Day 41 - Fri Nov 2: During homeroom this morning, I was surprised by 2 former students rushing into my room. Each of them had their own birdy bulletin for me.
The Blue: I could instantly see that the one girl was carrying 3 ink-jet printed photos. As a frequent morning birder, I knew she had something of interest to show. She eagerly explained that her mom's friend had taken pictures of Eastern Bluebirds in her backyard a while ago. The series showed a 1) a male bluebird grabbing a mealworm from a feeder, 2) the bird stretching its head toward a fledgling, and 3) the mealy tidbit being placed well within the waiting mouth. Of course, it was a very pleasant surprise to have her bring them down but that was not the end of it.
I left the photos in the front of my class all day. In each of my classes, students were commenting on the pics or asking questions.
The Grey's: The other girl was a student I have not seen much at all since last June. She charged into my room and asked, "Mr. Mag, did you watch Grey's Anatomy last night?!"
"Nah, my wife is more of a Survivor/CSI fan. Besides, I was busy all night."
"I was thinking of you when I saw it!"
"OK - now you're scaring me! Why?!"
"They were talking about some bird. Something like an [very puzzled expression on her face] Ivy-building Woodpecker?"
"The Ivory-billed Woodpecker?!?!?!" My exclamation was followed by an extremely brief tutorial of the presumed extinction, recent rediscovery, and ensuing controversy.
She walked out with a proud smile, "I knew you would want to know about it!"
Nothing like prime time soap opera birding for middle schoolers = )
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