Birdfreak Guide to Taking Kids Birding – Updated
September 30, 2008
Article in: Birding
After nine months of first releasing it and getting a great response, we have updated our Guide to Taking Kids Birding. Much has been changed and added to this guide and it is definitely worth a look if you have young kids with even a remote interest in birds.
Perhaps the biggest change, however, is that we have broken the guide into two separate guides: one for kids age 6 to 12 and one for teenagers, 13 to 19. The one for teens is completely brand new so may be a bit raw. But this guide is geared towards helping those kids a bit older to enable them to be great birders even when their peers may think birding is a bit “dorky”.
This comes at a great time as the Illinois Ornithological Society has recently had the go ahead to launch the Illinois Young Birder’s Club, a club we plan to help assist in every way possible. We will be posting about this more thoroughly in the near future.
Please feel free to download our new young birder guides, email them to those that will benefit from them, and give us some feedback!!
Bird Photography Weekly #5
September 29, 2008
Article in: Bird Photography Weekly
Bird Photography Weekly #4 was our best week so far!! We had 15 species/submissions, 6 more than last week and 5 more than are previous high. Great work all!! Another week is upon us so help spread the word and maybe we’ll reach 20.
- Scaly-breasted Munia
- Brown-headed Cowbird
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Great Kiskadee
- Barn Owl
- Brown-headed Nuthatch
- Kingfisher
- Laughing Gull
- Mountain Bluebird
- Cuckoo
- American White Pelican
- Tufted Titmouse
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Common Raven
- Solitary Sandpiper
Phriday Photo – Solitary and the Worm
September 26, 2008
Article in: Photography
Here is a short series of a Solitary Sandpiper [Tringa solitaria] scoring a lengthy earthworm meal.
Lord of the Skies – Mississippi Kite [Skywatch Friday]
September 25, 2008
Article in: Photography
Skywatch is upon us for yet another week. We have yet to get tired of the first recorded nesting Mississippi Kites in Winnebago County, Illinois. So here is the male searching for perhaps a dragonfly or Chimney Swift to feed his young.
C-Notes #6 – Birdwire, Bird News Network, and Round Robin
September 25, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
The American Bird Conservancy is a treasure trove of bird conservation information. While the ABC website is a great place to browse, there are two ways to stay up on important bird conservation news.
- One, you can subscribe to the free newsletter, Birdwire.
- Two, you can subscribe to the Bird News Network.
The American Bird Conservancy is a leading bird conservation organization and we strongly encourage everyone to become members if they are not already.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Round Robin Blog – If you are not already aware of Cornell’s blog, this is a great place to voice your opinions on ways the Lab can improve their website and even their whole way of doing business. This is a fabulous place to learn about new projects going down at the lab, some of which are truly innovative for this type of large organization.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s “Little Green Places” Contest
September 24, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
All over the world there are great places to go birding. Some are thousands of acres of pristine habitat while others are little nooks where industrious birds find safety and thrive. Do you have a special “Little Green Place” that is worthy of getting the attention it deserves?
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a new contest where all you have to do is send in a photo, drawing, or video link of your special LGP! You have until October 31st to get this in so don’t delay!
There are many cool prizes to be won including a $100 gift certificate from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. But perhaps the greatest prize is spreading the word that no matter if you have acres of land or provide a simple water bath for birds, millions of people creating Little Green Places can make a big difference.
Full details including how to enter can be found at Cornell’s Website.
