Those little seedlings can grow into gorgeous trees. Ours became a privacy screen, built year after year. The trees we helped our sons plant during grade school are now taller than the home they grew up in.

This year, why not celebrate Arbor Day as a family? The Arbor Day Foundation has a list of ideas to help you get started. For more information, visit their website at http://www.arborday.org/arborday/celebrate.cfm

Silverberg writes, “It was incredibly good for my soul to do an activity with these children that was full of sheer, unbridled fun. No one was expected to learn a thing, this was just about feeling the paint and clay between your fingers, smooshing it all about and creating with all the exuberance we could muster.”

You can read all about her ooey, gooey, messy art experience with her children and their friends here.

Although this wasn’t conceived as an educational experience or even as an ongoing hobby, by encouraging artistic freedom and creativity, we help our kids learn to express themselves in a healthy, fun, productive way. Just keep the soap and water handy!

Our nectar feeder has been ready for nearly a month, and that was his first stop. In backyard bird watching, as in most hobbies, preparation pays off!

The Birds of Wisconsin Field Guide by Stan Tekiela has been a valuable educational reference for us this year. Through it, we’re learning a lot about our native birds – what to watch for, when to expect and how to attract each species. It’s small, fits easily in a bike bag, or more often on any surface near a backyard window. There’s a companion CD that I’d like to get my hands on, to help me learn to identify birds by their call.

Other helpful resources include The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds. We have both the western and eastern editions, and having lived in the western US, as well as the midwest – have put them both to good use. I find them a bit more difficult to navigate than the Wisconsin Field Guide, but they do cover more territory and would be invaluable for the traveling bird watcher.

Article continues below bird watching book recommendations.

Summer Bird Watching Adventures

We’ll be taking our field guides with us this summer when we camp in Wisconsin’s north woods. I’m hoping to spot my first Scarlet Tanager; the male is a bright scarlet red bird with jet black wings and tail, which I’ve learned prefers mature, unbroken woodlands, where it hunts for insects high in the tops of trees. I’m also hoping to find the secretive indigo bunting; the male being a vibrant blue and seen most often at woodland edges.

Please leave a comment and tell me what birds or other wildlife you’re hoping to see this summer.

Photo Credit: My first picture of a bird by carriecha on flickr

Now, with spring in full swing in Wisconsin, we’re finding it fascinating to observe our backyard and neighborhood bird population. For instance, last week we learned that Cedar Waxwings do everything in flocks. They arrive en masse, filling out the still bare branches of one or more of our backyard trees. One or two braves ones will venture down to the bird bath, then five or seven more quickly follow. A quick drink, then they’re off to the same tree tops – a pattern repeated about every half-hour all day long.

Our first Brown Headed Cowbird arrived last week also – a fairly nondescript bird at a distance, but pretty up close. Their call is interesting – it’s almost a squeak.

Have you ever watched the bright red male Cardinal court his female? They’re nearly inseparable this time of year. He feeds her. We’ve witnessed adult Cedar Waxwings feeding one another as well.

The Red Winged Blackbirds returned from their winter migration shortly after the Robins. Did you know that the male Red Wings perch high, throw out their chests, lift their wings and warble for all their worth while they’re seeking a mate?

We’ve watched the male Goldfinches exchange their drab winter feathers for bright yellow summer plumage.

Our backyard is also frequented by a variety of Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Blue Jays, Bluebirds, numerous House Finches, Sparrows and Doves. Each have distinct mannerisms and calls. It’s been fun learning to identify these few backyard birds by size, color, habits and call.

Do you have a favorite winged backyard visitor? What is it and why?

A Great Horned Owl blends in with the trees it lives in.

This Grey Squirrel also blends with the trees where it lives.

One of things I find fun and educational is spending time in the outdoors, observing and photographing the marvels nature has to offer. In the animal kingdom are those which are brightly colored as well as those which are subdued or camouflaged.

In nature, survival is crucial for the continuation of the species. Being unseen in plain view is nature’s way of achieving just that. Whether it is birds, squirrels or deer, each has been given a color scheme uniquely their own that provides them protection.

Animals that spend a great deal of time in the open use both their color and the time of day to better protect themselves from detection. Owls hunt at night; during the day they perch in trees, where their feathers have a similar texture and coloration to that of tree bark.  Deer love to graze in open meadows and fields, yet this makes them vulnerable to predators. Deer depend on their color as well as the time of day to protect them. Evenings offer the best protection; When the sun is low their tan-gray coloration lets them blend in well with their grass and woodland habitat.

A herd of Deer emerge from the woods and onto the prairie as the sun sets.

Take this turkey (left) as it makes its way through the brush, trying to elude me as I try to capture its picture. Its dark color blends in with the shadows as well as the trees and bushes. An animal that continues to feel threatened in the shadows, will escape by running or like the turkey on the right, take flight.

So, the next time you take a walk through the woods or an open field, take a few minutes to look around to see what is really there. You might be surprised at the wildlife hiding in plain sight, wildlife that you’d never notice with just a casual glance.