Birds of a Feather #PoetryFriday

Welcome to Poetry Friday, everyone! I am excited and honored to host PF today for the first time. I’m crossing my fingers, eyes, and toes that the link up works!

(Photo: BlurryMe/Shutterstock)

This summer, I’ve been a tad bird obsessed. I’ve always been an ornithophile (it’s a thing!), but this summer I took my love of feathered friends to new heights. In July, I spent a week studying Citizen Science with 50 educators from around the U.S. at Cornell’s renowned Lab of Ornithology in the stunning Sapsucker Woods of Ithaca, NY. The BirdSleuth Educator Retreat was not only one of the best professional development opportunities I’ve explored, but it was personally fulfilling because I got to hang out with birds in their natural habitat and knowledgable bird nerds for a whole week. ‘Nuf said! 

A week or so ago, I threw out a bird-related poem challenge to anyone willing to fly along. Poems can be about a particular bird, birds in general, a dislike or fear of birds, and can be in any form. Like I said at the time, just wing it! Here are two haiku that made their way to me over the last week or so, as I’ve enjoyed time reading, rocking, and observing on my porch. 

And then these friends joined us.

 

Lastly, in a moment of sheer madness I embedded a Padlet of the bird-related poetry I’ve written over the last year or so. To read each poem, just click on the individual image. To go directly to my Padlet, click here.

Now it’s time to grab a bevvy of some sort, curl up, and get ready for some Poetry Friday magic!

Please click my frog friend below to link your Poetry Friday post or to just enjoy what others have to offer this week. Thanks, everyone!

 

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I Hear You and a bird poem challenge! #PoetryFriday

Happy Poetry Friday, everyone! Mary Lee at A Year of Reading is our hostess this week. She has a blitz poem waiting for you!

The unofficial theme for my summer has turned out to be birds. I had the good fortune to spend 5 days in July at the Bird Sleuth Educator Retreat which takes place at Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s stunning campus in Ithaca’s Sapsucker Woods. Wow…what a gorgeous spot! If you are addicted to their feeder and pond cams, as I am, then you know what I’m talking about.

I’m a novice bird watcher, not a certified bird nerd, but I’m working on it. While there are a number of birds I am able to recognize by sight, I’m completely useless at identifying them by sound when birding or enjoying their chorus from my porch. To help me expand my repertoire, I’ve been studying bird mnemonics (geeky, I know), since I returned. These phonetic interpretations are swimming around in my head and some of them worked their way into a slightly cheeky list with a twist poem.

I hear you.
But who are you?
Caw-caw-caw-caw-koodle-yah; koodle-yah
Po-ta-to-chip
Cheer-up; cheer-a-lee; cheer-ee-o, whinny
Are you laughing at me?
Tit-tit-tit-tit
Chk-a-dee-dee-dee
Jay-jay-jay
Do you want me to go away?
Chiddik; chiddik
Cheer-cheer-cheer-purty-purty-purty-
Hooo-ah hoo-hoo-hoo
But where are you?
Keeeeeeeeer
Conk-a-reeeeeeeee
Cheeva; cheeva; cheeva fer-da; fer-da; fer-da; here; here; here peter-peter-peter-
Who’s Peter?

And now for a challenge: I’m hosting Poetry Friday in two weeks — August 17 — and I’d love to throw a bird-related poem challenge out to anyone willing to fly along. Join me!

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Thanks for visiting and join us for some Poetry Friday fun!

 

 

Hungry Heron #PoetryFriday

Happy Poetry, everyone! File this under better late than never.

Good evening from gorgeous (or gorges, as they case may be!) Ithaca, New York. This week I am participating in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s annual BirdSleuth educator retreat. 50 teachers from across the US have gathered together for four intense days of learning about Citizen Science work from a handful of educators and scientists from the Lab’s 250+ member team.

The setting for the retreat is the Lab’s stunning property in Sapsucker Woods. Some of you may be familiar with the property from watching two of the Labs many web cams, Sapsucker Woods Feeder and Pond Cams. The visitor’s center wing of the Lab, where our retreat is located, looks out upon a large lily pad-covered pond, and yesterday we were greeted upon our arrival by a majestic blue heron. She (or he) stood for the entire morning in the same spot, occasionally dipping her beak down below the pond’s surface for a bite to eat. During one of our late morning breaks, I took a walk over to one of the many lookouts on the banks of the pond for a closer look.

When I reached the lookout, a gorgeous heron sculpture greeted me. Art imitates life, or is life imitating art? In any case the heron inspired two playful poetic offerings.

heron stands watching

waiting patiently until

breakfast is ready

— Christie Wyman, 2018

breakfast is served

on nature’s best lily pad plates

to Sapsucker’s hungry residents

— Christie Wyman, 2018

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Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe is hosting this week’s roundup, and she’s got some great ideas to share from her time at Chicago’s Summer Poetry Teacher’s Institute. Join us for some Poetry Friday fun!