Welcome to "It's Your Turn". This is the only completely reader written issue each year. The Mountain-Ear welcomes your submissions every week, but once per year we let you write the whole paper. Here are some of the submissions 2016.

Nederland Elementary School students, from Ms. Beauvineau’s 4B class, wrote the following poems as part of an integrated science unit on how animals adapt to their environments. They each studied one bird of their choice and then created an artistic representation of this bird with clay, and built a replica of its nest out of straw. They also researched their bird and wrote a scientific book about what they learned. They were then asked to take their scientific knowledge and write poems about these special birds, all of which migrate or live in Colorado at some point every year.

The Great Pelican

By: Gavin Dillon

The great pelican

flies over beautiful skies

with its daring eyes,

In order to thrive

it dives out

of the clear blue sky

they don’t have predators

but they have competitors,

on land

they aren’t so grand

but in the ocean

they cause comotion.

Teaghan’s Hummingbird Poem

By: Teaghan Hartman

Chee-dit chee-dit chee-dit

I am a hummingbird.

I zoom through the sky

like a jet

soaring through the air

Nectar so sweet and tasty I eat.

I find the best flower.

The sugar water

you give me so tasty and sweet

I am small but mighty,

other birds are different.

My wings don’t touch my tail.

I can fly backwards

they can’t.

My red throat sparkles

in the sun as I fly by.

Chee-dit chee-dit chee-dit

I am a hummingbird

Red Tail Hawk

By Aeden Koziel

Oh Red Tailed Hawk

Red Tailed Hawk

how you soar over head

like a swan in a lake.

Red Tail Hawk

how I love you

like a DIAMOND fountain

in the middle of the woods.

I will feed you any day

just dont doo doo on me!

not even a cheetah could catch you!

Fly fly if you must

I’ll see you again another day!

Prairie Falcon Poem

By Julia Allen

Prairie Falcon

best bird on the land.

Fast, awesome,

cool bird, awesome bird.

Prairie Falcon

shares nest with other birds.

Prairie Falcon

lives in grasslands

nest in cliffs

beak curved

Spectacular bird

Wise Old Owl

By Owen Cleveland

A wise old owl

sits in an oak

the more he saw,

the less he spoke

the less he moved,

and the more he heard.

Why can’t we all be like this wise old bird?

Barn Owls

By Koti Czeponis

Barn owls

are great creatures

They don’t build a nest

Awesome animal

Wow!

l love barn owls!

The Ptarmigan

By Mazzy Hansen

The Ptarmigan

Is strange and colorful too

He looks up at the sky

the color is blue.

They look like Doves,

peaceful and gay

The Ptarmigan is better than they…

Oh where do you hide

In the rocky meadows,

or in the hillside?

Snails, worms, spiders and ants

is that a feast, or berries too?

Oh Ptarmigan, soon I will meet you!

The Golden Bird

By Lee Whinston

The golden bird soars

whirls

and twirls

high in the sky

The golden bird swoops

whoops

and loops

high in the sky

The golden bird flies

eyes

and cries

high in the sky

The Blue Throated Hummingbird

by Hayden Hardt-Zeman

The more they fly

the more they live.

The more they get flowers

the more they get pollen.

The more they get flowers

the more our house smells good.

Why can’t we all

be like

this wonderful Blue Throated Hummingbird!!!!!

Osprey

By Oskar Nunemacher

Osprey flying high

flying above us in the sky

will he catch his prey

down in the water below

Swooping in for the catch

coming from above

he has caught a rainbow trout

going to his nest

with a snack to eat

Osprey

Great Horned Owl

By Trinity Le Blanc

Good at hunting

Rabbit eater

Excellent eyesight

Antarctica they

Trees are their home

Hunts prey

Owlets are their babies

Reddish-yellow talons

Nature is amazing

Extra long 5-foot wingspan

Descending down trees

Old

Wise

Large bird

Great Blue Herons

By Asher Hughes

Great Blue Herons

Soaring through the sky

Great Blue Herons never say die

Through the dark, gloomy sky

the sun is setting

in its bed of clouds.

Get some sleep my little Heron

Get some sleep for now!

The Magnificent Hummingbird

By Ricky Fortunato

Like a helicopter

the green violet bird

is a ball of colors

with a needle beak

fluffy and fast

it flies through the forest

At a million billion miles per hour

the bird is very hungry

and  thirsty

eating nectar

it never rests.

Mountain Blue Bird

By Jordan Galindo

My name is Sky.

I’m a mountain bluebird

that flies through the sky.

I have little blue specks on

my feathers and my eyes.

For breakfast, on a sunny day,

I fly and hunt for bugs all day.

Sometimes I find some yummy treats,

like sweet berries

I love to eat.

The Bold Eagle

By Taylor Johnson

The bald eagle our national bird

it’s so amazing plus, rhymes with words

what can be held in the talons that hold

look at its head both bald and bold

it can live in places that are cold

but gets shot down so it’s feathers get sold

did you hear about the oil spill of ‘89

it killed over 300 eagles so sad

it’s even sad, disturbing, bad

the bald eagle king of the skies

when I look it soars right by

how does it go so fast and why

its wingspan can be 7 feet

oh, how I wish it could speak

so when you see the bald eagle fly by

remember that it is the king of the skies

don’t call it the bald eagle or strong

call it the bold eagle and write it a song

The Glorious Whooping Crane

By Abigail Koziel

The glorious Whooping Crane

Height about 5 feet

Eats snails, crabs, water insects, frogs, minnows, snakes, small rodents, berries, small vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and other wild fruits and berries

Whooping Crane rules

Happy

Overhead they fly

Openly in the sky

Peaceful

Interesting

Nesting

Glorious

Cashes

Resorceful

Amazing

Nervous

Endorsing to the environment

Peregrine Falcon Poem

by Loic Edward Masters

The peregrine falcon

flying in the sky

looking for something to eat

something nice and meaty.

The peregrine falcon

jumping from its nest

diving from 1300 feet

to catch its prey.

Almost disappeared

because of DDT

threatened and sick

will it come back

or will it be gone forever?

Beautiful

but not fancy like a parrot.

The peregrine falcon

agile like a cheetah

is a spy looking down

at its prey.

The peregrine falcon

you can’t see it

but it can see you.

An easy prey to catch

the pigeon waiting

to be eaten

by the peregrine falcon.

The Blue Jay

By Clara Miller

like a plane it starts to fly

blasting off at mighty speed

easily soaring into the sky

when it wants something to eat

it will search for a snack

acorns are its favorite treat

its call is “jay jay jay”

happily singing in its nest

the snow is where it likes to play

Strange Turkeys

By Opal Kinnikin

Turkeys, oh so beautiful and bright

Like you in a blue dress with polka-dotted tights

So bright

like the blue sky with white, white clouds

Turkeys so smart and clever

They teach themselves how to swim and fly

Turkeys have been around for a very long time

As long as the dinosaurs

But still here.

Turkeys are the strangest  bird to me

because they don’t like to go in trees

except when bees are chasing them

The Sandhill Crane

by  AJ Merz

The Sandhill Crane

is a beautiful creature

it has friends

but doesn’t have a preacher

It soars and scares

and sometimes it bores

but it is still awesome

And just to be clear

it is not a possum.

Soaring through the air

it will always land

if it’s a safe landing or not.

It will eat some food you give it

and sometimes it will spit it out.

The Sandhill Crane is a beautiful creature.

Little Graceful Falcon

By Ajani Whittleton

The American Kestrel

is our country’s smallest falcon

screaming through our skies

faster than a speeding car

dive-bombing prey

with deadly accuracy

From cities to deserts

and farm fields to suburbs

this little raptor

is amazingly adaptive

to wherever it may live

He’s blue and reddish brown

with a black tipped tail

She’s reddish brown

with a black tipped tail

American Kestrels are graceful

and seem to float through the sky

Little Sparrow

By Harmony Jacobs

Dull colored little sparrow,

you look just like you’re a part of the tree.

Blending in with bark, no one can see you there

but I do.

You’re perched on the tiniest branch

because your little feet hold you snugly there.

The tree is home to you

and so many other animals

like your food you often eat

and predators you must be aware of too.

Bright and early,

in the frosty morning sunrise,

you sing your song

and it seems to bring life

to the world

and other creatures around you.

They wake up

to your sweet and vibrant chirping

as if to say,

“Good morning world!”

In colder areas,

you seem to flourish,

unlike tropical birds.

You are so different from those

brightly colored tropical birds

you little sparrow you!

You seem to like picking seeds and berries

out of the cold, white snow

with your little brown beak,

like it’s a treasure hunt for you!

You are a sweet

little creature of the wild and

I enjoy watching your habits.

Dull colored little sparrow,

your feathers may be a boring brown color

but I find you a fascinating animal.

Thanks for being you!

Red-winged Blackbird

By: Ben James Harvey

Red-winged blackbird in the breeze

flying swiftly through the trees

The sounds and sights were great and vast

reminding him to keep on fast

His family was in the nest

he was bringing back a pest

Over garden, around a house

He really wouldn’t eat a mouse

Red-winged blackbird in the air

darting quickly everywhere!

Mallard Duck

Leah Beaudin

Mallard duck flying around the lake.

Mallard duck swimming in the wake.

Mallard duck diving for food.

Mallard duck what a cool dude.

Mallard duck waddling in the sand.

Mallard duck your life is so grand.

Mallard duck resting in the sun.

Mallard duck your life must be fun.

Mallard duck what a great day you had.

The Osprey  Poem

By Mary Jeanne Jarril

The Osprey soar high above.

When it is time to eat,

he will swoop and dive,

then catch the fish and gobble it up.

When he is done he will clean his talons

by washing them in the water.

The osprey is no rude raptor. He is polite.

When their eggs hatch their

creamy white eggs he and his mate will be

busy all night and day feeding the babies.

When the babies start to fledge and get their flight feathers

they will fly,fly fly until they can leave  the nest.