ERVING — With 14 birdhouses, the Erving Elementary School students have some new neighbors: birds and their chicks.
On Friday, a preschool class went outside its classroom to look at a nest containing seven wren chicks as part of Forest Friday.
Seven wrens, five tree swallows and four bluebirds have hatched, according to Becky Allen, a paraprofessional at the school.
“There is so much inspiration here for the students to be interested in nature,” Allen said. “We have the Explorers Club that checks on the eggs and fills the bird feeders, and Forest Friday for the preschool class.”
She said she wanted the preschoolers to see the wren chicks because the birds are more friendly than the tree swallows.
Preschool teacher Jaime Parse brought her class outside to the birdhouses that her class sees from their windows every day.
“We used to have a tree outside our window, but it had to be removed,” Parse said. “But now we have feeders and the boxes outside of the window, and they’re thrilled.”
Each of the students climbed up a step ladder by the birdhouse with the lid popped open and looked inside to see the chicks in the nest. The students learned about the birds and the materials used to build their nests.
Second-graders in the Explorers Club Lissandra Taylor and Tatianna Williams said they like the birdhouses because they “love birds because they are so cute.”
“The chicks look like little chickens when they first hatch,” Lissandra said. “It’s fun to have them here.”
Another student, Eban Gordon, said he thought of the birds as staying at the school for a while “like at a bird hotel.”
“These birds are delicate. They are afraid of a lot of things,” Eban said. “There are some birds that are endangered.”
Diemand Farm and Les Chadwick donated nine of the birdhouses, and Ron Mason donated the other five houses.
Allen said that next year she thinks the school may make bird boxes with one side made out of Plexiglass, so the students would be able to watch the nests without disturbing the birds.
Reach Melina Bourdeau at mbourdeau@recorder.com or 413-772-0261 ext. 263.