Nature Study: Owls

Bird Study- Kingbirds and Flycatchers

Three cousins, king birds, pewee's and flycatchers were the object of our bird study today. We only focused on the type that lives in our area at various times of the year.

The king bird is so called because he is so brave. The king of birds, he intimidates predators by his incessant nagging.
Here in San Antonio, we may be able to find the Western Kingbird during the summer months.

The flycatchers have the best eyesight and swiftest maneuvers to catch insects, including bees (drones, of course).  What's interesting about them as well, is they like to line their nests with snake skins.

In San Antonio, we can find the Great Crested Flycatcher during the summer

possibly the Ash-throated flycatcher during summer months

Eastern Wood Pewee during the summer

Scissor tailed flycatcher during the summer which is also the Oklahoma state bird.

For some great bird activities check out this sight:
Texas Park and Wildlife

Wildflower Study - Mexican Hats and Wine cups

We went hiking last week, and discovered so many wildflowers still in bloom. We were so proud to share our knowledge with fellow hikers (and Dad) , but we were a little dismayed that we still had so many more to learn!
We are taking it a little slower this week since we have all been sick, but we did make time to learn the names of two more.


Mexican Hats (Ratibida columnaris)
It looks a bit like a sombrero, doesn't it?

and Wine Cups (Callirhoe involucrata )

Time to journal

Nature Study: Wild flowers

Yesterday was wildflower nature study. Audrey has been terribly sick with allergies, so we are home bound right now. Walks can't happen, but during our drives, we have taken note of the wildflowers on the side of the road. We choose four of the most abundant right now to study. Here's what I did. I found a copy of Texas roadside wildflower nature book and also a copy of a wildflower field guide at the library and then looked up the four we wanted to learn about. We are planning a trip to nature tomorrow and then, we are going to take pictures of them. For now, I had the kids draw a picture of the flower into their nature journal.


This is a Pink Evening Primrose.

This is a Firewheel.
Some people call it an Indian Blanket Firewheel.

This is called a Prairie Verbena.

 This is the ever common Dandelion. They are everywhere right now and the one flower my kids look for everywhere to blow the fun seeds.

Time to journal. This is Laura's journal.

This is Audrey's.

Wildflower Day- 4 new flowers

Today is Wildflower Day for us

We took a little time right after our devotions, before everyone scattered to do their individual work, to learn 4 new wildflowers and record them in our nature journals. If you would like to join us in our studies once again,
Here are the three flowers we learned:

Black eyed (or brown eyed) Susan (found anywhere in Texas except West Texas)




Buttercups (found only around the Gulf coast area of Texas)


Asterceae (or Aster) found anywhere in Texas


And lastly, a Basket Flower (also found anywhere in Texas)

Here are some great wildflower links to help you study as well!

Wild about Texas Wildflowers

Texas Wildflower Guide

My Wildflowers

Bird Study- Finches

This is a purple finch. Isn't it pretty? They are the size of a sparrow, but purple. The female looks like a sparrow as it has very little if any color at all. House finches are very similar in shape and color, but less purple. So pretty. I actually saw this bird in my backyard with the sparrows and couldn't identify it until now. How exciting.

This is a male goldfinch during mating. They become more like the females (below) during the winter months. One interesting fact about finches is that they don't build nests during the spring. While all the other birds are busy feeding their hatched babies, finches are just happily resting. They are seed eaters, and they need seeds to survive. Seeds are usually ripe on mature plants during the summer, thus the wait.

Wildflower Study Kick Off!

Today we begin a new "tab" in our Nature Studies- Wildflowers! It's timely, isn't it? With spring upon us and all of the beautiful wildflowers out. I only wish we had begun sooner so we know what flowers we are looking at.

We began with studying the parts of the flowers:

And then we began with our state flower- the Texas bluebonnet . Scientific name:Lupinus texensis

If you and your kids are not familiar with lupines, try reading Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. It is a fantastic book about a woman who makes the world beautiful by planting lupines.

This is the Agalinis. Scientific name is pururea, Common name is a Purple False Foxglove

Another view:

This next one is the Bitterweed found here in the Texas Hill country. Its scientific name is Helenium amarum . It is related to the sunflower. It is called a Bitterweed because it's aroma is very bitter. Cows generally stay away from them, but if a heifer does eat this flower, its milk tastes bitter. Bees honey will also taste bitter and foul if it makes its honey from the pollen of this flower.

Time to journal:

Bird Study- Towhee's and Buntings

This is a Towhee. It is also called a ground robin. It is related to the sparrow and finch family as well as the cardinal and the grosbeak.
I had the pleasure of seeing this little guy at a nature center two weeks ago and was surprised at how fat he was. He is called a ground robin because he sort of looks like a robin, but he doesn't stay in the tree tops. He stays low finding worms and insects under dead leaves on the ground. The also likes to eat fruit and berries.
They make their nest on the ground .

Another relative is the indigo bunting. They can be found here in Texas (maybe) in the summer. The males are a lovely bright blue with black tinges along it's wings. The female looks just like her sparrow cousins with only a very slight tinge of blue along her wings and of course we all know why- females cannot attract attention while nesting. The fathers are colorful (like the cardinal) to attract the attention of predators away from their spouses.

We saw this in our backyard last week. Our beautiful daddy cardinal was eaten by a cat while protecting his family.My kids sobbed for days- we had a funeral and buried our lovely little man. Just today, I saw a new daddy out side, so maybe our female found herself a new guy.

This is the painted bunting. The reason I posted this even though it was not in our actual study is because it is expected to visit us next month!

If you are in the Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana area, he might stop in and say hello! That is a great time to spend lots of time outdoors just for the sight of him. My Peterson's guide shows that he might even visit around Charleston, SC and he also hangs around the very southern tip of Florida during the winter.

The female is a lovely muted green- another little tip: they will only be the size of a sparrow.

Chickadees and Titmouse- Bird of the Month

My kids insist they have seen chickadees in our backyard. I have never seen one, but they have- yea. That means they are looking! Chickadees usually stay around all winter and eat the eggs of harmful worms and bugs in our backyards- so be nice to them. Apparently they can be trusting little fellows if you are kind to them- they may even let you eat out of your hands!


And where you find a chickadee, you will most likely find a titmouse like little best friends.

Field trip to...nature.

Spring is in the air! Texas weather is very touchy, so we have to get out on those perfect days. It was perfect on Thursday, so out we went!
First, time to pull weeds...

Plant our garden seeds...

Join our home school group for an outdoor school...

There's Laura crossing over the "Poison River" Challenge.



We'll make it back indoors soon. Spring doesn't last long around here. Summer comes way to fast and doesn't go away for a long time. Until then, we are going to try to enjoy the outdoors. Hope you can to!

Home from Vacation!

I feels so good to be home from our vacation. *sigh* Today was the first day I was able to take a breath after a week of skiing and then another week playing the catch up game...unpacking, cleaning, laundry...

Here are some pictures of our trip. Being the Charlotte Mason enthusiast that I am, we kept on the lookout for changes in scenery as we drove west. I really, really wish I had remembered to pack my camera up front with me as we drove TO New Mexico from Texas, I missed so much interesting changes in scenery. I did catch a bit of the scenery on our way home, though. The pictures begin with our drive from Santa Fe, NM back to San Antonio, TX- at least until it got dark and I couldn't catch the change any more.

But first... a Steller's Jay! Just look at his beautiful color.