i haven't always been a bird nerd. it's actually been a recent transformation. within the last year or so i would say. it all started with homeschooling. i like birds, i always have. some birds that is. cool ones like hawks and pelicans or cute ones like hummingbirds. i'm not into trash birds like seagulls and pigeons they kinda gross me out. but, recently my liking of birds has escalated. i am what some would call a bird nerd. this is how it happened...
it started with these. field guides. we purchased a bird field guide for our nature days with our homeschooling group. we go to a lot of neat places with lots of birds and other fun nature things. we (i) wanted to be able to identify some of the new birds we were seeing. one of our goals for this year was that avery could identify by sight and song 6 different birds. and she can identify at least 6 birds by sight. we are still working on the song and that's were this comes in handy.
but, look at all this wealth of bird knowledge and this is only one side. the other side is covered with water birds, which comes in handy when we are at the beach or wetlands. that's the thing. see, we (i'm) not just using these guides on nature days, but in everyday experiences. just the other day i was at my sisters house, sitting on the lawn watching the kiddo's play (fight) and i saw a bird that i hadn't seen before. i was wondering what it was and remembered i had our (my) field guides in the car. i ran and got them really quick and was able to identify that the bird was a mockingbird. and my sister had been wondering what kind of bird it was too. (she should get a field guide. i'm telling you).
so, it doesn't just stop with birds. i am also becoming a wild flower nerd too. i found a local wildflower guide at our local garden store and quickly took it to the register so it could be mine (ours). within the first few days of owning it we (i) were able to identify this flower. myself and some of the other mamas in our home school group were admiring this beauty on one of our nature days. none of us were sure about what it was until i remembered that i had my field guide. "it's a mexican flannel bush", i said proudly to the group. then we all turned around to get back to our kiddo's and saw a sign below the bush that read "mexican flannel bush". but, what if there wasn't a sign there? we would have never known without my field guide.
when we are not out in the "field" we spend lots of time looking through these books at home. my kiddo's love them. especially the backyard birdsong guide. the little miss received this a birthday gift and she (we) love it. it list the bird, a little bit of knowledge about the bird and then it has a number that you press to hear that particular birds song. (see i told you we were working on it) and it entertains the little fella long enough for me to get through the dishes.
finally to prove to you that i am a true bird nerd i bought these little guys to hang in my bathroom as towel hooks. i will spray paint them yellow and they will make me happy. and i will forever be a bird nerd!
