birds

Day #34 (4/11/2014) Pigeon Guillemot
We might just be in love with the coastline of the Pacific Northwest! There are so many animals to see and observe! We noticed these cute little black birds on the cliffs where we spent the day looking at tide pools. Turns out these birds are related to puffins and we love puffins!

Their range/habitat: Alaska to California/rocky coasts
Their length/weight: 13 ½”/ 1 lb Conservation Status: common
Their diet: Carnivore: fish and invertebrates

• Pigeon Guillemots have bright red/orange feet.
• Pigeon guillemots dive to catch their phones.
• They have bright/orange coloration inside their mouths too.
• Both male and females incubate the eggs.
• Pigeon guillemots have long straight bills.
• They have a white patch on their side.
• Pigeon guillemots have webbed feet with claws.

We had the best time learning about the animals of the coasts here! We really enjoyed watching these birds dive for their meals. Whosh! Splash! Yum!

-Ellie and Edmond

Day #28 (3/14/2014) Brown Kiwi

      We just loved snorkeling yesterday! We hoped a plane to New Zealand to find an iconic bird that everyone knows and loves. We have never seen a one in person, or elephant and horse as you may have it. We spent the afternoon with our binoculars and Edmond almost passed out when we spotted our bird! He is just excitable sometimes! Seeing the brown kiwi inspired me to draw!

       Their range/habitat: New Zealand/ forest-grassland

      Their length/weight: 20-26”/ 3 ¼-8 ¾ lb  Conservation Status: Endangered

      Their diet: Omnivore:  insects, fruits

• Brown Kiwis are flightless.
• Brown kiwis have very tiny wings.
• They have long skinny bills, up to 6”.
• Brown kiwis use their bills to get food from the ground.
• Brown kiwis lay very large eggs.
• They are related to cassowaries and emus.

How adorable are these funny looking little birds! That’s right animals can be funny looking and cute at the same time! Did you know that native New Zealanders call themselves kiwis?  Sadly kiwis are endangered. There is a great organization called Kiwis for Kiwi that are working to protect these iconic birds!

-Ellie

Day #22 (2/25/2014) Snowy Owl

      We headed out to South Canada today to find an owl! These birds have been seen in parts of the U.S. this winter, so we wanted to see one in the wild. We packed all our cold weather gear! We sat around at dusk with our binoculars, a thermos full of hot tea and our cameras! We were lucky this trip and spotted the Snowy owl!

      Their range/habitat: Arctic Circle/ tundra-open land

      Their length/weight: 22- 28”/ 2 ¼-5 ½ lbs  Conservation Status: Common

      Their diet: Carnivore: lemmings, rabbits, waterfowl

• Snowy owls are covered in long white feathers. The feathers cover every part of them including their feet and beak.
• They are most active at dusk and dawn, but are diurnal (active during the day) during the summer when there is little darkness.
• Females are larger than males and have molted or spotted brown colors on their feathers. This helps them blend in with the ground.
• Snowy owls nest on the ground.
• They have excellent hearing and eyesight.
• Snowy owls mate for life and both the male and female take care of the chicks.
• Snowy owls are ambush predators!

These gorgeous owls are so amazing! They are built for the cold! This elephant and horse are not though. Thank goodness we have this lovely warm cabin to stay in for the week! We’ll be here for several days because International Polar Bear day is coming!

-Ellie and Edmond

BIRDS OF A FEATHER WEEK– Guess the Animal

We are featuring a bird for today’s Birds of Feather Week. This one is in honor of the snow storm that arrived at HQs yesterday!! Plus these birds are amazing parents! Tell us who you think it is.

We live in Antarctica.

We are the largest of our species.

The males take incubate the eggs while the females go to find food.

Who is it?

BIRDS OF A FEATHER WEEK- DAY 2

We loved those Birds of Paradise videos so much that we wanted  to know if other birds have mating dances! The first bird that came to mind was one of our most favorite birds ever! Come check out these fun mating dances!

First up: The Blue Footed Booby! We have a fun Blue Footed Booby coloring sheet below!

Next up: The moon walking Manakin Bird!

Last up: The Andean Flamingo who does a group dance!

BIRDS OF A FEATHER WEEK!

This week during our travels we’re celebrating Valentine’s week with Birds of a Feather. We’re off to find birds with elaborate mating rituals and those that mate for life. We’re also going to have our popular color your valentine cards! First up- Birds of Paradise. These amazing birds live in the untouched rainforests of Papua New Guinea. They are amazing looking birds come in all colors, shapes and sizes. Birds of Paradise are most famous for their mating dances and rituals which are extremely elaborate and complicated! The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has done some great field work with these birds!  We can’t top these videos so we’re posting some of our favorites! Anyone out there want to try their hand at the Bird of Paradise dance?

Project Introduction- Learn about this cool project!

Here’s the Greater Bird of Paradise!

King-of-Saxony Bird-of-Paradise!

Time to Dance!

Day #13 (1/24/2014) Back home to meet a local bird…

      We decided to head home a day early to meet a city bird. These birds often get a bad reputation, but we just love them. A cold blast has come through here at HQs! We had to bundle up to go for a walk and find the Rock Dove!

Their range and habitat: Australia, Europe, Africa, South America/ urban-suburban

Their length/weight: 11-15”/8.4-13 oz    Their status: common

They are herbivores (seeds, fruits)

• Rock doves are also known as the Rock pigeon or pigeon.
• Their colors vary. They usually have some iridescent feathers.  
• Rock doves are excellent navigators. They use the earth’s magnetic fields.
• The babies are called squeakers. Male and females care for the babies.
• Rock doves have been domesticated for about 5,000 years.

We sat and watched the local pigeons for quite a while in the cold. We have never understood why pigeons get so little respect. They are very adaptable and live in most major cities all over the world.  We think they are great reminder that no matter what kind of habitat you live in or near, wildlife finds a way! Go Pigeons Go! Class will be in session over at the University of E&E Sunday!

-Ellie and Edmond