Welcome to our series sharing Unique Holidays: January 5th, 2022. I have a question for you. Did you know today is National Bird Day? David is off today so in our Homeschool Class Charlie, and I will be studying Birds and we may go to the Zoo to see what kinds of Birds they have. Would you like to go with us?
National Bird Day– January 6th.
Birds have always held special places in our hearts, which is why we celebrate Birds on National Bird Day. While Birds are amazing, they’re also a massive Animal group under particular threat. The phrase “Canary in the Coal Mine” was named after Birds for a reason, Birds are the barometers of our planet’s environmental health. The fact that so many Bird species are under threat thanks to the illegal pet trade, disease, and habitat loss means it’s more important than ever to raise public awareness of the needs of Birds.
HISTORY OF NATIONAL BIRD DAY
Whether they’re your backyard’s Star Cardinal or the common Pigeons that flock to and from in the park, Birds have always held a spot of fascination in our hearts. There’s a awe that can only be tapped into when watching an Eagle soar. Unfortunately, most Birds are either endangered or protected, mostly due to habitat loss or illegal pet trade.
That’s why the Avian Welfare Coalition created National Bird Day: to raise awareness of the hardships of Birds and how we can initiate the change needed to create a healthier, more sustainable relationship with them.
Birds are often considered living links to the past, being the closest-related Animals to the evolution of Dinosaurs. Birds are often keystone species in the Ecosystems, signifiers of its health and vitality. For example, the holes left behind by Woodpeckers are often used as homes for a large variety of Animals. That means if Woodpeckers were to run out of a food source or out of the right kinds of trees – so, too, would all the Animals dependent on their pecking skills.
While National Bird Day may be relatively new, having been founded in 2002, the adversity that Birds have had to face is nothing novel to the Animal kingdom. Just ask the Dodo, or the Labrador Duck, considered sacred by many Native American tribes and often the subject of many works of American Art until its demise.
NATIONAL BIRD DAY TRADITIONS
Read an Audubon book: including The Birds of America, created by John James Audubon, is just as much a work of Art as it is a seminal work of Scientific mastery. Build a birdhouse: Birds need housing, just like every Animal. As we continue to deforest swaths of the planet for development, it’s imperative for us to create Birdhouses to make up for a fraction of the loss of habitat Birds face every day. Feed some birds: Halved Grapes, Nuts, or Seeds. If you’ve got Trail Mix you don’t want Birds would love, you. In fact, if you have Chickens, you can feed them most food and table scraps.
Why is National Bird Day celebrated?
To appreciate everything Birds do and to raise awareness for the adversity Birds face on a daily basis.
NATIONAL BIRD DAY ACTIVITIES
- Whether you pick up a birding book like the Sibley Guide to Birds, read a memoir like “H is for Hawk, or even a novel with Birds in the title this is the time to brush up on your bird knowledge and reflect on the role of Birds in our lives.
- According to the U.S. Census, more Americans watch Birds than play baseball and American football combined. By joining the ranks of the Country’s Birdwatchers, you’ll discover a vast new hobby, A huge number of quietly contented people who can give you new insight into your place in this fragile world.
- Rather than buying a Bird from a breeder, why not adopt a rescued Bird and help ease the problems facing Birds across the United States. National Bird Day is an opportunity for us all to get educated on the needs of Captive Birds. From regular Water and light to an absence of Air Pollution and to consider how we are helping or hindering Birds’ chances in our wider world.
WHY PEOPLE LOVE NATIONAL BIRD DAY
- Did you know there are 9,800 species of Birds? While you’re unlikely to glimpse an Ostrich or an Emu in Suburban America, that’s not to say a little effort and patience won’t yield remarkable birding results. National Bird Day celebrates the broad variety of Bird species. Including the 850 species that inhabit the United States. Sure, they all have two wings, feathers, and a beak. But there are differences after that.
- National Bird Day is scheduled to coincide with the annual Christmas Bird Count, which lasts three weeks, and is the largest Citizen Science Survey in the world, keeping track of America’s Wild Birds. By counting as many Birds as we can see. We get an accurate picture of Bird numbers. On January 5th, birders switch their focus to the care and wellbeing of the Country’s millions of captive Birds.
- From the story of Icarus to Big Bird to Roadrunner. Or from Prince’s song “When Doves Cry” to Monty Python’s Dead Parrot sketch, birds are all over the place in our Culture, and Birds encourage us to reflect and be inspired. Flight is a metaphor for ambition, but also, for hubris, and the inevitability of landing. Birds make us think hard about our place in the world.
Check out this cool book on Birds Urban Aviary: A modern guide to city birds
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
