____ Sparrow? Count 4

Not sure what kind of bird this is.  Will research it a bit more and update.

Enjoy the photo.

Northern Cardinal - Count 3

This morning we also saw the Northern Cardinal.  There were both the male and female and it was fun to see them together.

The red is so vibrant and it helped brighten the early morning to see the beautiful red of the cardinal.

American Robin - Count 2

This morning I awoke and noticed a few birds in the backyard.  I was trying to get some decent shots on camera, but wasn't able to.

So you will have to settle for this picture of the American Robin perched on the neighbors fence.  In past years we have had a few robins next in our hanging flower baskets.  Our kids loved to see the eggs hatch and the birds grow.  We'll see if this year it is the same.

Bald Eagles - Count 1

On January 14th, we decided to take a family walk. Actually it was more of a family trek as we pulled the kids in sleds. But right down the street by the Iowa River we see the majestic Bald Eagle.

Every winter when it gets cold and the lakes begin to freeze over, the Bald Eagles begin to congregate along the river in search for fish. Our girls love to look for them and we always see how many we can count as we cross the bridge by our home. The most I believe we have counted was 17.

We feel very fortunate to be where they are so many of these beautiful birds. I am very glad that they are our National Bird. As we begin to keep track of all the birds we see, I am happy to begin with the Bald Eagle as the first.

Here are photos from the day.

Finally we see 4 of the birds resting.

The Big Year - Iowa

What better way to get your kids excited about nature than bird watching. After watching "The Big Year" we were excited to start birding. We wanted to get our kids excited about nature and all of the birds that we see in our own backyard, so this blog is to document the journey.

We hope to take photos of each of the birds in our backyard and add them to this list.  Then when we finish we will have a bird book primarily of the birds in our own backyard.

 I hope you enjoy our adventures...