This would be a single incident for each of the 180 school days!
I'm off to a late start so this first post is in digest form. I intend to write everyday but that may prove impractical with such a busy year bearing down on me.
Here goes the first 3 weeks in a flash:
Day 1 - Wed, Sept. 5: I ran into one of last year's WSB team members her right after dismissal. After a quick run down of her summer life birds, she inquires about the morning bird walk schedule. ALready rearing to go!!
Day 2 - Thurs, Sept. 6: During lunch today, one of my new students asks, "Mr. Magpiong, aren't you that bird guy?"
With his suspicions confirmed, he made his interest in birding known. (note: after 2 weeks, I'm still waiting for a permission slip though!)
Day 3 - Fri, Sept. 7: Surprise! Another former WSB team mate showed up in my classroom at 7:30am. Time to bird. Not many species around but a large number of robins in the fields. We also had our first killdeere of the year fly over. A brief foray into the field but the day was off to a nice start.
Day 4 - Mon, Sept. 10: "Don't DUCK your responsibility!" discussion. Students are told missed work will be left under the Canvasback decoy on the shelf. They are responsible for picking up the work when they return from an absence.
Day 5 - Tues, Sept. 11: Student shows up for birding bright and early. We add a few species to our school year list - American Goldfinch, Downy Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, and Blue Jay.
Day 6 - Wed, Sept. 12: A former student stops by my class after school. A quick field guide perusal leads to a flurry of, "Have you ever seen this one?" and "what about this guy? he's cool!"
Day 7 - Mon, Sept. 17: Birding before school again. The highlight is a "year bird" for the VMS list - a Northern Flicker.
Day 8 - Tues, Sept. 18: In the hallway, a students yells, "I have a gift for you Mr. Magpiong!"
When she shows up to class, I am surprised by an origami swan that stands about a foot high.
Day 9 - Wed, Sept. 19: The students are already well aware of my birding "obsession". During lunch, a group of kids try to impress me with bird sounds. Their limited play list includes only the onomatopoetic quack, cluck, and tweet. I envision this game developing nicely! I will probably challenge them to learn a few REAL songs each week.
Day 10 - Thurs, Sept. 20: Some students finish their tests early and start to doodle on the back of the paper. They work hard to recreate the Canvasback and birds from the Audubon calendar.
Day 11 - Fri, Sept. 21: We had a fire drill around mid-morning. I was hoping for a few vultures or hawks overhead but no luck. The afternoon fire drills work best for those sightings. However, I was able to get a few kids on a passing flock of grackles.
Check back for "Pledge to Fledge" stories!
Dave
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