One should always keep learning, but in turn help others by teaching. Over the past 24 hours I have been in both roles … learner and teacher.
Yesterday evening a bit before sunset I hiked the forest near my house. My Great Horned Owl twins have now fledged, and the owl family has moved over one mile from their nesting location. Thankfully local crows helped me discover their new daytime perching area. In the “learner” role over the last two weeks, the parent owls have taught me how hard they work to insure the safety of their young.
Last night, I watched the female Great Horned Owl parent get mobbed by crows. However, when the crows could not scare mother owl into moving, the black birds flew off to mob one of the owlets. When the last crow departed the mom owl immediately took off and flew in a direct line after the crows. This action is normal. I have learned that the parent owls will fly well beneath the forest canopy and then pop up near the trees where the crows are harassing their young. Invariably when the crows see the parent owl appear, they turn to chase that older owl. The parent birds take off and then decoy the crows away from the owlets. The process is repeated till the crows lose sight of the parent owl.
This morning I played the teacher role. A friend who home schools his three children met me at 6:30. Over the course of the next three hours I tried to help the children learn a bit about birds including topics such as food sources, camouflage, migration patterns and bird songs. We ended the lesson down on Park Point with shorebird sightings, and just as importantly … time to play in the sand. Remember, play is an important part of learning.
I have more ideas, comments and links to downloadable curriculum / projects via my Birding With Children section of this blog.
Finally, here is a photograph I took just before sundown yesterday evening. Do you think mother owl is looking at me with a cocked heard as if to say … “See what I have to put up with?!”
