Many of these books can be found on PrairieCat; many are available for as little as 1 cent or 99 cents from booksellers on Amazon (with $3.99 for postage and handling).

Hatchling:

Birds
by National Geographic Kids

This book introduces the young baby to colors, such as those of the Northern Cardinal, the Indigo Bunting, the Yellow Warbler, the Green Broadbill, and the Rainbow Lorikeet. It also teaches the basics of feathers and feet and bird behaviors like flying, splashing, chirping, singing, hopping, eating, and feeding young baby birds. There are cute, short phrases that your baby will no doubt repeat when they pretend to be a bird.

Fledgling:

Bear Wants More
Karma Wilson

This book is great for its simple rhymes and narrative of a hungry bear after months of hibernation. It also introduces the child to other animal friends, including a mouse, hare, badger, gopher, mole, raven, and wren. It is an enjoyable book for those who are learning to read or simply enjoying the illustrations.

Juvenile:

I Am Jane Goodall
Brad Meltzer

This is a delightful book about Jane Goodall and how her love of nature began at a young age. This book should inspire children and adolescents about following one’s dreams. This book is written like a comic book with adorable illustrations. It provides a strong message about compassion toward all living creatures, the importance of science in our society, and equal opportunity for girls in the science field.

Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park
Marie Winn

This is a true story about a pair of Red-tailed Hawks that found a home in New York’s Central Park. While humans like to consider this a love story, it could easily be about the interpreted love between Pale Male and his mate in this story, or maybe it is a love story between all of the bird watchers who followed the tale (or red-tail) of Pale Male. This is a story about bird watchers as well as birds.

February/March 2020

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American Woodcock Watches

Friday, March 13, 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 19, 7 p.m.
Monday, March 30, 7 p.m.

With an adult, visit Elkhorn Creek Biodiversity Preserve to watch and listen for American Woodcocks’ performing their amazing courtship display. The “Sky Dance” itself is part ground-strutting and part zig-zagging flight, barely visible in the early evening sky. More fascinating perhaps are the sounds that go with it, the repetitious vocal “peent!” followed by the twittering and chirping sounds made when air rushes through primary flight feathers during the birds’ descent. On a quiet evening, it is pure audio magic. See the calendar page for these dates for contact information about the event.

Purple Finch
Haemorhous purpureus

The landscapes around us are covered in bright sheets of snow. If something disrupts this white canvas, its splash of appearance will stand out. This bird, with its quick burst of color, sticks out above the bare and ever so still trees. This creature that stands out during anyone’s picturesque walks through bright green coniferous forests is the magnificent Purple Finch.

Their color takes a lot of focus to detail. They are similar to the more denominating finch, the House Finch, but with stronger color. While the House Finch is bright cherry red, the Purple Finch looks as if its head is dipped in deep pink – like he stuffed his head into raspberry jam! His color is a symbol of the spring colors promised to arrive with the growing flowers. The female Purple Finches have no red.

In the winter, they can be found in the lower parts of the forests such as foraging in the weedy fields or escaping their comfort from your backyard conifers to eat the black oil sunflower seeds from their visit to your feeders. It is harder to find them in the green and colorful spring days, where they may be perched up high in the tallest parts of these conifer forests.

Fun Facts*

They use their large beaks to mainly eat seeds of coniferous trees, but also eat nectar by eating the base of flowers. They eat the fruit and berries of blackberries, honeysuckle, poison ivy, crabapples, cherries, and other fruits, but without spreading their seeds like other fruit-eating birds.
They have a very beautiful warbling song.
When they hang out at your bird feeder, they will give you plenty of entertainment showing that all of the seed belongs to only the first one there. They become a very “selfish” bird, showing hostile characteristics when new birds arrive.
The Purple Finch is one of the two “red’ finches, with the other being the House Finch. The Purple Finch population has declined in the eastern United States because of the introduction of the House Finch to New York City in the 1950s.

* Thanks to allaboutbirds.org and Tails of Birding.

Children, Nature and You Resources to help you give the children you influence the awe and wonder that only the natural world can inspire

Freeport Park District Information on all the Freeport parks

Freeport Public Library More than books on a shelf...visit the Freeport Public Library

Freeport Outdoor Experience Events located in Freeport and Stephenson County

Getting Kids Involved (The Cornell Lab of Ornithology) Includes bird information, tips, and more for kids and families

Jane Addams Recreation Trail Ride or Hike the beautiful Jane Addams Trail

Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots A program of the Jane Goodall Institute offering a variety of programs and resources

NASA Climate Kids to tell the story of our changing planet through the eyes of NASA missions studying Earth and provides games, activities, and articles that make climate science accessible and engaging for children

National Audubon for Kids provides resources for classroom curriculum, DIY activities, and bird activities for children at home

National Wildlife Federation Many family-friendly articles; Ranger Rick family magazine

Resource Guide Supplement to Last Child in the Woods Designed for parents, teachers, and community leaders to help them encourage children’s enjoyment of the great outdoors.

Severson Dells Nature Center Located near Rockford, IL.

Sierra Club Outdoors The program's goal is to give every child in America an outdoor experience.

World Migratory Bird Day Learn about the importance of migratory birds and how to celebrate birds any day of the year!

Mid-winter Fun

A fun winter activity you can do with your family and friends when there is plenty of soft snow outside is to build a snowman! Gather a carrot, 10 small rocks, and two sticks, and then head outside. Build three big snowballs stacked on top of each other, and use the carrot, rocks, and branches to form his face and arms!

Finally, choose a name for your new snowy friend!