Science: Backyard Birding!

 Backyard Bird Identification! 🐦🦅🦃🦜🦆🕊🐤🐧🐔🦚🕊  It's late summer 🌱in northern New Mexico, and many birds that we have not seen in a long time are returning to Taos. Some will stay for a while, but others are just "stopping over" on their way to somewhere further south 🌎. 

This week, go outside, sit still for a few minutes 🌲🧘‍♀️⌚🧘‍♂️🏡, and try to identify one (1) bird species per day. Last year, Santiago noticed the Saw Whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) 🦉hiding in our apricot tree at school. Maybe you saw this little guy too: 

 Use the All About Birds or Merlin site in the links to help you ID✅ your "Bird of the Day." I also posted the New Mexico bird checklist, which is fun to print and use if possible.  If you have any bird guide books or binoculars in your house, you can use those too. Merlin Bird ID is a great free app to use for this if you have a phone or tablet. Parents or siblings are welcome to help in this activity👍.      

To keep track, start a Bird ID Log on a sheet of lined paper, or a Google Doc. Start with with a proper heading (Name, assignment: Bird ID Log), write the dates for this week from Tuesday to Friday, and simply write the name and species name of the bird you saw and identified that day.  List 2 characteristics that helped you ID the bird.  Sometimes it's tough to get an exact match, but just do the best you can from what you see 👀, hear👂, and find out 🔎.

If you like to draw, upgrade your log by sketching a picture of the bird with colored pencils 🎨. If you prefer photos, you can add one from All About Birds, or even one you took yourself 📷. I'll share your drawings and photos here.

Just list one different bird species each day this week (4 or 5 total). Common birds are OK! Don't feel like you've got to wait for a Neotropic Cormorant or a Yellow Crowned Night-Heron to show up.  ID your sparrows, chickadees, doves, crows, ravens, vultures, magpies, hawks, hummingbirds... whatever you see out there. 

Here are examples of Bird ID Log entries for a couple days:

Tuesday, September 8, 2020: Today I saw an American Robin in my side yard (Species name: Turdus migratorius). Two characteristics that helped me identify it were its reddish-orange chest and its size.  

Wednesday, September 9, 2020: Today I saw a Black-Billed Magpie on my fence (Species name: Pica hudsonia). The characteristics that helped were its black/blue/ white colors, extra long tail feathers, and its loud squawking calls. 

Thursday, September 10, 2020:  Today I saw a...