Cher Ami

Homing or Carrier pigeons were used to carry messages from place to place. In World War 1 a homing pigeon named Cher Ami was donated and trained by the U.S.He saved the lives of nearly 200 men. While carrying a message enemy soldiers shot at Cher Ami. Although the poor bird was tragically injured (shot in the breast, blinded in an eye, and losing aleg) he returned to his hhome where people seeked help. The bird was given medals of honor for its loyalty.

The story of Cher Ami is most definitly interesting. It goes to show what effect animals can have on our lives.
for more details visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cher_Ami
http://www.suite101.com/content/cher-ami-and-the-lost-battalion-a68995

Experience

There is a house where I typically see many birds in my neighborhood. Today I walked past and saw only a few. Before I new it the birds were flying over my head, in groups of about 10-15. The birds were small and brown, fast too. And there were maybe five groups of them flying past. The experience left me with these questions:
Where were the headed?
Why were they leaving?
What is the significance of their formation?
And what about the environment draws them to and away from this area?

Birds and the environment

So here are just a few more things that are interesting about birdhouses and the environment:
1.) Attracting birds can act as a pest control:
for people who dislike some insects having birdhouses attracts birds who eat certain species of insects ( birds don't eat earthworms)
2.)Allowing a place to nest for birds can prevent species from going extinct
3) Attracting different types of birds to one are can result in an interbreeding of different species

History Lesson 2

So our first piece of history hails from the idea of birdhouses coming from an Indian tribe long ago. Here is another tale:

Another story says that a Jan de Wilde came up with the idea. This theory says that he decided to make a nesting place for birds out of some plastic tubing, by cutting out a hole and adding a small roof. Like the other story it says that soon it became popular amoung many people not just bird lovers, and evolved into something that we all know and love today, BIRDHOUSES.

Interesting fact

Something interesting to think about, have you ever once thought about what a birdhouse provides for birds. If you've read the last post it talked about a little history of birdhouses, and how they provide shelter for the birds. But, imagine a big city like New York. What happens to the bird then? Birdhouses actually provide a place for birds to nest, when there is a lack of trees in highly populated areas. Its important to take in consideration the shape and style of different birdhouses in different areas. This is becaus different birds are attracted to different styles (not the color or design but the structure). This interesting fact is just something to think about when you're in a skyscraper in New York, on a small little farm, or just in your backyard.

Just one type of structure of birdhouses

History lesson number 1



Way back when, the first birdhouses were made

. There are a few tales about how they got started, but here is one. It was said that native american tribes would hang up gourds. Purple Martins supposedley kept away turkey vultures. Turkey vultures would eat the meat and food of the native americans. So it all made perfect sense, hang the gourds for the purple martin, and the turkey vultures would stop coming around eating the food. Soon people began to elaborate on the designs and shapes of the gourds, changing them to squares, adding more holes, and painting them. And we get what it is that we have today. All sorts of various types of birdhouses.





 





purple martin

Example of a gourd birdhouse

Doves



mourning dove



So last we talked about pigeons. And pigeons are related to doves. They actually have a lot in common. Both are monogamous species. This means that once they mate they are pairs for life. Also they take shifts in nesting or laying on their newly laid eggs. Incubation time for doves is roughly 14 days. The mourning dove is officially Michigan's bird of peace, and doves are symbolic of peace and purity. Doves typically live for about seven to eleven years. Sadly there are dove hunters, who enjoy hunting and capturing doves. But while they hunt there are also many people who enjoy feeding not only doves but also many other birds. Because they're so pretty and they're symbolic of peace it is popular to release them at weddings.

Pigeons

Well doesn't everyone just love pigeons? Even though they are practically a menace in our uptight society they have interesting lives. Closley related to the dove( amazing right, complete opposites almost) pigeons reproduce rapidly throughout the year. Everyone knows that the mama bird sits on the eggs after she lays them but did you know that the papa bird actually takes the morning shift in siting on them. Also the incubation time of the eggs is only about 17 to 19 days. Just a few things to think about the next time you see a pigeon!

Pigeons

DODO

So the dodo bird was one of the only birds that doesn't fly. Unfortunatley it went extinct in the mid 17th century.  Surprisingly these birds were related to pigeons, like we see every day on the street. Can't you see the resemblance? They used to reside around the Indian Ocean, and from these birds we get the phrase, " dead as a dodo".

Tiki House

This is our Tiki House. Our friend did an awesome job. It may look like a stencil but it isn't.  When buying the birdhouses my friend saw a design similar to this and we tried it. Red with a black design the brown shaped roof gives it that true tiki feel.

Trial and error

The website on which we found the cool carton craft made it look so easy to make. Well it sure is not. Using the same type of paints used to do the Birdhouses we ran into problems.
Number 1.)it takes multiple coats of paints between 3 and 5 to cover the words and patterns really well
Number 2.) the paint sometimes has a tendency to drip because the carton's surface is so smooth, this is not appealing
Number 3.)it isn't so easy painting designs because if you mess up you basically have to go over it with a whole new coat

Words of advice:
From doing this we learned it would be much easy to paint using some type of primer first this would decrease the amount of coats needed and a lot of drippage
:)

A halloween poem

This is Halloween
The night that makes you scream
The crows and bats creep in the night
Squeaking and swaking to give you a fright
This creepy night is coming to an end
Everyone, people, birds,and bats will retire to their dens
On this frightful Halloween night.



A poem we've written!

Kiwi

So, the did you know of this week is pretty interesting. The only ird in the world that actually doesn't have wings is the kiwi bird. This bird can be found in New Zealand. It's interesting because why is it catagorized as a bird if it doesnt have wings, is it because it has a beak. Well, you can decide whether it not you'd classify it as a bird or not.
 

A drawing of a kiwi bird

 



This is an actual photo



Isn't this a cute cartoon.



Selling

On the sixteenth we sold Birdhouses at a garage sale. We had all of our birdhouse set up on three tables with a pretty poster next to them.At the beginning of the sale we got the idea of having a donations jar,which worked out really well. We managed to get five dollars and twenty five cents of donations. However we didn't sell any Birdhouses. At our school's dog wash we sold four Birdhouses though, so we are making progress,slowly but surely

Cartons

We also started making our own birdhouse cartons. They are a little hard to paint since there are words on the cartons, and the paint sometimes drips but we think they are coming out nicely.

It isn't finished yet but it's starting to take shape.

Garage sale setup

Yesterday we took are birdhouses and sold them at a garage sale. Aren't they adorable! Although we didn't sell we made about five bucks in donatinos. Everyone also complimented our painting designs.

Crafty Birdhouses

This is a cool craft to making your own birdhouse, and it is also a way to recycle. You can reuse milk, or juice cartons by closing the top flaps shut, painting the carton, and cutting a whole in it (big enough for a bird) to use as a birdhouse. You can decorate it however you like and even put birdseed in it to attract birds. Cool Right?




 




This one is just painted with
a few decorations.

 This is a link to the step by step directions on how to make your own : http://www.ziggityzoom.com/activities.php?a=302

 

Where We are

So far we've sold about 5 birdhouses and looking to sell more. These are some of the ones we sold:



The Mcdonalds Birdhouse(Mickey Trees)





The purple and yellow house(the rocket ship)





The Valentine's House(Heart House)




TheTwo story yellow house



Aren't they adorable!

The purple and yellow house

This little number is our purple and yellow birdhouse. Although it's probably our tiniest house, it is just as cute as the others.With room for only probably one bird(if that),this was one house where it took some time to get an idea for, but it turned out all right. Our polka dot trademark couldn't look better on it.

The Green House

This is our Green House, birdhouse. With the blue and green colors you get that save the Earth/ Go Green feeling.The yellow suns painted on it give are so inviting and bright for attracting birds. Perfect for those sunny spring days.

The Family House

We called this one the family birdhouse. Its so cute and adorable. Doesn't it just look like a house for a cute little bird family. Might i also say my friend did an amazing job painting it. A cute little family like this cartoon would look amazing in this cute house :)!

Bird Condo

The Bird Condo

This is one of the birdhouses we've painted. We call it the

Bird Condo. It's ideal for two small bird families. Similar to a winter wonderland it's painted brown, blue, and white. With its appealing looks and pointed roof top what bird could resist this birdhouse. It would mesh perfectly with a blue jay, with those matching colors.