Feathery Finery

photo provided by Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Sometimes the clothes we choose to wear can let people know how we feel. If we want to catch someone's eye, we can put on a jaunty hat or dress up our duds by adding a bright scarf (or tie). Or we can go for the late-November "I just want to be cozy" layered look.

Birds do the same thing, but with their feathers. They can ruffle their feathers, preen their feathers, shake and rattle their feathers. They can raise their feathery crests or fluff up their feathers to look large and imposing.

Now is an excellent time to get outside and watch some feathery friends... and to encourage you, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Celebrate Urban Birds project is running a  Fascinating Feathers contest. This is an opportunity for you to send in your photos, artwork, poems, stories, videos and audio recordings of birds.... birds that seem irritated, out of sorts, all spruced up, or just pretty. Categories for photos (and artwork) include: best dressed, most bizarre, most functional, and most camouflaged. Check out the rules at Celebrate Urban Birds - and then grab your camera or your sketchbook and head outside to capture some images of some birds around your neighborhood. The contest ends on January 15, but you can keep snapping pictures of birds, drawing bird portraits, writing bird poetry, and learning their secret songs all winter long.

Today is STEM Friday - head over to the STEM Friday blog to see what other people are talking about in science.