The night sky

The ancients saw the night sky with all it's glowing stars and planets and gave names to figures they saw there.  We call these constellations and they are a handy way of identifying certain stars.  Modern people with telescopes and a different understanding of the cosmos still enjoy looking at the night sky. This link to the Hubblesite includes a description of the night sky for each month.  The February sky is dominated by the constellation  Orion and his dog Canis Major.  Visit the Hubblesite to hear an interesting description of the stars that make up these constellations.

Backyard Wildlife Habitat

Hope you've been able to get outdoors and enjoy the beauty of nature this weekend.  Maybe some of you participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count.  If so, please let us know by leaving a comment here.

Now, this Saturday at the Farmer's Market in Davidson we will be joined by representatives from the Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists.  They will be explaining and promoting the idea of Certified Backyard Habitats.  You can certify your backyard through the National Wildlife Federation.  What do you need to have a backyard wildlife habitat?  You need to provide food, water, cover and places to raise young.  That means plants that have seeds and berries that animals like to eat.  Or a bird feeder. A source of water, maybe a bird bath or if you are lucky a stream.  Trees and bushes that provide a place for animals to hide.  And maybe a brush pile or other place that animals can hide and raise young.

Hope you'll drop by our booth at the Farmer's Market and get some pointers on setting up your backyard to welcome and protect wildlife.  And check our blog for updates on activities in the area.

Great Backyard Bird Count 2

American Goldfinches

Today's post is just to remind you of the GBBC which is this weekend, Feb. 18-21.  If you live in the Charlotte area you might want to get out and see some other surroundings on what promises to be another lovely, warm for February, weekend.  This great website shows some interesting places to watch birds near the Charlotte area.  If you explore the NC Bird Trail site you'll find that there are sites all over North Carolina with good driving directions and ideas about what you might see there. And don't forget, if you do count birds this weekend be sure to report them to The Great Backyard Bird Count.  You'll be doing your part for Citizen Science.

Great Backyard Bird Count

Look for us at the Davidson Farmer's Market on Saturday, Feb. 12.  We'll be there promoting The Great Backyard Bird Count which  is always held Presidents' Day Weekend.  This year that will be February 18-21.  This is an opportunity for people of all ages to be a part of Citizen Science.  You can count in your own yard or count in your neighborhood.  Maybe you'd like to go on a hike and count.  This link will tell you all you need to know about how to count, what to count and how to report your counts. Great Backyard Bird Count- GBBC

Northern Mockingbird

American Goldfinch

Cedar Waxwings

Hope you'll join me in this fun, family activity. Grab a field guide and your binoculars and get outside.  If you get excited about birdwatching and counting you might like to check out ebird, All about Birds, and Project Feederwatch.  If you participate in the GBBC come back here and comment on this blog post to let us know and maybe tell us  something about what you saw.  We'd love to know.  And become a follower of our blog.  We'll be talking about WOW events and other nature related ideas.