Our Trip to Key West and the Kennedy Space Center

Our first stop was the Coral Castle!  I was wowed by how a 100 pound, 5 foot tall adult could carve and place 1,000 tons of coral, by himself!  My favorite sculpture was a coral table shaped like a heart.  Then off  we went, to the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park Campground, the name is long, I know, but it was tons of fun!  Most of the water wasn’t good for snorkeling because of its cloudiness.   We had burgers for dinner and afterwards had smores, they were delicious!  Our next stop was the Southernmost Point Buoy, a painted concrete buoy that really is just a tourist trap, it was cool to touch, but we weren’t going to wait 20 minutes in a line for a picture.  The Southernmost Point Bouy isn’t actually the most southern point in the U.S, even though its advertised as such. We saw lots of chickens and iguanas, we even named one iguana Bob the Dentist because he seemed very content on his rock while hordes of people rushed by, like he was a normal human.  We then drove to the Sigsbee Rv Camping area inside of the Naval Air Station Key West.  We were in the front row closest, to the Gulf of Mexico.  The water shone like diamonds and was as clear as the sky.  I saw two barracudas, a few threadfins (bait fish), and a baby leopard shark, which was my favorite because I’ve never seen a leopard shark before.  After a long night’s sleep we solemnly drove back home, I was having fun, and I didn’t want to leave.  After one day of unpacking the camping gear, we decided to do another activity, this one made me feel the best.  On the 19th of Augest we went to our local Elks Lodge and made blankets for homeless veterans.  I was surprised by how much fun I had, I really enjoyed the simplicity of these blankets. After they ran out of blanket materials we spent the rest of the day at the pool.  He headed home after a few hours so we could get a rested, we stayed up later than we should have.  We woke up really early to drive 3 hours all the way to the Kennedy Space Center for our friend’s birthday, his name is Hunter.  I really liked all the relics in the museums and information centers, they even have the Atlantis (a space shuttle) suspended inside of a giant building.  I don’t want to spoil too much though, because seeing the place for yourself is way cooler than me explaining it.  I think my favorite part of our week of adventures was the Kennedy Space Center because of all of the artifacts held in the visitor complex.

Here are the links to the home pages of all of the places we visited in order of first to last ↓

https://coralcastle.com/

http://pennekamppark.com/

http://keywest.com/

https://www.elks.org/lodges/home.cfm?lodgenumber=1224

https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/

 

Debunking Parrot Myths!

Sometimes people hear something that sounds legit (but isn’t) and they will tell other people then those people will tell their friends.  That starts a myth which either could kill your bird or compromise  the safety of your bird.

Myth 1: They Are Dirty Animals

Just because they do their “business” a LOT doesn’t mean they are dirty.  They clean themselves almost as frequently as a domesticated cat!

Myth 2: They don’t need a bath because they preen themselves

False!  Preening makes their feathers oily and waterproof.  Bathing, showering, or misting removes dander, dirt, and small particles of food.

Myth 3: You need to buy your parrot grit

You shouldn’t feed your parrot grit because they shell their seeds before they eat the inside.  Doves and pigeons need grit though, because they do not shell the seeds they eat.  Feeding a parrot grit can lead to a crop infection (A crop is a pouch that stores food for short periods of time that most parrots have).

Sources:

11 myths about parrots and their care

https://www.thespruce.com/most-outrageous-myths-about-birds-390198

https://www.petcha.com/5-parrot-talking-myths-facts/

https://www.petcha.com/6-parrot-myths-debunked/

 

The Kestrel And The Osprey

I drew a kestral and a osprey.  Normally an osprey (Or fish hawk) isn’t black but I decided to make its feathers black.  The kesral doesn’t have all of the patterns that it would have in the wild.

Fun Fact:  The kestrel used to be called the sparrow hawk.

Slime!

Today me, my sister, and my Mom went to Walmart to pick up things we needed.  My Mom pointed out a Elmer’s glue slime recipe that looked simple and fun.  We completed the kit and it turned out very well.

I took the photo with my blue slime

Why Is Bird Poop White?

Why is bird scat (Bird poop) white unlike other animals?  The reason is in contrast to mammals, they do not make urine, or pee.  Instead they excrete nitrogenous wastes in the form of uric acid, which emerges as a white paste.  The bird “poo” is actually more like a birds form of urine if that makes sense.

Facts 1:  Vultures deficate on their feet which kills off bad bacteria that they may get after perching on dead animals.

Fact 2:  You can tell the gender of a turkey by looking at its dropping, males have spiral shaped dropping and females have j shaped dropping.

Fact 3: Since bird dropping are very acidic they can corrode metal!

Facts 4: Some baby birds poop in little sacks, then the mom either flies them far away or eats them!  This keeps the nest clean.

Fact 5: Birds go to the bathroom in flight to keep light.

Sources:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/31262/why-bird-poop-white

https://www.birdnote.org/show/why-bird-poop-white

http://whyzz.com/why-is-bird-poop-white

https://www.certapet.com/media/fantastic-animal-poop-facts/6/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/14-fun-facts-about-turkeys-665520/

https://keeveneo.com/2012/06/22/fun-facts-on-bird-poop/

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/tag/bird-poop-facts/

 

Cockatiel Behaviours

Cockatiels like other parrots have very complex behaviours and social structures.  I will try to lay out their behaviors to make as much sense as possible.

Heart Wings: “Heart Wings” are where males make their wings look hearts by pinning the tips of their wings by their side.  This is a sign of dominance or that the bird is trying to be macho to attract a female.

Wagging their tail: Some parrots wag their tails just like dogs!  It is a gesture of happiness or when the parrot is exited.

Pinning their pupils: Pinning means to make their pupils smaller and is a sign of aggression or agitation.

Raising one foot:  If you are not training your bird to do a handshake then it means its giving you the okay to perch on your arm.

Beak Chattering: This is a gesture of happiness, It means “Keep on petting me here!”.

Fluffing up: This is where the bird ruffles its feather to make it look bigger.  This means it feels cozy around you and they do this when they preen.

Puffing up: Usually confused with fluffing up this is a gesture of fright or aggressiveness. The difference is that they pin their eyes when they puff up.

Raising their crest: The crest is the long feather atop their heads.  When it is raised they are scared or fearful.  Try to remove anything in the room that will scare it.

Thank you for reading my article on cockatiel behaviour.

Sources:

Pet bird behaviours and what they mean.  AnnieKKay74 on youtube

10 Secrets to reading body language of birds! ParrotWhisperer on youtube

Reading body language of pet birds by geobeats on youtube

 

 

 

 

The American Crow

The American Crow’s scientific name is Corvus brachyrhynchos.  The American Crow is native to North America along with the Fish Crow, Northwestern Crow, and the Tamaulipas Crow.  They are intelligent omnivores that have adapted to have large brains that allow them to scavenge for food in the most challenging areas.  Some things you should never feed a crow are:

•  Apple Seeds: They contain small doses of Cyanide which us humans can handle but crows can’t.
• Chocolate: The chocolate poisons their digestive system and gives them diarrhea and causes vomiting, which lead to seizures and death.
• Tomato Leaves:  The fruit is fine for a crow to eat, however the leaves contain toxins that can make the crow sick.

We have an American crow that sometimes visits your house.  His name is Gunter and he loves grapes!  I used to feed him a lot, but I slowly stopped because I had other priorities.  I think I want to start feeding him again and keep building our trust and friendship..

Hurricanes

A Hurricane is a tropical storm located around the east and south east United States as well as south east Asia, also called a cyclone or typhoon in other parts of the world.   They form in water about 78 degrees Fahrenheit near the Equator.  Air rises over these spots of hot water which create thunderstorms.  Upper winds and surface winds come together and create swirls of clouds called a tropical depression.  When a tropical depression winds exceed 39 mph it is classified as a tropical storm.  When winds reach 74 mph a hurricane is born.  Bands of rain up to 300 miles long (About the same width as the middle of Florida coast to coast).  The bands of rain meet in the eyewall, the most untamed section of the hurricane.  In the eye of the hurricane downdrafts of dry air calm the heart of the hurricane.  A class 1 hurricane reaches speeds up to 95 mph! That’s a little faster than a Frigatebird can fly at top speeds!  A class 2 hurricane reaches speeds of 110 mph! That’s only 5 miles faster than a needle-tailed swift! (A type of seabird) A class 3 hurricane reaches speeds of 130 mph that’s as fast as a gyrfalcon.   A class 4 hurricane reaches speeds of 135 mph!  That’s three times as fast as  a brown hare! A class 5 hurricane cane reach speeds of 156 mph and up! That’s three times faster than a lion at full speeds!   A fully formed hurricane can be 500 miles in diameter!  Indianapolis, IN to Birmingham, Al.  Tropical storms and hurricanes are named so they don’t get confused with a following storm.  They are named when they reach 39 mph or when they become a tropical storm.

Sources:

 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=what+is+a+hurricane&&view=detail&mid=ABBE76ADBDD5D3DCE8C1ABBE76ADBDD5D3DCE8C1&FORM=VRDGAR

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=How+Does+a+Hurricane+Form&&view=detail&mid=CAD6F076B358E9E91713CAD6F076B358E9E91713&FORM=VRDGAR

Pet Birds

Most people buy a cat or a dog if they decide to get a companion, why not get a bird?

They are sensational pets that could liven up your household.  They are silly and amusing creatures.  Having a bird could make you happier because they are good companions and are very entertaining.  They have lots of colors too!  And most birds have a great singing voice! They don’t even have vocal cords!  They also have different personalities, some are more calm that others and some are more smart.  But they need proper care in order to have their beautiful feathers, healthy beak, and the vocals of an angel.  Studies have proven that being happy makes your body healthy.   Who wouldn’t want to be healthier, happier and share their life with a fun feathered friend?

Sources:

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/birds/information/birdcare.htm

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/20/health/happiness-wellbeing-health/index.html

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/petbirds/

Lego Parrots

I like these lego parrots because of all the colors! My Mom helped with the wings.