Lincoln Public Library hosts Rock Spring Nature Center at Thursday children's reading program

 

[July 20, 2023]    Naturalist Taylor Buley from the Rock Spring Nature Center in Decatur provided the children’s library program on Thursday, July 13th, sharing information about various birds.

The Rock Spring Nature Center is one of five conservation areas in the Macon County Conservation District. At the Center, hands-on learning experiences are offered through programs, demonstrations, and workshops.

As Buley began the program, she asked the children what makes a bird a bird? What makes it different from other animals?

Children shouted out answers such as birds have feathers, beaks, wings, and fly. Birds can be assorted colors and different sizes. Some are nocturnal and see at night. Some go in the water. Some eat meat and even snakes. Some have talons. Some birds are even trained to be pets.

When birds flap their wings, many can lift themselves off the ground and fly. Buley said birds can fly because their bones are hollow making their bodies light. The bones have air pockets that look like webbing.

If birds had bones like humans, Buley said they would not be able to lift themselves off the ground.

The tail feathers and wing feathers help birds fly. Buley said they also have fluffy feathers to help insulate their bodies and keep them warm or cool. She showed a page with several different types of bird feathers.

With assistance from intern Anna Sielaff, Buley showed everyone replicas of a few birds. Buley said ducks have something on their backs that puts out oil. The ducks take their beaks and rub the oil onto their feathers to make them waterproof.

One replica was a wood duck. What is unique about wood ducks is that they build their nests in trees and use their feet to perch on branches. Buley said wood ducks lay their eggs in the trees. The babies must jump out of the tree when they are little.

Penguins are another bird with an oil gland to help them waterproof their bodies. Buley said their feathers are very tiny.

Many birds cannot waterproof their feathers. Therefore, Buley said the birds get soaking wet when they dive in the water to catch fish. When these birds stand with their wings out, the sun helps them dry their wings.

A replica of a pigeon skeleton had a keel hanging down really far and sticking out from its chest. Buley said the keel is where the pigeon’s muscles attach. The keel helps them fly and move their wings around.

A sparrow’s nest Buley brought showed how birds weave materials together, so they have a place to lay their eggs. Almost all birds build some type of nest.

Large birds build large nests and tiny birds build tiny nests. Buley showed an example of a tiny hummingbird nest sitting on a branch. Buley said their nests are tiny because hummingbirds are so tiny. Hummingbirds are great pollinators spreading pollen to many different plants, so Buley said they are helpful birds.

Samples of an ostrich egg and an emu egg were the next items Buley showed everyone. Buley said ostriches are about eight feet tall and emus about six feet tall, so they are the two biggest birds in the world. Their large footprints look almost like dinosaur footprints.

Ostriches and emus do not have very big wings and cannot fly, which makes them different from many other birds. Something Buley said ostriches and emus can do is run really fast because of their long legs. Sielaff found information showing ostriches can run nearly 40 miles per hour.

Buley brought several skull replicas of various birds to show how different they look. One example was a replica of a green horned owl skull with big eye sockets. Buley said owls can turn their head 270 degrees to look to their left or right but cannot move their eyes. However, owls can see well at night and fly silently through the sky.

A pelican skull replica showed its long jaw. Buley said a big pouch under the jaw is what pelicans use to catch fish. Pelicans do not have teeth, so they just swallow their food whole.

The replica of an eagle’s skull showed its sharp beak. Buley said eagles use their long beak to tear their food into smaller pieces.

A great blue herons’ skull replica had a pointy beak, which Buley said they use to spear fish they will eat.

The replica of a woodpecker’s skull had a strong beak. Buley said something unique about woodpeckers is that their tongue wraps around in their skull to cushion its brains. This adaptation protects the woodpecker’s head as it repeatedly pecks at trees to get bugs out.

One of the smallest skull replicas Buley showed everyone was from a cardinal. Buley said cardinals use their strong beaks to break open seeds, fruits, and nuts to eat. Sielaff told everyone the cardinal is the state bird of Illinois.

The smallest skull replica was from a hummingbird. This skull was so tiny, it was difficult to see when Buley was holding it. She compared it to the size of a Q-tip.

A medium sized skull replica was from a goose. Buley said geese and ducks have tiny saw-like teeth to filter food through their mouths. As geese and ducks use their beaks to filter the food, Buley said they can spit out what they do not want.

Birds are intelligent animals and Buley said they know what types of trees to use. For example, Buley said there are some non-native pine trees at the nature center and birds will go around these trees. Birds also have many cool adaptations to help them survive in their environments.

One example of an intelligent bird is a crow. Buley said crows can use tools and recognize faces. Crows can pass information down through four or five generations. If you are mean to a crow, the crow is likely to remember your face and may teach their children and grandchildren you are not a nice person. Years later, Buley said the crow’s family may react negatively to you.

Once the program was over, children had the chance to look more closely at the skull replicas and bird replicas, plus hold a feather. Several children picked up stuffed birds that played the sound the birds make.

Lincoln Public Library Youth Services Librarian Donna Cunningham reminded the children to keep turning in their reading logs. July 24 will be the last day to turn in reading logs.

Next Thursday, July 20 at 10 a.m. is the final program for the summer. Dino O’Dell will be sharing interactive songs and tall tales to engage and entertain the audience. The program will be held in one of the classrooms at Lincoln Christian Church. You can enter the building under the canopy labeled section E right off the parking lot.

[Angela Reiners]