Around the Spinney

A Gentle Feast

  • Blacky, the American Crow

    “Caw, caw, caw” is a ringing call that many people would recognize by sound. Crows are large birds and very intelligent. Allaboutbirds mentions: “Crows sometimes make and use tools. Examples include a captive crow using a cup to carry water over to a bowl of dry mash; shaping a piece of wood and then sticking…

  • Year 6 of Homeschooling

    Year 6 of Homeschooling

    Last year flew by for us. We settled into a new house, and all of us went through developmental stages in between the seasons, terms, lessons and experiences. We enjoyed the nature around us and loved settling into a place that we can call our own. We are so grateful for all that last year…

  • Forktail, the Barn Swallow

    Barn Swallows are one of my favorite birds to watch as they fly over fields catching insects and really perform remarkable aerial acrobatics in the process. It always calming to watch and enjoy their flight for food. Often, you will find Barn Swallows far away from any barns, which are a common place for them…

  • Twitter the Purple Martin

    As the largest of the Swallow family, Purple Martins are very social birds. Take it from Skimmer the Tree Swallow who explains to Johnny Chuck: “I like a home by myself, such as I’ve got here, but Twitter loves company. He likes to live in an apartment house with a lot of his own kind.…

  • Sweetvoice, The Vesper Sparrow

    Our final sparrow is Sweetvoice, the Vesper Sparrow. The name that Burgess gave this bird, Sweetvoice, and even Vesper have labeled this Sparrow perfectly and here’s why: Vesper Sparrows sing a sweet tinkling song during the day and well into the evening hours—the twilight of vespers, prompting its name… a sweet series of musical slurs…

  • Sooty, the Chimney Swift

    So, the big question is…. Is a Chimney Swift a swallow? Even Peter thinks that Sooty, the Chimney Swift, is a swallow, but he isn’t! Burgess lets Jenny Wren answers our question, “He hasn’t any one nearer than some sort of second cousins, Boomer the Nighthawk, Whippoorwill, and Hummer the Hummingbird” (Burgess Bird Book, Living…

  • Skimmer, the Tree Swallow

    Skimmer is our next Burgess Bird in detail and he is a beautiful iridescent bird with blueish-green on his back and white on his stomach. We know exactly where to venture in order to see Tree Swallows. We go to the Deer Grove Preserve in our community where there are some open swampy areas. We…

  • Carol, the Eastern Meadowlark

    Eastern Meadowlarks are very common in the prairie grasslands around where I live. Have I seen one? No, not yet, but it is my goal to see one out in the field. How often do you go to a particular ecosystem in order to see a particular bird? Most often, I don’t organize our outings…

  • Bob White, the Northern Bobwhite

    This Spring, I took a break from posting in order to observe and enjoy the Spring Migration. It has been absolutely amazing to meet the different birds that pass through our area on their way North. Some of the highlights of the Spring Migration this year were seeing: Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, SOOOO many Warblers enjoying the…

  • Bubbling Bob, the Bobolink

    Bubbling Bob, the Bobolink

    What a fun sentence full of alliteration: Today our Burgess bird is Bubbling Bob the Bobolink! Writing that this morning is a great start to the day. Bobolinks… ever heard of them? Unfortunately, this is a bird that is getting harder to find. If you are hoping to ever spot one you should look in…