><br />
<a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/" target="_blank">eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">Tennessee Birds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/birds.cfm" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds</a><br />
Cornell's free beginning birding app--<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell/id773457673?mt=8" target="_blank">Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/mobile-apps.html" target="_blank">Audubon Mobile Field Guides</a>Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-61907232516994119502014-11-15T20:58:00.000-05:002014-11-17T21:34:50.939-05:00Discovering Birds with South Knoxville Elementary Students!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On November 7th, Discover Birds volunteers paid a visit to after-school students at the South Knoxville Elementary School to present the Discover Birds program and help students find birds that live around their school yard.</div>
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Learning to use binoculars to get better looks at the birds, was the first activity students experienced before going outside for their bird walks on the sidewalks of the campus.</div>
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Students learned to adjust the binocular focus for their vision, to focus on stationary objects and to bring the binoculars up to their eyes while still looking at the object or bird in order to get the binoculars on the object. </div>
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Jerry Ledbetter suggests students focus on the words on a sign in the lobby for practice.</div>
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Below, Lynn Davis talks with students about using their ears to listen for birds. The presence of birds is often noted first with our ears because they make many vocalizations while foraging and flocking. Being quiet increases the chances of hearing a bird and reduces the chances of scaring the bird away. <br />
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Once outside, the students watched for movement and listened for the sounds birds make while feeding or flying. There were several types of berry producing shrubs near the school grounds that attracted birds.<br />
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Above, Jerry Ledbetter helps a student get his binoculars on a bird. Once the bird is in view, students took note of the bird's characteristics. What markings are on the face? What is the bird's overall size and shape, the overall color? What color is the beak? </div>
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Look closely to find the bird in the image above. Sometimes leaves and limbs get in the way of seeing the entire bird at once, but we can often see enough to identify the species. A small flock of Cedar Waxwings was feeding on the ripe, red berries found in this honeysuckle shrub. Normally, the waxy tips of a <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/cedar_waxwing/lifehistory" target="_blank">Cedar Waxwing's tail are yellow,</a> but if the bird eats many of these honeysuckle berries while the feathers are developing, the red content in the berries turns the tail tips orange or reddish-orange!<br />
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A female Downy Woodpecker, above, was another big hit and easy to see as she foraged on insects on a tree's bare limbs and trunk. </div>
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Marikay Waldvogel and Lynn Davis pass out <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2014/02/waterford-press-pocket-guides-are-big.html" target="_blank">Tennessee Birds--Naturalists Pocket Guides</a>, to help students identify the birds they see. Students also used the guides to identify some of the birds they have seen in their yards at home.<br />
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Before returning to the school building to rotate into a different part of the program, third grade students pause to have a group photo made, below. The Discover Birds Program was presented in three parts--a guided bird walk with binoculars, a show-and-tell experience with bird-related objects students can view up close, and a slide presentation about birds. Approximately 66 energetic students participated in the program.<br />
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Below, Billie Cantwell talks with students about hummingbirds and their small size and long migration. By placing a tiny band on a hummingbird's leg, biologists are learning about hummingbird migration patterns and their life span.<br />
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Billie, who organizes the Discover Birds program visits, has had a <a href="http://vickiehenderson.blogspot.com/2012/01/rufous-hummingbird-wintering-in.html" target="_blank">male Rufous Hummingbird wintering </a>in her yard in Knoxville for the past four years. She knows it is the same bird each year because of the unique number it wears on its <a href="http://vickiehenderson.blogspot.com/search?q=rufous+hummingbird" target="_blank">leg band</a>. <br />
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Above, Billie talks with students about the unique characteristics of birds that make them different from other animals.<br />
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Volunteer, Doug Schneeberger, talks with students about the characteristics of a bird's feathers, including the overlapping barbs at the end of each filament that act like a zipper to hold the feather filaments in place.</div>
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A holly full of red berries at the corner of the sidewalk is an attraction for several birds species. A Song Sparrow foraged on the ground underneath for seeds and insects.</div>
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A Northern Mockingbird perches on a high holly limb to over look his territory. He didn't seem to mind the movement of the students or the sound of their voices. After all, he lives around the school grounds all the time. Everyone tried to get the mockingbird in focus through their binoculars.<br />
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Below, Marikay Waldvogel recalls the bird species seen with a student. <br />
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The birds seen during our bird walks included: Northern Mockingbird, Carolina Chickadee, Song Sparrow, Common Grackle, Canada Goose, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Downy Woodpecker, American Robin, Mourning Dove and American Crow.<br />
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Each of the students received a Discover Birds Activity Book that they could take home with them to continue learning about birds. The books were contributed by the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society.<br />
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A big thank you to South Knoxville Elementary School for inviting the Discover Birds Program to visit the school. Appreciation, also, to Discover Birds volunteers Jerry Ledbetter, Marikay Waldvogel, Lynn Davis, Billie Cantwell, Doug Schneeberger and Vickie Henderson for bringing the program to the school!<br />
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<a href="http://www.knoxschools.org/southknoxvillees" target="_blank">South Knoxville Elementary School</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleTOS" target="_blank">KTOS on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a><br />
<a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/" target="_blank">eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">Tennessee Birds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/birds.cfm" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds</a><br />
Cornell's free beginning birding app--<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell/id773457673?mt=8" target="_blank">Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/mobile-apps.html" target="_blank">Audubon Mobile Field Guides</a><br />
<br />Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-42422234460763729462014-10-18T11:13:00.000-04:002014-10-18T17:25:23.838-04:00Discovering Birds with Blount County Home Education Association!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In the midst of a long string of gray, rainy days, the Discover Birds Program and Blount County Home Education Association had a beautiful, sunny day on October 17 at Ijams Nature Center!</div>
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Approximately 46 children and parent-teachers, for a total of 66, enjoyed the program lead by volunteers from the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS).<br />
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Before beginning their bird walks, students were given binoculars and Tom Howe (above) explains how to "get your binoculars on a bird". The secret--keep your eyes on the bird and raise your binoculars to your eyes.<br />
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Students practiced adjusting the focus of the binoculars and looking at stationary objects before trying to focus on a bird that likely will be moving.<br />
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The large group was divided into three sections, with each group rotating through the three parts of the program: a slide-show presentation about birds, a "show-and-tell" treasure chest with bird related items for close-up viewing and discussion, and a guided bird walk using binoculars and a scope. <br />
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Doug Schneeberger, above, talks with students about bird beaks and how these beaks tell us about the birds behavior and food sources.</div>
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Photo credit: Stephanie Bowling<br />
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The first bird walk group was divided into two groups, one walking in an open area with wooded edges, the other heading for a trail in the woods. Each habitat offers an opportunity to see and hear different birds.<br />
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Throughout the wooded walk, we heard Carolina Wrens, the bird that sings "tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle" and likes to hang around our homes and gardens. They build multiple nests, sometimes in mailboxes and old shoes! We heard call notes, scolding and their songs as wrens answered territorial songs and warned of the group's presence.<br />
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We couldn't see the wrens because they are so small and well camouflaged. Birding-by-ear is another fun way to discover birds as you walk!<br />
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Above, binoculars are aimed at a Cape May Warbler that landed close. While watching a Carolina Chickadee forage on a tree trunk, the group also spotted a nest of curious baby squirrels.<br />
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While the above group was on their bird walk, another group enjoyed the bird slide show. Below, Billie Cantwell talks with students while waiting for everyone to get seated.<br />
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The slides show birds of all sizes and shapes with many different kinds of beaks and feet. Everyone was familiar with the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. In response to a student's observation, Billie explains a way to help a trapped hummingbird find its way out of a building.<br />
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Hummingbirds must have nectar to sustain their high energy and will quickly become exhausted if trapped. Billie suggested opening the door to the building or garage and setting a table with a nectar feeder near the opening. Hummingbirds natural fly upward when trapped and can't find the exit. The hummingbird will be attracted to the nectar near the outdoors and find its way out.</div>
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A group of young students listen to Doug during their show-and-tell session.<br />
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Above and below, the children feel the weight of a nest made with sticks and mud.<br />
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Finding birds in the afternoon, on a sunny and windy day is not easy. Birds are often quiet and resting after a busy morning of feeding. The group watched a Blue Jay fly from one wooded edge to another and then got a special treat. Three immature bald eagles glided overhead.<br />
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Everyone tried to get the eagles into their binoculars--not easy when a bird is in flight.<br />
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Below, Chris shows students the light and dark patterns and "feather fingers" that help in identifying a bald eagle in flight.<br />
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Photo credit: Stephanie Bowling<br />
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Soon after the eagles flew by, a Red-tailed Hawk was spotted. Everyone was excited about seeing these large soaring birds that were catching thermals or the warm, rising air currents that enable them to soar without flapping their wings.<br />
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A group of students, below, discuss what makes birds special and different from other animals. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2uJ72b0pk9fMXTikGT0BJb5YDwA_O5IIQy2mOdY70agW9-5Ylqtc5fCnFtHKuK4yMLCCXzjUg7l7mfsBgN4Y3anrb0g4JzoyQlI3Z_RsjQ9259wyeQSea93EXZjFu1UguYA1Snrdxw8LR/s1600/IMG_4715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2uJ72b0pk9fMXTikGT0BJb5YDwA_O5IIQy2mOdY70agW9-5Ylqtc5fCnFtHKuK4yMLCCXzjUg7l7mfsBgN4Y3anrb0g4JzoyQlI3Z_RsjQ9259wyeQSea93EXZjFu1UguYA1Snrdxw8LR/s1600/IMG_4715.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a><br />
Doug challenges their thinking with questions about what muscle groups enable birds to flap their wings. <br />
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A large sternum and well-developed breast muscles help give birds their strength in flight.</div>
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Students listen to the sound of a feather...<br />
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and examine a bird's nest, below.<br />
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A student below, examines the contents of an owl pellet.<br />
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Doug asks, "from which end does the bird expel the pellet?" Eyes brighten and one student answers, "the bottom end", but that isn't correct. Pellets are expelled through the mouth as regurgitated balls of undigestible prey parts. Below, owl pellets are shown with undigested prey skulls, bones and hair,<br />
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Each group of students received a special presentation from Sammi Stoklosa and met a non-releaseable Eastern Screech Owl that lives at Ijams Nature Center.<br />
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The owl was hit by a car and lost one eye. Sammi explained that this often happens because people throw food out of their cars which attracts mice or other rodents. The owl is attracted to the prey as a food source. <br />
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Owls are night hunters and rely heavily on their hearing. They also have specially adapted flight feathers that are silent in flight. <br />
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Eastern Screech Owl<br />
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Above, Billie Cantwell distributes Discover Birds Activity Books. Each student received a complimentary activity book from KTOS and the Discover Birds Program. <br />
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A special thank you to Ijams Nature Center for allowing us to use their educational trails and facility. And a big thanks to the Blount Home Education Association and Billie Cantwell for arranging this program. A special thanks also to KTOS Discover Birds volunteers: Doug Schneeberger, Chris Welsh, Tom Howe, Tony King, Sammi Stoklosa, Susie Kaplar, Robin Barrow, Billie Cantwell and Vickie Henderson. <br />
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<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleTOS" target="_blank">KTOS on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a><br />
<a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/" target="_blank">eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">Tennessee Birds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/birds.cfm" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds</a><br />
Cornell's free beginning birding app--<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell/id773457673?mt=8" target="_blank">Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/mobile-apps.html" target="_blank">Audubon Mobile Field Guides</a>Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-56590951116115735022014-09-20T17:21:00.001-04:002014-09-23T21:39:37.030-04:00Young Adventures Group Students Discover Birds!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Friday, September 19th, the <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a> and the <a href="https://homeschool-life.com/tn/yag/" target="_blank">Young Adventures Group</a> (YAG) homeschool students and teachers met at the <a href="http://forestry.tennessee.edu/arboretum.htm" target="_blank">University of Tennessee Arboretum </a>in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to learn about birds!</div>
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Doug Schneeberger began the program with his trunk of bird treasures including beaks, feet (castings), bird skeletons, talons, feathers and other items that demonstrate the unique and varied characteristics of birds. <br />
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Above, the skull and beak of a Wood Stork. A Wood Stork's bill is very sensitive allowing it to forage in muddy water and capture small fish and invertebrates that swim through its open bill. When a Wood Stork touches prey with its bill, it can snap its bill shut in 0.025 seconds! This is one of the fastest reaction times known in vertebrates! <br />
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Here's what a Wood Stork looks like. Biologists believe that his bald head may make it easier to clean the mud from his head.<br />
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Below, Doug shows students a comorant beak. You can visit the cormorant at Cornell: <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Double-crested_Cormorant/id" target="_blank">Double-crested Commorant</a>. Commorants can be found in Tennessee, while Wood Storks are most often found in coastal wetlands in Florida and South Carolina.</div>
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Below, Doug discusses the skeleton of a bird and talks about features in common with humans and what is different. <br />
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Birds create a variety of nests! Below, Doug shows students some of these nests. No two nests are built exactly alike, and birds build a variety of nest shapes with a variety of materials. Some birds create tightly woven nests. Others, such as the <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">killdeer</a>, make no nest at all and simply lay their eggs on gravel. (You can find a killdeer on the <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">Common Tennessee Birds</a> page.)<br />
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As Doug was talking, I noticed that one of our students (shown below) was carrying a notebook and a pencil and making sketches of the bird-related items that were discussed. This is what explorers and field biologists have done for centuries--recorded and sketched their observations in a notebook!</div>
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By the end of the demonstration, Jean-Philippe, age six, had captured a visual record of a robin's nest, a talon and a Wood Stork's skull! An excellent way to record what you find in nature! <br />
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Photo credit: Jean-Philippe's Mom<br />
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Above, two students pass a bird's nest for a closer look. After Doug's presentation we went on a bird walk along the arboretum trails. <br />
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It was a very hot afternoon (81 F degrees!) and the birds were mostly quiet but we found some very interesting habitat, including Jewel Weed (above), cardinal flowers and other hummingbird-attracting plants along the creek's edge. <br />
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The birds species found were American Robin, Tufted Titmouse, Eastern Phoebe (<a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/eastern_phoebe/id" target="_blank">heard his song</a>), Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren and a flock of calling American Crows flying over the trees tops. <br />
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Each of the students in the program received a <i>Discover Birds Activity Book</i>, compliments of the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS).<br />
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A special thank you to Kate Owens, of Young Adventures Group, and Billie Cantwell, from KTOS, for arranging this program. A big thank you, also, to Discover Birds volunteers Doug Schneeberger, Michael Plaster and Vickie Henderson!<br />
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<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleTOS" target="_blank">KTOS on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a><br />
<a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/" target="_blank">eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">Tennessee Birds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/birds.cfm" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds</a><br />
Cornell's free beginning birding app--<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell/id773457673?mt=8" target="_blank">Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/mobile-apps.html" target="_blank">Audubon Mobile Field Guides</a>Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-25336525468025445962014-09-01T08:18:00.000-04:002014-09-01T08:18:00.451-04:00Discover Birds Featured at the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2014/08/weve-got-books.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Books</a> are available in the brand new visitor's center at the <a href="http://www.tnwrfriends.org/" target="_blank">Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge</a> in northwest Tennessee!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOn3nhZKveBDkKyRykxjdy0u_BqwHJiHBMCJt0tbkZze8tc1yzJN2VJgLsGMpsiB74VhyphenhyphenRWeq_j7Yb4XpfQ0OrXz6LstdZa3UX3_V42EirxYnzGT98_qpWQd8PTdsBxco_mIONaBywXfz/s1600/IMG_0771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOn3nhZKveBDkKyRykxjdy0u_BqwHJiHBMCJt0tbkZze8tc1yzJN2VJgLsGMpsiB74VhyphenhyphenRWeq_j7Yb4XpfQ0OrXz6LstdZa3UX3_V42EirxYnzGT98_qpWQd8PTdsBxco_mIONaBywXfz/s1600/IMG_0771.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
Photo credit: Cyndi Routledge<br />
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Cynthia Routledge, who coordinates the distribution of the <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Books</a> for the Tennessee Ornithological Society (TOS), is affiliated with the Friends Group at the refuge and acquainted with Ranger Joan Stevens. "I knew that Joan hosted many field trips through the year with many local schools kids in Henry, Benton and Humphrey Counties. ...I saw this as a wonderful outreach opportunity and donated 205 books to the Friends Group for use in the bookstore."<br />
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Above and below, teachers try out binoculars and learn the best way to locate a bird or other wildlife. Joan, the refuge's Educational Specialist, conducted teacher workshops on July 21st and 22nd at the refuge's new visitor's center near Britton Ford and Paris, TN. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrPSLuG75hXjjsk7Ypd881qoZ3a6MeGeJfYqETfF_iMbfTK2XDT3HdTwCrvFOeT-Ocp5OzJWiUR9C4lCQJGDX47sK-FaMpZiYZ5yY6cfI8S7rxyEZ3b2Q3HflLpPh1U8b6-D6KNV9G6CN/s1600/IMG_4272%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrPSLuG75hXjjsk7Ypd881qoZ3a6MeGeJfYqETfF_iMbfTK2XDT3HdTwCrvFOeT-Ocp5OzJWiUR9C4lCQJGDX47sK-FaMpZiYZ5yY6cfI8S7rxyEZ3b2Q3HflLpPh1U8b6-D6KNV9G6CN/s1600/IMG_4272%5B1%5D.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
The workshops were held to introduce area teachers to the new facility, the programs offered at the refuge and the educational opportunities for student field trips during the school year. Each teacher received a Discover Birds Activity book and a copy of the new curriculum guide, compliments of the Nashville Chapter of the TOS. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLYt189btLhQI45CdT8wafUHPrrMwOK0HbHDUcapoamoB2ogjL0n-xUey4zNhhZoltgLOm-r6EDQc5Iks65vO0ZCPNc0ulIFJnBflqFd9ndlmiQtjaqR2i2m307vI9BT4jhICneeUblqV/s1600/IMG_4283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLYt189btLhQI45CdT8wafUHPrrMwOK0HbHDUcapoamoB2ogjL0n-xUey4zNhhZoltgLOm-r6EDQc5Iks65vO0ZCPNc0ulIFJnBflqFd9ndlmiQtjaqR2i2m307vI9BT4jhICneeUblqV/s1600/IMG_4283.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
Ranger Joan Stevens describes a bird field guide and how it is used in the field. <br />
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The teachers in the workshop try out a "bird beaks" activity that demonstrates how varied beak shapes help birds eat their preferred foods.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaWscBEPyhbLklI1lmk-ddwMFJszm8qwyDj4p1yuftmlgovejLI1QZRsh78r79lzObQ5iW7DfOV32Wvrr-kHZo3fmZ-UsU3_XKhZ-zMdwiGKOuhO_vptZWoZLkIuQmJxZxEBAPQaxq6gT/s1600/IMG_4325%5B2%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaWscBEPyhbLklI1lmk-ddwMFJszm8qwyDj4p1yuftmlgovejLI1QZRsh78r79lzObQ5iW7DfOV32Wvrr-kHZo3fmZ-UsU3_XKhZ-zMdwiGKOuhO_vptZWoZLkIuQmJxZxEBAPQaxq6gT/s1600/IMG_4325%5B2%5D.jpg" height="482" width="640" /></a></div>
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Thank you to Joan Stevens for providing the teacher workshop images!</div>
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TOS member Cyndi Routledge, of Clarksville, coordinates the <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2014/08/weve-got-books.html" target="_blank">free distribution</a> of the Discover Birds Activity Books. The only requirement is that the books be used as part of an educational program that includes a bird walk experience introducing children to the birds around them. Educational programs are also asked to provide a brief description of their activities and photographs that can be shared with others on the <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Discover Birds Blog</a>.</div>
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To make a request for <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">activity books</a> for your classroom or program, contact Cyndi Routledge at routledges@bellsouth.net.<br />
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To download and print a copy of the activity book, visit: <a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/education.html" target="_blank"> The Tennessee Ornithological Society--Educational Resources page.</a><br />
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<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/nashvillebirds/home" target="_blank">Nashville Chapter, TOS</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/index.shtml" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwrfriends.org/" target="_blank">Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge</a></div>
Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-25949529737293110712014-08-03T12:00:00.002-04:002014-08-03T14:34:01.929-04:00We've Got Books!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Twelve thousand books! Thanks to a generous grant awarded to the <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a> by the Tennessee Crane Fund earlier this year, we have just received delivery of 12,000 <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Books</a> to be distributed throughout the state of Tennessee. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWfuBtHNMSmQlAErWTYiSoZI01PqOdePcfnHEO6wvN0iQZLWvFGx-ZBu-qqLMlzVHLb5fe1rOZ_UEVguq2dlx-tGlvTcMtSD5Nlg5O6jmcTh4LgUYkge-evAhGniny23ptituuc23scrvq/s1600/DiscoverBirds_72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWfuBtHNMSmQlAErWTYiSoZI01PqOdePcfnHEO6wvN0iQZLWvFGx-ZBu-qqLMlzVHLb5fe1rOZ_UEVguq2dlx-tGlvTcMtSD5Nlg5O6jmcTh4LgUYkge-evAhGniny23ptituuc23scrvq/s1600/DiscoverBirds_72.jpg" height="640" width="494" /></a></div>
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The Tennessee Ornithological Society (TOS) will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2015 and it is our goal to distribute these books to as many Tennessee educational programs as possible in order to promote excitement and learning about birds. The books are targeted for Tennessee, but we have also enjoyed sharing books with <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-discover-birds-program-visits-black.html" target="_blank">other states</a> and <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/2014/07/susan-hollyday-takes-discover-birds.html" target="_blank">Cuba</a>! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVoZcZLobMlygQoOdx926w0xx9D92WWetSmubXg5Bfx_las-xPKNSZu7xR9Gu7GqBw1Xb2-2gOouP86ZSKqrHENpoU4ELs5XKs-XTQ0d6tJ4E-csXGZhM7s4GZMk9rjMfK1MtPRaiuqYi1/s1600/IMG_0967_72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVoZcZLobMlygQoOdx926w0xx9D92WWetSmubXg5Bfx_las-xPKNSZu7xR9Gu7GqBw1Xb2-2gOouP86ZSKqrHENpoU4ELs5XKs-XTQ0d6tJ4E-csXGZhM7s4GZMk9rjMfK1MtPRaiuqYi1/s1600/IMG_0967_72.jpg" height="444" width="640" /></a></div>
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TOS member Cyndi Routledge, of Clarksville, coordinates the distribution of books. The only requirement is that the books be used as part of an educational program that includes a bird walk experience introducing children to the birds around them. Educational programs are also asked to provide a brief description of their activities and photographs that can be shared with others on the Discover Birds Blog.</div>
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To make a request for <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">activity books</a> for your classroom or program, contact Cyndi Routledge at routledges@bellsouth.net.<br />
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To download and print a copy of the activity book, visit: <a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/education.html" target="_blank"> The Tennessee Ornithological Society--Educational Resources page.</a><br />
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<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/index.shtml" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society</a></div>
Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-42064262659211698852014-07-07T20:19:00.001-04:002014-07-07T20:21:19.453-04:00Susan Hollyday Takes Discover Birds Activity Books to Cuba!Susan Hollyday, a member of the Nashville chapter of TOS, traveled to Cuba recently with the Road Scholar Program (formerly Elderhostel) on a People to People two week tour to learn about many aspects of the Cuban culture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3FcRwMvNQaUErm9VyqJgUhdFntgrHAh9y4mdF9nO-aK_ntKqm-Y-eRTVziSPz71s_m-tLDxpNBAummGf3F9OV28QpRSNBlyBsm5jE-uRK5dj7AG2HAXWw6x59wYe_tTSE0Cn2b5YyaSD/s1600/school.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3FcRwMvNQaUErm9VyqJgUhdFntgrHAh9y4mdF9nO-aK_ntKqm-Y-eRTVziSPz71s_m-tLDxpNBAummGf3F9OV28QpRSNBlyBsm5jE-uRK5dj7AG2HAXWw6x59wYe_tTSE0Cn2b5YyaSD/s1600/school.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
Susan writes: "It was suggested that we might like to bring gifts for some of the folks along the way. From the itinerary, I noticed we would be visiting an elementary school where the children were studying English. I then decided to carry a dozen <i>Discover Birds Activity Books</i> and several Teachers Curriculum Guides with me. My 37 year old Cuban guide was delighted. This was a first and he was very pleased to have me share the booklets with the school." <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2lOLw62OsNPEtuOZDXtX_ZslhU_LrU2RDUn8G95orWl7Dz6MKM8n6UQSIbs7ID9rjXjCpHJvli9fFJ_hjkjPUcjVS8bdrghfhyphenhyphenezQBvUBPeBVJToPt7MBBWbAED-jn8Ac4ZrCSQZLUwjr/s1600/MsRodriquezand+students.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2lOLw62OsNPEtuOZDXtX_ZslhU_LrU2RDUn8G95orWl7Dz6MKM8n6UQSIbs7ID9rjXjCpHJvli9fFJ_hjkjPUcjVS8bdrghfhyphenhyphenezQBvUBPeBVJToPt7MBBWbAED-jn8Ac4ZrCSQZLUwjr/s1600/MsRodriquezand+students.jpg" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
Susan visited the San Eugene of Mazenod Elementary School. "I presented their teacher, Ms. Rodriguez, with several <i>Discover Birds Activity Books</i>. I also gave her several copies of the Teacher’s Guide. Ms. Rodriguez...was especially happy to have new material to present to her students. Supplies are scarce in Cuba. The activity books are the perfect grade level, with a format similar to the workbooks they are using. Many of the birds in Cuba are the same as the birds in Tennessee which appear in the<i> Discover Birds Activity Book. </i>Perhaps we share some migrants! This should make the booklets even more meaningful, if the children see the birds in the books in their own neighborhoods. Of course, they will be more aware of birds and possibly other things in nature."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gnL3Q2_iYKEV35yPjsS-vgu-TggvvIDMO2_1zyFEw6ly45ZhQjbYxOf55UHXcVRH3V4Vm3LtZCs171moI0Xo8WNe0Bbs5Eo-SfmirsAS6Q4MPwKOg3kLOiD8bLmhN3sx3ffuZFrr-I6g/s1600/DSCF3965SSH_at_El_Morro,_Santiago_de_Cuba_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gnL3Q2_iYKEV35yPjsS-vgu-TggvvIDMO2_1zyFEw6ly45ZhQjbYxOf55UHXcVRH3V4Vm3LtZCs171moI0Xo8WNe0Bbs5Eo-SfmirsAS6Q4MPwKOg3kLOiD8bLmhN3sx3ffuZFrr-I6g/s1600/DSCF3965SSH_at_El_Morro,_Santiago_de_Cuba_cropped.jpg" height="640" width="550" /></a></div>
Susan reports that she recently sent more booklets, pencils, and sharpeners to the elementary school and included several copies of the Teachers Curriculum Guide. <br />
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"I hope the mail works! In my dreams I see a young English speaking Cuban leading a group of American birders on an eco-tour of this beautiful country. Who knows what seeds may be planted?"<br />
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Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society's <a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/education.html" target="_blank">education page</a> to learn more about the<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank"> Discover Birds Program</a>. You will also find an online pdf of the <a href="http://vickiehenderson.blogspot.com/p/discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a> that can be downloaded and printed and a copy of the <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Teacher's Curriculum Guide</a>. <br />
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For information about obtaining printed books, contact Cyndi Routledge at routledges@bellsouth.net. For more information about the Discover Birds Program contact Billie Cantwell at bfcantwell@gmail.com or Cyndi Routledge at routledges@bellsouth.net. <br />
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Links and Resources:<br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/nashvillebirds/home" target="_blank">Nashville Chapter of TOS</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/aboutus.htm" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society</a>Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-8919123848408410472014-07-05T10:01:00.003-04:002014-07-05T16:48:53.094-04:00The Discover Birds Program Visits Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge!<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Nova Clark is an education specialist and ranger at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Monroe, Louisiana. </div>
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During a google search for Whooping Cranes, she ran across my blog, <a href="http://vickiehenderson.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Vickie Henderson Art,</a> and found the<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank"> Discover Birds Activity Boo<u>k</u></a> and information about contacting Cyndi Routledge, in Clarksville, Tennessee, the Discover Birds Activity Book volunteer coordinator. Cyndi arranged for the Black Bayou Lake summer camp to receive 30 books that were donated by the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/nashvillebirds/home" target="_blank">Nashville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society.</a></div>
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This Black Bayou camp session shown here was a week-long session for 3rd to 5th grade students who participated in nature walks, fishing, boating and a range of out-door activities that helped them learn more about nature.</div>
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Students completed activities in the Discover Birds book and took walks to find birds and learn about their habitat. </div>
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A bird beak learning experience is shown above.</div>
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In her recent email Nova describes the student experiences: </div>
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"The camp is a nature camp that runs for 3.5 hours each day for a week and we cover all kinds of nature topics, just to get kids more familiar with the outdoors. This week it is for kids who have completed the 3-5th grades in school. We have been using the books as well as going outside and taking nature walks which also includes looking for birds and learning about habitat. So we have looked for nests, talked about adaptations, played the migration game [Migration Mad Lib on pg 19 of the book], and had a bird-beak challenge. " </div>
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Above, students use utensils to represent different bird beaks and try to pick up food items to demonstrate how different beaks work best with different foods.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisgdEulzUUlSARyQVFYdRniZZFufnTtBIPf2-1dmMbC-cnOV_4GaZDtnv4LKMxCLZ_01NYXLHzzwwLCBk1_r8BPSA6XHJm7GFgnpnm7NK-_7BvKgtDkhijxjwytCAm-MbM1oxpMHby3X0/s1600/IMG_5390.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisgdEulzUUlSARyQVFYdRniZZFufnTtBIPf2-1dmMbC-cnOV_4GaZDtnv4LKMxCLZ_01NYXLHzzwwLCBk1_r8BPSA6XHJm7GFgnpnm7NK-_7BvKgtDkhijxjwytCAm-MbM1oxpMHby3X0/s1600/IMG_5390.jpg" height="302" width="640" /></a></div>
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Photo credit: Cyndi Routledge Prothonotary Warbler</div>
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Nova continues: "We also have a challenge trail which includes two bird stations, one of of which is standing on one leg like a heron the other flapping like a hummingbird. We will be fishing tomorrow and talk about our fishing birds. Still hoping to actually see a Prothonatory Warbler on the trail, always a challenge since we hear them but they are good at hiding from us!"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqNlj5M4owS-Bj23fLeE9vpdMp5pwDeVgnjcTrpGXTWolmqrWEE6-L9YIlUE75ioscveIx4TDcRoZf3q9_j8Wa0vDP3kwOpIvu2pK4-clltdQJ_lHFCvTF5LFab_bE24UbqzsfZP8Px7A/s1600/bayou_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqNlj5M4owS-Bj23fLeE9vpdMp5pwDeVgnjcTrpGXTWolmqrWEE6-L9YIlUE75ioscveIx4TDcRoZf3q9_j8Wa0vDP3kwOpIvu2pK4-clltdQJ_lHFCvTF5LFab_bE24UbqzsfZP8Px7A/s1600/bayou_2.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
Above, camp students work exercises in their activity books after spending time finding birds in nature.<br />
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The <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a> is published by the <a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/education.html" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society </a>and distributed free to teacher classrooms and non-profit organizations that provide out-door activities to help students learn about birds and their environment. The book is designed to continue the learning and excitement that students experience when they discover birds in their natural world.<br />
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A special thank you to Nova Clark for her inquiry about the book and for providing the above images and description of the camp program at <a href="http://www.fws.gov/northlouisiana/blackbayoulake/" target="_blank">Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge</a>! Thanks also to Cyndi Routledge and the Nashville Chapter of TOS for their generous donation of books! <br />
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Our goal: To give students an exciting experience that will spark their interest in birds for a life-time! <br />
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<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/nashvillebirds/home" target="_blank">Nashville Chapter of TOS</a>Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-24101546357212209422014-06-11T20:03:00.000-04:002014-06-11T22:22:38.984-04:00Clayton-Bradley Academy Discovers Birds!On May 23rd, the Discover Birds Program had a great morning of discovering birds with students on the campus of the <a href="http://www.claytonbradleyacademy.org/" target="_blank">Clayton Bradley Academy</a> in Blount County, Tennessee. <br />
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Above, Billie Cantwell gets students ready to learn about birds by playing the bird's song while showing students the bird on her I-pad. A slideshow presentation followed showing students a variety of birds, their habitat and the ways in which the bird's characteristics make it well suited for that habitat. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRWYfHu6Xkwa0VyPQ_uE89lz6f-8Sj5UqKdj3aoyPieulYDAdSRl4QI2_2ebdwgE933huodO1e7jVkxubkYo7WQn3s6HgiWRsRW6eJZ0gafwoI6gFisDCGUrwvJpwqUUrxy-d8wqJudM8W/s1600/IMG_1342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRWYfHu6Xkwa0VyPQ_uE89lz6f-8Sj5UqKdj3aoyPieulYDAdSRl4QI2_2ebdwgE933huodO1e7jVkxubkYo7WQn3s6HgiWRsRW6eJZ0gafwoI6gFisDCGUrwvJpwqUUrxy-d8wqJudM8W/s1600/IMG_1342.jpg" height="506" width="640" /></a><br />
Students groups rotated through a three-part program--a bird slide presentation, a show-and-tell session with bird related items that students could handle and examine, and a guided bird walk. Students were given a Waterford Press Pocket Naturalist Guide on Tennessee Birds to help in identifying birds and binoculars were provided. Birding spotting scopes were also provided to help "bring the birds closer". <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUw1T8k0IzZ-RlLND0AaBvfY5C6MiiyKcsQ1iNucKSIHFrp8XHrJDHjRalBc_kcVE_hsItrWpJFcXFsn_6XZ7QJl989FBupKvvYHx-BGxJ_GknYnW5P567U2OuT4uS4jQbFCQyLii5qUoL/s1600/IMG_1347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUw1T8k0IzZ-RlLND0AaBvfY5C6MiiyKcsQ1iNucKSIHFrp8XHrJDHjRalBc_kcVE_hsItrWpJFcXFsn_6XZ7QJl989FBupKvvYHx-BGxJ_GknYnW5P567U2OuT4uS4jQbFCQyLii5qUoL/s1600/IMG_1347.jpg" height="428" width="640" /></a></div>
Above, Warren Bielenberg talks with students about listening for bird songs and calls. Often we know that a bird is in the area because we here their song or call notes. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCdxIq7HOaPcCspy3FokvAnus8fatUeJGJa4HrpeLVhA80ukUcmn8h0EHU8wrGPRNrx7vGaf8W2Rq0_5zeru50nv99cSTOwn-XaIoIZrCk_412vAZHZeSUciaRCu8iM_yTjnRUSF8Lf3A/s1600/IMG_1352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCdxIq7HOaPcCspy3FokvAnus8fatUeJGJa4HrpeLVhA80ukUcmn8h0EHU8wrGPRNrx7vGaf8W2Rq0_5zeru50nv99cSTOwn-XaIoIZrCk_412vAZHZeSUciaRCu8iM_yTjnRUSF8Lf3A/s1600/IMG_1352.jpg" height="470" width="640" /></a></div>
Above, Chris Welsh helps a student use the spotting scope while another student finds a Mourning Dove with his binoculars.<br />
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Above, Warren talks with students about how to find birds. His walk took his students along a path near a creek, below. Eastern Bluebirds, American Robins and a Green Heron were among the birds found. <br />
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Warren explained that some birds have more than one name. The Robin's full name, for example, is American Robin. He compared these longer names to human first and last names. We hear the Robin's full name less often than the simple name, Robin. <br />
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The Green Heron was found sitting on an electrical wire which seemed like an unlikely place to find a wading bird. The two green herons in the area seemed to like these wires for perching. Warren gets the scope on the heron just before it flies. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRES5tIDuLLUFYDEtmKcWQ2sMHcupW5IJVntF-60y3HgJxrbXMsHbckVsyKy8y4h8XwI2_0MC-raLA4rCqdCQCOmAwF_iwmXC8UJphKlvy8PfAFD55HeCFStzMGq2BPSQfgNi87Z0TVCl4/s1600/IMG_1498.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRES5tIDuLLUFYDEtmKcWQ2sMHcupW5IJVntF-60y3HgJxrbXMsHbckVsyKy8y4h8XwI2_0MC-raLA4rCqdCQCOmAwF_iwmXC8UJphKlvy8PfAFD55HeCFStzMGq2BPSQfgNi87Z0TVCl4/s1600/IMG_1498.jpg" height="448" width="640" /></a></div>
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Above, you see the Green Heron in flight and below, a closer view of a Green Heron in its wetland habitat. Green Herons are wading birds that feed on fish and other small wetland animals.</div>
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Photo credit: Wiki Commons</div>
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While Warren's group was on their bird walk, another group of students was visiting with Paula Schneeberger to see and learn about her collection of bird-related objects. Bird talons, eggs and a collection of owl pellets are among the items the students examined. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEeHLNI_P_itiIN-nskDw1GFKyoF8sY0sl3HyhVyjttZsF7E3mzJVkw_e6UCbZuTJRfNmnW3jcX_KNEDiA5Ey2vqiVhKODE2q2Qeo-dMgGtTH78Sukj81IKqyQVdglTi3GieZxB8uGx8Gd/s1600/IMG_1424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEeHLNI_P_itiIN-nskDw1GFKyoF8sY0sl3HyhVyjttZsF7E3mzJVkw_e6UCbZuTJRfNmnW3jcX_KNEDiA5Ey2vqiVhKODE2q2Qeo-dMgGtTH78Sukj81IKqyQVdglTi3GieZxB8uGx8Gd/s1600/IMG_1424.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
Above, Paula explains that baby birds while hatching have a "pipping" tooth on the end of their beak, a hard protrusion that helps the unhatched chick break open the shell. The pipping tooth disappears a few days after the chick is hatched. <br />
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Above, the last bird walk group assembles outside for their birding experience. As Warren explains some tips on finding birds, Chris Welsh gets his telescope on an Eastern Kingbird perched high in a tree at the edge of the campus. <br />
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It looked as though the kingbird and his mate were guarding their partially built nest, located to the right and below the kingbird shown above. Below, is a closer view of an Eastern Kingbird. Kingbirds are fly-catchers. They catch insects by flying out from a perch in spectacular maneuvers to snap up insects in flight. <br />
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Males and female kingbirds look alike. Below, a Common Grackle perches on a limb briefly before flying on. Notice his yellow eye and overall size. Grackles are smaller than crows, which are also black.</div>
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At the concrete supports that brace the nearby highway, we found nest-building Cliff Swallows. Cliff Swallows build their nests of mud and are colony nesters, meaning many pairs nest together in the same location. The swallows flew into the nest area together and left the nest area at the same time, filling the sky with chattering, insect eating birds!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZbBWHkfUqPteY1Vt_QFeGVM1JqrZkViD4MQhYHeKsKARta4Kj23DS-Z7n1fmFoXJehDgsu1Yh_SIOts9ctRVXTZHqrBlGd8RNb5mR0n9i0YD1rBNkoIDVG9_LSea2quyKldeukxujSgJ/s1600/IMG_1569.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZbBWHkfUqPteY1Vt_QFeGVM1JqrZkViD4MQhYHeKsKARta4Kj23DS-Z7n1fmFoXJehDgsu1Yh_SIOts9ctRVXTZHqrBlGd8RNb5mR0n9i0YD1rBNkoIDVG9_LSea2quyKldeukxujSgJ/s1600/IMG_1569.jpg" height="464" width="640" /></a><br />
Below, two images that show the beautiful colors of the Cliff Swallow and a closer look at an unfinished mud nest. When finished, the nest entrance will be closed into a small round opening, protecting the eggs and hatched young inside. <br />
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Photo credit: Wiki Commons<br />
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The swallow below has just applied wet mud to the nest.<br />
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Photo credit: Wiki Commons<br />
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Below, a Red-tailed Hawk flies over-head giving us a look at his powerful wings and red tail.<br />
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Red-tailed hawks are one of our most common hawks in Tennessee. They feed on mice, voles and other small rodents that they find by hunting from a high perch.<br />
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Our thanks to Clayton-Bradley School and the teachers who invited us to bring the program to their students. Thanks also to Discover Birds Program volunteers Doug Schneeberger, Paula Schneeberger, Warren Bielenberg, Chris Welsh, Vickie Henderson and Billie Cantwell. <br />
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For the morning we found 41 species of birds. Chris Welsh uploaded the following list to eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: <br />
<br />
3 Mallard<br />
1 Double-crested Cormorant<br />
flyover<br />
1 Great Blue Heron<br />
flyover<br />
2 Green Heron<br />
1 Black Vulture<br />
3 Turkey Vulture<br />
2 Red-tailed Hawk<br />
2 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)<br />
3 Mourning Dove<br />
1Chimney Swift<br />
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker<br />
1 Northern Flicker<br />
1 Eastern Phoebe<br />
Nest under overpass, fresh but did not see birds at nest.<br />
1 Great Crested Flycatcher<br />
2 Eastern Kingbird<br />
Seen near what appeared to be unfinished nest.<br />
Breeding Code--Visiting Probable Nest site<br />
1 White-eyed Vireo<br />
3 Blue Jay<br />
4 American Crow<br />
2 Barn Swallow<br />
Nest under overpass<br />
ON Confirmed--Occupied Nest<br />
50 Cliff Swallow<br />
Active nests under overpass<br />
ON Confirmed--Occupied Nest<br />
1 Carolina Chickadee<br />
heard only<br />
1 Tufted Titmouse<br />
heard only<br />
2 Carolina Wren<br />
4 Eastern Bluebird<br />
(2 adult males; 1 recently fledged juvenile (sex unknown); 1 adult female) <br />
Confirmed recently fledged young<br />
4 American Robin<br />
2 Northern Mockingbird<br />
6 European Starling<br />
18 Cedar Waxwing<br />
1 Prothonotary Warbler<br />
heard only along creek east of overpass<br />
1 Common Yellowthroat<br />
heard only<br />
1 Yellow-breasted Chat<br />
1 Eastern Towhee<br />
3 Field Sparrow<br />
2 Song Sparrow<br />
4 Northern Cardinal<br />
1 Indigo Bunting<br />
1 Eastern Meadowlark<br />
heard only<br />
5 Common Grackle<br />
8 Brown-headed Cowbird<br />
12 House Finch<br />
2 American Goldfinch<br />
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Links and Resources:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.claytonbradleyacademy.org/" target="_blank">Clayton-Bradley Academy</a><br />
<a href="http://www.waterfordpress.com/index.php/component/option,com_catalog/Itemid,39/id,249/task,showTitle/" target="_blank">Waterford Press Pocket Guides--Tennessee Birds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/KTOS.html" target="_blank">KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleTOS" target="_blank">KTOS on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-program-inspired-by.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Program</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nimbios.org/products/2013_TheConversationalist.pdf" target="_blank">Discover Birds in the <i>Tennessee Conservationist</i></a><br />
<a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/" target="_blank">eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">Tennessee Birds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/birds.cfm" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds</a><br />
Cornell's free beginning birding app--<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell/id773457673?mt=8" target="_blank">Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/mobile-apps.html" target="_blank">Audubon Mobile Field Guides</a><br />
<br />Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681796408337452006.post-80080017914726242412014-05-19T21:13:00.001-04:002014-05-19T21:20:57.603-04:00I. B. Tigrett Middle School Students Discover BirdsEarlier this year, Marsha Parsons, science teacher and <a href="https://www.plt.org/" target="_blank">Project Learning Tree</a> facilitator, requested 200 <a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Books</a> for sixth grade science students at Tigrett Middle School, in Jackson, TN. This spring, she received those books courtesy of the <a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/aboutus.htm" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society</a>.<br />
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Since receiving the books students in Mrs Parsons, Mr. Shackelford and Mr. Pledger's classes have been going on daily bird walks on the school grounds to study the ecosystem in which the birds in their area live . <br />
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Tigrett Middle School is located in an urban area with an open grass yard and bordering trees. Though it is often hard to identify birds at a distance, noticing the bird's relative size, color, if possible, the way it flies and its general behavior can often help in identifying the bird.<br />
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Common birds found in urban areas include: Mourning Dove, Rock Pigeon (feral pigeon), Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, House Sparrow, Common Crow and American Robin. Pictures and information about the life and behavior of these birds can be found at Cornell's All About Birds by <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1189" target="_blank">entering the bird's name</a> in the search space. <br />
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While on their bird walks, students study the habitat and have even discovered bird nests. They are using the bird adaptation section of the Discover Birds Activity Book to aid their discussion about the kinds of adaptations birds need for this urban environment. </div>
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A special thank you to Mrs Parsons, Mr Shackelford and Mr. Perkins for sharing their class activities and sending the above images of their students discovering birds! <br />
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Links and Resources:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-discover-birds-activity-book-is-fun.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Activity Book</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/view-discover-birds-activity-book.html" target="_blank">Discover Birds Curriculum Guide</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnbirds.org/aboutus.htm" target="_blank">Tennessee Ornithological Society</a><br />
<a href="http://discoverbirds.blogspot.com/p/common.html" target="_blank">Tennessee Birds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/birds.cfm" target="_blank">Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds</a><br />
Cornell's free beginning birding app--<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell/id773457673?mt=8" target="_blank">Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a><br />
<a href="http://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/mobile-apps.html" target="_blank">Audubon Mobile Field Guides</a><br />
<br />Vickiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301484477954719161noreply@blogger.com0