Sharing our Discover Birds Activity Books with Cuba

Discover 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 Naturalist Journeys traveling companions enjoyed the honor of gifting Discover Birds Activity books to the people who welcomed us into Cuban life and culture.

Coffee grower, Omar Ramirez and Vickie Henderson        Photo by Billie Cantwell

We took both Spanish and English translations of the activity books to share in Cuba.  The printing of the Spanish translation was made possible through a generous donation from Naturalist Journeys. Naturalist Journeys will be taking the books to Cuba and other Spanish speaking countries as they continue to travel throughout 2017.

The printed English books were funded with matching donations from the Tennessee Ornithological Society and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

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 Naturalist Journeys touring companions were Billie Cantwell and Colin Leonard, also from Knoxville, and fellow members of the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society.

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.

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.

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.

Las Terrazas' school master with Vickie Henderson.      Photo by Billie Cantwell

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.

Billie Cantwell, Vickie Henderson, Otis Campa and Otis' son, in Las Terrazas, Cuba.  Photo by Colin Leonard.

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.

A big thank you to Naturalist Journeys for making the printing of the Spanish books possible!

New Spanish translation
Naturalists Journeys
Discover Birds Activity Book
Discover Birds Curriculum Guide
Discover Birds Program
Visit to Cuba in 2014
Tennessee Ornithological Society
Tennessee Watchable Wildlife sponsored by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

Discover Birds visits Nature's Way Montessori

On January 25th, 2017, KTOS 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.

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.  

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.

Above, a male Pileated Woodpecker.

All the children received a Discover Birds Activity Book, 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.

To see our previous visits to Nature's Way Montessori, click this link:  Nature's Way

Nature's Way Montessori School

KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society
KTOS on Facebook
Discover Birds Program
Discover Birds Activity Book
Discover Birds Curriculum Guide
Discover Birds in the Tennessee Conservationist
eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Tennessee Birds
Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds
Cornell's free beginning birding app--Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Audubon Mobile Field Guides

Home-schoolers Discover Birds at Halls Branch--Knox County Library!

Monday, October 5, 2015, a Discover Birds program was held for home schoolers at the Halls Branch, Knox County Library.  

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. 

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.  

After Doug's session, Merikay handed out binoculars to each student and demonstrated how to use them.  

The whole group then took a walk along the Halls Marsh Greenway.  Near the start, they had a wide view of the wetlands.  

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. 

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. 

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.

Below, Morton shows students a Downy Woodpecker on his phone bird app.  

  On the walk back, we heard Carolina Chickadees and got close-up looks of two crows on a wire.  

The checklist of birds found were submitted to Ebird.  It included:  Carolina Chickadee, Song Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Northern Cardinal, American Crow, Blue Jay, Northern Mockingbird, Downy Woodpecker, and American Crow.  

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.

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).

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!

Links and Resources:

Halls Branch--Knox County Library

KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society

KTOS on Facebook
Discover Birds Program
Discover Birds Activity Book
Discover Birds Curriculum Guide
Discover Birds in the Tennessee Conservationist
eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Tennessee Birds
Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds
Cornell's free beginning birding app--Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Audubon Mobile Field Guides

Creative Learning Academy Students Discover Birds!

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. 

Above, Discover Birds volunteer Jerry Ledbetter with Creative Academy students.

KTOS 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.  

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.  

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.  

                   

Inside, Doug had many bird-related items to show the students, including feathers, bones and skulls that students could pick up and examine closely.

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.  

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.  

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.  

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.”  

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.

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.

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.

A big thank you to our Discover Birds volunteers, and to Merikay Waldvogel for sharing her photographs and details about this event!

Links and Resources:

Creative Learning Academy website

KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society

KTOS on Facebook
Discover Birds Program
Discover Birds Activity Book
Discover Birds Curriculum Guide
Discover Birds in the Tennessee Conservationist

Discover Birds Visits After-Schoolers at Norwood Elementary School

On April 13th, Discover Birds Volunteers from the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society 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.

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.

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.

Jerry Ledbetter, above, helps a student adjust her binoculars.

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.

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 gray-blue in plumage.

Above, Merikay shows students the bluebird's field marks or identifying characteristics using a Tennessee pocket field guide by Waterford Press.

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.

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.

Above and below, another group of students receives instruction in the use of binoculars.

A European Starling was discovered on her nest in a tree cavity.  Other starlings were present in the tree limbs nearby.

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.

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.

Credit:  Wiki Commons

Above, the colorful iridescent feathers and bright yellow beak of the European Starling. During the winter months the starling's beak changes to black.    

Marikay and Jerry compiled an eBird report from our Norwood bird walks!  Here's how our bird count looked.

Apr 13, 2015
US-TN-Knoxville Norwood Elementary School
Stationary
0 miles
120 Minutes
Observers: 60
All birds reported? Yes
Comments:
Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.8
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Cooper's Hawk
1 Mourning Dove
2 Blue Jay
4 American Crow
1 Carolina Chickadee
1 Eastern Bluebird
4 American Robin
2 Northern Mockingbird
4 European Starling
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
1 Eastern Towhee
4 Northern Cardinal
1 Red-winged Blackbird

A big thank you to Norwood Elementary School's After-school Program for hosting the Discover Birds Program!  A special thank you also to KTOS Discover Birds volunteers: Merikay Waldvogel, Billie Cantwell, Jerry Ledbetter, Doug Schneeberger, Christine Hamilton, Susie Kaplar, Phil Kaplar and Vickie Henderson.  Each of the students received an activity book, donated by KTOS.

Links and Resources:

Norwood Elementary School
KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society
KTOS on Facebook
Discover Birds Program
Discover Birds Activity Book
Discover Birds Curriculum Guide
Discover Birds in the Tennessee Conservationist
eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Tennessee Birds
Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds
Cornell's free beginning birding app--Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Audubon Mobile Field Guides