Check out these helpful links to find out more about Yap Yap at aroundthespinney.com!
WWF’s – 8 Surprising Prairie Dog Facts – some really interesting facts about this keystone species.
National Geographic’s – Prairie Dog – Facts about their Diet, Habitat and Behavior.
National Geographic’s YouTube video – Prairie Dog Snake Alarm – A great video to hear see how a Prairie Dog Town defends their little ones from a rattlesnake!
Check out these helpful links to find out more about Whistler at aroundthespinney.com!
Animalia’s – Hoary Marmot bio – Facts, Diet, Habitat and pictures of Whistler.
Terra Mater’s YouTube video – Why Marmots Scream – A great video to hear Whistler’s whistle and learn why they do it. You’ll even see the very cute Pika in this video!
Check out these helpful links to find out more about Johnny Chuck at aroundthespinney.com!
National Geographic’s – 10 Facts You Didn’t Know About Groundhogs – Really interesting facts about Johnny Chuck including how he is a stand-in for hedgehogs!
Mass Audubon – Woodchucks – Facts, Diet, Habitat and pictures of Johnny Chuck.
Check out these helpful links to find out more about Seek Seek at aroundthespinney.com!
University of Michigan BioKids – Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel – Facts, Diet, Habitat, and pictures of Seek Seek.
Friend’s of Pope Farm’s Conservancy Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel on Youtube– this is a great video to learn a little more about these Spermophiles and it shows the inside of their burrows!
Check out these helpful links to find out more about Striped Chipmunk at aroundthespinney.com!
Wild Adirondacks – Eastern Chipmunk – Facts, Diet, Habitat, and pictures of Striped Chipmunk.
Project Noah’s Nature School Video on Youtube– this is a great video to learn a little more about Chipmunks and how to identify their burrows! There is also a fun challenge at the end.
Yellow patches are all you need to recognize Fidget when he is flitting about in the forest. Burgess describes him as a “black and gray bird with a yellow cap, yellow sides, and a yellow patch at the root of his tail” (Burgess, p. 132, Living Book Press edition). You may have noticed that he is called a Myrtle Warbler in Burgess’ classic “The Burgess Bird Book for Children.” Cornell Lab has a really helpful section on why Burgess would have referred to him as a Myrtle Warbler:
The Yellow-rumped Warbler has two distinct subspecies that used to be considered separate species: the “Myrtle” Warbler of the eastern U.S. and Canada’s boreal forest, and “Audubon’s” Warbler of the mountainous West. The Audubon’s has a yellow throat; in the Myrtle subspecies the throat is white. Male “Audubon’s” Warblers have more white in the wing than the “Myrtle” Warbler. Female Audubon’s have less distinctly marked faces, lacking the dark ear patches of the “Myrtle” Warbler. Intermediate forms occur where the two subspecies’ breeding ranges overlap, such as in the Canadian Rockies.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-rumped_Warbler/id
These regional differences are considered to be subspecies now instead of a complete separate species. It is always interesting to see Audubon’s name attached to a bird, isn’t it? You can find a picture here in order to see the differences in coloring.
Watch a great video by Lyco Birds here on Youtube. Bobby does a good job of showing the variations of coloring and field markers for identification. Our Fidget has very dark black markings around the face, but you can find Yellow-rumped Warblers with brownish, lighter markings as well. Since these are one of the most prevalent species of Warblers, it’s good to know how to identify them in the field.
Here is our gathering from Fidget:
Until next time, keep on birding! <3 Kate
The Living Books Press link above contains an affiliate link, so I may receive a small payment if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Check out these helpful links to find out more about Flying Squirrels at aroundthespinney.com!
A-Z Animals – Flying Squirrels – Facts, Diet, Habitat, and pictures of Timmy
NatGEO Flying Squirrel Youtube Video – this is a great video to see how Flying Squirrels jump and use their patagium to glide! Watch them glide down a football field!
As quickly as the Warblers arrived, they left. In Burgess’ classic “The Burgess Bird Book for Children,” Peter finds a Warbler that stays in the Green Forest, the Northern Parula. He notices Sprite by finding his nest which looks like a bunch of moss hanging from a tree. Cornell Lab explains that Northern Parulas actually depend on moss in order to build their nests and habitat loss affects their ability to breed in certain places (source). The particular mosses that they depend on are Spanish moss in the Southern United States and Beard Moss in the Northern United States.
Here is a great introduction of the Northern Parula and their nest building by Bob Duchesne on Youtube
Here is the rest of our gathering for Sprite:
They really are a beautiful bird! Until next time, keep birding! <3 Kate
The Living Books Press link above contains an affiliate link, so I may receive a small payment if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Check out these helpful links to find out more about Fox Squirrels at aroundthespinney.com!
Animalia – Eastern Fox Squirrel – Facts, Diet, Habitat, and pictures of Rusty
MyBackyardBirding Fox Squirrel Youtube Video – a wonderful and concise telling of the Fox Squirrel
Check out these helpful links to find out more about Red Squirrels at aroundthespinney.com!
Animalia – American Red Squirrel – Facts, Diet, Habitat, and pictures of Chatterer
Animalia Video– Chatterer’s vocalizations – Hear what the Red Squirrel sounds like!
