Birdin' with the Brownies

Birding with the pros last weekend-Jeanne P on the left and Rich M in center. 

This past weekend I learned that my Brownie Troop  knows their birds and I was so appreciative of local birding support.  

Earlier this month,  our Troop   began an  Alaska Council Bird "Try-it" patch. It involves learning about several different species of birds,  different bird habitats, feathers, etc.  Patrick came to the first  meeting and we walked over to Near island to do some birding with the girls. The girls were curious about bird watching and especially enjoyed the prospect of learning bird songs to go along with sightings. 

 The following week I contacted Rich M of our local Audubon chapter asking for help with getting my troop exposed to the Annual Bird Count which was this weekend. My hope was to peek in on it with my troop somehow-show them that this world of bird counting and tracking exists. Give them a taste of the excitement and planning around it. 

 I underestimated just how  excited my troop would be about birds.  Rich graciously offered to present to our troop the day before the bird count-bless his heart! He did a powerpoint presentation on Kodiak birds.  He asked them to guess which birds they saw on the slide show. "Varied Thrush! Blue Heron! Kingfisher!" the girls were shouted out. Just as I was guessing Chickadee for virtually every bird during the "guess  the bird" slideshow, the Brownies had a lot of right answers. 

The girls shared stories about birds around their houses, as well as questions for Rich about Kodiak Birds.  I was glowing with joy inside with pride about their interest. I was glad to be pursuing the birding patch with them. 

Time and time again, I am realizing how much I learn from being a brownie leader. Every meeting is a new adventure!

Zoya

Bird pre-lim work..week 1. Girls learned about various Alaskan birds, feathers, bird calls, etc. 

Hot cocoa break on Near Island

Group picture. Birdin' with the Brownies on Near Island