Welcome to Birdsong Books

Nancy Carol Willis founded Birdsong Books as an independent publisher of natural science books for children. Birdsong Books seeks to spark the delight of discovering our wild neighbors and natural habitats. We believe that knowledge and understanding of nature fosters caring and a desire to protect the Earth and all living things.

Follow the dramatic story of one bird's 20,000-mile migration from the tip of South America to the High Arctic to nest & raise her young.

The Red Knot in our book wears a lime-green flag with the letters "ALX." Nancy chose those letters for her dog, Alex. She then learned ALX was an actual Red Knot that was banded in Delaware Bay on May 14, 2004 weighing 115 grams. ALX was sighted wintering in Tierra del Fuego and again in Delaware Bay during May, 2005 and 2006. On May 17, 2007, ALX was photographed by Patricia M. Gonzalez at Fortescue Beach, NJ. Let's hope we see him again next year!!

June 8: Using his feet, the male knot digs a shallow hole into the rocky ground. He finishes the nest by lining it with dried willow leaves and soft lichens.

Red Knot lays four splotchy brown-and-green eggs in the snug nest. Together they total more than half of her weight.

June 14: A snowy owl swoops silently by. Red Knot freezes low on the nest until danger passes. Her speckled feathers camouflage her among the rocks and mosses.

July 3, chicks hatch: Within hours, four downy knots snatch flies and mosquitoes to eat. Near the Arctic Circle, food is now plentiful, and the sun never sets.

July 10: Red Knot departs on her southward migration, leaving her mate to protect the chicks.

July 22: The male knot leaves the Arctic, a month before his young, who can now care for themselves.

August 1: Unseen, a hungry arctic fox approaches the young knots. He drops low to the ground. He creeps closer. He lunges. Knots scatter in all directions, diving for cover. The fox chases one bird, then another, but catches nothing!

Selected as the
Read-to-Me book
for the children's nature magazine: ’Your Big Backyard‘
September, 2005
www.nwf.org

"A round April moon rises over an old silver maple tree. Inside the hollow trunk, raccoon cubs are being born. Rusty, Rudy and Spice are only four inches long. They cannot see or hear. Each weighs two ounces, about as much as a candy bar.

"Err, err, err," they cry. Mother raccoon gently nudges the cubs onto her belly, where they nurse on warm milk."

"It's the June summer solstice, the shortest night of the year. Mother raccoon calls for her cubs to follow. Raccoons are nocturnal, which means they hunt at night. If they are to one day survive on their own, the cubs must learn to forage for food. They follow mother raccoon down grassy paths lit by a yellow moon."

"At the edge of a stream, Rudy spots a shiny green animal with round yellow eyes. He crouches. He pounces. Splash! The slippery frog gets away. Raccoons like to eat frogs, turtles, mussels and crayfish.

Nearby, mulberry branches droop to the mossy ground. Spice nibbles a hard white berry. Her lips curl from the bitter taste. She sees mother raccoon gobble the plump, purple berries and decides those must be the sweet, ripe ones. When they've eaten their fill, the family forges the stream."

The Robins In Your Backyard
by Nancy Carol Willis
Birdsong Books, ages 4-8, 32 pages, 8 ½ x 11
ISBN 0-9962761-0-8 $15.95, Hardcover
ISBN 0-9962761-1-6 $6.99, Paperback