Day 167: bird drama

I wish I could tell you that there were so many birds feasting on our feeding station that they were fighting over the food.  But alas, that is NOT the drama I am describing. We have had one. Just one lonely little junco come to our yard (well besides the hawk the other day!).  And it didn't even visit our feeding station it came to the store bought feeder that is on the other side of the yard. FRUSTRATING!

Sam sits patiently waiting and watching on the couch for birds to come to the feeding station, but they don't come.  Today she was sitting there and excitedly called me over. I was jumping out of my skin thinking that we had a bird.  She told me she saw one and kept pointing.  Then she described how it was eating the seeds and flying around.  I looked at her puzzled.  She said, "come on mom, don't you see it?" and that is when I knew she was pretending to see a bird. How sad that my daughter has to pretend! 

But today she did get to see the one lone junco at the other feeder while she was washing her hands.  She recognized its white tummy from the flash cards we have been using but didn't know its name. Not the point anyway. 

So I am giving up.  For now.  We are leaving for the weekend on Friday and then early next week will be on Christmas vacation for 2+ weeks. It doesn't make much sense to pull out all the stops for the birds right before we leave.  But this challenge to get birds to come to my yard has got me thinking that I want to create the ultimate kid birding resource.  A giant list of homemade bird feeder tutorials, books about birds, field guides, gear, toys, games, anything and everything that makes birding easy and fun for YOUNG kids.  And I want YOUR help to do this! But you will have to read the Nitty Gritty! to find out how you can get involved.

Tomorrow Sam and I are going to be working on her classmate gifts that she will be giving out to her preschool friends and I am so excited about this idea. Come back tomorrow to check it out.

Also be sure to visit the ALNC auction post.  You can get a great Christmas gift and help a great organization. And don't forget to visit The Otter Side of Nature to check out their puppets!

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The Nitty Gritty!

Okay, so here is where I need your help.  I am looking for reviews, tutorials, stories, suggestions/tips, places to visit, anything and everything that has to do with birding for kids. Send me your suggestions and be sure to include links! I want this to be a HUGE list of links where parents and educators can find all the bloggers that are out there trying different ways to educate kids about birds.  We will try out as many of the suggestions as we can and link back to the blogger that sent it to me.  And your original post about the idea/project/product/etc. will also be linked on the page on the sidebar. A PERMANENT link on the sidebar!  I really want this resource list to be HUGE and full of ideas, doesn't matter how simple or small.  So even if you don't have an appropriate post or website suggestion please help me spread the word. 

We will be back up and running with our bird feeding station on January 6th and I am hoping to have some great ideas from you all to help us get these birds to come to our yard! 

Comments

[Tiffany's Toy Box]

Sorry you've had a slow start! Keep the faith! I know you guys can make it work!

[Debi]

I never thought I'd say this, but we LOVE bird watching! We struggle with squirrels stealing food from our backyard feeders, so we aren't as regular about feeding as I'd like to be. They do love our bird bath, though!

One thing I'd like to do come spring is plant more bird-friendly native plants.

A great resource for more info is your local Audubon Society. Our chapter hosts bird walks for families. Here's a link to a post I wrote about one we attended: http://goexplorenature.blogspot.com/2010/10/birdwatching-with-kids-at-malibu-lagoon.html

[Angela]

I am sorry it's taking a while with the birds. I have heard it takes a while for them to figure out the new hot eating spots. Then it's a whole lotta birds! There is hope yet. ;)

[welcome to our wonderland]

I have no ideas but will be checking back to see what you decided to do so I can do the same :)