Carnegie program teaches about birds

IRONWOOD - Children flocked to Ironwood Carnegie Library Monday afternoon to learn about challenges birds face while migrating.

"What makes a bird unique?" asked naturalist Licia Johnson from the North Lakeland Discovery Center.

A child said birds can lay eggs.

With that, Johnson showed them different bird eggs. The size of the egg depends on the size of the bird. Bigger birds lay bigger eggs.

Birds can fly, another child said.

Johnson said birds can fly because they're covered in feathers and she handed them a feather to take home.

Holding a turkey's foot, Johnson said birds have relatively large feet, enabling them to walk over branches and on grass and moss in the forest. She brought out a hawk's foot and said it has sharp talons so it can pick up its prey.

Johnson also talked about the birds' beaks. She showed the children an eagle's skull. She said its beak is sharp, allowing eagles to rip and tear apart their prey.

She compared it to a great blue heron's skull with its long, sharp beak for hunting for fish and frogs while standing in shallow water.

"Why do birds migrate?" Johnson asked. A couple children said because birds fly south for the winter.

While flying south, Johnson said birds run into several hurdles.

"Can you survive migration?" Johnson asked before the kids navigated their way around an obstacle course made of hurdles birds face while flying south for the winter, such as cats, communication towers, tall buildings, exotic birds and a shrinking habitat.

Johnson said the children can help birds migrate by putting stickers on their windows and keeping cats indoors.

The children made hand puppets to take home.