Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Be a Bird Scientist

Downy Woodpecker by Errol Taskin/Project FeederWatch

Hang a feeder in our yard and here’s who shows up to nosh on the goodies: blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, downy woodpeckers, goldfinches, hairy woodpeckers, juncos, mourning doves, nuthatches, red-bellied woodpeckers, sparrows, turkeys … and squirrels. Not everyone perches on the feeder; turkeys and doves strut and peck below, gleaning seeds that get dropped.

Regardless of where they feed, watching the birds is a lot of fun. Not only do you learn who is hanging out in your backyard, but birds can be entertaining. And by keeping track of birds that come to your feeder, you can help scientists.

How? Get involved in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Project FeederWatch. Beginning in November (once the bears are hibernating), you load up the feeders and a couple times a week count the birds that visit. Feeder Watchers submit data from November through April. That data helps scientists track movements of winter bird populations as well as long-term trends in the bird populations. The data has shown how some populations have expanded their northern range as the climate has warmed.

Beyond Feeder Watch:

• What do the birds visiting your feeder do? Do they eat seeds or carry them away?
• Watch where individual birds land, and write down where they hide their seeds. If they push seeds into bark crevices on the trunk of the tree, how high? Maybe some birds hide seeds near the top and others closer to the ground. If they cache seeds on branches, do they tuck them under bark chips on the upper side of the branches or the undersides? Do they hide seeds near the tips or closer to where the branches join the trunk?
• Do different birds collect seeds at different times of day?
• Does weather affect feeding behavior?

Happy Thanksgiving

Wild Turkeys, oil on canvas by artist & author, Jodie Mangor

Animals of All Kinds!

themes: animals, nonfiction, observation

Moose, Goose, Animals on the Loose: A Canadian Wildlife ABC
by Geraldo Valerio
40 pages, ages 2-5
Owlkids  Books, 2016

Here they come... Canadian animals running, jumping, swimming, and roaring your way! Now arriving....

Each spread introduces one - or more - wild animals from Canada.

What I like about this book: It's fun! I like the language: "big bold Bison" and "exuberant Muskox". I also like the cut-paper collage art. And there's Back Matter! Additional facts about the featured animals.

Wonderful Nature, Wonderful You
by Karin Ireland; illus. by Christopher Canyon
32 pages, ages 5-9
Dawn Publications, 2017

Have you ever spent a day in nature? Did you notice how peaceful it was? ... Everything moves at its own pace to do what it does best.

Using a variety of examples of how plants and animals exist in their natural environment, Karin Ireland assures youngsters that they can learn many things from nature. When it's time for a baby bird to leave the nest, it spreads its wings and flies. So, too, children can do what they set their minds to. Her gently encouraging words offer opportunities for children - and the adults who love them - to learn from nature.

"Fish don't try to grow feathers... Warthogs don't try to climb trees." Each animal is special and has its own natural way of living in our world. So do we.

Beyond the Books

Make a cut-paper collage of a wild animal you've seen. Maybe it's a bird that's visited your feeder, or a skunk that digs up your lawn at night, or a dragonfly. Use construction paper, newspaper, magazines, scrapbook paper, tissue paper, wrapping paper or any kind of paper you can find.

Find a natural spot where you can sit quietly and observe for about 15 minutes. Stay as still as you can and watch and listen to the plants and animals around you. What did you notice?

Today we're joining others over at Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Review copies from the publisher.

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Portrait of an aging leaf

Tall Tall Tree & a field guide

themes for the day: trees, nature, nonfiction

Tall Tall Tree
by Anthony D. Fredericks; illus. by Chad Wallace
32 pages; ages 3-8
Dawn Publications, 2017

Creeping, hopping, zipping
Throughout the redwoods green
Are many different creatures
Who are very seldom seen.

Waaaay up, high in the world's tallest trees is an entire world teeming with life. Most people don't get to see the animals who live in those tall, tall trees - but this book takes you on a field trip into that world.

There are lots of animals up there, living at skyscraper heights: eagles, bats, owls, salamanders. From one to ten, the author introduces us to some of the residents of the redwood tree.

What I like about this book: There are "hidden" animals on each page. For example, when our attention is directed to the slimy banana slugs, will we see the other animal up there in the tree? There's even a "find the hidden animals" challenge in the back matter - Yes! there is back matter! There is also additional information about the redwoods and some STEAM activities in the back matter.

Ultimate Explorer Field Guide: Trees
by Patricia Daniels
160 pages; ages 8-12
National Geographic Children's Books, 2017

This is a tree-mendous field guide, perfect for tree-huggers of any age. Introductory pages include "what is a tree?" and give a quick lesson on how to get to know leaves - as well as a warning about poison ivy so you don't accidentally pick any of those leaves for your collection. There are plenty of tree entries, each with a photo of the entire tree and close-up of leaf or needle, flowers, nuts, cones, or fruit. In addition to general information there are some fun facts.

Every so often there's a special feature that gives you a closer look at trees growth patters, flowers, seeds, or some other cool thing. One thing I wish they had included: photos of bark for each tree described - for those of us who go out tree-watching in winter. 

Beyond the Books:

What's your state tree? Find a photo of it. Was it featured on a stamp? Find out here.

What sort of animals use the trees in your neighborhood? Adopt a tree and keep track of the birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and insects that live on it or gather food from it. Draw a picture of your tree - and make a map showing how to find it.

Become a tree bark-ologist. Find two trees with different kinds of bark. Jot down your observations of each tree trunk: is the bark smooth or rough? is there a pattern? Make a bark rubbing and tape it in your field notebook. Or take photos.

Today we're joining the STEM Friday roundup - and we're also joining others over at Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Review copies from the publisher.

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Make a spinner

This is an activity for those cold and windy days that you'd rather stay inside and explore "inside science". All you need are: a sharpened pencil, a couple rubber bands, and an old cereal box or similar cardboard. It’s also helpful to have a couple jar lids, an old CD, and some pennies.

Begin by tracing a circle on the cardboard, and cut it out. Poke a pencil through the center of your cardboard disk, and wind a rubber band around the pencil both above and below the disk. That will help keep the cardboard securely in place. Now all you have to do is spin your top on a flat surface. 

Now try this:

1. Tape pennies on top of the cardboard. Is there a difference in how the spinner acts if you tape them close to the center or out at the edge?
2. How does size affect the spinner? Trace different sizes of jar lids and plates and make many spinners to compare. Do they spin at the same speed? Do some stand up longer than others? 
3. What happens if you poke the pencil through the circle somewhere other than the center?
4. Does it matter where the disk is on the pencil? High? Low? Center?
5. Will a square spinner work as well as a circle? What about a triangle?
6. Here's how to make a penny spinner.
   
   

Books that Celebrate the Changing Season

Up here in the northern hemisphere, winter is on its way ~ in some places sooner, in other places later. Here are two wonderful books that celebrate the changing seasons.

themes: nature, seasons, animals

Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter
by Kenard Pak
32 pages; ages 3-6
Henry Holt BYR, 2017

Hello, late autumn afternoon. Hello, leaves.

Two children walk through field and farm and town, as the season changes from fall to winter. They greet animals, trees, and birds as they pass. Cardinals and robins reply that they are ready to fly south. Clouds cover the sky; icicles reply that their job is to decorate the eaves of houses.

What I like about this book: it is a quiet, gentle passage from one season to the next. We see the children walking through different neighborhoods: a hillside, a rural road, the city street. Everywhere they go, they observe how the season is changing, and how the animals and plants are adapting to the coming cold. I admit to saying hello to woolly bears I come across while raking leaves - but unlike the tree frogs, my woolly bears don't seem to say much. Or if they are, I am not attuned to hearing their language.

I like that the children are observing nature in the town and in a city. This reinforces that nature is everywhere, not something "out there". And I like Ken's artwork. It is full of texture and you can "see" the leaves blowing across the page.
 

Winter Dance
by Marion Dane Bauer; illus. by Richard Jones
40 pages; ages 4-7
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017

(A snowflake spins through the air and lands on the nose of a fox.) "Winter is coming," says the fox. "What should I do?"

So fox sets off to find out what other animals do to survive winter. Birds fly south (I can't do that, says fox); turtles dive to the bottom of a pond and dig into the mud.  (Definitely Not For Fox!).

What I like about this book: It's a fun quest, because who doesn't want to know what other people/animals do when snow is on its way. I like seeing the world through the point of view of a fox. And I like the idea of foxes dancing to celebrate winter.

Note from the bug girl (me): As fun as this book is, curious young naturalists will want to further investigate behavior of "woolly caterpillars" they come across. In our area, the woolly caterpillars people see most are "Woolly Bears", larvae of the Isabella moth. Woolly bear caterpillars find a cozy place under leaves or hay mulch where they curl up and hibernate until spring. You can read more about them here and at Naturally Curious. White "woolly" caterpillars (tussock moths) overwinter in the egg stage.

Beyond the Book:

Go on a walk to bid goodbye to fall. What signs of the changing season do you observe? Smell? Feel? Look up - what does the sky look like? Are there lots of leaves? Look down; what does the ground look like? Jot down notes in your field notebook, or draw pictures, or take photos.

In a month, go on another walk along the same route as before. What has changed? Look up - what does the sky look like? Are there lots of leaves? Look down; what does the ground look like? Jot down notes in your field notebook, or draw pictures, or take photos.

Make up a dance to welcome winter. Maybe you want to jump and turn like a fox, leap like a deer, or strut like a turkey. How do the animals in your neighborhood move in winter?

Today we're joining the STEM Friday roundup - and we're also joining others over at Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Review ARCs and copies from the publisher.

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ the sky seen through trees

The season is changing, and one way to see the changes is to look up. Stand under trees and see what the sky looks like through the leaves - and increasingly bare branches. What changes will you see this month?