I am writing a new song about the Little Pocket MouseCategory: Animal Songs Published: Friday, February 26, 2010
The above photo is of a Little Pocket Mouse. I am currently writing a new animal song for kids about this very cute and rare rodent. The Pacific Pocket Mouse, a subspecies of the Little Pocket Mouse, is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as an endangered animal in California. This coastal-dweller dropped in number as houses overtook its habitat. For about 20 years it was assumed to be extinct, but a single population of fewer than 40 mice was discovered in 1993. Pacific Pocket Mice are actually one of the most endangered species in the entire North American continent, and interesting because they are also one of the smallest rodent species in the world. I first learned about the Little Pocket Mouse when I went on a hike in San Onofre State Beach in San Clemente, California. There I learned that the Pacific Pocket Mouse was a hero of sorts, because it's endangered status is one of the key things that kept a new toll road from being built right through its habitat in San Onofre State Beach. When an animal has been declared endangered, wildlife protection laws usually also protect their habitat, and it very difficult to get approval to build on that habitat or put a road through it. San Onofre is a very beautiful park and many people believe that the Little Pacific Pocket Mouse saved this park from being nearly destroyed! Whenever I write an new animal song for kids, I first learn as much as I can about the animal. Here are some of the facts I've learned about the Little Pocket Mouse: --The little pocket mouse is, indeed, a small mouse. Total length is about 4 inches to 6 inches (110-151 mm) and their tail length is just over 2 to 3 inches (53-86 mm). They each weigh about 1/4 ounce. --They are soft-furred and their colors vary. Their upper body is grayish yellow or light brown, interspersed with black hairs that vary from paler to darker, depending on the color of soil they live in. Their underparts are pale brown, brownish, or white. Their tail is uniformly pale brownish. They have 2 small white patches at base of ears. -- They live in the ground, and burrow deeper into the soil to escape extremes of heat or cold. These tiny mice mostly eat seeds, some insects, grass, and leaves, though they are so small that they cannot maintain their energy unless they eat constantly while they are active. They store their extra food in fur-lined external cheek pouches. I am still writing my Little Pocket Mouse song and look forward to adding it to my collection of animal songs for kids. Here's a verse I've written so far: "Pocket mouse Oh, where's your house? It's underground Where I can not be found Oh no, no, no. Stay tuned for the rest of the song in a future blog. -Birdsong (of Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders
Pacific Pocket Mouse (mhanus.cts.com/ ramonimals/ramonimals.htm)
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Post a CommentJump to Top Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders Go To Belize: Coral Reefs, Fish and Eco-Wonder KidsCategory: Eco-Wonder Kids Videos Published: Friday, February 12, 2010 Dear Friends, If I were a fish, I think I would be very happy living in the coral reefs off the coast of Belize. You can see Belize on a map in this video. It's a small county in Central America and a neighbor of Mexico. It faces the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean and is the home to the second largest barrier coral reef in the world. It is a pretty great place for a fish to live. I know this, but not because I'm a fish. You see, I'm Birdsong (of Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders), I write animal songs for kids, and I visited those coral reefs not too long ago. There were so many different colors and kinds of coral which means lots of nutritious food for fish. And the coral reefs also had places for fish to hide, just in case a hungry shark came by looking for its dinner. Yes i am sure that, if i were a fish, i would feel very lucky to live in Belize. Not only because of the beautiful coral reefs, but also because of the children of Belize who are taking good care of the ocean. We met some of these children when Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders visited the RC School in San Pedro. You can check out San Pedro on the map in this video. It's on the Ambergris Caye, off the mainland of Belize. We went to the RC School to sing our ocean animal songs for the students. During our visit, Dr. Marcie and I discovered that these children really care about ocean animals and they know quite a few things about how to protect them. So we asked the students of the RC school to make some suggestions about how kids all over the world could protect the ocean and the animals and plants that live there. You can hear what they had to say in this video. After they gave us some good ideas about how to protect the ocean, we all sang and danced to our animal song "If I Were A Fish." We also sang lots of other songs from our CD "IF I WERE A FISH and Other Ocean Songs for Kids." We had a great time that afternoon and I'm glad to know that there are children in the beautiful country of Belize who are caring for the ocean. I think the fish are glad too. Singing our ocean animal songs at the RC School made me want to write more ocean animal songs for kids. There are so many beautiful and interesting ocean animals to write about. What is your favorite ocean animal? Perhaps your favorite animal will inspire another new song to add to my collection of animal songs for kids. In the meantime, I'm thinking about writing a song about plankton, an important food source for just about everything in the ocean. But first i need to learn more about it. Stay tuned! While you're here on our blog, you can watch more Eco-Wonder Kids music videos to see what other children are doing to care for the earth. Or watch our ocean animal songs videos about sea turtles, gray whales, pinnipeds and dolphins. HAVE FUN! Sincerely, Birdsong
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Post a CommentJump to Top Eco-Wonder Hero - Amara- Cleans up the beachCategory: Eco-Wonder Kids Videos Published: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 Eco-Wonder Hero - Amara - Cleaning up the beach. from Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders on Vimeo. In this video, Birdsong interviews Amara (age 4) about the ways that she and her family are helping to keep the ocean clean. We think Amara is an "Eco-Wonder Hero" because everyday, in small ways, she is making a difference in our world. She makes a difference by picking up trash from the beach and doing other things that help keep the water, soil and air clean. These things include recycling, using reusable grocery bags and carpooling. Amara explains to Birdsong why these actions are important and inspires others to join her in caring for the Earth. Each of us, like Amara, can make a difference everyday in the things that we do and the words that we say. Also in this video, Birdsong and Amara sing "The Most Incredible Songs," a kids' song about humpback whales from "IF I WERE A FISH and Other Ocean Songs for Kids" by Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders. If you like this video, check out our other Eco-Wonder Kids videos on this blog. To watch them, click here. You can also watch your favorite Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders animal song videos for kids on our blog. ENJOY!
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Post a CommentJump to Top Eco-Wonder Kids - Claire sings BIG BLUE MARBLE - words and music by Michelle MartinCategory: Eco-Wonder Kids Videos Published: Friday, January 15, 2010 Eco-Wonder Kids - Claire singing "Big Blue Marble" (Words & music by Michelle Martin) from Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders on Vimeo. LYRICS:
And thank you, Michelle Martin, for writing such a beautiful song!
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Post a CommentJump to Top Our 2009 Animal Songs for Kids by Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders. Thank you to our Fans!Category: Animal Songs Published: Wednesday, December 30, 2009 Dear Friends, As 2009 draws to a close, I would like to thank you, our fans, for singing with us and doing your part to take care of the animals and plants with whom we share the Earth. Every one of you makes a difference when you choose actions that protect animals and habitats, as well as keep the water, soil and air clean and healthy. We'd also like to thank the "eco-wonders" (the amazing animals and plants) that inspired our new songs of 2009. These songs include I Almost Kissed a Butterfly, Plant a Habitat and Leaders of the Pack. We give special thanks to our friends Sabrina from Oro Street, Jodi from EARTHROOTS FIELD SCHOOL and Lori and Reginald from BACK TO NATIVES RESTORATION for planting habitats and "seeds of education" in our community and inspiring verses in our song "Plant a Habitat." (Thanks also to Deanna Moore for your suggestion about the food habitat verse.) CLICK HERE to listen to "PLANT A HABITAT" by Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders Thank you also to Sierra, Anna and Cristopher for your inspiration in our popular song "I Almost Kissed a Butterfly." CLICK HERE to listen to "I Almost Kissed a Butterfly." A very special thanks to our fans Fionn, Amara and Claire (and your parents) for allowing us to post your inspiring videos on our website. CLICK HERE to watch videos of Fionn, Amara and Claire. Finally, thank you to the Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) for working so hard to protect the endangered gray wolves of North America and other endangered animals around the world. Your e-mails inspired me to learn more about wolves and write our song "Leaders of the Pack." CLICK HERE to watch our wolf video for kids, LEADERS OF THE PACK. You can also watch it on our kids TV website Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders TV. May all of you have a happy and healthy new year. We look forward to writing and sharing new songs with you in 2010. If you have a favorite wild animal, endangered animal or plant that you would like us to write about, please let us know and we will learn more about that animal or plant. Who knows? You may inspire a new song by Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders. Wishing you peace, good health and a healthy planet for all to share. Birdsong
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Post a CommentJump to Top Lyrics and music video for our song about wolves, LEADERS OF THE PACKCategory: Animal Songs-Wolves Published: Monday, December 14, 2009 Our new song and music video, "LEADERS OF THE PACK." is presented to you with a slideshow of beautiful wolf photos, courtesy of All -About -Wolves. The lyrics, or words, to this animal song for kids are written below the video. Please read and sing along with me!
LEADERS OF THE PACK There is something so exciting about the sound of wolves howling It's the time when baby wolves are born And their mama feeds and keeps them warm, These two parents work together CHORUS:
In the summertime, deep in the forest when the wolf pups leave their den. This is their time to learn and play to CHORUS
to CHORUS LEADERS OF THE PACK
Wolves are in great need of our protection. They need large undisturbed
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Post a CommentJump to Top Watch our new song video about wolves, LEADERS OF THE PACKCategory: Animal Song Videos Published: Sunday, December 06, 2009
Dear Friends, The gray wolf is a endangered wild animal that lives in North America. Wolves are the ancestors of every breed of domestic dog from pugs to poodles. Like dogs, they are they are highly social animals. They form groups called packs, which are typically made up of four or more related wolves. The pack is led by a dominant pair (the alpha male and female) who mate. These alpha wolves have the huge responsibility of protecting their pack from predators, making sure there is enough food to feed all the pack members, and helping the pack work together as a unit. These alpha wolves are the "stars" of my song, "Leaders of the Pack."
And now for my new song and music video, "LEADERS OF THE PACK." It is presented to you with a slideshow of beautiful wolf photos, courtesy of All -About -Wolves.
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Post a CommentJump to Top Watch our new song video about wolves, LEADERS OF THE PACKCategory: Animal Songs-Wolves Published: Sunday, December 06, 2009
Dear Friends, The gray wolf is a endangered wild animal that lives in North America. Wolves are the ancestors of every breed of domestic dog from pugs to poodles. Like dogs, they are they are highly social animals. They form groups called packs, which are typically made up of four or more related wolves. The pack is led by a dominant pair (the alpha male and female) who mate. These alpha wolves have the huge responsibility of protecting their pack from predators, making sure there is enough food to feed all the pack members, and helping the pack work together as a unit. These alpha wolves are the "stars" of my song, "Leaders of the Pack."
And now for my new song and music video, "LEADERS OF THE PACK." It is presented to you with a slideshow of beautiful wolf photos, courtesy of All -About -Wolves.
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Post a CommentJump to Top A Beautiful Humpback Whale Rescue StoryCategory: Animal Stories Published: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 Dear Friends, Below is a beautiful story of the rescue of a Humpback whale off the coast of Enjoy! -Birdsong
If you read the front page story of the "San Francisco Chronicle", A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands a very dangerous proposition.
One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer. "It felt to me like it was thanking us, knowing that it was free and that we had helped it," said James Moskito;
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Post a CommentJump to Top Listen to our new song PLANT A HABITATCategory: Animal Songs Published: Sunday, October 11, 2009 CLICK HERE to listen to "PLANT A HABITAT" by Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders Dear Friends, While I was writing my kids' song "I Almost Kissed a Butterfly," I learned that plants were very important to birds, butterflies, and many of the creatures with whom we share our neighborhoods. Plants provide food and shelter for our animal friends. In fact, some animals are very particular about the plants they will eat. For example, monarch caterpillars will only eat milkweed. What types of plants do the butterflies and birds in your neighborhood enjoy? We would love to hear from you about the kinds of plants and habitats you are planting in your yards and neighborhoods. Happy Planting, Birdsong
Lyrics to "PLANT A HABITAT" CHORUS: Plant a habitat. I'm gonna plant a habitat. The butterflies and bees are whispering please Plant a space where we can grow and feed. So...
With flowers so bright and nectar so sweet. And lots of food our nature friends to eat.
Where animals and plants can find a place With clean water, food and shelter, A home where they raise their young.
Can help all living things to survive Like planting seeds, flowers and trees The kind of habitats that we all need. to CHORUS
Carlos and his classmates pick up trash from the stream And how about a habitat for me and you?
Posted by: marta ross
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 @ 9:22:17 AM what a lovely song and what a great idea for all of us. thank you, one more time, for taking such good care of our Earth.... am thinking of you and wishing you all the best, much love, marta Post a CommentJump to Top Other Recent ArticlesA Poem about the Earth by Patricia KeenanCategory: Stories | Poems by Patricia Published: Thursday, August 20, 2009 Jump to Top A Song about Fruit Bats, Seeds and Trees by Lucas MillerCategory: Animal Songs Published: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Jump to Top Lyrics to HERE WE GO!, our song about baby sea turtlesCategory: Animal Songs- Ocean Published: Wednesday, August 05, 2009 Jump to Top Here We Go! Watch our video about baby sea turtlesCategory: Animal Song Videos Published: Sunday, July 26, 2009 Jump to Top
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