Wild About Wisconsin Birds: For Bird Lovers of All Ages (Wild About Birds) - Softcover

Porter, Adele

9781591939061: Wild About Wisconsin Birds: For Bird Lovers of All Ages (Wild About Birds)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1591939062 ISBN 13: 9781591939061

Publisher: Adventure Publications, 2019

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Share the fun of watching Wisconsin birds with the whole family!

Wild About Wisconsin Birds satisfies our adult curiosity about birds and is written to include youth―fostering a love of nature for all ages. The fun, engaging pages entertain adults and kids alike. Large, vivid photographs make bird identification simple. Plus, with an easy-to-use format, arranged by birds’ habitat and then size, it’s easy to find the species you’re looking for. Fascinating facts and educational exercises for kids, like “Do the Math,” add to the enjoyment of this beautiful guide to 70 Wisconsin birds.

For family-friendly activities and classroom learning, Wild About Wisconsin Birds is a must-have for anyone who appreciates the outdoors. Wildlife fans of all ages will be flipping through the pages with each sighting. You’ll reach for this book again and again.

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About the Author:

Award-winning author and science educator Adele Porter combines her passion for science and dedication to children in her books. In fact, the students that Adele has worked with during 20 years as an educator inspired Wild About Wisconsin Birds. Adele has also written educational materials for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Forest Service and various publications. She is a member of the National Science Teachers' Association, the American Ornithologists’ Union and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

For Adele, one of the best parts of being an author is meeting the readers of her books at author programs and book signings and hearing their enthusiastic outdoor stories. She looks forward to hearing of your new wildlife adventures!

A native of Minnesota, Adele enjoys the time she and her three children spend together more than anything else.

Black-capped Chickadee
Poecile atricapillus

Characteristics

Length: 5–6 inches
Wingspan: 8 inches
Short, small, black bill shaped like a cone
Black cap and chin
White breast and belly
Gray back
Females and males look the same
Long tail
Weighs only as much as one quarter!

Song: “Chickadee-dee, Chickadee-dee-dee” means “Hey, I'm over here!” “Fee-bee, fee-bee” is often a male saying, “This is my space!”

Tiny Bird―Mighty Adaptations

Wisconsin’s deciduous woods are home to a tiny, yet mighty, survivor. The Black-capped Chickadee stays in Wisconsin all year. They have adapted to the cold, snowy winters by lowering their body temperature at night. This helps them use less energy so they can skip the extra trip for a midnight snack. During the day, chickadees fill up on high energy foods and stash snacks for later use. A Wisconsin deer hunter watched a group of chickadees each carry away about one pound of deer fat in a single day! They stuffed and pounded it with their small pointed bills into every tree bark hole and crack they could find. A mighty job for a tiny bird.

Habitat Caf�

Today’s Special: Spiders

Yumm . . . bring an order of caterpillars and the eggs of gypsy and codling moths. A friend of Wisconsin’s forests, they eat moths that are destructive to some trees. Black-capped Chickadees are insectivores.

Spring, Summer, Fall Menu: Mostly insects, some seeds and berries
Winter Menu: Insects and an equal amount of seeds, berries and fat

Life Cycle

Nest A hole is made in the soft, rotten wood of a tree, 4–10 feet above ground. The female lines the nest with rabbit fur, moss, feathers, and even the soft threads of insect cocoons. A chickadee uses a different nest each year, whether it makes its own, uses a man-made nest box, or recycles a cavity made by woodpeckers.

Eggs About 1⁄2 inch long. The female incubates 6–8 eggs for 12–13 days. The male brings food.

MOM! DAD! Altricial. Both Mom and Dad feed the young and remove the fecal sacs (chick diapers), which are covered in a slippery coating. This makes the job of taking them out of the nest much easier!

Nestling The young leave the nest when they are just over two weeks old.

Fledgling Their pink feet and bill soon turn black and they look just like Mom and Dad.

Juvenile Teens stay with their parents for about a month and then join a small winter flock. At one year of age, they are mature enough to date, mate, nest and raise their own young.

Sidebar Information

When to Look: Diurnal. Chickadees feed during the day and rest at night.

Migration: Permanent resident. In winter, chickadees form groups of 6–10 birds, breaking up into pairs in spring. They may also share roost boxes or other large cavities, mixing in groups of up to 50 small birds. On cold winter nights, they squeeze into their own small tree hollows.

Nesting: Chickadees begin excavating nest holes in April, with egg laying and incubation during May–June in Wisconsin.

Getting Around: Look for a flash of lighter color on the tips of their gray wings in flight. When they need to escape a predator they can change directions in just .03 of a second! How do they stay hanging upside down while picking insects off the underside of a tree branch? They have special leg muscles. They creep up and down tree trunks and hop from twig to twig.

Where to Look: Deciduous and mixed forest with open edges all over Wisconsin. Backyard birdhouses and feeders

Birding Tip

When you slice a summer melon and carve an October pumpkin, save the seeds for backyard birds. First, spread the seeds on a pan to dry. Then, place the dry seeds on the ground or in a feeder. Birds need water too. Hang a milk jug with a tiny hole in the bottom above a birdbath or pool of water. Birds are attracted to the sound of dripping water.

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