"Mommy, What Bird Made That Nest?"

Another glorious day in Southern Iowa! Winter seems to have forgotten the way here, or has been delayed for some reason. We aren't complaining! We're soaking up all the sunshine we can before the snow starts to fly!

It was the perfect day for a walk. The leaves have almost all fallen and the trees are bare. As I wondered through the woods and across the open pastures I was amazed at how many nests the children and I discovered! I'm a novice at bird nest identification, but wish I knew more! The easiest way to identify a nest is in the spring and summer when it has eggs or baby birds, but it's a lot easier to spot the nests this time of year when they aren't hidden by all the green leaves.

As I was researching how to identify different nests, I came across a great site that was full of excellent information on bird nest identification.

http://www.backyardnature.net/birdnest.htm

I learned the four things to look for when identifying a nest: the size, the structure, the composition and what birds are present locally. The site also has great information on the different kinds of bird nest structures and how to use Google to help you in identifying.

Sounds like we have a great home school project for this week, doesn't it!