The Birds of Our Madrid Terrace

A2: Elementary

Madrid has many birds. My wife and I live in a flat with a terrace. We want birds to visit us. So we made our terrace nice for them.

First, we put out a birdbath. Birds need water to drink. They also like to wash their feathers. Then we put out a bird feeder with seeds. Small birds love seeds.

Many kinds of birds visit us now. We see magpies. Magpies are big and black and white. We see sparrows. Sparrows are small and brown. We also see blackbirds and finches. In the evening, we see other birds in the sky. They fly very fast and eat insects.

I give meat to the magpies. When the food is ready, I whistle. The magpies hear me and they come. They are very smart birds. I want to be their friend. I hope one day they will ask me for food.

Video thumbnail: a magpie on our terrace

Sometimes pigeons come first and eat the magpies' food. I do not like this. I make noise and the pigeons fly away.

The sparrows are our newest friends. At first, they did not understand the bird feeder. Now they love it. A small flock of sparrows comes to eat almost every day.

Vocabulary:

feather — the soft thing on a bird's body
beak — the hard mouth of a bird
wing — birds use wings to fly
claw — the sharp foot of a bird
tail — the back end of a bird
seed — small food from a plant; many birds eat seeds
nest — the home a bird builds for its eggs
flock — a group of birds
to fly — to move through the air
to eat — to put food in your mouth
to sing — to make music with your voice
bird feeder — a small box with food for birds
birdbath — a small place with water where birds can drink and wash

B2: Upper-intermediate

Over the past six months, my wife and I have been turning our terrace into a haven for local birds — but not for pigeons or parakeets, which are everywhere in Madrid already. So far we have seen magpies, sparrows, blackbirds, finches, serins, and wagtails. In the evenings, the sky fills with fast little birds that catch insects, and with bats.

We started simply. First we added a birdbath, because birds need somewhere to drink and clean their feathers. Then we began leaving meat scraps for the magpies. Every time I put food out, I give a loud whistle, so the magpies know that dinner is ready.

Magpies are extremely intelligent. My goal is to befriend them, so that one day they will come and ask me for food when they are hungry. Sometimes they arrive late and find that the food is gone. When this happens, they get indignant. They puff up their feathers and begin to "kwark" at me in frustration.

A magpie perches on our railing, vocalizes, and grabs a piece of cooked sausage before flying off.

The pigeons are a problem. Sometimes they find the food before the magpies do. If I do not chase them away quickly, they will eat half the scraps and scatter the rest across the terrace — and leave droppings everywhere.

The sparrows are our newest friends. It took them a while to understand the bird feeder, but now they love it. Small flocks visit us almost every day. We have not yet seen any fledglings, but we hope that next spring some young birds will grow up knowing our terrace as a safe place.

Vocabulary:

fledgling — a young bird that has just left the nest
to migrate — to travel long distances with the seasons
to perch — to sit on a branch or railing (as a bird does)
to flap — to move the wings up and down
to puff up — to make oneself look bigger by raising one's feathers
scraps — small leftover pieces of food
to scatter — to throw or spread things in many directions
indignant — angry because something is unfair
to whistle — to make a high musical sound by blowing through your lips
to chase away — to make someone or something leave by following them
haven — a safe and peaceful place
terrace — an outdoor flat area attached to a building (a terraza in Spanish)

Durante los últimos seis meses, mi esposa y yo hemos estado convirtiendo nuestra terraza en un haven (refugio, lugar seguro) para los pájaros locales — pero no para las palomas ni para las cotorras, que ya están por todas partes en Madrid. Hasta ahora hemos visto urracas, gorriones, mirlos, pinzones, verdecillos y lavanderas. Por las tardes, el cielo se llena de pájaros pequeños y rápidos que cazan insectos, y de murciélagos.

Empezamos de manera sencilla. Primero pusimos un bebedero, porque los pájaros necesitan un lugar para beber y limpiarse las plumas. Después empezamos a dejar scraps (sobras, trozos pequeños) de carne para las urracas. Cada vez que pongo comida, doy un silbido fuerte, para que las urracas sepan que la cena está lista.

Las urracas son extremadamente inteligentes. Mi objetivo es ganarme su amistad, para que un día vengan a pedirme comida cuando tengan hambre. A veces llegan tarde y encuentran que la comida ya no está. Cuando esto pasa, se ponen indignant (indignadas, enfadadas por algo injusto). Ahuecan las plumas (puff up their feathers) y empiezan a graznar "kwark" hacia mí con frustración.

Miniatura del vídeo: una urraca en nuestra terraza

Una urraca se posa en nuestra barandilla, vocaliza, y agarra un trozo de salchicha cocida antes de irse volando.

Las palomas son un problema. A veces encuentran la comida antes que las urracas. Si no las espanto (chase them away) rápido, se comen la mitad de las sobras y esparcen (scatter) el resto por la terraza — y dejan excrementos por todas partes.

Los gorriones son nuestros amigos más nuevos. Tardaron un tiempo en entender el comedero, pero ahora les encanta. Pequeñas bandadas nos visitan casi todos los días. Todavía no hemos visto ningún fledgling (volantón, un pájaro joven que acaba de salir del nido), pero esperamos que la próxima primavera algunos pájaros jóvenes crezcan conociendo nuestra terraza como un lugar seguro.

Vocabulario:

fledgling — volantón / pollo de pájaro que acaba de salir del nido
to migrate — migrar (viajar largas distancias con las estaciones)
to perch — posarse (sentarse en una rama o barandilla, como hace un pájaro)
to flap — aletear (mover las alas hacia arriba y hacia abajo)
to puff up — ahuecar las plumas (hacerse parecer más grande)
scraps — sobras, trozos pequeños de comida
to scatter — esparcir, dispersar
indignant — indignado/a
to whistle — silbar
to chase away — espantar, ahuyentar
haven — refugio, lugar seguro
terrace — terraza

C2: Mastery

Over the past six months, my wife and I have been gradually turning our terrace into a haven for the local birds (not you, pigeons and parakeets!). So far, I've seen magpies, sparrows, blackbirds, finches, serins and wagtails. In the evenings, our skies fill with swifts and bats.

We started by adding a birdbath, and setting out meat scraps for the magpies. Every time I leave scraps for them, I give them a loud whistle, so they know that dinner is ready. Magpies are extremely intelligent birds, and my goal is to befriend them, so that they'll ask for food when they're hungry. Sometimes they get a little indignant when they arrive and find that breakfast is already over. They puff up their feathers and begin to "kwark" in frustration.

A magpie perches on our railing, vocalizes, and grabs a piece of cooked sausage before flying off.

Sometimes the pigeons find the food first, and I have to chase them away, or they'll eat half the food and scatter and poop all over the rest.

The sparrows are our newest friends. It took them a little while to figure out the birdfeeder we set up, but now they really love it, and small flocks visit us almost every day.

Vocabulary:

magpie — urraca (specifically the Iberian magpie Pica pica; the related blue-and-tan Cyanopica cooki is rabilargo, not seen on our terrace)
(house) sparrow — gorrión (Passer domesticus, the ubiquitous urban sparrow)
blackbird — mirlo (Turdus merula; not to be confused with American blackbirds, which are a different family entirely)
finch — pinzón (a broad term; on the terrace these are usually Fringilla coelebs, the common chaffinch)
serin — verdecillo (Serinus serinus, the wild ancestor of the domestic canary)
wagtail — lavandera (Motacilla alba, the white wagtail, named for its constantly bobbing tail)
swift — vencejo (Apus apus; often confused with swallows, but in a separate family — they almost never land except to nest)
pigeon — paloma (here, the feral Columba livia domestica; "dove" and "pigeon" are the same word in Spanish)
(monk) parakeet — cotorra (argentina) (Myiopsitta monachus, an invasive South American parrot now thoroughly established across Madrid)
bat — murciélago (not a bird, of course, but mammals; included for completeness because they share our evening sky)

Durante los últimos seis meses, mi esposa y yo hemos estado convirtiendo poco a poco nuestra terraza en un refugio para los pájaros locales (¡no para vosotras, palomas y cotorras!). Hasta ahora, he visto urracas, gorriones, mirlos, pinzones, verdecillos y lavanderas. Por las tardes, nuestro cielo se llena de vencejos y murciélagos.

Empezamos por poner un bebedero y dejar sobras de carne para las urracas. Cada vez que les dejo sobras, les doy un silbido fuerte, para que sepan que la cena está lista. Las urracas son pájaros extremadamente inteligentes, y mi objetivo es ganarme su amistad, para que pidan comida cuando tengan hambre. A veces se ponen un poco indignadas cuando llegan y encuentran que el desayuno ya ha terminado. Ahuecan las plumas y empiezan a graznar "kwark" con frustración.

Una urraca se posa en nuestra barandilla, vocaliza y agarra un trozo de salchicha cocida antes de irse volando.

A veces las palomas encuentran la comida primero, y tengo que espantarlas, o se comerán la mitad de la comida y esparcirán y harán sus necesidades sobre el resto.

Los gorriones son nuestros amigos más nuevos. Les tomó un tiempo entender el comedero que pusimos, pero ahora les encanta de verdad, y pequeñas bandadas nos visitan casi todos los días.

Vocabulario:

magpie — urraca (específicamente Pica pica; el rabilargo Cyanopica cooki, azul y canela, es una especie distinta)
(house) sparrow — gorrión (Passer domesticus, el gorrión urbano omnipresente)
blackbird — mirlo (Turdus merula; no confundir con los blackbirds americanos, que son una familia distinta)
finch — pinzón (término amplio; en la terraza suelen ser Fringilla coelebs, el pinzón común)
serin — verdecillo (Serinus serinus, el antepasado silvestre del canario doméstico)
wagtail — lavandera (Motacilla alba, la lavandera blanca, llamada así por el balanceo constante de su cola)
swift — vencejo (Apus apus; a menudo confundido con las golondrinas, pero de familia distinta — casi nunca se posan, excepto para anidar)
pigeon — paloma (aquí, la Columba livia domestica asilvestrada; en español "paloma" cubre tanto dove como pigeon)
(monk) parakeet — cotorra (argentina) (Myiopsitta monachus, un loro sudamericano invasor ya plenamente establecido en Madrid)
bat — murciélago (no es un pájaro, claro, sino un mamífero; incluido por completitud porque comparte nuestro cielo vespertino)