Day 12 - Mon, Sept. 24: Monday morning homeroom is always interesting becuase the kids and I share our weekend highlights. At my turn today, I shared a story my 5 year old daughter playing nurse to an injured bird. It goes a little something like this . . .
We were just finishing breakfast at Ballyhoo's in Cape May when we heard a loud "plink" at the window. My daughter's expression was pure puzzlement.
My explanation that a bird probably hit the window piqued her curiosity and concern. She asked if we could go make sure it was ok. Once outside, we found a Magnolia Warbler teeteringly in a daze on the edge of a raised flowerbed. Gulls were circling overhead. We also spotted a cat in the area an hour earlier. My daughter begged to help the bird.
Given the lack of cover, we took the bird back to our hotel balcony and sat with it as it regained its wits. My daughter was delighted to share the experience with her little brother and mom. They were so proud when the bird safely took back to the sky!
Many of my students were quite interested in the story. Others were half asleep. But then again, it was Monday morning!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Pledging for Fledging
For this school year, I pledge to write about 180 different Fledging Birders moments at school. You may be asking , "why 180?"
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
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
Thursday, September 6, 2007
New Burly Birders
I have recently shared my birding interest with some unlikely candidates.
ACT 1:
A family getaway in Cape May was disrupted by an emergency visit to the local mechanic. When I dropped the vehicle off, the head mechanic offered to give me a lift. I refused by explaining, "Thanks but I'd rather walk. You see I'm a bird watcher and, with any luck, I may find some nice birds along the way."
The wrestler turned mechanic's jaw dropped open. "YOU'RE a BIRD WATCHER!"
Not sure if I was annoyed or simply taken off guard by his amazement, I shot back, "Yeah. Why are you so shocked?"
"When I think of bird watchers, I imagine little, frail ladies in their 70's dressed in goofy clothes and writing poetry. You look like a Yankees fan!"
This was an opening I could not resist. "Are you playing with me?! You live in Cape May, one of the world's most famous bird watching destinations, but you've never met a birder?!"
He chuckled, "Not that I know of."
I tried to appeal to his manliness by talking about the impending kick-off of hawk migration season. He was totally surprised to hear that so many "cool bnirds" were around his hometown.
As I walked back to meet the family, I vowed to wow him with more manly bird scenarios like Peregrines stooping on birds at full throttle when I picked up the car later in the day. Unfortunately, he was gone when pick-up time arrived.
Hopefully, his eyes were opened a bit more to the wonders of his own neighborhood.
ACT 2:
A trip to the pool club afforded me the opporutnity to fledge another birder.
As my children were splashing about the kiddie pool, a lone Common Nighthawk flew overhead. I excitedly pointed out the birds to my own little cherubs. Within moments, a deep voice uttered, "what kind of hawk did you say you saw?"
The spokesman appeared to be a old school linebacker/biker hybrid covered in tattoos.
The resulting 20 minutes conversation was full of questions relating fly-bys during his commute to work, his neighbor's feeders, and other bird information. Every so often, the discussion was punctuated by my poiting out of birds flying over (more nighthawks, Red-taikled Hawks, Great Egret, American Goldfinches).
The conversation closed with him saying that he was going to buy a bird book to learn more about the interesting birds in our area.
ACT 1:
A family getaway in Cape May was disrupted by an emergency visit to the local mechanic. When I dropped the vehicle off, the head mechanic offered to give me a lift. I refused by explaining, "Thanks but I'd rather walk. You see I'm a bird watcher and, with any luck, I may find some nice birds along the way."
The wrestler turned mechanic's jaw dropped open. "YOU'RE a BIRD WATCHER!"
Not sure if I was annoyed or simply taken off guard by his amazement, I shot back, "Yeah. Why are you so shocked?"
"When I think of bird watchers, I imagine little, frail ladies in their 70's dressed in goofy clothes and writing poetry. You look like a Yankees fan!"
This was an opening I could not resist. "Are you playing with me?! You live in Cape May, one of the world's most famous bird watching destinations, but you've never met a birder?!"
He chuckled, "Not that I know of."
I tried to appeal to his manliness by talking about the impending kick-off of hawk migration season. He was totally surprised to hear that so many "cool bnirds" were around his hometown.
As I walked back to meet the family, I vowed to wow him with more manly bird scenarios like Peregrines stooping on birds at full throttle when I picked up the car later in the day. Unfortunately, he was gone when pick-up time arrived.
Hopefully, his eyes were opened a bit more to the wonders of his own neighborhood.
ACT 2:
A trip to the pool club afforded me the opporutnity to fledge another birder.
As my children were splashing about the kiddie pool, a lone Common Nighthawk flew overhead. I excitedly pointed out the birds to my own little cherubs. Within moments, a deep voice uttered, "what kind of hawk did you say you saw?"
The spokesman appeared to be a old school linebacker/biker hybrid covered in tattoos.
The resulting 20 minutes conversation was full of questions relating fly-bys during his commute to work, his neighbor's feeders, and other bird information. Every so often, the discussion was punctuated by my poiting out of birds flying over (more nighthawks, Red-taikled Hawks, Great Egret, American Goldfinches).
The conversation closed with him saying that he was going to buy a bird book to learn more about the interesting birds in our area.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Vacation Scavenger Hunt
One of my coworkers has recently divulged to me that his 7 year old son has a budding interest in birds. As you would expect, I outlined all the benefits birding can have for his son academically, physically, and socially. Mike quickly understood that his best course of action would be to encourage his son's birding endeavors. We are trying to arrange a few excursion before summer's end but . . .
They will be on vacation in coastal North Carolina for several weeks. I offered Mike some binoculars and a field guide for the trip. While he did not want to risk damaging the bins, he eagerly took me up on borrowing a field guide.
My wife and I put together a short scavenger hunt of "cool" birds they may encounter on the trip. We included several easy to find birds such as brown pelicans and ospreys. We added Royal and Sandwich Terns for a bit more of a challenge. For sheer beauty, we listed Painted Buntings but explained the difficulty of finding them. Next to each species, we included the page on which it could be found in the field guide. We delivered the package to the family mailbox the evening before their 4 am departure.
I called the next afternoon to confirm receipt of the field guide. The embarrassed voice on the other end explained that he forgot to grab the guide from the mailbox. Within a minute of hanging up, my cell phone rang. It was Mike again.
Apparently, there was a vaild reason for his forgetfulness. His son saw me put the field guide in the box the night before and excitedly took it out seconds later. He stayed up late studying the guide and secured it in his own bag for the trip!
I can't wait to hear how the scavenger hunt turns out!!
I'll keep you posted.
They will be on vacation in coastal North Carolina for several weeks. I offered Mike some binoculars and a field guide for the trip. While he did not want to risk damaging the bins, he eagerly took me up on borrowing a field guide.
My wife and I put together a short scavenger hunt of "cool" birds they may encounter on the trip. We included several easy to find birds such as brown pelicans and ospreys. We added Royal and Sandwich Terns for a bit more of a challenge. For sheer beauty, we listed Painted Buntings but explained the difficulty of finding them. Next to each species, we included the page on which it could be found in the field guide. We delivered the package to the family mailbox the evening before their 4 am departure.
I called the next afternoon to confirm receipt of the field guide. The embarrassed voice on the other end explained that he forgot to grab the guide from the mailbox. Within a minute of hanging up, my cell phone rang. It was Mike again.
Apparently, there was a vaild reason for his forgetfulness. His son saw me put the field guide in the box the night before and excitedly took it out seconds later. He stayed up late studying the guide and secured it in his own bag for the trip!
I can't wait to hear how the scavenger hunt turns out!!
I'll keep you posted.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Music to My Ears
I make it a habit to invite my children on every bird outing. It's always an invitation, never a decree. If birding is forced on kids, this great hobby becomes about as tempting as liver or spinach.
If they come, we will have a terrific time. If they choose to stay home, no guilt trip is given. Besides, I will be able to find, and actually watch, more birds.
In recent weeks, two requests truly warmed my heart.
A Roseate Spoonbill was found in Forsythe NWR on July 12th. When I told my daughter about this extremely rare NJ bird, she asked to go see it. (She has loved looking at spoonbills in my field guides since I returned from a trip to the Keys in March.)
Naturally, I had already decided on trekking down to Brigantine for this one.
I packed up her and her brother. Unfortunately, my wife had other plans for the evening. The kids had a blast looking at shorebirds, herons, terns, and butterflies. When she saw HER bird, she positively giddy. She was so excited that . . .
The next morning, she begged to go back so we could show mommy the spoonbill. Again, it didn't take much to convince me.
That was the first request. The next one didn't have a marguee name like Roseate Spoonbill attached to it.
I was heading out to search for migrating shorebirds. The routine invitation was made but neither of the little ones jumped on board. Shortly after my departure, my wife called to explain that our son was upset that daddy left without him. Guilt started to set in but I was past the point of no return. By the time I returned home, he was in full blown nap time - drool and all.
My wife and daughter left to visit some friends. I used the quiet time to get some work done. An hour later, my sleepy eyed, bed-headed toddler toddles over to me with his best puppy-dog face as he groans "Buhds - dada - look faw buhds - peese."
The first thing on his mind after a nap was going out with Daddy to look for birds!!!
After a short Q-n-A, I understood that he wanted to walk trails and look for big birds by the water. Our early evening outing was very nice even though we didn't find any of the herons or egrets we had his heart set on. He laughed at the swallows, loved the Fowler's Toads, and was fascinated by the dragonflies.
Birdwatching Daddydom is great!
If they come, we will have a terrific time. If they choose to stay home, no guilt trip is given. Besides, I will be able to find, and actually watch, more birds.
In recent weeks, two requests truly warmed my heart.
A Roseate Spoonbill was found in Forsythe NWR on July 12th. When I told my daughter about this extremely rare NJ bird, she asked to go see it. (She has loved looking at spoonbills in my field guides since I returned from a trip to the Keys in March.)
Naturally, I had already decided on trekking down to Brigantine for this one.
I packed up her and her brother. Unfortunately, my wife had other plans for the evening. The kids had a blast looking at shorebirds, herons, terns, and butterflies. When she saw HER bird, she positively giddy. She was so excited that . . .
The next morning, she begged to go back so we could show mommy the spoonbill. Again, it didn't take much to convince me.
That was the first request. The next one didn't have a marguee name like Roseate Spoonbill attached to it.
I was heading out to search for migrating shorebirds. The routine invitation was made but neither of the little ones jumped on board. Shortly after my departure, my wife called to explain that our son was upset that daddy left without him. Guilt started to set in but I was past the point of no return. By the time I returned home, he was in full blown nap time - drool and all.
My wife and daughter left to visit some friends. I used the quiet time to get some work done. An hour later, my sleepy eyed, bed-headed toddler toddles over to me with his best puppy-dog face as he groans "Buhds - dada - look faw buhds - peese."
The first thing on his mind after a nap was going out with Daddy to look for birds!!!
After a short Q-n-A, I understood that he wanted to walk trails and look for big birds by the water. Our early evening outing was very nice even though we didn't find any of the herons or egrets we had his heart set on. He laughed at the swallows, loved the Fowler's Toads, and was fascinated by the dragonflies.
Birdwatching Daddydom is great!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
"Gwown-up Iggle"
Using the avian potential of holidays is a very effective way of getting kids interested in birds. An excited young man demontrated the power of this method on July 5th.
Every summer, I work with younger students with developmental disabilities. Due to their special needs, these students need to work throughout the summer or else they will lose the skills attained during the year.
For the first time, our summer program started BEFORE 4th of July. FOr the first few days I incorporated patriotic themes into our lessons. We focused on two important symbols of our country: the flag and, of course, Bald Eagles!
One of the activities was coloring in Bald Eagle pictures that the students sould use to decorate their houses for the holiday. Initially, two of my little cherubs used only brown to color the eagle. I explained that "baby" eagles can be all brown but "grown-up" eagles have white heads and white tails. After coloring their second bird, they were pleased to have both "grown-up" and "baby" eagles.
Our next day of school was July 5th. As soon as the kids bound off the bus, I heard a 6 year-old voice exclaim, "I saw a gwown-up iggle yestuhday!!!"
He provided a very detailed explanation of his family's close encounter with the Bald Eagle at the Philadelphia Zoo. When I asked, "how did you know it was a grown up eagle?" His answer was not impeded by even the slightest hesitation, "it had a white head and tail not bwown like a baby iggle".
This was a very impressive show of communication skills for this particular student.
It was also a good show of birdership for such a young child!
Thank you to E.J. Peiker for use of his eagle photos. You can se emore of his amazing photography at www.ejphoto.com.
Every summer, I work with younger students with developmental disabilities. Due to their special needs, these students need to work throughout the summer or else they will lose the skills attained during the year.
For the first time, our summer program started BEFORE 4th of July. FOr the first few days I incorporated patriotic themes into our lessons. We focused on two important symbols of our country: the flag and, of course, Bald Eagles!
One of the activities was coloring in Bald Eagle pictures that the students sould use to decorate their houses for the holiday. Initially, two of my little cherubs used only brown to color the eagle. I explained that "baby" eagles can be all brown but "grown-up" eagles have white heads and white tails. After coloring their second bird, they were pleased to have both "grown-up" and "baby" eagles.
Our next day of school was July 5th. As soon as the kids bound off the bus, I heard a 6 year-old voice exclaim, "I saw a gwown-up iggle yestuhday!!!"
He provided a very detailed explanation of his family's close encounter with the Bald Eagle at the Philadelphia Zoo. When I asked, "how did you know it was a grown up eagle?" His answer was not impeded by even the slightest hesitation, "it had a white head and tail not bwown like a baby iggle".
This was a very impressive show of communication skills for this particular student.
It was also a good show of birdership for such a young child!
Thank you to E.J. Peiker for use of his eagle photos. You can se emore of his amazing photography at www.ejphoto.com.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
School Birding Pride
Another school year was completed on June 19th!
Every year I give my students a brief survey that involves them critiquing my yteaching style and reflecting on their own performances over the course of the year.
Many of this year's responses dealt with birds and birding. Some examples are . . .
Most Memorable Moment:
- "having a party for Mr, Mag seeing so many birds in Key West"- when asked about this, the student repeated some of the birds we talked about from that trip including Loggerhead Kingbird, Roseate Spoonbills, and Magnificent Frigatebird.
- "seeing the owl puke with bones in it!" - Rummaging through owl pellets was a big hit with many of the students!
Most Enjoyable Activity:
- "looking for birds in the morning" - this from a student who throughout the year claimed to not be a morning person but was happy to come almost an hour rearly to school for birding!
Your Proudest Moment of the Year:
- "being part of the WSB" - our World Series of Birding team led to a sisterhood of the hardcore young female birders.
- "seeing a Mississippi Kite in Voorhees on the World Series of Birding" - no explanation necessary!
It was a good year for birding with my students. Kids were coming in with birding questions almost every day. Our morning bird walks have been become exponentially more popular. The Zhumell optics from binoculars.com have allowed to accomodate more birders on each outing.
Several of the kids have asked to go on trips over the summer as well!
I look forward to expanding our birding club next year.
Every year I give my students a brief survey that involves them critiquing my yteaching style and reflecting on their own performances over the course of the year.
Many of this year's responses dealt with birds and birding. Some examples are . . .
Most Memorable Moment:
- "having a party for Mr, Mag seeing so many birds in Key West"- when asked about this, the student repeated some of the birds we talked about from that trip including Loggerhead Kingbird, Roseate Spoonbills, and Magnificent Frigatebird.
- "seeing the owl puke with bones in it!" - Rummaging through owl pellets was a big hit with many of the students!
Most Enjoyable Activity:
- "looking for birds in the morning" - this from a student who throughout the year claimed to not be a morning person but was happy to come almost an hour rearly to school for birding!
Your Proudest Moment of the Year:
- "being part of the WSB" - our World Series of Birding team led to a sisterhood of the hardcore young female birders.
- "seeing a Mississippi Kite in Voorhees on the World Series of Birding" - no explanation necessary!
It was a good year for birding with my students. Kids were coming in with birding questions almost every day. Our morning bird walks have been become exponentially more popular. The Zhumell optics from binoculars.com have allowed to accomodate more birders on each outing.
Several of the kids have asked to go on trips over the summer as well!
I look forward to expanding our birding club next year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)