Hayden Goold Observes the Birds
Jays, chickadees, finches, and nuthatches - oh, my!
© School in the Woods
My name is Hayden Goold. I am a fourth-grader at School in the Woods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I am sitting at a picnic table looking at birds with binoculars. I see a blue and black bird with a mohawk. It’s a Steller’s Jay! I try to come closer, but he flies higher into the tree, scaring away a few chickadees. I look the other way and see a House Finch. Then I spot a Pygmy Nuthatch. Steller’s Jay, Mountain Chickadee, House Finch, Pygmy Nuthatch…wow!
BirdNote®
Hayden Goold Observes the Birds
Written by Hayden Goold
This is BirdNote, and today our special guest is...well, we'll let him introduce himself.
“My name is Hayden Goold. I am a fourth-grader at School in the Woods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I am sitting at a picnic table looking at birds with binoculars. Suddenly I see a big blue and black bird with a mohawk.
[Call of the Steller’s Jay]
It is a Steller’s Jay! I look closer and see the blue mixes with the black. I try to come close, but he flies higher into the tree. He scares away a few Chickadees.
[Calls of Mountain Chickadees]
I look the other way and see a House Finch. [Song of House Finch] When it sees me it flies away quickly. [Alarm call of House Finch]
I spot a Pygmy Nuthatch soon after. [Call of Pygmy Nuthatch] He’s at the bird feeder eating. He goes to the birdbath and starts to preen. I get a little closer and he stays! I get close enough to see him well without binoculars. He flies into the tree right next to me. It puts me in amazement! He pulls a seed out of the bark and drops the shell on the ground. I look up the Pygmy Nuthatch in my field guide and learn that they do not get very big.
I look the other direction and see the Steller’s Jay is flying away.”
[Call of Steller’s Jay then sound of wings]
Steller’s Jay, Mountain Chickadee, House Finch, Pygmy Nuthatch…wow!
If you know a teacher who’d like to learn about using BirdNote in the classroom, begin at BirdNote.org.
###
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Steller’s Jay [59839] recorded by W.W. H. Gunn; Mountain Chickadee call [106638] R.S. Little; House Finch song [105669] G.A. Keller and House Finch alarm call [44967] G.A.Keller; Pygmy Nuthatch call [119403] G.A. Keller. Ambient from Western Meadowlark [uned] by Gerrit Vyn.
Wings in flight recorded by Gordon Hempton of QuietPlanet.com
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2013 Tune In to Nature.org August 2013 Narrator: Mary McCannSpecial thanks to Carol and John Stansfield.
ID# gooldh-01-2013-08-11gooldh-01
Mary McCann
NarratorSights & Sounds
