Bird Stickers

when I was a kid, stickers were a big thing in school.  If we completed our assignments, our teachers would grade our papers and then we were allowed to choose from a collection of stickers.  There were all kinds of stickers to choose from and a lot of the kids had a hard time deciding.  I remember the boy who sat beside me liked vintage fire engines.  Many of the girls chose flowers and though I loved flowers too, I always chose birds. 

I especially liked the stickers which identified the bird in writing.  I even thought it would be nice if the stickers had more information about the bird, like the little cards that could be found in some cereal boxes.  Kids today will have to ask their parents and grandparents about the little cards found in the cereal boxes as that is going back a bit.

I remember asking why the sparrow sticker was larger than the sticker with the robin.    The teacher pointed out that if the stickers were placed on different assignments it would not matter because they were not on the same page and so we would not be comparing them to one another. 

When I asked my father, he suggested that it could be a matter of perspective, (for info on perspective follow the link) perhaps the robin was farther away in the setting so he would naturally look smaller than the sparrow who was close up. 

http://www.kidsfuncorner.com/Perspective-1.htm

Stickers are wonderful friends to put on our back packs and in our notebooks even if they are not awarded for excellent work.  Stickers make assignments more interesting. 

I had a scaled down replica of a steamer trunk when I was a kid, (A replica is a copy of the real item from history).  It was small, the perfect size for a kid.   Instead of the White Star Line  and Canard Line stickers that were placed on traveller’s trunks in olden days,  I put bird stickers from lands I had imagined I had gone to visit. 

https://www.google.ca/search?q=White+Star+Line+and+Cunard+Line+stickers&sa=X&biw=1366&bih=643&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ved=0CDIQsARqFQoTCM_1s9izisYCFQYHkgodM7sA9Q

No matter where you put stickers, they make life interesting and they can make notes and kid’s hideaways fun places to visit. 

Of all the stickers available, Bird stickers are still my favorite.

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

Downy Woodpeckers are enchanting birds.  They have a bouncy flight pattern which my old dog used to imitate by hopping across the lawn after his friend “Woody”.  I am certain that Woody enjoyed teasing him.  The dog and Downy Woodpecker were best friends for many years.  It was quite a sight to see.

The Downy woodpecker has black and white feathers, his wings looking almost checkered.  The male has a red patch at the back of his crown feathers.  Downy Woodpeckers are small birds at only 6 ¾ inches or 17 centimeters.  There is another  woodpecker which looks identical in his markings to the Downy but he is larger.   He is called the Hairy Woodpecker. 

Woodpecker bills are chisel-like.  Nature designed them perfectly for the excavation of grubs and boring insects which burrow into the cambium layer beneath the outer bark of trees. The cambium layer of a tree is a spongy layer under a tree’s bark which draws up nutrients from the earth, like drinking through a straw.  If the cambium layer of a tree is badly damaged by insect larvae the tree will die.  Woodpeckers help greatly in keeping a forest healthy. 

Biologists believe that by tapping with their bills and then listening, they can hear where insects are at work under the   thick tree bark.   Their long claws make them very surefooted when they climb trees.  Their stiff tails help them with balance when they are climbing.

The woodpecker nests high up in mature trees.  He will hallow out a space as high as 50 feet (15 metres) in the trunks of mature, very often dead, trees. 

Woodpeckers lay 5 to 7 eggs.   For two weeks, both parents, taking turns, incubate the white eggs.  The fledglings leave the nest after approximately two weeks.

In Swedish the woodpecker is called Ragnfagel which means Rain bird, possibly because their tap-tapping on hollow trees sounds like raindrops on the wooden surfaces.

Certainly on rainy days, woodpeckers often come to bird feeders for a shelled unsalted peanut or a bit of suet and he always brings a little sunshine into the hearts of bird watchers.

The Latin name for the Downy Woodpecker is Picoides pubscens.

The Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

 

The Blue Jay is mostly blue in colour.  Two tones of blue are noticeable at first glance.  His handsome crest (the tuft on the top of his head), and the nape of his neck and back are a soft violet-blue while his wings and tail are  dazzling cobalt with black barring and white patches.  He has a black necklace and bristly whiskers.   He is really a very handsome bird.  A flash of brilliant blue among the golden leaves of autumn is always a delightful surprise for the bird watcher. 

Some bird guides suggest that he is aggressive but he may possibly be just overly-exuberant (excitable) especially when he sees the feeder being filled.    He simply cannot contain his joy.  He shouts loudly “Jay, jay, jay” in a shrill voice for everyone to hear.   His big family crowds the feeder for morsels.  It is just one big, happy and noisy family gathering.  Often, the smaller birds will wait until the Blue Jays have settled down a little before they come to the feeders.  Many people hang out a second feeder for the smaller birds so that all may be fed.  

Among the Blue Jay’s many calls he has a lovely warble song that sounds a little like rippling water.   He is also a mimic, imitating the call of the Red shouldered hawk.  Some biologists believe the imitation may be a method of tricking the hawk into thinking that this space is another hawk’s territory, so “Do not enter”.  The trick seems to work and all the seed eating birds can dine in peace.  

Certainly, anyone who watches Blue Jays at the feeder for a little while will see that they are quick to sound the alarm with their loud shrill whistle if any predator comes near.   All the birds and squirrels and chipmunks pay attention to the Blue Jay’s warning and quickly find cover.  When the danger has passed they slowly return to the feeder table. 

 

Blue Jays nest high up in mature trees, making their nests from twigs.  Three to Five greenish-blue eggs are incubated by the mother Blue Jay.   When they hatch both parents feed the fledglings and that is no easy task.  Baby Blue Jays are the most demanding, noisy little birds imaginable.  Their poor parents must be exhausted trying to keep up with their demands. 

All and all, Blue Jays are remarkable birds and the young  bird watcher should be proud to check off sighting them in his bird journal.

The Latin name for Blue Jay is  Cyanocitta cristata.

 

This Place is for the Birds, Real Birds

Inspired by my young friends, I am writing a blog about birds.  Though it is designed for young readers, the young at heart are welcome to read and comment as well.

I am posting sketches of birds which I did when I was young, some in pencil and a few in water colour.  They may not be perfectly accurate or, to scale but I will also post links to various sites if anyone wants to find detailed scientific information about a certain bird. 

I write for the love of birds so I suppose I am a little sentimental rather than perfectly scientific in my writings.

Once you become a friend to the birds, you will want to know more about them such as how they build their nests, where do they sleep at night and where do they go in winter.   You may even want to build a bird house or set up a bird feeder and you will definitely become concerned for avian well being. 

Bird evolution dates back to the age of the dinosaurs.  Birds have been on this planet very much longer than humans.  We owe them and all creatures a little neighbourly consideration, but kids and the young at heart already know that.

I hope my readers will be inspired to take up bird watching as a hobby.  It is a wonderful way to connect with Nature and who knows perhaps bird watching may ultimately lead to a career as an ornithologist. (Ornithology is the scientific study of birds).

The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Cardinals are beautiful birds and the first time you see one, the memory of the sighting will stay with you forever whether or not you take up bird watching as a hobby.

The colour of the male cardinal is a brilliant fire engine red.  His lady is quieter in colour.  She has some red on her wings and crest and bill but mostly she is brownish-green.  Nature provides many female birds with camouflage so that they are practically invisible on the nest.  Camouflage is Nature’s cloak of invisibility.   These beautiful birds also have amazing headdress, called crests which adds to their air of enchantment and magic.

Cardinals are song bird and though every  bird guide describes the Cardinal’s  whistle differently perhaps the easiest  imitation to remember is: “What cheer, what cheer, sweet, sweet, sweet”.  Another call sounds something like “Whoit, whoit, whoit, whoit”.   If the bird watcher can learn to imitate that call, cardinals will come close.

Cardinals mate for life and often have three broods in a season.   A brood is a nest of eggs which the mother bird keeps warm by plumping up her downy feathers and covering them until they hatch.  She does not leave the nest for about two weeks and so the male brings her food.   Nestlings are ready to fly in nine or ten days and they will return to the same area to raise their nestlings.

Cardinals are seed eating birds and have stout bills which helps them to crack many tough seed husks.  They especially like the seeds in pine cones.  They will also forage for berries and occasionally eat insects.   Cardinals will come to bird feeders for sunflowers seeds.

The Latin Name for the Northern Cardinal is Cardinalis cardinalis.