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February 15, 2001
Research Birds Don't Like Noise by Casey, Richelle, and Oliver The Kiwi by Anna Barn Owls by Allen Poetry The Quetzal by Adam The Cardinal by Amber The Chipping Sparrow by Jasmine Birds by Connor Bald Eagle by Kyle Art - Birds Eastern Bluebird by Sam Cardinal by Megan Chickadee by Shawn Quetzal by Ryan Red-winged Blackbird by Paul Art - Imaginary Birds Blue Bandit by Aaron Buzzingbird by Meryl Photograph Stringing Garlands for the Birds at Church Street School
	Eastern Bluebird Sam, Grade 4 Mrs. Thomlison Geil Elementary Gering, NE
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	Cardinal Megan, Grade 5 Mrs. Lang Chester School Wooster, OH
The Chipping Sparrow By Jasmine, Grade 3 Ms. Defoy Wake Village Elementary Wake Village, TX "Chip" is the word I'm a beautiful bird! I live on a lawn. I get up at dawn. I have a clear gray breast, And a cuplike nest. With a rapid trill for a song, I could sing all night long. back to top
	Chickadee Shawn, Grade 7 Mrs. Hines Northmont Middle School Clayton, OH
back to top Birds By Connor, Grade 7 Ms. Gencarelli Springhouse Middle School Allentown, PA Birds, gliding gently on the winds of the earth Being the envy of man since our birth They soar with majesty over our head While we walk with feet of seemingly lead We have tried to copy these marvelous creatures Yet we can never imitate their miraculous features Truly a thing of beauty and love From the great giant eagles to the couplets of doves. back to top
Bald Eagle By Kyle, Grade 5 Mrs. Vitek Nassau Spackenkill School Poughkeepsie, NY Bald Eagle Black, white Soaring, hunting, nesting King of the sky Great hunter
back to top Birds Don’t Like Noise By Casey, Richelle, and Oliver, Grade 4 Ms. Gourley Westside Intermediate School Hebron, MD Our class used the scientific method to show that birds do not like noise and commotion close to their feeders. We hung up 2 tube feeders filled with sunflower seeds, and spread sunflower seeds on the ground outside our classroom window. We kept a tally of all the birds and people that were in our Classroom FeederWatch area. The number of people walking 12 meters from our feeders ranged from 0 to 47 during 10 twenty-minute observation periods spread over 5 days. Eight different species of birds were observed. The greatest number of any species (bird or people) seen at one time ranged from 0 to 5. For example, on March 9, 2000 from 8:40 to 9:00AM, there were 40 people and 0 species of birds sighted. Later that same morning, from 9:10 to 9:30 there were no people observed walking by, but we saw 3 different species of birds. When we analyzed all of our data, they showed that as the number of people increased, the number of birds decreased or dropped to zero. back to top The Cardinal By Amber, Grade 6 Mrs. White Brandon Middle School Virginia Beach, VA Careful Amusing Red Dazzling Incredible Neat Astonishing Lovely back to top
	Quetzal Ryan, Grade 7 Ms. Humason Minnehaha Academy Minneapolis, MN
back to top The Quetzal By Adam, Grade 4 Mrs. D'Agostino Assumption School Morristown, NJ The Quetzal is an elusive bird Rarely seen but often heard. It lives high up in the tree Calling out coochee-coochee! Its bright colors are red and green With a tail so long it's worth being seen. To Costa Rica you must go To see this bird search high not low. The Quetzal in flight Will be a wonderful sight. back to top
	Stringing Garlands for Birds At Church Street School, in White Plains, NY, Mrs. Conca's Grade 3 class and parents are stringing popcorn and cranberries for the birds at their feeding station.
	Imaginary bird: Blue Bandit Aaron, Grade 6 Ms. Henline Hamersville Elementary Hamersville, OH
back to top Barn Owls By Allen, Grade 6 Ms. LoConte Brandon Middle School Virginia Beach, VA Length: 14: - 21" Wingspan: 40.5: - 45" Also known as the ghost owl, the Barn Owl once frightened many people. Now there is an economic importance for the Barn Owl. The Barn Owl roosts and nests in old buildings, silos, steeples, bridges, and windmills. The Barn Owl has long legs and a long beak. The eyes differ from most of the other owls. They are not yellow, but mahogany in color, and they are small for an owl of this size. They are strictly nocturnal and avoid daylight. Other owls can cope with the daylight, they cannot. Barn Owls probably have the most acute hearing of the owl family. They rely mainly on sound for hunting and are extremely accurate. Barn Owls hunt from a perch listening to their intended prey move along. Once the animal stops moving, the Barn Owl swoops down and grabs it with its talons. Humans are the Barn Owls' greatest threat. Many Barn Owl deaths occur from eating rodents that have been poisoned. Other natural enemies of the Barn Owl are the Geat Horned Owl and the Prairie Falcon. Generally songbirds do not harass the Barn Owl. The Barn Owl is probably the most economically beneficial bird in the world due to its eating habits. Primary food for the Barn Owl consists of mice and rats. A study revealed what diet a Barn Owl ate over the course of a year: 1,407 mice, 143 rats, 7 bats, 5 young rabbits (bunnies), 375 House Sparrows, 23 European Starlings, 54 other bird species, 4 lizards, 174 frogs, 25 moths, and 52 crickets. back to top
	Imaginary bird: Buzzingbird Meryl, Grade 6 Mrs. Henline Hamersville Elementary Hamersville, OH
	Red-winged Blackbird Paul, Grade 6 Mrs. VanKirk Leslie B. Lehn Middle School Port Byron, NY
back to top The Kiwi By Anna, Grade 7 Ms. Humason Minnehaha Academy Middle School Minneapolis, MN The Kiwi is found in New Zealand. Like an ostrich, it can’t fly. Kiwis live in forests of New Zealand, but the people rarely see them. Kiwis are shy, and would rather run than fight. They don’t like people, and are afraid of them. The Kiwi is about the size of a chicken. It has a stocky body, covered in shaggy, dull brown feathers. Although the Kiwi is the size of a chicken, it has the largest egg in the world in comparison to it’s body size. Its neck and legs are short, and its bill is long and flexible. The kiwi is the only bird with its nostrils at the end of its nose. It has this feature because it hunts for food at night, and it can’t see, so it uses its nose when it digs in the ground to find its prey, which consists mostly of insects and berries. The Kiwi is a nocturnal bird, so when day breaks, it hurries back into hiding. The Kiwi has no tail, and some sorry excuses for wings. Its wings consist of several stiff feathers on the side of it’s body. When mating season rolls around, a female Kiwi lays one or two large, white eggs in a nest. The nest is built in the side of a bank. The male Kiwi sits on the eggs for seventy-five days, until they hatch. The babies are small and wet. The scientific classification for a Kiwi is Apterygidae. The best known Kiwi is called the Ateryxautralis. There are three species of Kiwis. Well, I hope you learned a little bit more about this unusual bird that resides in New Zealand. back to top