Playing in the Rain and Walking with the Birds

The rain was awesome this past weekend. That was the most pitiful excuse for an umbrella, though.

Nolan and I had a great time with kid and adult bird lovers at the Celebrate Urban Bird Festival this weekend (which conveniently shares the same weekend as the Great Backyard Bird Count). It rained — nay, it poured — for part of the time, affecting overall turnout, but you won’t ever catch me complaining about rain.
 

During the festival, I got to help kids “dig” up plastic worms with chopsticks (like an Ibis), pick rice “insects” from a log with tweezers (like a Wren or Warbler), strain duckweed from the surface of water (like a duck or shoveler), and experience other bird bill adaptations. I also helped kids discover what it’s like to be a migratory bird, facing all sorts of dangers to (hopefully) get to safe habitats. Some of the other activities at the festival included birding (of course), hiking, live bird demos, bird feeder projects, and bird drawing. My son drew me a picture of a most wonderful cardinal and waterfowl scene, but alas, he won’t let me share it online. But he spent an hour on it — believe me, it’s excellent.

After the festival, Nolan and I toured the Austin Nature and Science Center, one of my absolute favorite places in Austin. At last I was able to bring out the camera, and waiting to pose for me (or to see if I’d be silly enough to drop food) was one of our most successful urban birds, the Great-Tailed Grackle.

Grackles aren’t everyone’s favorite bird, but I actually like them (provided I’m not walking or parking under a giant flock of them). For one thing, they actually are quite striking, especially the large males with their dark iridescent blue feathers.

See that bill? It’s a generalist shape — not too long, not too narrow, not too flat, not too curved. That means it’s multi-purpose, letting a Grackle eat just about anything it wants — grains, insects, slugs, worms, small mammals, fish, frogs, eggs, pizza, popcorn, hamburgers. And that’s a big reason why Grackles have adapted so easily to an urban environment. They particularly appreciate sloppy humans.

The Austin Nature & Science center is actually home to a variety of Texas birds, reptiles, invertebrates, mammals, fish, and amphibians. Many are orphaned or injured animals that would not survive in the wild, and they are lucky to have a safe haven at the center. Whether you love wildlife, fossils, dinosaur exhibits, and ponds, or are just a naturalist at heart — this is the place for you. Bring your kids, grandkids, and the kid in YOU! Clearly I need to do a full post on the center. Someday soon!