Author's Note My seventh-grade teacher taught our class to identify birds using Roger Tory Peterson's A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America . We set up bird feeders on the flat roof outside our classroom. The birds became used to feeding there, and we soon learned to identify the different species. Then we set out metal cage traps and began to operate a bird-banding station. We kept detailed records about the birds we caught and sent copies of our records to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. We also studied bird behavior. One time I brought a stuffed owl to class, and we set it on the rooftop. Not a single bird would come to our feeders while the owl was on the roof. A flock of blue jays gathered in the trees nearby, calling and scolding. My teacher warned me that the jays might dive-bomb my owl and damage it. Was I willing to take that risk for the opportunity to observe bird behavior? I was. We watched for an hour or more, taking notes. Our homework that night was to write up our observations. I have been bird-watching ever since. Bird-Watching Robins come in springtime. In summer they nest here. Warblers are just passing through. Cardinals stay all year. Juncos come in winter, thrushes in the fall. Some birds never come here. I don't see them at all. Excerpted from The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound: A Birder's Journal by Sallie Wolf, Micah Bornstein All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
