for the birds

In the midst of packing up our old house, my sister gave our family the coolest present ever.  Because of the moving, living in a dungeon of a townhome and other craziness, we are just know getting to enjoy it.  For anyone who is trying to think of a cool present for a family with young children: Pay attention.  In the last week, our family has enjoyed this present more than any toy out there.  And it would make an adorable gift basket, to boot.  She included a bird feeder, a bird watching book and a bird whistle.  

It took a week for the birds to start coming, but once they found us, they have been ripping through the food.  With the help of Birds of the Williamette Valley, we have started our bird watching adventures by finding many a dark eyed junko and rufous sided towhee. (we are new to this and I am sure we will slowly start recognizing different birds with the help of our little guide)  All of the girls shout in glee when they see the birds dive in to get some bird feed and we love watching the birds wait on the fence for their turn to eat. (They have a little line system.  They must have gone to kindergarten or something to learn such order!)  

Below is Hannah's own "bird trap".  While doing school with the older girls, Hannah came in to tell me about her outdoor adventures.  I "listened" like I sometime do, but my ears perked up when I heard something about a fire and catching birds.  What?  I clarified with her, "What are you going to do with the birds once you catch them? Eat them?"  She started to think it over and quickly decided that the fire would be to warm their wings since it was so cold.  Note to Chris: Maybe we are watching too much "Man vs. Wild" with the kids?  It turns out that the bird seed in the trap was much enjoyed by the birds and I think they are thankful to Hannah for not adding the fire feature.  Whew.  

Note to dad: I double checked and they are definitely rufous sided towhees, not the red breasted nutchatches.  Maybe we just have better bird feed than you. :)