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Welcome to BirdTracks® Online!
An email newsletter
from
Wild Birds Unlimited for March
2005.
In This
Issue:
- Bird of the Month:
Bluebirds
- Products to Attract and
Enjoy Bluebirds
- The birds are coming! Spring
migration begins soon.
- Birding the Arbor Day Farm
Tree House Trail | |
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Carrier of the
Sky
"The Bluebird carries the sky on its back" --
Henry David Thoreau
It would be hard to find anything
as dazzling as a Bluebird standing on a fence post in the
early morning sun. Its brilliant blue plumage might even be
said to rival the sky itself. Too bad it's just one big illusion! It's true! Bluebirds aren't really blue . .
. they just look like they are!
Most bird colorations are due to
pigments deposited in their feathers. A Northern Cardinal is
red because of the red pigment called carotenoids. Crows are
black because their feathers contain a dark pigment called
melanin. In contrast, Bluebirds
do not have a single molecule of blue pigment in any of their
feathers. So where does that brilliant blue color come from?
The answer is that the color is not
produced by a pigment, but by the structure of the feather.
The top transparent layer of each Bluebird feather is filled
with miniscule pockets of air. When sunlight strikes these
pockets, all of the other visible wavelengths of light are
absorbed. Only blue escapes and it is scattered in all
directions. This same
scattering process, created by atmospheric dust particles, is
also what makes the sky appear blue.
Thoreau was right . . . Bluebirds
literally do carry the sky on their backs. More
information on bluebirds is available via our web
site.
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The birds are coming! Prepare now
for spring migration.
Migration is
an extremely interesting bird phenomenon, requiring both
physiological and behavioral changes so our feathered friends
can survive their often grueling trek. Birds accumulate fat
prior to migration to help maintain their energy reserves.
However, sometimes these reserves are not enough. By providing
food, water and shelter in our own backyards, we can help the
birds conserve and replenish their energy supply as they pass
through our area during their journey. Here are some additional resources to
explore:
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Pathways
To Nature® Travel Log -
Birding the Arbor Day
Farm Tree House Trail
 The National
Arbor Day Foundation is famous for helping people
plant trees, and birds are now part of their
program, thanks to a $16,000 grant from the Pathways
To Nature Conservation Fund. The newly opened
Tree House Trail, part of the Arbor Day Farm's
Tree Adventure, offers visitors some truly unique
opportunities to experience birds.
At the Bird Call Mimic
Station, for example, you can not only push
buttons to hear songs and calls of birds found in
the woodland, but also hold another button that
allows you to try and imitate the calls. It's a
great way to help make the calls stick in your
mind, and see how you stack up against the real
thing!
Further down the Trail,
stop at the Bird Listening Station. Here, you can
use specially designed devices that help amplify
and focus sounds coming from the woods. All along
the Trail, educational signs offer information
about the importance of trees and habitat to
birds.
The highlight for
birders may well be the Canopy Tree House, nestled
50' up in the canopy of the oak/hickory forest.
This bird's eye view offers a completely new
perspective on the forest and also chance to see
tree-top birds in their natural setting, without
straining your neck!
For more information
and virtual tour, visit:
http://www.arbordayfarm.org/
The Pathways
To Nature Conservation Fund is a partnership
between Wild Birds Unlimited stores and the National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund
environmental education and wildlife viewing
projects. We encourage all of our customers to
visit these incredible places. Your patronage
helped make these projects
possible!
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This is a Pathways To Nature® Travel
Log | | | |
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Wild Birds Unlimited® has more
than 300 locations across North America. For more than 20
years, the company has specialized in bringing people and
nature together by providing expert information and offering
an exclusive line of products designed specifically for the
backyard birdfeeding hobby. The company is committed to
educating the public about the importance of preserving
natural wildlife habitats.
Pathways To Nature® Conservation
Fund: All Wild Birds Unlimited stores donate a
portion of proceeds to this fund to support education,
conservation and wildlife viewing projects at wildlife
refuges, parks, sanctuaries and nature conservancies
throughout North America. More information is available
at
http://www.pathwaystonature.com
.
We Bring People and
Nature Together®
For a
Wild Birds Unlimited store near you,
call (800)
326-4928 or access
Store Locator.
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you for subscribing to our BirdTracks Online email
newsletter!
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Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc. or respective copyright
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Birds Unlimited, Inc. | | | 
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