Monday, March 7, 2016

Prepare for the Spring Migration!

A few weeks ago, Kansas Dad put out a bird feeder for us. It's just outside our kitchen window and near a scraggly bush I grudgingly allow because the birds love to nestle in its branches.

As the birds discovered and accepted the feeder, we've seen new birds regularly and have come to know some of them quite well. It's been a delight to all of us, but especially Second Daughter, who adores birds. Many of the birds we've met in The Burgess Bird Book for Children have been fluttering around just outside our window as we read.

Here's our list since early February:

House Sparrows
Cardinals
Eastern Bluebird
White-crowned Sparrow
American Goldfinch
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Blue Jay
Song Sparrow
House Finch
Red-winged Blackbird
Eurasian Collared Dove

We keep a list on a clipboard hanging next to the window so it's easy to note any new birds. We also keep The Guide to Kansas Birds and Birding Hot Spots nearby.

The spring migration is just beginning and I anticipate many new birds at our feeder in the next few weeks and months. We're all excited! (Except maybe Kansas Dad, who jokes often with Second Daughter that her birds are eating us out of house and home. At least, I think he's joking.)