We hope you are creating a birdhouse to enter in this year’s Birdhouse Competition! Entries are due March 26-31. Here’s a little background information about the competition itself.

The competition began in 1993 when Carol Biddle, the Ogden Nature Center’s development director at the time, wrote a grant to the Utah Arts Council. From the very beginning, the competition has worked to bring together the community and local artists, as well as to provide nesting locations for birds along Birdhouse Trail. The grant, which specified that funds must be matched by community partners, also helped get local businesses get involved. 

Linda Babcock, a dedicated volunteer and former employee of the Ogden Nature Center, has been in charge of the contest and exhibits for 16 of the competition’s 19 years. Linda shared some of her favorite memories from over the years, including a story about one very photogenic bird. “One time I had a Standard Examiner photographer with me taking pictures as we installed the birdhouses. We placed the house, tamped the soil and right as the camera aimed at the house, a little wren flew in, took a look around and popped its face out of the hole to pose.  It was a riot and the photographer couldn't believe it,” said Linda.   She also remembers when her husband successfully built a birdhouse that got a lot of recognition, “My husband built a birdhouse once that won a prize, got purchased and placed in one of the Board member's yards.”

In the last 16 years, Linda has nearly seen it all, but that doesn’t mean she takes each year’s unique entries for granted. She still has a sincere appreciation for the artwork submitted each year. “I think it is so interesting to see what people create given the same parameters.  That is the fun part about participating in this contest/exhibit - every person has their own interpretation and idea and they are so clever.” Linda listed some of the birdhouses that have stood out for her, including “a giant toilet paper roll, a rendition of the Perry's Egyptian Theater, a mystical ceramic lady with a hole in her tummy (it's in the Visitor Center), a lighthouse, and a moss covered house planted with all sorts of beautiful plants.”

No matter what type of birdhouse you plan on building this year remember to enjoy the experience, try to utilize natural resources, and make environmentally friendly, sturdy birdhouses. After all, your creation may be one of the lucky houses to line the Nature Center’s famous Birdhouse Trail and will be one of the first things visitors see when coming to visit! Linda’s advice for builders of all ages is, “Use your imagination, create something sturdy, do a little research, make something that birds can use, and have fun!”

Valentine's Day has arrived and many people are giving loved ones gifts, whether it be chocolates, flowers, a thoughtful card, or something else, everyone is intent on showing they care. But humans are not the only ones who like to show each other their love. All of Mother Nature's creatures have their own rituals they follow when it comes to love.

Some creatures mate for life. The Canadian Goose is one of them. These geese usually find their mate when they are around two years old. They work together to raise their young. You can typically see adult geese flanking a line of goslings, with one parent in the front and the other bringing up the rear. The most interesting part about the life of these geese is that pairs will generally return to the same mating site every year. They will raise their young there, and then migrate as a family.

Another bird that mates for life is the Bald Eagle. When the Bald Eagle finds a potential mate they engage in a courtship dance -- in midair. This show involves elaborate calls and flight displays. The Bald Eagles will swoop, chase, and cartwheel through the sky. They will also fly straight up into the air, lock talons, and free fall, releasing just before hitting the ground. The bald eagles rely on each other when it comes time to raise the chicks. A single Bald Eagle would not necessarily be successful without its mate, as raising the chicks is a long, time consuming process.

Other birds participate in their courtship dance alone, in hopes of attracting a willing mate. One of the most flamboyant in his attempts is the Manakin. This little red-headed bird actually moon walks to attract his mate! Another bird that goes the distance for his lady is the Satin Bowerbird. This guy will build a nest that is completely one color-- one year it might be blue, one year it might be green. The most eccentric part of all is that if the girl does not like the nest he will tear down the structure and start completely from scratch.  Now that’s love!

Not all love is so sweet though. Some animals cannot put up with their mates for five minutes, let alone for life! The Praying Mantis female is especially touchy! She will participate in sexual cannibalism, and bite the head of her partner clean-off when she has no more use for him! Black Widows are just as bad, in fact they get their name from it. After mating, the female will often eat her partner. The ladies prefer to be left alone year-round, except during this violent mating ritual.

If you want to watch the very entertaining Manakin perform his courtship dance follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZObbXS0k4o&feature=related Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Early Tuesday morning, even though the world was dark, Susan Snyder and I were up -- literally -- with the birds. It was Susan's day of the week to fill the bird feeders at the Ogden Nature Center for the Wasatch Audubon Society, and she was kind enough to let me come along for the adventure.

John Nelson, one of the founding chapter members of the Wasatch Audubon Society, started winter feedings at the Ogden Nature Center in 1983. The goal of these feedings is to ensure that birds living in or around the nature preserve have enough food to get through the winter, since much of their natural surroundings are now used for human purposes.

The seed used in the bird feeders, which are spread throughout the Nature Center, is donated by members of the Wasatch Audubon Society and the society itself. The people who come to feed the birds, volunteer their time and sign up for a day of the week to come out to the Nature Center and feed the birds once a week all winter long. There are even backup volunteers to fill-in when a primary feeder cannot make it.

Susan, who has been a weekly feeder for almost two years now, told me all about the birds we could expect to see at the feeders this time of year. We saw many birds, including the white-crowned sparrow, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, and America robin. We heard the calls of a chickadee and a pheasant, saw a bevy of California quail, and spotted the tracks of raccoon and deer all along the trial. We also saw three mule deer out early for their breakfast!

After 45 minutes of walking around the beautiful nature preserve, the sun was peeking over the tops of the Wasatch Mountains, and our bags of bird seed were empty. We headed back to the storage barn to return our feeding bags and sign the volunteer sheet saying we had fed the birds that day. Now all we had left to do was watch and wait for the birds to come to the feeders!

For more information about bird watching, Utah's native birds, and the Wasatch chapter of the Audubon Society head to their webpage: http://www.wasatchaudubon.org/. Hope to see you all out here bird-watching with us!