Ponds for Kids Class is a Huge Success

I have finished both of the Ponds for Kids classes I was teaching. They were both a huge success! The kids learned alot about building ponds during their six week class. The third and fourth grade students actually built a complete backyard habitat in their classroom. The project included a pond and a pondless waterfall. It was landscaped with rubber mulch to look like a real garden. A bird feeder and butterfly hibernation box were added for a realistic touch. The kids had fun and discovered that Nature could be pretty cool. Before, during and after pictures can be seen in the children events section of photo library on Aquatic Connections website.

Great Backyard Bird Count

Over President's Day weekend we participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count. It was simple. All we had to do was look out our dining room window and count the different types of birds we saw. We recorded our results and posted them online. We saw 2 cardinals (one male and one female), 15 Dark-eyed Juncos, 8 Mourning Doves, 3 Black-capped Chickadees(that surprised me-we used to see more in our backyard), 1 Blue Jay and 1 Red-Bellied Woodpecker. I used a new bird seed called "No Squirrels-Just Birds" in my ranch feeder and it really worked. If anyone else counted the birds that weekend and would like to share their results, please feel free to post them. Any other comments or stories about backyard bird feeding is welcome. Last years results can be found on the Audubon Website.