Birding at the Lake

It was a cloudy, windy and chilly day, but we wanted to go see the birds at the lake before the next snow storm hit.  We hiked around our lake one time.  We couldn't believe all of the birds we saw.  First we saw the Double-crested Cormorants.  We really liked those!  We also saw some ducks, but they were far off and we weren't sure what they were.  We saw a dead Blue-winged Teal lying on the ground.  It was sad, but it was very pretty and we were surprised at how small it was. 

Next we saw three Great Blue Herons flying.  They were huge!  As we got closer to the cattails we saw something hiding!  It was a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret near each other.  They flew off after awhile.

We saw these birds:  Canada Goose, a Blue {Snow Goose}, American Coot, Hooded Merganser, Gadwall, Ruddy Duck and Northern Shoveler.  We also saw American Robins, Common Grackles, European Starlings and heard a Northern Flicker and a Downy Woodpecker.

Early in the morning we saw over 100 American White Pelicans flying over the playground.  We went out and watched them.  It was cool!



Great Egret

Look closely at who is hiding in the cattails!

Blue-winged Teal

 

Double-crested Cormorant



A crazy trio!

A Visit to the Taxidermist

This morning we walked a few blocks to the taxidermist.  He showed us the animals there.  We especially enjoyed seeing the birds!  Larry was a very good teacher and taught the kids a lot!  Each child received a pheasant feather as a gift.

The Black Hills Raptor Show

On March 21st, the Black Hills Raptor Show came to our school.  Since we are all so crazy about birds, we were very excited!  She brought four birds with her:  a Red-tailed Hawk, an Eastern Screech Owl {that was much smaller than we expected it to be}, an American Kestrel {who seemed to say, Kelly, Kelly, Kelly,...} and a Great Horned Owl.  Nearly all of the k-kids were in attendance and we loved the show.  Afterwards, many of the students won a prize and each family received a free Raptors for Children book.  It was an hour and a half show and we loved it!