A Birdie Surprise

This birdhouse has been sitting on our table for months and just the other day the girls peaked inside, and got a big surprise!  It looks like we have a nest of Nuthatches.

It's hard to tell, but there are 2 baby birds inside and they look like mini hairless chickens.  We saw the Mom inside the house yesterday, that's how we were able to identify them.

Olive drew this fantastic picture of a Nuthatch.

Here are some other birds that she saw at the bird feeder this week.  I love that my girls will spend hours outside exploring nature.

Bird Feather Study

Can you match the feather with the bird?

Scroll to the bottom of this post for the answers.

My girls love watching birds! We have really enjoy exploring the books above and matching the feather with the bird. Thank-you Grandmom for finding all these feathers in her North Carolina backyard.

(Top page answers:) 

Blue Jay, Robin

   Hawk, Wren

Woodpecker, Goldfinch

(Bottom page answers:)

Mocking Bird, Crow

Tufted Titmouse, Dove

Chickadee, Cat Bird

Happy Birding! Be sure to join the Great Outdoor Bird Count starting February 18th.

Natural Suburbia

Hand Peace Dove's for MLK Day

We had a lovely conversation this evening about peace and ways that we can show peace to the world. We talked about Martin Luther King and how he wanted all colors to come together.

 Olive: Peace is....
Sharing and caring with others, being helpful, helping someone when they get hurt,  and praying about nature and loving animals.

Jem: Peace is...
Helping others and being kind to your dogs, helping friends get up when they get hurt, and being nice to your family and friends.

I must say that I am a true believer in Classical Conversations as Olive said, "you mean Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation." I am impressed with the knowledge that she has picked up from her History timeline.  I explained the difference between the two Martin Luthers.

Baby news: I felt the baby kick for the first time this evening! I am right at 17 weeks and I have a big smile on my face as I type this.

Linking this post with:

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my Buzz Lightyear, my Dad, and to all the great men who make a difference in our lives.

The girls and I took Buzz on a kayak trip, it was a first for all of us, and something we will for sure do again. We saw many lovely birds, a stingray, and crabs.

Enjoy the outdoors with your Dad today!

Summer Nature Study Schedule

My girls love being outside so I thought I would put together a summer nature study to follow.

June: Birds- name, visual identity, song
         Ocean- plants, shells, mammals, crustaceans

July: Amphibians- life cycle, parts, habitats, identity
         Butterflies- life cycle, watch it grow

August: Rocks- types, visual identity
       
Along with our study each girls will keep a nature journal, nothing fancy, just another way to record what they see by drawing, sketching, and doodling. These take along guides found here at Amazon should help us on our nature journey. I hope you come along too!

The Great Backyard Bird Count- Participate!

The Great Backyard Bird Count takes place February 12th-15th.  All you have to do is watch birds in your yard, or around your neighborhood. Then enter your bird list online. Information from people all over the United States and Canada is collected so scientists can learn what kind of birds are being seen in the winter. Find out more here - this is what we spotted this morning near the birdhouse Olive made with Daddy last summer.