My dad, my brother Liam and grammy and me saw a Sandhill Crane. Then we saw a Snowy Owl and we saw it again and again and again then we saw a Barn Owl. 3 lifers and 4 year birds.
Congratulation Owen on getting to see your Barn Owl. You may not know this, but getting to see a Barn Owl, especially in Rhode Island is "very special." Other than Captives, I've yet to see a Barn Owl myself.
From what I've read, many Barn Owls that live in Rhode Island are dying. Barn Owls like to eat mice. And mice like to eat the things that Farmers grow on their Farms. To kill the mice the Farmers often used a poison called D-Con that comes in Big Blocks. When mice nibble and eat the D-Con, at first they get sick -- and eventually they die.
Many Barn Owls end up eating either "sick" mice or "dead' mice -- and eventually the Barn Owls die themselves.
I hope someday you and your Dad will be able to teach farmers and many other people about the dangers of using D-Con.
Thank you for sharing your Birding Adventures and your Dad's great photos on your Blog.
Owen – I’ve been reading your blog, and think it’s great that your father has gotten you interested in birds at such an early age. My husband and I are probably older than your grandmother, but we only started birding seriously last January 1st, after having seen the movie The Big Year. Though it’s a comedy, it is based on the real-life story of the man who, until last year, had seen the most birds in North America. After watching the movie, we decided to start keeping track of the birds we saw, since many different birds come to our feeders. After a while, we decided to start going out looking for more birds, and after that we decided to drive down to Cape May (I see you’ve been there) to catch as many birds as we could during the fall migration. A trip to California last spring allowed us to add almost 40 species that we don’t see here. We ended our 2013 bird count at 207 and, since we’re already at 66 as of the third week in January, hope to have a substantial increase from last year’s count. I see that you have almost as many birds this year as we do! We’re lucky that we live in southern Rhode Island, where we can get to the shore with all kinds of ducks and seabirds, quickly, and Connecticut is only half an hour away. We are lucky to live only a couple of miles from the cornfield in West Kingston where (I assume) you saw the Sandhill Crane; we were there yesterday morning and there were 2 – the second appeared a week or so ago, and when we saw them, they were foraging together. Keep up the great work! You write very well for a six-year-old. Have you been following Dorian Anderson’s blog? He is trying for his Big Year, but is doing so using only his legs – he is biking across the United States. Here it is, if you aren’t familiar with it: http://bikingforbirds.blogspot.com
Congratulation Owen on getting to see your Barn Owl. You may not know this, but getting to see a Barn Owl, especially in Rhode Island is "very special." Other than Captives, I've yet to see a Barn Owl myself.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've read, many Barn Owls that live in Rhode Island are dying. Barn Owls like to eat mice. And mice like to eat the things that Farmers grow on their Farms. To kill the mice the Farmers often used a poison called D-Con that comes in Big Blocks. When mice nibble and eat the D-Con, at first they get sick -- and eventually they die.
Many Barn Owls end up eating either "sick" mice or "dead' mice -- and eventually the Barn Owls die themselves.
I hope someday you and your Dad will be able to teach farmers and many other people about the dangers of using D-Con.
Thank you for sharing your Birding Adventures and your Dad's great photos on your Blog.
Good Luck with your Little Big Year!
Owen –
ReplyDeleteI’ve been reading your blog, and think it’s great that your father has gotten you interested in birds at such an early age. My husband and I are probably older than your grandmother, but we only started birding seriously last January 1st, after having seen the movie The Big Year. Though it’s a comedy, it is based on the real-life story of the man who, until last year, had seen the most birds in North America. After watching the movie, we decided to start keeping track of the birds we saw, since many different birds come to our feeders. After a while, we decided to start going out looking for more birds, and after that we decided to drive down to Cape May (I see you’ve been there) to catch as many birds as we could during the fall migration. A trip to California last spring allowed us to add almost 40 species that we don’t see here. We ended our 2013 bird count at 207 and, since we’re already at 66 as of the third week in January, hope to have a substantial increase from last year’s count. I see that you have almost as many birds this year as we do! We’re lucky that we live in southern Rhode Island, where we can get to the shore with all kinds of ducks and seabirds, quickly, and Connecticut is only half an hour away. We are lucky to live only a couple of miles from the cornfield in West Kingston where (I assume) you saw the Sandhill Crane; we were there yesterday morning and there were 2 – the second appeared a week or so ago, and when we saw them, they were foraging together.
Keep up the great work! You write very well for a six-year-old. Have you been following Dorian Anderson’s blog? He is trying for his Big Year, but is doing so using only his legs – he is biking across the United States. Here it is, if you aren’t familiar with it: http://bikingforbirds.blogspot.com
John and Alex La Force
Richmond RI