The BIRDS of Spring

I really enjoy our backyard out here in one of the still somewhat rural areas of Forney, as I watch with amazement the numerous birds fly to-and-fro and build nests, catch insects, conduct “courting rituals,” and rest on limbs really close to me if I hold still enough! I think that the male and female cardinal pair are my favorites, but the goldfinches, cedar waxwings, blue-jays, mourning doves, and even hawks and crows provide nice, relaxing respites from lawn-mowing and tree-trimming duties (which I actually “love,” as my wife will tell you) that let me escape into a daydreaming reverie quite often. Last week, I saw a beautiful, colorful “crane” of some type (at least three feet tall with neck extended) out in the now watery area of our sloping back yard and thought about fishing with David Costello, Ruby Taylor, and Rod Stark here in Forney and with my Dad and Grandpas and Cousins during trips to Oklahoma.

During my younger school days, I remember learning some of the STATE BIRDS and finding the chore not a real chore but an interesting “getaway” from math and science worksheets! So, let’s see how knowledgeable you are, and If you don’t wish to “test” yourselves, you can always just look at the answers as you go down the lists of birds and states. Match the birds with the states which claim them as “theirs.”

1) American Robin;

2) Northern Cardinal;

3) Northern Mockingbird;

4) Ring-necked Pheasant;

5) Ruffed Grouse;

6) Western Meadowlark;

7) Greater Roadrunner;

8) Common Loon;

9) Black-Capped Chickadee;

10) Mountain Bluebird;

11) California Quail;

12) Cactus Wren;

13) Hawaiian Goose;

14) Baltimore Oriole;

15) Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

A) Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee;

B) Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, Wyoming;

C) Hawaii;

D) Wisconsin, Michigan, Connecticut;

E) Maryland;

F) Oklahoma;

G) Pennsylvania;

H) South Dakota;

I) California;

J) Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio,

North Carolina, Kentucky;

K) Nevada, Idaho;

L) Maine, Massachusetts;

M) Minnesota;

N) New Mexico;

O) Arizona.

ANSWERS: *1–D; 2–J; 3–A; 4–H; 5–G; 6–B; 7–N; 8–M; 9–L; 10–K; 11–I; 12–O; 13–C; 14–E ; 15–F*