I love birds, I am always looking for them. This week, I looked out my window and noticed a great deal of activity over at the basil bush in the garden. I looked longer and spied the bright yellow flash of the American Goldfinch. We've have mostly boring birds here in the heart of Orange County...the bright yellow goldfinches are an exciting visitor. Look very closely at the center of the photo and then gaze downwards, you will see a few.
I think the secret to bird-watching with kids, is to call their attention to the interesting visitors they just don't notice. To my busy kids, the birds fluttering in the gardens just register in their busy brains as "birds" if asked, they would probably guess they are sparrows. I like to call them over, ask them to watch for a bit and then tell them about what we are seeing. If I am not sure which bird we are looking at, we will go grab a handy bird guide. When I get really stumped, even with the bird guide (sometimes birds all look alike!) then I run over and ask our bird-expert next-door. (my golden neighbor, whom I adore)
We have had some beautiful, warm weather lately here in So. California, so we headed to a favorite, wild-ish park near by. The kids and dog romped, played and explored. I kept a look -out for birds and took photos.
I love this bridge, such scope for childhood imagination :)
Here is a typical view of our river beds, here in So. California. They are almost always dry. A big rain storm with a full river bed is an exciting treat. Just thought I'd share this view with those of you living in other States with freely running water. The thought of running, bubbling, babbling brooks and rivers makes us a little giddy. ...Something to be dreamed of.
a few of our favorite birding books here at {Home}:
- Linnea's Almanac - out of print, but a gem if you can get it at the library :)
