TFN Juniors Spring 2021 Nature Class #3

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the class today and contributed art work, photos, bird song recordings and enthusiasm. Great to see your photos and drawings of  tadpoles, mining bees, early spring ephemerals and birds.  Wonderful to see you all and to have a look at your drawings at the end!

Ken Vogan gave an excellent presentation on bird language. He gave us a clear idea of some of the things birds might be communicating. He also gave us four distinct things to listen for:
1) Pitch: high or low
2) Speed: slow enough to count the individual notes
3) Repetition: does it repeat words or phrases
4) Melodious: is it harsh or pleasant to listen to. 

These are things we can apply to any bird call that will help us remember it.  Listen to this video by Leslie the Bird Nerd, a wonderful birder from Newfoundland who has managed to determine numerous distinct calls of chickadees and other birds.

Please join us next week when our artist Sandra Iskandar, will lead us in nature journaling. We will do nature gesture sketches of Pussy Willow.  All you need is a pencil and paper, or your nature journal. Looking forward to seeing you all!

The Toronto Field Naturalists wish to acknowledge this land through which we walk. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississauga of the Credit River. Today it is still the home to many Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to be on this land.