Bird of the week: Magnificent Frigatebird

We started the new school year yesterday, and I am starting bird of the week again. This week is the Magnificent Frigatebird. These birds are sometimes called "bird pirates" because they will steal fish from other birds (such as gulls and terns). They are big black birds. the males have bright red patches on their throat, which they can inflate like balloons. Here are some websites with more information about these birds

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Magnificent_Frigatebird/id

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/398/_/Magnificent_Frigatebird.aspx

bird of the week: Northern Cardinal

The Northern Cardinal is one of the most common Songbirds in North America and lives in almost every state. They are the state bird for Illinois,Indiana,Kentucky, North Carolina,Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. They are a favorite at our house and even my littlest brothers can identify them. We all get excited to see them in our yard.

Here is some info on them...

nesting female and singing male video

all about birds info

birding.com

Here are a couple of coloring pages...
Northern Cardinal coloring page and info from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Kidszone Cardinal page with a few fun facts

Here are a couple of pictures of a cardinal that was in our yard last week.

Bird of the week: Dark-eyed junco

The Dark-eyed juncos are back! On saturday morning, I saw 2 flickers so I went outside and started watching them with my binoculars. Then they flew to the neighbors yard so I walked over to the fence to get as close to them as I could. when I got over to the fence I saw a little gray and white bird in a tree so I focused my binoculars on it and saw that it was a junco. Here is some information on Dark-eyed juncos:


http://www.birding.com/topbirds/8888jnco.asp

bird of the week... pileated woodpecker

The Pileated Woodpecker (this is the kind of woodpecker my blog woodpeckers are) is one of the biggest woodpeckers in the USA. The very endangered Ivory-Billed woodpecker is the only one bigger. When this woodpecker calls it sounds like it is laughing. You can hear them pecking a quarter of a mile away! here is some information about them. Here is a video and a photo of males.
here is a picture of some Pileated woodpeckers and here is a coloring page just like it.

-the birdman-

Eastern Screech Owl...

The Eastern Screech Owl is the smallest owl in the Eastern side of the USA. They eat mice,bugs,birds, and amphibians. Here is a link to a website where you can dissect a Screech Owl pellet.

Screech Owl info

Screech Owl movie

We have a Screech Owl house that we put up the other night. They have not used it yet.

great horned owl

Great horned owls are about 22" tall. They can eat anything from the size of a fly to the size of a great blue heron! they also eat: squirrels,mice,rabbits,snakes,skunks,weasels,porcupines,
domestic cats,crows,ospreys,and other owls and hawks.
here is some info...

lots of pics and info
picture

movie of a great horned owl

black-capped chickadee

Black-capped chickadees weigh the weight of four pennies. Their favorite food is sunflower seeds. The reason that their name is chickadee is becuase their call is chickadee-dee-dee. chickadees are very easy to hand feed just hold some sunflower seeds in your hand and sit very still.

here is some info:

black-capped chickadee info

more black-capped chickadee info

black-capped chickadee picture

-the birdman-

bird of the week... lesser and american goldfinches

There are two kinds of goldfinches that live in North America. The Lesser Goldfinch is mostly in the Western part of the US and American Goldfinches are found across the whole continent. Their favorite foods at bird feeders are hulled sunflower seeds and niger (thistle) seed. Americans are 5" tall and Lessers are 4 1/2" tall.
We saw male and female American Goldfinches yesterday. The American Goldfinch is also called the Eastern Goldfinch. It is the State bird of New Jersey,Iowa and Washington State. Here is some info...

american goldfinch info

male and female American Goldfinches

more american goldfinch info

Lesser Goldfinch info


American Goldfinch Coloring page

-the birdman-

Bird of the Week...Eastern Bluebirds

Eastern bluebirds are my favorite kind of bird. Their eggs are pale blue & the nest is made out of grass or pine needles. Their nest is in a tree cavity or nest box.
You should not mount nest boxes on trees because snakes, raccoons, and squirrels may climb the tree to eat eggs and nestlings. Three kinds of bluebirds live in north america Eastern, Western, & Mountain. After 3 years of trying, we finally attracted eastern bluebirds!(we saw them the other day) :).

Here are some links for you...
attracting bluebirds
ibc eastern bluebird movie
bluebird secrets
eastern bluebird info
mountain bluebird info
bluebird male and fledgelings
more eastern bluebird info
all about eastern bluebirds
Siala Sialis (Eastern Bluebird)
Western Bluebird