Tuesday 5 February 2013

Red-flanked Bluetail Helps Out ESL Students

Since my photograph of the Red-flanked Bluetail appeared on the front page of the Vancouver Sun in January a number of interesting developments have followed.
Soon after I was approached to donate a picture of the now famous and very lost Red-flanked Bluetail to an online publication which helps ESL, new arrivals to Canada and other readers come to grips with the English language. 
Below is a link to a live PDF via The Westcoast Reader Website


The Westcoast Reader link
http://www.thewestcoastreader.com


or
The story about the little Red-flanked Bluetail can be seen at 
http://www.thewestcoastreader.com/a-tiny-bird-red-flanked-bluetail-in-bc/
 below is a copy and paste version.


A young Red-flanked Bluetail 
A tiny bird comes to Vancouver. 
Photo by John Gordon http://thecanadianwarbler.blogspot.ca/ 

A tiny bird is big news 
Adapted from The Vancouver Sun / burnabybirdguy.wordpress.com / Wikipedia 
A tiny bird is big news in B.C. these days. 
A young Red-flanked Bluetail has come to Queen’s Park in New Westminster. 
It is far from home. 
Not a Canadian bird 
Our tiny visitor is not from Canada. 
It has come from Siberia. 
It should be in Japan or India for the winter. 
This is a rare event. 
The Red-flanked Bluetail has never been to Canada before. 
Visitors flock to see it 
Birders are travelling from far and near. 
They want to see our small visitor. 
News of the bird is attracting people from other parts of Canada. 
They are coming from the United States, too. 
The people take pictures. 
For birders, seeing this bird is a dream come true. 



Very healthy and active 
The little bird has everything it needs in B.C. 
Queen’s Park has a lot of fat worms, grubs and seeds to eat. 
The bird loves to playfully flick its tail and dash around from branch to branch and tree to tree. It is quick. It can catch insects in mid air. 
Likes it here 
The tiny bird is not in a big hurry to leave. 
Birders hope that it will stay here for a while. 
This will give more people a chance to see it. 
This is a memory of a lifetime for many people. 
Submitted by: Patti-Lea Ryan 
(Vocabulary and links are on the next page.) 

©2012 The Official Westcoast Reader / www.TheWestcoastReader.com 
Vocabulary: 

Flock (verb): to travel together 

Birds and sheep flock together

Birders (noun): people who watch birds 

The birders are excited about the Red-flanked Bluetail. 

Flick (verb): a quick movement 

The bird flicked its tail. 

Dash (verb): to suddenly move 

The cat dashed up the tree when it saw a big dog. 
John Gordon Links: 
Blog: 
http://thecanadianwarbler.blogspot.ca 
Stock photography: 
http://www.johngordonsphotography.com 
Commercial and Portrait: 
http://www.johngordonphotography.com 

©2012 The Official Westcoast Reader / www.TheWestcoastReader.com 

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