Recreation

The Red-Breasted Nuthatch can move both up and down tree trunks, which is in contrast to woodpeckers, which only can move up a tree. The reason for this is because nuthatches use their strong legs and feet as a balancing act, but woodpeckers use their feet and then their tails as a brace to climb up the tree. The Red-Breasted Nuthatch’s call is an "ank," more abrupt, nasal and higher pitched than the "yank" that constitutes the call of the more common White-breasted Nuthatch.

I had not seen or heard a Dickcissel in Shelby County since the early 1980s until the late spring of 2010. I was just north of Shelbyville on Ben Zaring's farm on the east side of Smithfield Road, searching for another species of bird, when I heard the telltale song that always gives this bird's location away. The Dickcissel sings out his name with his song of "dick-dick-cissel" that is repeated over and over again.

Growing up on farms in Shelby and Spencer counties was an educational adventure within itself, and I highly recommend that as a way to raise your children, if at all possible. Recent studies are showing that the average child spends at least 50 hours a week watching TV or playing computer games, time that could be more wisely spent enjoying and learning about the many wonders of the surrounding natural world.

This is one of my favorite birds, and the major reason because it is well known in the bird world as the "King of Song." It is the very best of the mockers and can duplicate the songs of at least 30 different bird species in rapid succession. Each phrase of the songs can be repeated two to six times, but it is usually three times. Add to this a variety of sounds from whistles to barks, and you may even hear the tinkling sound of a piano or the sound of a squeaky hinge.