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| Select Month: | Jan 1997 | Feb 1997 | March 1997
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Jan 1999
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Wild Ones projects are for members only. If you are a member of The Wild Ones, you may share your bird feeder observations by filling in the report form on this page. If you are not a member, you may join The Wild Ones using the on-line subscription form.
Cloudy today with showers. Upper 40's.
We saw a cardinal today at our birdfeeder. It was a male and very beautiful. Other birds were the usual ones, house sparrows, chickadees, and juncos.
Robin at our feeder today. Temperature lows near zero on the shores of Lake Michigan. Robins feed on thorn apples, so we put out chopped apple, but it didn't return to feeder.
Partly cloudy, 45 degrees F.
We have seen mostly juncos and house sparrows at our feeder. Last Friday however, it was snowing and a pair of cardinals and some chickadees came too. Last week we also made peanut butter pinecones and hung them up. Squirrels really liked them and worked hard to carry them away. We meant to feed the birds but it was really fun watching the squirrels.
Report from Hewes Middle School
Today the weather is sunny and 90 degrees F. out.
Over the weekend I purchased another bag of bird seed since the birds have been eating me out of house and home. The two tube feeders I have were both empty. Today after school I made more hummingbird food and cleaned and filled the hummingbird feeder for the second time. It holds two cups of liquid. I have observed in addition to Hummingbirds feeding from the feeder, I also have two red breasted birds that come and sit on the perch and drink the food. I think they are Siskins or a part of the finch family of birds. I thought that only Hummingbirds would feed from the tiny holes in the feeder. Boy I'm I surprised. At the tube feeders I have observed Blue Birds along with Morning Doves and the red breasted birds and of course the Chickadees and Sparrows.
Report from Chestnut Hill Academy
Very windy, in the 40's, partly cloudy.
We saw a cardinal and house sparrows in the morning. Nothing is there this afternoon We have been keeping track of all the kinds of birds we have seen by the month. Here are the ones we saw.
Report from Chestnut Hill Academy
Snowing, temperature 35F, Barometric pressure 30.10, very little wind
It has been snowing all day. Even so, house sparrows have been coming to the feeder. That is all we saw today. We think they must be tough to come in a snow storm.
Report from Hewes Middle School
The weather today hazy with some sun and 60 degrees.
Today after school I found a wonderful surprise, a sparrow is building a nest behind a thermostat hanging in the back yard next to the house. The tube feeder is almost empty and the birds have told all their friends. They are lined up on the hedge waiting a turn and some are even fighting for space!
Report from Hewes Middle School
It has been sunny, in the 70 degrees.
All I saw were common crows.
Report from Chestnut hill Academy
Cloudy, warm - in the 50s.
All we have seen today are house sparrows and one mourning dove. But the birds have been singing. We have heard cardinals all week.
Report from Hewes Middle School
Today it was sunny with a few clouds and 64 degrees F
I was excited to see that the birds finally found my two feeders. I saw a lot of sparrows along with chickadees and blue birds. There was also a bird with a red breast and another with yellow markings on its head and breast but I did not know the name of them. At the hummingbird feeder I saw two hummingbirds came and eat. I'm sure now that they have found my feeders that they will tell their friends.
Report from Hewes Middle School
68 degrees F sunny, some clouds but mostly clear
Today I saw lots of sparrows feasting on bird seed that I put on the wall near my feeder so that the birds would see my bird feeder. So far none have gone to my feeder.
Report from Hewes Middle School
sunny, temperate no wind a beautiful day
I was watching a Humming bird in it's nest and it flew out to the bird feeder. It then stuck it's beak in the hole on the feeder and began drinking the red liquid in the bird feeder. The day after I saw little baby in the nest. It was breathing and had some fuzz sticking out of it's back. The mother bird has some red feathers under it's neck and on the back of it there are some grayish feathers. I also found a lot of poop around the nest when the baby was born.
Report from Roby Elementary
For the last three weeks the weather has been warm but mostly cold, windy some snowy.
We have been looking for birds that come to our bird feeder weekly we have seen mostly sparrows, robins, and swallows.
Report from Girl Scout Troop 30
Sunny and 70°F. Robins. Hundreds of them! and cardinals.
Report from Wakefield Community Schools.
We have been a part of Project Feeder Watch through Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology for the past 2 years and record sightings every two weeks for two days to submit to them. We also feed a number of squirrels. We have tried to make it known to them that they (the squirrels) are unwelcome, but they don't seem to take the hints we give them! This year we constructed feeders entirely of recycled materials and sold them so that we could purchase the bird seed for our feeders. The demand for these feeders far exceeded our wildest dreams and we have made enough of a profit to not only purchase bird seed, but take a field trip and go out to lunch on the profits!
Report from Taylor High School
Clear sky,windy,and sunny
We haven't see any birds lately. But we think we know why. A Red-Shouldered Hawk has been flying around. Many students and teachers believe he may be eating some of our birds.
Report from Sunnyside Elementary
Clear and sunny. Temperature 45 degrees. No wind.
We watched our bird feeders for about a half an hour. We saw a Roufus-Sided Towhee, a Dark-Eyed Junco, and a sparrow that we were unable to further identify. As always, there was a squirrel that scares the birds away in order to eat the food. Our school is in the country and our classroom looks out at woods. We have several birdfeeders located by the edge of the woods directly outside of our classroom windows.
Report from Taylor High School 7th Grade.
It's sunny and cool with a light breeze.It's 43 degrees. We saw a Common Crow.
Report from Taylor High School 7th Grade.
41 Degrees F Chilly Farily Sunny. Today we saw an American Goldfinch.
Report from Taylor High School 7th Grade.
It is sunny and breezy, 41° F. We just put out our bird feeder today, and haven't seen any visitors yet.
Mary, what happens to all the birds during these freezing times? How do they make it through the night without freezing? I picked a bird off of my porch and brought it in the house. I gave it some birdseed and water and when it was hopping around I let it go. Was that the right thing to do? Or what should I have done? How can we humans help the birds to survive this very cold weather? Thank You, Sharon
Dear Sharon,
Birds wear their down parkas! Seriously, down -- the stuff that makes very expensive winter wear and comforters puffy and warm, comes from birds (usually geese) and is actually tiny feathers, which are excellent insulators. The little puffy feathers trap tiny bits of air, so that a bird (or person!)'s body is kept warm. On very cold days, you will notice that birds look rounded and chubby. They haven't gained weight -- they are fluffing up the down that keeps them warm. Birds also move into protected areas out of the wind, and stay out of water that might freeze around them. You were kind to give the bird seed and water. When everthing is frozen, they can get thirsty. Many birds appreciate suet in the wintertime, in addition to seed. So many people in the northeastern U.S. feed birds in their backyards that some birds that would ordinarily not spend the winter so far north now live year round in places with cold winters! That's why it's important, if you start feeding birds in the fall and early winter, to make a commitment to keep feeding all the way until spring, when food becomes abundant again. Thanks for writing! Mary
Report from Michael Wilkinson, Director of The Wild Ones
A bright, sunny morning, about -3° C. After yesterday's snowfall of a couple inches, the bird feeder is a popular place. Among the visitors were blue jays, cardinals, black-capped chicadees, nuthatches, and tufted titmice.
The chickadees prefer sunflower seeds and they will pick through the
seeds until they find one. Then they carry a single sunflower seed to a
nearby branch. Holding the seed with their feet by standing on it, they
hammer away with their beak to break the seed open. Black-capped chickadees
are easy to recognize by their call: "chick-a-DEE-DEE-DEE-DEE",
and the white stripes on the wings.
About the same size as the chickadee, but with
a shorter tail and longer beak. Males have black "caps", like
this one, females have grey "caps" Nuthatches hop down trees
headfirst!
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The Wild Ones
c/o Wildlife Trust
61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964-8000
Tel: 845.365.8337 Fax: 845.365.8177