Handbook of Nature Study

Emerald Bay: Day Hike with the Boys

2009-07-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Summer afternoon hike at the lake...not just any lake but a sparkling alpine lake.

The trail is narrow and winds along the shore of the bay. I talked to another hiker along the trail and he was telling me he thinks the view on this trail is in his "top ten" views in the world. It is amazingly gorgeous. The colors of the water are so blue and the mountains, still with a little snow on the tops, are majestic. (The horizon line in this photo is so crooked that it really bothers me but I love this photo of my youngest stopped in the middle of the trail, taking in the panorama.)

It was nice to have my oldest son along since he is a photographer as well. He captured some great shots of the water and the surrounding mountains. We gave each other photography tips and support. He is such a tech guy and I am very much *not* a tech person but photography is a language that we speak in common.

This was a new wildflower to us...so bright pink. I had an inkling it was some kind of penstemon. I came home and looked it up and sure enough, Cliff Penstemon or Rock Penstemon-Penstemon rupicola, figwort family.

My field guide says, "in full bloom the plant is a swatch of bright, glowing pink, among the West's most beautiful wildflowers." Yup, I agree.

Here is the waterfall at the end of the trail. This was a 1.7 mile hike from the trailhead which runs Emerald Bay Campground to Eagle Falls. The falls were hard to capture in a photograph because the sun was behind them at this point late in the afternoon. You can imagine the waterfall roaring and the mist blowing over to us, cooling us off. It was very refreshing.

From the waterfall we hiked down to the shore of the lake to wade in the water and have a snack. The beach had a dozen or so Canada Geese. Look at those feet! They are really big birds with really big feet.

After we hiked back to the car, we drove to our favorite beach to have a picnic dinner. There were lots and lots of Mule's ear blooming. We enjoyed our food and then walked along the shore one last time before heading home for the day.

One last photo for those that wonder about bears....here is the sign at the place we had our picnic.

No bears on this day. We have encountered bears before in this area and we agree with what the sign says, "Appreciate the experience and move on....". The bears we have seen in the wild are usually too busy doing other stuff to take much heed of our presence. It is usually a pleasant experience and not one to be feared.

What a refreshing, fun afernoon and evening. We all are looking forward to our next trip to the lake.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

New Outdoor Hour Challenge eBook: Garden Flowers!

2009-07-05T15:27:00.001-07:00

Very soon I will be putting the finishing touches on my second eBook! This time there will be ten garden related challenges that will walk you through a study of garden flowers using the Handbook of Nature Study. In addition to the challenges already written, there will be more photos, nature journal examples, book lists, and totally new notebook pages designed to go with the Garden Flowers Challenges.

I listened to the families that reviewed the first Outdoor Hour Challenge eBook and included even more photos...larger than before. I have kept the same simple format with lots of suggestions and examples. I have made even more connections between the challenges and the notebook pages and I hope these pages help you get started with your nature journals in a painless way. There are links this time to my videos on YouTube.com that will help you see additional ways to work in your nature journals.

This eBook will be appropriate for families with children of all ages and you can adapt any of the challenges to your particular locality. You can complete the challenges in any order and they are written so that you can have the flexibility to have a focus on garden flowers but still enjoy and learn about whatever kind of nature captures your child's interest.

This is a book that will appeal to families that are just starting out with gardening as well as veteran gardeners. I am hoping that this eBook will arouse a passion for nature by observing the plants and flowers right in your backyard or neighborhood.

Check back later this week for a link to the newest Outdoor Hour Challenge eBook. If you are a subscriber to this blog, you will have an announcement sent to you the minute it is available on Lulu.com.

If you have any questions or comments, or you would like to be considered as a reviewer of this eBook, please email me: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Sincerely,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Garden Update: Early July

2009-07-04T06:40:00.000-07:00

This week's garden update includes some new munchies from the garden. The poppy above is probably going to be close to one of the last that I have for the year. I love the texture of this blossom, so delicate and papery.

I went ahead and picked the last of the lettuce. These are little mini heads of lettuce that taste so sweet and nice, almost like butter lettuce.

This is the final crop of mixed leaf lettuce. I don't really care for the bitterness of these varieties. I think we will plant a different kind in the fall....some that aren't so strong.

Banana peppers....I can hardly wait!

The hydrangeas are awesome this year. I love the purpleness of this one plant.

Our experimental mullein is blooming. For the first time we left the mullein growing in several spots in the yard and it is now showing us its more beautiful side. The hummingbirds have been investigating it as well. :) The empty feeder is a normal sight in our yard lately. I have a hard time keeping up.

Here is another angle of this section of the garden on a different day. The sunflowers are really tall now, way over my head. See how tall the mullein is too?

I don't think that I have shared my milkweed's progress yet. I sent away for some milkweed seeds from ButterflyEncounters.com and I started some of the seed in pots. I am a little nervous about transplanting it into the garden so I got a bigger pot and I am going to still keep a careful eye on it over the summer.

Amanda's coneflowers are blooming and the bees are buzzing happily. If you look carefully in the background of this photo, you will see her zinnias have started to bloom as well.

Well, that is a quick trip around our garden this week. Just to a note to myself=We planted bee balm and salvia this week, hoping it will grow now that the weather is hot.

Until the next garden update...
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Gray Birds: Our Outdoor Hour Challenge

2009-07-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

The last of the bird challenges has arrived. For our family, this series of challenges has helped us become more aware of the birds around us at all times. We also have all become more adept at using our Peterson Field Guide. Every week we have spent some time quietly observing birds, admiring their various colors, shapes, and behaviors.

This week's challenge to learn about gray birds taught us more about the pigeons we see in our neighborhood. We have a flock of pigeons that live in our town on an overcrossing and there are always pigeons hanging around at our grocery store parking lot. Someone throws out bird seed for them on the pavement and they flock there to have a meal.

My daughter Amanda has a phobia about pigeons. She avoids them at all costs. Pigeons are not my favorite bird, but I have come to appreciate them more through our reading in the Handbook of Nature Study.

"For an out-of-doors exercise during recess let the pupils observe the pigeons and tell the colors of the beak, eyes, top of the head, back, breast, wings, tail, feet, and claws. This exercise is excellent training to fit the pupils to note quickly the colors of wild birds."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 52

No mockingbirds this week....we will keep our eyes out for this interesting bird and its songs.

We also spent some time discussing as a family how we don't have as many birds in our yard and feeders during the summer as we do during the winter. In the winter, our list of feeder birds is really long. Yesterday we observed at our feeder to make a comparison.

House sparrow
Titmouse
Hummingbird
Western scrub jay (also in the bird bath)
Goldfinch

Comparing the lists is amazing....we must have a lot of migratory birds in our area since they must leave to go north once the winter is over. Looking at the maps in the back of the Peterson Field Guide have been very helpful in knowing just where our birds migrate to and from....so interesting.

We found this coloring page on Enchanted Learning and thought it was helpful.
Rock Dove (Pigeon)

We also found this explanation helpful from the Peterson Field Guide.

"Pigeons and Doves. Plump, fast-flying birds with small heads and low, cooing voices; they nod their heads as they walk. Two types: 1. birds with fanlike talkes (Rock Dove or Domestic Pigeon); 2. smaller, brownish birds with rounded or pointed tails (Mourning Dove).
Peterson Field Guide (W) page 208

This was a great way to end our bird study. Of course, we will always be on the look out for different birds to add to our life list in our nature journal.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Raccoon Study: Outdoor Hour Challenge for Mammals

2009-07-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue. As I was going through all the past challenges, I realized that I never posted our study of raccoons.

In our neighborhood, we have raccoons. Big raccoons for the most part. They always surprise me when I see them because they are large, curious looking animals. We have had them look in our windows and french doors at night with their shining eyes. We have had them sit in open doorways and look in at us. They have been known to carry away whole bowls full of cat food. I had a big Tupperware container filled with catfood on the back deck and they would come at night and remove the cat food, carry the pieces over to the water dish, and proceed to wash the food and then eat it. We could see their hand prints on the deck and around the bowl. They are clever creatures indeed.

Last summer Mama Raccoon would bring her young ones in the middle of the night to climb the trees just outside our bedroom window. You could hear them making noises in the dark as they played and climbed. I am not positive but I think they would go up the tree and eat the seeds from the pods from the magnolia tree. They would rustle around in the limbs of the tree and if you shone the flashlight out there, their eyes would reflect like glass.

This last trip to Oregon we made a discovery. Raccoons along the seashore. Here are the prints we saw in the sand.

There were prints very clearly defined.

There were definitely not dog prints.

Here is a notebook page that Mr. B made for his nature journal about raccoons.

If you can't read the bottom I will type it here for you to read. It makes me smile.

"One of the most adaptive mammals ever, the raccoon can make a living almost anywhere. Eating nearly everything it can put its hands on, raccoons aren't ones to be starved easily. Some live eating grubs and fruit, but the majority of these sneaky thieves steal pet food, bird seed, and any valuables it could pawn off later for a good price. When caught in the act, they will climb the nearest tree and flaunt their invincibility by falling asleep up there. Guard dogs will do next to nothing because they will fight with ninja-like prowess when cornered."

Funny.

This time of year our chances of seeing and observing a raccoon are very high. I hope we see one again soon.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Outdoor Hour Challenges-Nature Study for the Whole Family

2009-06-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

This week I have done some soul-searching about how to proceed with the Outdoor Hour Challenges. Not only how to proceed but why we should keep going at all.

Outdoor Hour Challenge History

There are fifty-two challenges on the sidebar to freely choose from on a variety of topics.
In addition, there is a whole series of bird challenges that are great fun to work through as a family.
The first Outdoor Hour Challenge eBook was published and has far exceeded my expectations.
We started a Flickr group to gather nature journal pages to share with each other to inspire and encourage.
1,175 links shared on Mr. Linky for all the challenges so far!

Outdoor Hour Challenge Present Day

Currently taking a short break to regroup and to organize the next series of challenges either about Crop Plants or Invertebrates, leaning towards Crop Plants.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Future

Two new eBooks in the works: Garden Flowers and Birds. Garden Flowers will be completed very soon if you are looking for a great summer series of challenges.
More free challenges as soon as I get them pulled together.

Time for Reflection
The soul-searching part of this process is trying to decide why families should stick with the Outdoor Hour Challenges and not switch to some other nature study program available.

What makes the Outdoor Hour Challenges unique? How are they different from what is offered from other places?

I thought about this long and hard. One afternoon I was typing an email to a mom who was just getting started with the Outdoor Hour Challenges. As I was typing, it came to me like a flash.

The Outdoor Hour Challenges are challenges for the whole family.

They were written to encourage and challenge parents to get started with nature study and to participate with their children as they go outdoors for a few minutes each week. These challenges were not written for the children but to the parents. This sort of nature study allows the parents to develop a passion for nature study and that is what is at the heart of the Outdoor Hour Challenge. The parent is not the teacher but the co-learner when the whole family accepts the challenge.

Everyone goes outdoors together and you all are searching for things to observe and learn about as a family. Everyone can share their experiences afterwards and all can make their own nature journals. The challenges are not assignments for the children to complete, but the idea is to stimulate a curiousity about nature in your own backyard by having prepared some ideas for study ahead of time.

The Outdoor Hour Challenges are written in such a way that you can be flexible and adapt to whatever interesting subject comes your way. You are successful just for having spent fifteen minutes outdoors, even if you never complete a nature journal page. The time spent outdoors as a family is the precious gem that your child will treasure in the years to come.

Here are some quotes from emails that I have received recently about the Outdoor Hour Challenges.

"Although I have always wanted to know more about nature, it hasn't happened until now. Your guidelines and direction have encouraged me to make it my own...." J. in North Carolina

"Just wanted to thank you again for all your encouragement, and your wonderful nature study plans. I had really hit a wall in homeschooling, and had been praying constantly for renewal and inspiration, and relief from my burn-out. " C.

"I have always struggled with the nature study because I do not feel very competent, but I am very drawn to it, and feel that it is one of the most important things I can do with my kids. I had been praying that God would help me in this area, and I even get Comstock's book out occasionally but am overwhelmed by it. Well, your blog has helped me to wrap my mind around nature study, and to make it a part of school and life, more importantly. My boys, being boys, love outdoors, and my husband seems to know a lot about anything nature-oriented. And now, I feel more equipped to "lay the feast" for them." P.

I read every email and try to comment on every link entered in Mr. Linky. I also save every "thank you" email to go back through when I am having a rough day.

I truly think that as far as the Outdoor Hour Challenge, I have received back more in return than I have ever put into it. The photos people email me of different things they discover during their nature study, the comments made in blog entries that are shared on Mr. Linky, the community of encouragement that I see growing worldwide, and so much more are worth the time and effort I put into the challenges.

This week of reflection on the foundational ideas for the Outdoor Hour Challenge has given me a renewed spirit to continue.

I will take this opportunity to thank everyone who has encouraged me over the last year and a half.......you have been an inspiration to me.

If you have not had a chance to pop over to Lulu.com to see the preview of my Outdoor Hour Challenge-Let's Get Started eBook, here is the link:
Outdoor Hour Challenge EBook
Be sure to read the reviews of the eBook at the bottom of the page at Lulu.com.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Please Note: All of the photos in this entry are past "Outdoor Hour Photos of the Week". Each week, or just about, I try to choose a photo from a family's blog entry that I share on the right sidebar of my blog. If you do not have a blog but you would still like to send me a photo for consideration, please send it in JPG format to my email: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Harlequin Cabbage Bug: A True Bug

2009-06-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

Harlequin Cabbage Bug, or Calico Bug or Fire Bug

We shared these a few weeks ago and I just now had time to look it up in my field guide.

Habitat: Crop fields, orchards, gardens, and meadows

Food: Juice of cruciferous plants, including commercial cabbage, kale, and broccoli crops; also turnip, horseradish, potato, beet, bean, grape, squash, sunflower, ragweed, and citrus foliage.

The field guide says that this insect causes white and yellow blotches on the foliage of infested plants.....

These bugs are right on my sunflowers and the sunflowers are right next to my squash plants.

It is always nice to put a name with an insect.

"Some insects go through all the stages of their development on land; these are the insects of fields and woods. This group includes some of the most interesting and beautiful of insects. They are especially well adapted for nature-study because specimens are constantly available."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 301

Here is my very first sunflower of the summer.

If you are interested in focusing on insects this summer, you can go back and work through Outdoor Hour Challenges 22-28. These challenges cover butterflies, moths, crickets, houseflies, ladybugs and aphids, honeybees, and dragonflies. Look on the right sidebar of my blog for each challenge.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Exploring with Pollen: Black-Eyed Susans

2009-06-26T11:09:00.001-07:00

We were out working in the garden this morning and the topic of pollination came up. We were talking about the different ways that plants pollinate and as if to illustrate one way, this spider obliged us with his example. We were really examining these black-eyed susans and their pretty pollen spots and we realized that this very yellow spider was sitting right there in front of us. Isn't he pretty?

I ran inside and gathered a few things to use in exploring the garden and its pollens. I brought out a few Q-tips and a hand lens for gathering some pollen from the flowers and looked at it up close. We also found that many of the flowers and veggies that we observed had ants crawling in around the inside of the flower. Pollination.

Pollen on a day lily

We took a few minutes more to look at various ways that plants hold their pollen and watched a few bees at work and then we came inside.

Pollen on a petunia

It was a short nature study but the best kind......stemming from curiosity about something we had close at hand.

Have a great weekend.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Oregon Coast Trail-What Are You Waiting For?

2009-06-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Western Azalea

We spent four days hiking several sections of the Oregon Coast Trail......a trail that extends from the California border to the Washington border along the Pacific Ocean.

This trail has some fabulous and surprising views and the sections we hiked were mostly within the Samuel Boardman State Scenic Corridor. If you ever have the chance to even hike a mile or so along this trail, grab it and enjoy the tall trees, the green ferns, and the views of the rugged and awesome Oregon Coast.

We camped at Harris Beach and four out of the five evenings were just like this....clear, sunny and filled with beautiful waves. We walked on the beach every night after dinner and then we would go back to the campsite and build a big campfire and roast marshmallows.

The first section we hiked started at Indian Sands and just like its name suggests, it has some huge sand dunes. The trail is a little sketchy at some points and you have to really hunt for signs but it is worth the effort. The dunes were perfect for running down or rolling down if you preferred.

Just around the corner from the dunes, the trail turns into a narrow path through wildflowers and Sitka spruce. Yes, that is the trail right along the cliff's edge. It was a spectacular section of the trail and the wildflowers are so thick you have a hard time seeing them all. Wild strawberry, Indian paintbrush, wild iris, clover, daisies....I can't even remember all the different flowers. We came back a second time to rehike this section because it was awesome.

Along the trail here Mr. B discovered this giant banana slug. This was the first time I saw one with big black spots on it and we observed it up close before hiking along down the trail.

The foxglove was dazzling and the forests were dotted with purple blossoms here and there. I love purple.

Another section of the trail leads down to China Beach. The trail was not well worn and was very narrow in sections but the wildflowers were spectacular. I loved this place and spent lots of time looking at all the different wildflowers. While I was busy doing that, the boys were busy doing something else.

The boys decided to make a beach structure with driftwood and this took them quite a long time to construct, but it kept the sun off and they rested here in the shade for a long time, just watching the waves. We packed our lunch with us so we had a picnic on the beach and then we stayed to explore the tidepools and rocks for a few hours before heading back up the trail and retracing our steps to the car.

Another day we drove farther north and caught up with the trail at Cape Blanco. It was a little cooler and definitely more windy here and if you look closely in the background of the photo above, you will see the lighthouse. This was a fantastic place with a huge campground. We would like to come back to Cape Blanco some day and camp for a few days to explore more. This time though we hiked the bluffs and then headed down to the beach to see if we could find some tidepools.

The lupine was amazingly pretty and in sections along the trail it was mixed it a colorful brew of other wildflowers. There were lots of birds here as well and we stopped several times to pull out the binoculars and view the birds.

Monkey flower, clover, and lupine all make a lovely mix of colors.

We did find a few tidepools and these snails in the splash zone. We watched them climb around for a few minutes and then we had the most fabulous time watching the birds at the beach. We saw mostly crows and turkey vultures but a few swallows, gulls, and songbirds as well.

The next morning found us hiking along the section of the Oregon Coast Trail at Thunder Rock. The trees were so thick along the path that it was quite dark and eerie. We had the trail to ourselves and when we broke out of the trees, we saw the view above. A spectacular cove with an arch rock and pretty clear water.

This invertebrate was crossing the path and he was the most beautiful snail that I have ever seen, if that is even possible for a snail to be beautiful.

The turn around spot on this section of the trail was a place called Secret Beach. The water was here and the beach, although small, was very nice.

False Lily of the Valley was just starting to bloom in this part of the forest. The leaves were very bright green and had such a great swirly pattern to them....just like a lovely green carpet.

Our last day found us back at Indian Sands...it was a very windy day but the water was pretty.

Windy but a great hike....can't wait until we can go back again sometime.

We did end up finding a place along the coast near Brookings that had tidepools. We saw so many seastars that I was overwhelmed.

The boys like the orange ones but I like the purple ones. :)

I had to include one last photo from the drive home. We stopped in the redwoods and took a mile hike just to enjoy the tall trees one last time. Sigh....why do vacations go by so fast?

I encourage families to consider a trip to the Oregon Coast and try some of the Oregon Coast Trail....you will not soon forget the beauty and the wonder of this unique place.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Just so you know, I kept up my nature journal. I listed fifteen birds in my journal and 27 wildflowers. Mr. B was working on a focus of mushrooms so he had a few entries for those in his journal.

Square Foot Gardening-More Information

2009-06-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

I have received so much email over the last week about my Square Foot Garden. I am so happy to see that so many of you want to give it a try. I decided that it might help to give you some direction if you are interested in learning more about this type of gardening.

I highly recommend going to your public library and checking out the book by Mel Bartholomew. It will tell you everything you need to know to get started. You can use this method year round so why not get your garden going over the summer?

Here is a video that gives you a brief overview of his methods.

If you are on email subscription, here is the link to YouTube.com.
Introduction to Square Foot Gardening

We started with three boxes and we now have five boxes. Three of the kids have their own boxes and I have two boxes of my own. It really is as easy as Mel says on the video. We are using far less water, far less seeds, and spending far less time in the garden.

We are growing: tomatoes (3 kinds), peppers (3 kinds), zucchini, winter squash, yellow squash, radishes, carrots, onions, green beans, lettuce (four kinds), herbs (basil, chives, oregano, cilantro), and spinach.

Please feel free to email me or leave a comment if you have a specific question.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Another Garden Update-Flowers and Veggies and Critters and an Outdoor Hour Challenge Update

2009-06-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

Do you see the short fence around the box? Yes, we had critters get in last week and dig holes and uproot all of our onions. We think it is our resident skunk since we can smell him at night and early mornings. So far the fence has deterred him from digging anymore holes.

Many of our day lilies are blooming and this one is our newest variety, Lemon Sachet. It is gorgeous!

The coneflowers are just about ready to burst out in Amanda's garden box. I love to have a fresh bouquet of these flowers on my dining room table since they make me smile.

Amanda's zinnias and cosmos are growing tall and the cosmos have flower buds...it won't be long now.

My flower garden is cheerful and colorful this year. I have black-eyed susans, roses, alyssum, sunflowers, morning glories, a hydrangea, and gladiolas all at varying degrees of maturity. The hummingbirds are already making themselves at home.

The green beans have perfect little blossoms and lots of them! I can hardly wait to have some crisp green beans for dinner.

Look at those baby tomatoes. I think they double in size every day now that the weather has turned hot.

Squash blossoms are a favorite of the bees in the garden.

Monster zucchini plant! The little ones next to it are winter squash. This is a new area to my garden this year and it receives a lot of sun...perfect for squash.

Last but not least, here are some peppers and blossoms. We have three varieties of peppers this year and they are all looking good so far. We tend to have puny peppers so I am hoping that this time I picked varieties that like our soil and weather.

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into this week's garden. I am working on a post where I share our hiking/wildflower/camping adventure from last week's trip to the Oregon Coast.

I am taking a few weeks to get my thoughts together for the next series of Outdoor Hour Challenges. While the poll I took regarding interest of topics was helpful in narrowing down the focus, there was a tie between Invertebrates and Crop Plants. I am going to go through the Handbook of Nature Study and see which one lends itself to a series of summer challenges better.

I will keep you posted as I develop my ideas.

I hope to have the next Outdoor Hour Challenge posted on Friday, July 10th.

Have a great week,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Wildflowers-Almost Summer Edition

2009-06-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

I had a very busy weekend and I will have a very busy week as well. I have been trying to keep my camera at hand to keep up with all the amazing things going on both in our yard and on the trail.

Here are few images from this week's walks. Make sure to click the images to enlarge and see all the little creatures that are hiding among the flowers.

Keep up with your outdoor time, even if it is for a few minutes each day. Go outside early if you are having summer heat already. You could even enjoy a beautiful sunset. My boys have slept outside quite a few nights since we finished with school and they really enjoy that part of our summer tradition.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Garden Progress: June

2009-06-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

We planted our garden at the beginning of May and these photos show what it looked like just three weeks ago. The above photo shows the beans just popping up out of the soil.

Here were the radishes three weeks ago.

My box three weeks ago.

My garden box now with the beans, peppers, tomatoes, radishes, carrots, marigolds, and lettuce all growing bigger by the day. We have even eaten some radishes and lettuce from the garden.

Yummy!

The hydrangeas are blooming!

The figs are growing plump on the tree and I am hoping the birds don't come and eat them all.

The Black-eyed Susans are starting to bloom.

These guys are in the sunflowers...they look like someone painted them with bright colors and stripes.

That is a quick walk through my garden this week. I enjoy the cool of the morning in my garden and with the Square Foot Gardening techniques I do not spend much time weeding but rather a little time watering and enjoying. :)

If you are interested in starting a nature study project in your garden, why not start with Outdoor Hour Challenge #12? Challenges 12 through 19 focus on garden plants and would provide an easy way to start your own summer gardening project.
Challenge #12

Topics in this series include:

I would love to see how your garden grows this summer!

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Day Lily Farm-Color!

2009-06-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

We had a chance to take a drive to one of our favorite local spots....a flower farm that specializes in growing and cultivating day lilies.

This is the perfect time of year to visit because so many of the early varieties are blooming.

This is one that I love and we have several in our home garden.

Wow! Look at the bright orange color! Stunning.

We wandered up and down the rows and rows of flowers and decided on one called, "Sachet of Lemon." I forgot to actually take a photo of this one, but when it blooms in our garden I will share a photo of it with you.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Outdoor Hour Challenge-Birds: Pigeon and Mockingbird

2009-06-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am posting this one a day early since I am going to be busy tomorrow.....enjoy the challenge!

We are to our very last bird challenge of this series. I can’t tell you how much our family has enjoyed learning more about the familiar birds in our neighborhood. Each bird is now a little bit more of a friend since taking some time to read and observe more about them.

Along with learning more about our backyard birds, we also have learned to identify different aspects of the bird and its behavior. We learned about the beaks, the feet, the eyes, and the feathers of many birds that we may some time come in contact with during our outdoor time. This knowledge is knowledge that we can apply to all birds and I know we are getting better at identifying birds since we took time to read through our field guide.

Each link shared in Mr. Linky has been a treasure to me and I want to thank all the families that have shared their experiences and birds with the Outdoor Hour participants. I know that I have learned some interesting things about birds that we don’t see all the time in our neighborhood.

If you are just now joining the Outdoor Hour Challenges, please don’t miss this series of bird challenges. I am going to be offering them in an ebook sometime later this summer. I will be including additional activities, resources, notebook pages, photos, and links in the ebook that I have not had time or room to include here on the blog. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Birds #8
Gray Birds
Pigeon and Mockingbird

Inside Preparation Work:
1. Read the section in the Handbook of Nature Study about pigeons on pages 50-53. I found the information very interesting so don’t be tempted to skip it because you think you know all there is to know about pigeons.
Also read pages 91-94 about the mockingbird.

2. Read in the Handbook of Nature Study the section on the migrations of birds on pages 35-37.

“Birds that travel are called migratory birds. If the spring migrants remain with us for the summer, we call them our summer residents. Fall migrants that remain with us for the winter are called winter residents. The migrants that do not remain with us but pass on to spend the summer or winter in some other area are called our transients or visitors.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 36

3. Read in Backyard Birds pages 44-47 about the pigeon and the mockingbird. You can follow the links above to AllAboutBirds.org and click on the button to listen to a recording of each bird call. If you are keeping a list of bird calls (see challenge 5), you can add this week’s birds to your list.

4. Peterson Field Guide: Use the index to look up the pigeon and the mockingbird. Use the information to learn more about the field marks and the behavior of each of these birds. Use the maps at the back of the field guide to determine the range and/or migratory patterns of this weeks birds or any of the other birds we have studied during the challenges. You will find the correct map by looking up the entry and then noticing the “M” code that will correspond with a map in the back of the book. Notice the explanation of the colors used on the maps by using the key on page 359(W) and page 305(E).

Outdoor Hour Time:

“Pigeons are found in every city. Look for them in parks and open areas.”
Backyard Birds, page 45

“The mockingbird is the only one of our common birds that sings regularly at night. It imitates the songs of other birds and has also a beautiful song of its own.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 93

This week you should be able to find a pigeon to observe up close. Although pigeons are not usually a *favorite* bird, you can use its example to take note of the beak and feet of a real live bird. I also enjoy seeing all the variations in colors of pigeons and some are quite beautiful with their iridescent colors.

Plan on taking your ten to fifteen minutes of outdoor time to observe birds. Practice all your birding skills.
Sit quietly and listen for bird calls.
For each bird you see, take note of its shape, size, beak, feet, colors, tail, wings, flight pattern, and any interesting behavior.
Take a walk in your neighborhood and look for places you might think you will find a bird: up in a tree, in a pond, on a fence, in a bush, in some tall grass, alongside a meadow, near some park benches, or at a feeder.
Get up early and go out birding at dawn or just a little after as the birds wake up and start their morning singing.

Don’t forget to fill your bird feeders and birdbaths each week! Even though this is the last official bird challenge you can keep your study going as long as you wish and your neighborhood birds have come to count on a meal and a bath in your yard by now.

Follow Up Activity for the Pigeon and the Mockingbird
Once you are inside from your outdoor time, discuss birds you observed and try to recall as many specifics as you can about each bird. Help your child get started with this activity by stating something you observed. For instance, if you observed a pigeon, you might say that you noticed that the pigeon’s feet let him waddle along the ground and not hop like a robin. Or you could say that the pigeon has a very small beak compared to the blue jay. You get the idea. You are helping your child recall things that he observed and then compare and contrast them to other facts he already knows about different birds.

You will find a coloring page for the pigeon in Cornell’s bird coloring book. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/schoolyard/T_Resouces/color_book.html . You can find a coloring page for the mockingbird here at this link: http://www.friendsacrossamerica.com/colorstateflbirdflower.html

Add any new birds to your bird life list, either in the back of the Backyard Bird book or in your nature journal.

You can also complete the migration notebook page from NotebookingPages.com’s bird set.

Follow Up Activity For Other Birds Observed:
Use the process described above to discuss any bird observed during your Outdoor Hour time. If you identified the bird, use the Peterson Field Guide, the Handbook of Nature Study, or the AllAboutBirds.org website to research any additional information. You can complete a notebook page for each bird if you wish. You will find general bird notebook pages in the NotebookingPages.com set or you can look up your bird in the table of contents of the Cornell bird coloring book.

I am still encouraging you to purchase All About Birds-Basic Study set for $2.95 from NotebookingPages.com, here is the link.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Here are the field guides we are using for this series of challenges. Please note that you will only need to purchase one of the field guides, either Western or Eastern.

New Poll about the Outdoor Hour Challenges

2009-06-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

I am having a hard time coming up with a new focus for the Outdoor Hour Challenges. I have added a poll to my side bar and I would love for you to pop over to the blog and vote for your choice of the next focus area for the Outdoor Hour Challenge.

If you have any other thoughts or suggestions, please email me. harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

We have already focused on:
Garden Plants
Insects
Clouds-Weather
Trees
Mammals
Flowerless Plants
Birds

I am thinking about:
Invertebrate Animals other than insects (snails, earthworms, crayfish, daddy longlegs, Spiders/cobwebs, seashore creatures)
Mammals-Part 2: We could focus on farm animals or other animals we did not learn about before.
Trees-Part 2: Study different trees than the first time around.
Crop Plants: corn, pumpkins, clover, cotton, strawberries.

Please vote and/or leave me a comment or email me and let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions.

Thanks,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Black and White Birds: Our Family's Outdoor Hour Challenge

2009-06-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

Spotted Towhee

We were hoping to observe some birds from this challenge but we never had an opportunity come up. We will have our eyes out for a woodpecker, a nuthatch, and a towhee. We have heard plenty of woodpeckers and towhees out in the woods as we walk, but they never come close by and let us have a good look for this challenge.

We have seen some birds to note here on the blog. We saw our very first ever grouse when we were out today. After our encounter with the sound of the grouse at Yosemite last month, we were prepared when we saw a grouse here locally. I did not have my camera so there is no photo but here is a link to the kind of grouse that we saw:
Grouse

We also saw a group of Canada Goose this past weekend. I think they sort of qualify as black and white birds. Don't you?

We also saw these ducks.

In the Handbook of Nature Study it says to study the goose and the duck and compare them. The questions in the lesson have you comparing different features of the duck and the goose like their beaks and feet.

We made a journal entry showing different kinds of bird feet. This was an interesting sketching assignment and we had to work carefully from the images on this website: Bird Feet.

Although we didn't see any woodpeckers, we did see evidence that there are some nearby.

This is a tree that the acorn woodpeckers have made holes in the bark and then stuffed acorns in for future meals. Here is a better look at the acorns.

Amazing that they make the holes just the right size.

This is what the AllAboutBirds website says about the Acorn woodpecker.
"All members of an Acorn Woodpecker group spend large amounts of time storing acorns. Acorns typically are stored in holes drilled into a single tree, called a granary tree. One granary tree may have up to 50,000 holes in it, each of which is filled with an acorn in autumn."

We come across these granary trees quite frequently in our area.

Here is a photo of a white-headed woodpecker that I took last summer at Yosemite.

He was not shy and we had a great time watching him work.

Although we were not successful in spotting this challenge's birds, we did take quite a bit of time to look for, listen to, and learn about the birds in the challenge.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Late Spring Wildflowers #3

2009-06-07T19:49:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we took a hike at the river and this time we found a beautiful new-to-us wildflower.

The color was so striking and so dazzling that I had to take some photos and then come home and try to identify it with my field guide.

Orange Bush Monkeyflower
Mimulus aurantiacus

Figwort Family, blooms March-August, great source of nectar for hummingbirds.

This is the third kind of monkeyflower we have identified this year!

The river was so green and lovely as we hiked along the trail. There were a few people floating down in tubes, enjoying the the cold water and the hot sun.

If you are interested, I have been updating my Yosemite Wildflower blog this week and I would love for you to pop over there and check it out. Here is the link:
Yosemite Wildflowers
All of the photos are from our trips last summer to Yosemite. I am aiming to finish all of the photos I have stored up before we take our next trip in July. I still have quite a few to go, but I am making headway.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Harmony Fine Arts: Free Summer 2009 Art and Music Appreciation Plans

2009-06-07T19:38:00.000-07:00

Please pop over to my art and music blog to read all about my FREE offer for summer art and music appreciation plans for you to download for your family.

Harmony Fine Arts: Free Summer 2009 Art and Music Plans

Please pass the word if you would like to on your blogs....you can grab the button and make a link.

Thanks so much,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Making Your Backyard a Wildlife Habitat

2009-06-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

When we first moved into our house over twenty years ago, the backyard was fairly generic. It had a big weedy lawn, a pine tree, a few fruit trees, blackberries along the fence, and some bushes in the back. The front yard had a magnolia tree and some lawn. Not really very inviting to either humans or animals. It was not a very big yard either and we did not have a lot of money to do big landscape projects at that time.

We didn't set out to create a habitat in our yard, but it has turned out that way with some simple ideas in mind. Working on one small area at a time we managed to eventually build up what we have now.

How to Get Started
Animals and Birds need some basic things in order to consider your backyard an attractive habitat.
*Food
*Water
*Shelter
*Somewhere to have their young

Food
We have several wild sources of food in our backyard like blackberries and grasses that produce seeds. We have planted a variety of things to help provide food as well.

We have a fig tree, a walnut tree, sunflowers every summer, and flowers whose nectar is attractive to birds and insects like trumpet vine and butterfly bush.

This trumpet vine is a favorite of the hummingbirds when it is in bloom. There will three or four all sipping nectar on various sides of the trellis and they are amazing to watch. We also have several types of bird feeders in our yard at varying levels.

Platform feeders, hopper feeders, hummingbird feeders, and special finch feeders are filled all year round. We have a suet feeder that we add in the winter.

We also have a butterfly/hummingbird garden established with quite a few plants that are attractive to various kinds of butterflies.

We have seen Tiger swallowtails already this year and we are hoping to start attracting some Monarachs with the milkweed that we have started in a patch near the back of the garden.

We also know that a variety of mammals eat the seed under the feeders. We have seen skunks, voles, and moles. We have seen evidence of other rodents but can't be sure exactly what else is out there at night.

Water
We have two bird baths that are available for the birds year round. We also have noticed the birds perched on the potted plants getting water from the base. The birds also enjoy the rainbird sprinklers when they are on and we frequently see blackbirds shaking around in the spray.

We have seen little raccoon footprints around the bird bath as well. We know we have at least one raccoon because we have seen him up on our deck at night looking in the back window. Too cute.

Shelter
We have not been successful with having birds nest in our birdhouse, but we have had several birds over the years make nests in our magnolia and sequoia trees.

There are also birds that nest in the eave of our neighbors garage right along the fence line. They fly in and out and use our feeders. Believe it or not, the birds fly into the space under the beam. If you click the photo you can see where they go in and out.

We have three large areas where we have shrubs for the birds to hide in. These photinia bushes behind the garden provide a great spot for the finches and little birds to perch as they wait their turn at the feeders.

These areas are near the feeders and the bird baths and the birds seem to like having the option to fly into the shrub and then check the feeder out before perching to eat a meal. The bushes come alive in the winter when the weather is wet because so many birds take shelter there out of the weather.

The back oak tree has bats from time to time and if we come out at night we can see them flying around the backyard eating insects midair.

We have a section of our yard that has big river rocks and this is where you will find a variety of insects living underneath and also a shelter for the reptiles in our yard. Yes, we have a couple types of lizards and other reptiles in our yard and the boys love it.

The grape vines which we planted last year are providing another spot for the birds to perch plus the added bonus of some seedless grapes for us at the end of the season.

Another great place that we know we have provided shelter is within our compost pile. This really could go under the category of food as well since we know that birds and other small creatures forage in the compost for meals.

Place for Young
The trees in our yard are a great place for birds to raise their babies. We just had "flying school" for the Scrub jays in our yard for the babies. They have all flown out on their own now and it was fun to watch. The hummingbirds are all up in a pine tree and a cedar tree that borders the back of our property and although we have never seen them, we know they nest and raise babies there.

We do have our limits thought....the six foot fence all the way around was in response to the mule deer that would come in and devastate a whole vegetable garden in one night. We knew we would be forcing them to go elsewhere for a meal but we live fairly close to a riparian habitat that they can graze and get water from. They still make themselves at home in our unfenced front yard and I hear them on hot summer nights snacking on my roses. I guess they must be hungry. The photo above shows where on the side of the house outside the fenced in area, the deer are still taking shelter here and sleeping. You can see where the grasses and plants are all flattened down from where they lay down and rest.

Last year we had a family of skunks move in under the back deck. I had the boys fill up the crevice with rocks as soon as they moved out. As much as I love wildlife, having a skunk family that near to our house was not pleasant...you can only imagine.

So there are some ideas to get you started with your backyard habitat. Take it one section and one idea at a time and soon you will have your own nature study laboratory right outside your back door. I love having the opportunity to have nature come to me in my very own backyard. It has taken us over twenty years to build up the different aspects but it has been a labor of love. We are continually adding little things to help make the backyard beautiful and also attractive to birds and other animals.

You might be interested in what the National Wildlife Federation says about building a backyard habitat.
Create A Wildlife Habitat

Involve your whole family in the project and spend some time outdoors!
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Late Spring Wildflowers #2

2009-06-03T18:45:00.000-07:00

It truly is amazing that I have been working on documenting the local wildflowers for months now and I am still finding new flowers every day. I did not imagine that this project would become so big that I would be fighting to keep up. Here is the latest batch of wildflowers from our walking trail.

Elegant Brodiaea

A yellow flower that is a mystery.....

Although this is not a wildflower, this grass is so purple-pink that it really is lovely.

Chicory

Yet another yellow mystery flower......
Edit: With Pequete's help, I think we have identified this one as Hypericum formosum or Scouler's St. John's Wort.

Here are some sweet pea vines growing alongside the trail. Brilliant and beautiful.

Not technically a wildflower, but the blackberry bushes are all blossoming in our area. I can't keep track of all the places you can find berries.

Tufted Vetch....when you stop to really look at the vetch it is gorgeous.

Sticky Chinese Houses or Tincture...this is a new one to me and I love it!

Look at the purple details on the blooms.

I love that there are new things to learn about around every corner. My boys are beginning to spot new flowers as we walk along and that makes me very happy. :)

We have taken walks at least once a day for the last week and it feels great to be outdoors so much with the family. We had a picnic today...nothing special, just some sandwiches and drinks but the view of the river was perfect.

We also saw a this young deer that became like a statue when we stopped to take his photo. Look at those ears.

You will have to click the photo to zoom in on the deer.

I think that catches us up for now with the wildflowers. We are on the downhill slide towards summer now so things will change again around here as far as what is blooming.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Late Spring Wildflowers #1

2009-06-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

I know it has been awhile since I posted any wildflower photos. I have come to realize that there is a super abundance of wildflowers in our area and once you start looking you are overwhelmed. I have tried to focus a bit on the wildflowers again and here is my latest batch of photos.

Western Mountain Asters

California Buckeye

Purple milkweed...gorgeous!

Elegant clarkia or something very close to it.

Mystery flower for this batch of wildflowers.

Miniature Lupine and Purple Chinese Houses

Purple Chinese Houses and Golden Brodiaea

Larkspur of some sort

Okay, that is all for this hike. Stay tuned I have another post brewing from yesterday's hike.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Wednesday Flower Study #10: Queen Anne's Lace

2009-06-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

Daucus carota

I have been on the look out for the first of the Queen Anne's lace of the season and yesterday I saw it alongside our walking trail.

My local field guide says this:
"Wild carrot, or Queen Anne's lace, is a biennial and its large root distinguishes it from the more common rattlesnake weed. Also, Queen Anne's lace is a common name used for many species of plants with delicate white flowers."

Here is a section of the Handbook of Nature Study, page 542:
"...this medallion flower attributed to Queen Anne is well worth studying. It belongs to the family Umbelliferae, which one of my small pupils always called 'umbrelliferae'because, he averred, they have umbrella blossoms. In the case of Queen Anne's lace the flower-cluster, or umbel, is made up of many smaller umbels, each a most perfect flower-cluster in itself."

"The wild carrot is known in some localities as the 'bird's-nest weed, ' because the maturing fruit-clusters, their edges curving inward look like little birds' nests."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 544

I know that spring is well along now that the Queen Anne's Lace is in bloom. It will be here all summer to enjoy.

Here are a few of the websites I have used in my study of wildflowers this term:
CalFlora.org -specific to California and free to join.
Northwest Common Wildflowers -National Park service coloring book
California Wildflowers -California Academy of Sciences, index by color

I am going to list a few Dover Publications coloring books that we have enjoyed over the years. You might like to have one on hand to include with your study of flowers with your children.

I have also used these field guides in my research of wildflowers:

This completes our families focus work on flowers, both in our garden and with a few wildflowers. We are going to be choosing a new focus for the summer... probably butterflies! Get ready to see what we learn and how we get started.

I hope you have enjoyed this series along with our family. If you are interested in reading all the flower entries, here is a list and the links:

(From original entry)
Flowers Blooming Already or That We Can Study Right Now
Violet (page 476) Finished 3/18/09. Here is a LINK.
Buttercup (page 516) Finished 4/27/09. Here is a LINK.
Tulip (page 552) Finished 4/1/09. Here is a LINK.
California Poppy (page 531) Finished 4/8/09. Here is a LINK.
Petunias (page 581) Finished 4/20/09. Here is a LINK.
Mullein (page 537) Finished 5/5/09. Here is a LINK.
Dandelion (page 531) Finished 3/25/09. Here is a LINK.

Flowers that Will Study in Addition to Those Above
Bleeding Heart (page 558) Finished 4/15/09. Here is a LINK.
Bachelor's Buttons (page 578)Finished 5/20/09. Here is a LINK.
Sweet Peas (page 588) Finished 5/27/09. Here is a LINK.

Pick your own flower or you can follow along with our study of butterflies starting in a few weeks. I probably won't post any butterfly entries until June 24th.

I am not going to add Mr. Linky to this entry since no one else has posted in the last two weeks. You can leave me a comment with a link if you complete a flower study this week and would like to share it with everyone.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Drawing White Flowers in Your Nature Journal

2009-05-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

Question from Phyllis:

On another topic, more art than nature study, I have a question for you: do you have any tips for drawing/painting white flowers? We're trying to draw these flowers with watercolor pencils right now. In the past, I've drawn a background behind, and left the white. Any other ideas? It's hard!

I did some experimenting and found a way to easily include white flowers in your nature journal. Using a watercolor wash and then putting the white flowers on top is one solution to the problem.

Steps:

Make a watercolor wash on your page and then let it dry.
Sketch lightly with pencil your flower's leaves, stem, and blossom.
Use watercolors and paint your leaves and stems.
Use white watercolor paint and very little water to fill in the white flower, keeping the paint very opaque.
Let your paints dry and then go back to add darker details and shading.

I use tube watercolors with great success.

We made a short video tutorial for you to watch.

I really like this book and even though it says it is for use with acrylics, I find it perfectly applicable for watercolors as well. If you click the Amazon.com link below, you can preview the pages inside. I love the visual index at the end of the book.

Many families wait to offer watercolors from a tube to their children. In our family, we found these watercolors to be a lot of fun and the boys learned early how to only squirt out a little at a time. I gave each one their own set along with their own palette and brushes. With a little training, you can offer these paints in your family as well.

Enjoy!
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Outdoor Hour Challenge-Birds: Woodpecker, Chickadee, Nuthatch and Towhee

2009-05-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week there are a lot of birds to choose from in your challenge. We have three of them that visit us in our yard at various times of the year so we have plenty of past experience with all but the chickadee.

This is a great video showing chickadees and a downy woodpecker eating out of someone's hand.

Amazing. I would love to be able to do this someday.

Additional downy woodpecker videos on Cornell's website:
Downy Woodpecker

I also like this video of the spotted towhee because it shows the sort of scuffling behavior I see under our bird feeders. I have even seen some towhees scratch away a few inches of snow to get at the seeds on the ground underneath. It is an interesting behavior.

This video is sort of long but you get the idea after watching the first minute.

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Birds #7 Black and White Birds
Downy woodpecker/Hairy Woodpecker and Chickadee
White-breasted nuthatch/Red-breasted nuthatch and
Spotted towhee/Eastern towhee

Inside Preparation Work:

1. Read in the Handbook of Nature Study -

Pages 70-74 about the downy woodpecker (Note the illustration of the woodpecker’s feet.)
Pages 68-70 about the chickadee
Pages 65-68 for the white-breasted nuthatch

2. Read in the Handbook of Nature Study the section on bird’s feet, pages 40-42. You may also like to look up this website: Types of Bird Feet http://fsc.fernbank.edu/Birding/bird_feet.htm

“The feet of birds are shaped so as to assist the bird to get its food as well as for locomotion.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 41

3. Read in Backyard Birds pages 36-43 on black and white birds: woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, and towhees. Make sure to note each bird’s field marks and to practice making the bird call for each bird as well. You can follow the links above to All About Birds and click on the button to listen to a recording of each bird call. If you are keeping a list of bird calls (see challenge 5), you can add this week’s birds to your list.

4. Peterson Field Guide: Look up and read about the woodpecker, chickadee, nuthatch, and the towhee. The best way to learn to identify birds is to study about them ahead of time. You may not see any of this week’s challenge birds at this time, but you very well may do so in the future. Be prepared!

Outdoor Hour Time:
Spend a portion of your outdoor time this week looking for birds but if you are not successful, keep this challenge in mind as you go through your weekly activities. You might be surprised when and where you see your next bird. This week we will try to observe some birds and their feet. This might be a good week to visit a duck pond and observe a duck’s feet up close. For any birds you do observe during this challenge, remember to note the general shape of the bird, the size, the beak shape, and the habitat. These observations will all be helpful in learning the identity of the bird.

You could also plan a trip to a pet store that has a variety of birds to observe. Our local pet store has a parrot or two, some parakeets, doves, and usually some other kind of small bird. This would be a good way to compare the different feet and how they are designed to be used.

Follow Up Activity for the Woodpecker, Chickadee, Nuthatch, and the Towhee
Each of these birds uses its feet in a special way. Make a journal entry featuring each bird’s feet.

Downy woodpecker-clinging to a tree trunk
Chickadee-perching, clinging
Nuthatch-clinging to a tree trunk, creeping
Towhees-hopping and scratching

You will find a coloring pages for all the birds in this challenge in Cornell’s bird coloring book. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/schoolyard/T_Resouces/color_book.html .

Follow Up Activity For Other Birds Observed:
If you are using the bird pages from Notebooking.com, you can complete a page for the feet of the bird. You can also use your Peterson Field Guide to help identify your bird or you can use the steps in Challenge 3 to try WhatBird.com’s search feature.

Just for Fun: Play a game of Guess Who? One person picks a bird and then gives clues one at a time to see if the other person can figure out what bird they are describing. For instance for a chickadee you could list the following clues one at a time: Small round bird, black and white, short beak, acrobatic, eats seeds, flies fast, black cap.

I am still encouraging you to purchase All About Birds-Basic Study set for $1.92 (sale price until 5/31/09) from NotebookingPages.com, here is the link.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Here are the field guides we are using for this series of challenges. Please note that you will only need to purchase one of the field guides, either Western or Eastern.

Here are your Audubon birds with calls: