Happy National Bird Day!

Blue Jay

Who knew?

I didn't realize there was a National Bird Day. In reading through the website, you can see that it seems devoted to better treatment of pet birds, although it is obvious their thoughts are that birds are not pets and should live life "outside the cage." Their focus is on the conservation of birds that are used in pet trade.

However, I am not one to quibble. I am just happy that there is any effort to show people how intriguing and how important birds are in our ecosystem. But, as far as I am concerned, every day is Bird Day!

Why not celebrate Bird Day with a donation to some bird-related cause? Some local 501(c) options:

  - Wild Bird Rescue rehabilitates wild birds and returns them to the wild for all of us to enjoy. They are hosting 11 barn owls right now in addition to some other birds--these are very expensive to feed and house to release.
  - River Bend Nature Center, which does not focus on birds, but does help our community better understand the ecosystem as a whole.
  - Texas Master Naturalist, Rolling Plains Chapter, which trains volunteers to help others learn more about the environment. The group does many projects gathering and reporting information useful to learning more about the birds in our area as well as providing programs and events to connect people with our local plants and animals.

Two other options for you out-of-towners:

  - Texas Ornithological Society
  - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Even better, watch the birds in your backyard, on the Circle Trail or at one of our local parks.

Good birding!