Winter in Colorado is crazy this year. We are experiencing record high temps and record low snowfall. I think the animals are just as confused as I am about it. Thankfully, we read this great post containing the Ultimate List of Birds – from Homeschool Nature Study between snowflakes.
I used to claim myself an avid bird watcher because I owned binoculars and a field guide. Then some homeschoolers started chatting “migration patterns”, “suet”, and other ornithology words that had me on google most of this week. Which was great since we hardly saw any birds during the snow! And yes, I had to google ornithology too! Of course I wasn’t going to be intimidated by nature loving homeschoolers. So I caved & purchased a suet & bird feeder for the woodpeckers and made this lovely eco-friendly orange bird feeder.
#OutdoorHourChallenge – Birds
We have seen many birds in our neighborhood. From little finches, robins, magpies, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, hawks, and eagles. Not to mention the Canadian geese around the ponds. Since we had two light snow storms this week – I didn’t see a single one of them! However, I did see a lovely cottontail and we learned a lot about their short lifespan.
So I’ll share two birds I have come to love in Colorado, the Steller’s Jay & Hummingbird.
Steller’s Jay
We first saw the Steller’s Jay on a hike and thought it was a woodpecker because of it’s impressive crown. However, we learned it’s a songbird from the jay family. Similar but so different than the blue jay we saw in Florida.
This is the first bird I’ve ever seen to carry a person’s name. Again, I realize I’m an armature bird watcher – so there could be a million more. Steller’s Jays were discovered on an Alaskan island in 1741 by Georg Steller, a German naturalist on a Russian explorer’s ship. When a scientist officially described the species, in 1788, they named it after him – along with other discoveries including the Steller’s Sea Lion and Steller’s Sea-Eagle.
Hummingbirds
Boy do we have some interesting hummingbirds around here! I would have thought we’d have seen more in Florida, but we are overwhelmed with them in Colorado. In Florida they are meek and shy, always flying away. Out west these suckers get in your face & will dive bomb you. They are absolute lunatics! I adore them. This week I found this post on 4 Types of Colorado Hummingbirds & we learned they fly to Mexico and Central America in winter! I’d need a vacation after all that work too!
Join the #OutdoorHourChallenge and keep up with all the great info from Homeschool Nature Study.
Birds & Art
Our very 1st chalk art tutorial, back when Jake was in elementary school – was the cardinal. We immediately fell in love with Nana and ChalkPastel.com !! I couldn’t find that cardinal but I did find a pic of the woodpecker he chalked in 2013!
You can check out more about chalk birds while you get ready for the Backyard Bird Count!
