tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349173402024-03-27T16:53:30.139-07:00Schoolyard NaturalistsThe school yard and other outdoor settings offers many chances for hands-on learning. Schoolyard Naturalists takes you along on some of my explorations with children and families. These experiences can be enhanced with further explorations done at school or with adults at home. Ideas and resources that might be useful are discussed. Any comments, suggestions, or questions are welcome. For information about George's programs visit him at WWW.GEORGESTEELE.WEBS.COM or click on the link below.George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-62149214846594896202012-06-29T10:28:00.000-07:002012-06-29T10:28:18.420-07:00Recycled Paper Making<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I just finished a recycled paper making workshop with the kids at the Easton Family YMCA's Day Camp. We had a fanastic time making a bunch of recycled paperboard. One of the kids asked if I had written instruction which got me to thinking I should write up what I do with this program and post it here on my blog (I also sent instruction on to the camp and I hope they can pass it on to interested kids - making paper at home with mom and dad is a fun activity).<br />
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There a plenty of websites and youtube videos that show how to make recycled paper. This is what I do with large groups of kids. Research, experiment, try different things out. There is a whole world of recycled paper projects that can be done.<br />
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For example, many years ago a teacher told me about what her son did. He got very interested in making recycled paper. He'd go around and buy used blenders at garage sales. He experimented and became very good at it. For his senior thesis in high school he wrote a paper on Shakespeare. He made his own paper which he do so it looked like old parchment paper. He printed his thesis in an old style font on this old looking paper. The end result was a paper that looked like it had been written a long time ago.<br />
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Use you imagination. Experiment. Play around. Have fun!<br />
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The George Steele Method of Making Recycled Paperboard<br />
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Step 1 - collect paper to recycle. The two best options old newspaper and old homework or copy paper. Coated paper found in magazines and newspaper inserts do not work as well.<br />
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Step 2 - shred paper. It's most fun to shred by hand, but you could use a home office paper shredder.<br />
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Step 3 - soak paper in water. The longer you soak it the easier it is on the blender. I did not soak the paper with my presentation because of the time constraints. Using newsprint and old homework paper results in a grayish paper very much like a typical cardboard egg carton. Add color by adding some old construction paper.<br />
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Step 4 - blend paper in blender. The kitchen blender used a few times to make paper and then thoroughly cleaned afterwards does no harm. My blenders are dedicated just to paper making since I do it so often. An old blender bought at a garage sale could be used if there is concern about the family blender and future food preparation. BLENDER MUST BE USED UNDER ADULT SUPPERVISION!<br />
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Step 5 - this step is quite different than most recycled paper making instructions. Google recycle paper making and you will find many websites that provide more information, instructions and videos. For speedy paper production I pour the paper pulp on to the screens "convex" side, not the "concave"/cupped side. I use old handkerchiefs stretched on to an embroidery hoop. There are many different instructions on how to make a paper making screens and use them. Check the web for other techniques.<br />
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Step 6 - flip the screen with the paper pulp on to a flat surface. For my program I place a piece of wax paper on top of the paper pulp so that the paper can be moved to a dry area. You can flip the paper pulp on to a table. Use you hands to smooth out the pulp. Be careful not to press to much in one spot or you will end up with a hole in your paper. Use a sponge to soak up water. Use the sponge evenly around the paper screen.<br />
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Step 7 - Once you've removed the majority of the water let the paper on the screen dry. This might take a day or two. Once dry you can peel off the screen and pull up the paper.<br />
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This produces a thick paper board that can be cut and painted or colored with magic marker. It does not fold well.<br />
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If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. The link to my e-mail is above.<br />
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</div>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-33203184808801834872012-06-28T09:37:00.001-07:002012-06-28T09:37:16.182-07:00Owl study at the Frothingham Library<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I had a wonderful time giving my owl ecology presentation this past Monday at the Frothingham Free Library in Fonda, NY. About 30 children with parents and grandparents in tow had the chance to learn about owls. They dissected owl pellets to find out what owls like to eat. Here is what we found. <br />
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We took apart 13 pellets and found 34 mice and 1 shrew. There might have been a few more mice undiscovered as some of the pellets had not been completely dissected in the time we had. We did not find any evidence that the owls had eaten moles or birds.<br />
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We had a small sample, 13 pellets. By dissecting more pellets we might get a different picture of what the owl’s food preference might be. If you look through the archives of my blog you can find the results that other groups have found when dissecting owl pellets in my programs. In addition, I will be doing owl presentations at other libraries this summer, as part of the Summer Reading Club program. I will post those results here. Check my blog to see what other kids find.<br />
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</div>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-5962335000486268952012-06-18T19:55:00.000-07:002012-06-18T19:55:13.244-07:00Bird Survey at King Elementary in Warwick, NY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On June 16th I did a bird survey with 5th graders at King Elementary in Warwick. The school has a wonderful diversity of habitat around the school including forest, wetland and field environments. Because of this there is a wide variety of birds found there. Here is what we found.<br />
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Mrs. Boccia’s class – 9:15 AM, 99% cloud cover, slight breeze out of the southeast, temperature in the low 60’s Fahrenheit<br />
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Black Vulture – 1<br />
Turkey Vulture – 4<br />
Mourning Dove – 1<br />
American Crow – 1<br />
Barn Swallow – 3<br />
Tufted Titmouse – 1<br />
House Wren – 1<br />
Eastern Bluebird – 1<br />
American Robin – 3<br />
Gray Catbird – 4<br />
Yellow Warbler – 1<br />
Common Yellowthroat – 1<br />
Chipping Sparrow – 3<br />
Red-winged Blackbird – 10<br />
American Goldfinch – 1 <br />
House Sparrow – 1<br />
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Mrs. Meehan’s class – 10:25 AM, 50% cloud cover, strong breeze out of the southeast, temperature in the mid 60’s Fahrenheit<br />
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Common Merganser – 4<br />
Great Blue Heron – 1<br />
Black Vulture – 13 <br />
Turkey Vulture – 3<br />
Mourning Dove – 3<br />
Eastern Phoebe – 1<br />
Blue Jay – 1<br />
House Wren – 3 <br />
Eastern Bluebird – 2<br />
American Robin – 2<br />
Gray Catbird – 3 <br />
European Starling – 3<br />
Yellow Warbler – 1<br />
Common Yellowthroat – 1<br />
Red-winged Blackbird – 3<br />
Common Grackle – 1<br />
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Mrs. Digi’s class – 11:15 AM, 75% cloud cover, very light breeze out of the southeast, temperature in the high 60’s Fahrenheit<br />
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Green Heron – 1<br />
Black Vulture – 3<br />
Turkey Vulture – 8<br />
Red-tailed Hawk – 3<br />
Blue Jay – 1<br />
American Crow – 1<br />
Tree Swallow – 2<br />
House Wren – 1 <br />
American Robin – 3<br />
Gray Catbird – 1<br />
Cedar Waxwing – 7<br />
Common Yellowthroat – 1<br />
Chipping Sparrow – 1<br />
Bobolink – 1<br />
Red-winged Blackbird – 13<br />
Common Grackle – 1<br />
American Goldfinch – 1<br />
House Sparrow – 2<br />
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Mrs. Shoock’s class – 1:15 PM, 70% cloud cover, very light breeze out of the south, temperature in the high 60’s Fahrenheit<br />
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Turkey Vulture – 3<br />
Chimney Swift – 3<br />
American Crow – 1 <br />
Eastern Bluebird – 1<br />
European Starling – 5<br />
Yellow Warbler – 1<br />
Field Sparrow – 1<br />
Song Sparrow – 1<br />
Red-winged Blackbird – 5<br />
Common Grackle – 8<br />
American Goldfinch – 1<br />
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Mrs. Flynn’s class – 2:15 PM, 100% cloud cover, medium breeze out of the south, temperature in the high 60’s Fahrenheit<br />
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Great Blue Heron – 1<br />
Black Vulture – 5<br />
Turkey Vulture – 9 <br />
Chimney Swift – 1<br />
Blue Jay – 1<br />
American Crow – 2<br />
Barn Swallow – 2<br />
House Wren – 1<br />
Eastern Bluebird – 1<br />
American Robin – 6<br />
Gray Catbird – 1<br />
European Starling – 1<br />
Cedar Waxwing – 3<br />
Chestnut-sided Warbler – 1<br />
Common Yellowthroat – 1<br />
Song Sparrow – 1<br />
Red-winged Blackbird – 1<br />
Rusty Blackbird – 2<br />
Common Grackle – 16<br />
Purple Finch – 1<br />
House Sparrow – 1<br />
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Here is a composite list of all the birds identified on June 18, 2012 at King Elementary school.<br />
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Common Merganser <br />
Great Blue Heron <br />
Green Heron<br />
Black Vulture<br />
Turkey Vulture<br />
Chimney Swift<br />
Red-tailed Hawk<br />
Mourning Dove <br />
Eastern Phoebe <br />
Blue Jay<br />
American Crow<br />
Tree Swallow<br />
Barn Swallow<br />
Tufted Titmouse <br />
House Wren <br />
Eastern Bluebird <br />
American Robin<br />
Gray Catbird<br />
European Starling <br />
Cedar Waxwing<br />
Yellow Warbler<br />
Chestnut-sided Warbler <br />
Common Yellowthroat<br />
Song Sparrow<br />
Chipping Sparrow<br />
Bobolink<br />
Red-winged Blackbird<br />
Rusty Blackbird<br />
Common Grackle<br />
Purple Finch<br />
American Goldfinch<br />
House Sparrow<br />
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A total of 32 species were seen or heard in the habitats surrounding King Elementary. With a mixture of woodland, open field and wetland it is not surprising to get this number. Actually there are several other species that have been observed at King in the past that were not seen or heard today. These include several species of woodpeckers, the Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Wild Turkey, a few other hawks, some of the flycatchers, the Red-eyed Vireo, the Brown Thrasher, and the Northern Mockingbird. There is also a likelihood of one or two kinds of owls inhabiting the woods surrounding the school. It would not be impossible to get 40 or more species of birds in the school environment. An interesting project would be to compile a list of all birds that occur on the school grounds. Some of these birds would be migrants that travel through during the spring and fall migration seasons. The birds we found today are resident birds that have nests and young in the woods, fields and wetlands around the school.<br />
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To find what species have been counted at King in the past check out my blog, www.schoolyardnaturalist.blogspot.com. On my blog you can also find what birds have been found at other schools I have visited. <br />
<br /></div>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-39264285449754713062012-06-18T19:43:00.000-07:002012-06-18T19:43:03.053-07:00Ornithology at Lynnwood Elementary School in the Guilderland School District<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In early June I had the chance to study ornithology at Lynnwood Elementary in the Guilderland Central School District. I worked with 1st graders in doing a bird survey of the schoolyard and with 4th graders studying owls and their predator-prey relationship.<br />
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On Tuesday, the 5th and Wednesday the 6th, 1st graders were ornithologists with me doing a survey of birds of the Lynnwood schoolyard habitat. Here is what we discovered in walking around the schoolyard looking and listening for birds.<br />
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Ms. Gabrielle’s class observed or heard:<br />
Blue Jay – 1<br />
American Crow – 2<br />
Tufted Titmouse – 1<br />
House Wren – 1<br />
American Robin – 1<br />
European Starling – 1 <br />
Ovenbird – 1<br />
Common Grackle – 3<br />
Brown Headed Cowbird – 2 <br />
House Sparrow – 4<br />
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Ms. Tymeson’s class observed or heard:<br />
Pileated Woodpecker – 2<br />
American Crow – 1<br />
Tufted Titmouse – 1<br />
American Robin – 4<br />
Ovenbird – 1 <br />
Northern Cardinal – 3<br />
Common Grackle – 2<br />
House Sparrow – 5<br />
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Ms. Uttberg’s class observed or heard:<br />
Chimney Swift – 1<br />
Tufted Titmouse – 1<br />
Gray Catbird – 1<br />
European Starling – 1 <br />
Ovenbird – 1<br />
Northern Cardinal – 1<br />
House Sparrow – 6 <br />
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In the three classes that looked for birds over two different days we found a total of 14 different kinds of birds. Many other birds are likely inhabitants of the habitat surrounding the school. These include Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Eastern Bluebird, Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker and Baltimore Oriole to name a few. We were not lucky enough to see them. Keep your eyes and ears open for them in the future.<br />
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Here is a composite list of the birds we saw in our two days of exploring.<br />
Chimney Swift (the bird that nests inside the chimney of the school)<br />
Pileated Woodpecker (the largest woodpecker of New York State)<br />
Blue Jay <br />
American Crow <br />
Tufted Titmouse <br />
House Wren <br />
American Robin <br />
Gray Catbird (the bird that mimics other birds and usually ends it’s song with a meowww)<br />
European Starling <br />
Ovenbird (the bird that sings “teacher, teacher, teacher”)<br />
Northern Cardinal <br />
Common Grackle <br />
Brown Headed Cowbird (the bird that lays its eggs in the nest of other birds)<br />
House Sparrow (nesting in the school bell near the front door of the 1st grade wing)<br />
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On Tuesday, June 5th I did a lesson on studying owls. As part of this lesson we discussed what owls like to eat. To learn more about the owl predator behavior and what might be their most favored foods we dissected owl pellets. Here is what we discovered.<br />
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Ms. Romano’s class took apart 11 pellets and found 32 mice, 0 shrews, 1 mole and 1 bird<br />
Ms. Follansbee’s class took apart 10 pellets and found 26 mice, 0 shrews, 0 moles and 0 birds<br />
Ms. Janssen’s class took apart 110 pellets and found 23 mice, 2 shrews, 0 moles and 0 birds<br />
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These results support my hypothesis that mice are the most favored food, while shrews make up the second choice and moles and birds are tied for third place. The difference though between shrews and moles and birds is very small. It would be best to dissect more pellets to see if in fact shrews are eaten more often that moles and birds. Students might check the archives on this blog to see what other students have found in previous owl ecology sessions. Add these findings to what we have found here at Lynnwood. Does this new data support or contradict my hypothesis?<br />
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</div>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-60353230210599200762012-05-22T18:56:00.003-07:002012-05-22T18:56:49.631-07:00Leptondale Elementary Schoolyard Bird Survey 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On May 3rd, 7th and 11th I lead a Schoolyard Bird Survey with 5th graders at the Leptondale Elementary School in the Wallkill Central School District . Here are the results of that Bird Survey.<br />
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Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 2:10 PM with Mrs. Dooley’s class, 100% cloud cover, slight breeze from the west, temperature in the high 50’s Fahrenheit<br />
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Osprey – 1<br />
Blue Jay – 1<br />
Fish Crow – 4 <br />
Chipping Sparrow – 2<br />
Northern Cardinal – 1<br />
House Sparrow – 2<br />
Unidentified Birds – 6<br />
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Monday, May 7, 2012 at 2:15 PM with Mrs. Seymour’s class, 100% cloud cover, no wind, temperature in the mid 60’s Fahrenheit<br />
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Turkey Vulture – 2<br />
Peregrine Falcon – 1<br />
Fish Crow – 3 <br />
Tree Swallow – 2<br />
American Robin – 10<br />
European Starling – 8<br />
Chipping Sparrow – 3<br />
Red-winged Blackbird – 2<br />
Unidentified Birds – 7<br />
Unidentified Ducks – 4<br />
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Friday, May 11, 2012 at 2:15 PM with Mrs. Beecher’s class, 20% cloud cover, 15-20 mph gusts from the west, temperature in the low 60’s Fahrenheit<br />
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Turkey Vulture – 2<br />
Red-tailed Hawk – 1<br />
Eastern Phoebe – 1<br />
Common Raven – 1<br />
Tree Swallow – 1<br />
Black-capped Chickadee – 2<br />
Gray Catbird – 2<br />
Northern Cardinal – 2<br />
Unidentified Birds – 5<br />
Unidentified Warblers – 4<br />
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Additional comments – there is a pair of Fish Crows nesting in the woods on the north side the upper playground field. At various times during my visit I observed them carrying nesting material in that direction. Individual crows were often seen flying with nesting material from the north of the school building, stopping in the trees along the south-eastern side of the school. They would sit for a while before flying several tens of yards on toward the upper playground. A few minutes later they would be seen flying back without any nesting material. Why do you think the crows would fly to a spot a good distance from where the nest is and wait before going to the nest and adding the nest material?<br />
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The front of the school and the upper playground were the most productive areas for observing and hearing birds. In the future these area should definitely be checked out for bird surveys.<br />
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I hope students have more opportunities to observe birds. Look at other Schoolyard Bird Surveys here in my blog to see what differences there are between different schools and between the same schools from different years.<br />
</div>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-66460569670010145132012-05-03T15:37:00.000-07:002012-05-03T15:40:45.275-07:00Owl Pellet Study at Ostrander Elementary School<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In early April as part of my Ecologist-In-Residence program at the Ostrander Elementary School in Wallkill, NY, I worked with 2nd graders dissecting owl pellets to see what owls eat. Here are our findings.<br />
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With Mrs. Lupoli’s class we dissected 13 pellets and found 33 mice, 2 shrews, 1 mole and 1 bird.<br />
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With Mrs. Busse’s class we dissected 13 pellets and found 34 mice, 2 shrews, 0 moles and 0 birds.<br />
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With Mrs. McQuiston’s class we dissected 12 pellets and found 33 mice, 2 shrews, 0 moles and 0 birds.<br />
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Our total findings were 38 pellets dissected producing 80 mice, 6 shrews, 1 mole and 1 bird. I had presented to the students the hypothesis that mice are the most favored food with shrews being second favored and birds and moles tied for third. Do the findings above support this hypothesis?<br />
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In the years that I have been taking apart owl pellets I have noticed that there are variations in the numbers and kinds of animals eaten by Barn Owls (the owls that produce the pellets used in my programs). Could these be related to the seasons? As a start to answering this we should see if there are any consistencies with pellets dissected the same time each year. I have some data that we can look at by looking back at what Ostrander ornithologists have found in the past. Here is what we find:<br />
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2011 – 29 pellets produced 61 mice, 11 shrews, 3 moles, 1 bird<br />
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2010 – 36 pellets produced 72 mice, 9 shrews, 3 moles, 2 birds<br />
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2009 – 27 pellets produced 57 mice, 5 shrews, 0 moles, 0 birds<br />
These numbers do seem consistent each year. I wonder if there would be a difference in numbers if we compared these findings with pellets from a different season than early spring, for example late summer or mid-winter. Check out my blog archives for owl pellet dissections done at other times of the year. Let me know if you find a difference.<br />
<br /></div>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-64126055813564853232012-05-01T19:28:00.003-07:002012-05-03T15:38:21.152-07:00Bird Surveys at Plattekill and Ostrander Elementary Schools<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
At the end of March and in early April I lead 2nd and 3rd grade students in the Wallkill Central School District on a survey of birds in their schoolyards. Here is what we found.<br />
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Plattekill Elementary School, Monday, March 26</div>
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Mrs. Bouck’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Class – 9:15 AM – mostly sunny, strong winds from the North, temperature in the mid-40’s</div>
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Canada Goose (CaGo) – 2</div>
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Sharp-shinned Hawk (SSHa) – 1</div>
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Red- tailed Hawk (RTHa) – 1</div>
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American Crow (AmCr) – 2</div>
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American Robin (AmRo) – 22</div>
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European Starling (EuSt) – 12</div>
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Red-winged Blackbird (RWBl) – 2</div>
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House Sparrow (HoSp) – 3</div>
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Mrs. Moran’s Class – 10:30 AM – mostly sunny, moderate winds from the North, temperatures in the mid to high 40’s</div>
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Turkey Vulture (TuVu) – 2</div>
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Sharp-shinned Hawk (SSHa) – 1</div>
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Red- tailed Hawk (RTHa) – 1</div>
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Mourning Dove (MoDo) – 1</div>
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American Crow (AmCr) – 13</div>
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Black-capped Chickadee (BCCh) – 2</div>
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American Robin (AmRo) – 1</div>
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European Starling (EuSt) – 12</div>
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Northern Cardinal (NoCa) – 1</div>
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Red-winged Blackbird (RWBl) – 2</div>
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House Sparrow (HoSp) – 2</div>
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Mrs. Bailey’s Class – 2:00 PM – no clouds, strong wind from the North, temperature in the high 40’s</div>
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Turkey Vulture (TuVu) – 7</div>
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Sharp-shinned Hawk (SSHa) – 1</div>
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Red- tailed Hawk (RTHa) – 1</div>
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Mourning Dove (MoDo) – 3</div>
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American Robin (AmRo) – 5</div>
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Black-capped Chickadee (BCCh) – 4</div>
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At Ostrander Elementary School I did Field Ornithology with 3<sup>rd</sup> graders on March 30 and April 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are those observations.</div>
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Mrs. Massale’s Class – on Friday, March 30 at 2:00 PM, no clouds, no wind, temperature in the low 50’s</div>
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Turkey Vulture (TuVu) – 4</div>
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Mourning Dove (MoDo) – 3</div>
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Red-bellied Woodpecker (RBWo) – 1</div>
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Pileated Woodpecker (PiWo) – 1</div>
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Blue Jay (BlJa) – 1</div>
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American Crow (AmCr) – 4</div>
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American Robin (AmRo) – 5</div>
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Tree Swallow (TrSw) – 1</div>
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Red-winged Blackbird (RWBl) – 3</div>
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Common Grackle (CoGr) – 9</div>
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Brown-headed Cowbird (BHCo) – 2</div>
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American Goldfinch (AmGo) – 1</div>
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House Sparrow (HoSp) – 9</div>
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Mrs. Stokes’ Class – on Wednesday, April 11 at 1:45 PM, complete cloud cover, slight breeze from the North, temperature in the low 50’s</div>
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Turkey Vulture (TuVu) – 1</div>
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Red-tailed Hawk (RTHa) – 2</div>
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Mourning Dove (MoDo) – 1</div>
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Red-bellied Woodpecker (RBWo) – 1</div>
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Downy Woodpecker (DoWo) – 2</div>
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Blue Jay (BlJa) – 4</div>
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American Crow (AmCr) – 2</div>
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Tree Swallow (TrSw) – 8</div>
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American Robin (AmRo) – 15</div>
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European Starling (EuSt) – 6</div>
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White-throated Sparrow (WTSp) – 2</div>
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Dark-eyed Junco (DEJu) – 1</div>
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Northern Cardinal (NoCa) – 2</div>
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Common Grackle (CoGr) – 10</div>
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House Sparrow (HoSp) – 9</div>
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There are certain times that might be better for looking for birds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looking at what each of the classes found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why are there different results?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is there a better date to look for birds?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What might be the reason or reasons that more birds are found at one time of the day versus another?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why would ornithologists record weather information when doing a bird survey?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could there be habitat differences that make finding birds at one school better than the other?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How would you find out about this?</div>
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Note that the birds are listed in the order that you will find them in most field guides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These lists are put together by ornithologist after studying how birds are related to each other and how scientists think that those relationships evolved, with the first birds listed being the more primitive and the last being the more recently evolved.</div>
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I have included an ornithologist’s shorthand that can be used with field notes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This shorthand system uses a 4 letter abbreviation for each kind of bird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It uses the following rules:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for a bird that has a common name of one word, the first 4 letters of the word are used, for example, the mallard is Mall – I capitalize the first letter, some people use all caps; for a bird that has a two word common name, for example Blue Jay, the 4 letters are made up with the first two letters of each word, in this case BlJa (again I like to capitalize the first letter of each word); for a bird name made up of three words, like Red-wing Blackbird, use the first letter of each of the first two words and the first two letters of the third word, RWBl (again for me, using caps for the first letter of each word) and finally for a bird that has a four word name, like the Great Black-backed Gull, use the first letter of each of the four words, GBBG.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are a few cases where two birds share the same letters with this system, for example Barred Owl and Barn Owl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In these instances you have to look up what ornithologists have decided to do for the abbreviations, which in this case would be BdOw and BanO (there is no rhyme or reason, as far as I can see, for the selection of letters in this case).</div>
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Here are some interesting notes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Canada Geese seen with Mrs. Bouck’s class were flying as a pair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep an eye out for this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you see Canada Geese at this time of year they will most often be in pairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are mated pairs, they mate for life, that are getting ready for the nesting season.</div>
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After I had finished exploring with the 2<sup>nd</sup> grades I saw a hawk fly by giving a call that sounded a lot like a Flicker call.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was not familiar with this hawk call so I did some research using Stokes’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Field Guide to Bird Songs - Eastern Region</i>, an audio field guide, and found out that it was Cooper’s Hawk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am sure you can google Northern Flicker and Cooper’s Hawk and find out what they sound like.</div>
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There was one interesting non-bird observation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With Mrs. Bailey’s class we searched for birds along the edge of the field just beyond the north eastern corner of the building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had been standing at this spot for several minutes trying to find birds that might have been hiding in the bushes along the edge of the field when a Cottontail Rabbit burst out from its hiding place in the bushes and hopped across the open yard to bushes in a different area at the edge of the field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why did the rabbit leap away from the good hiding place it had?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why did it take so long for it to decide to change hiding places?</div>
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I have done a bird surveys in the past with both Ostrander and Plattekill students, and with students from other schools.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Check my blog archives for those results and compare them with the results reported here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have any questions I would be very happy to try to answer them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep up your scientific work and good luck observing birds throughout the year.</div>
</div>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-5121574361241571092012-03-01T13:33:00.002-08:002012-03-01T18:43:26.883-08:00Egg CandlingI have started a 28 day egg incubation project at the Sapphire Elementary School in Monroe, NY. Kindergarten and 1st grade students have been introduced to the life cycle of the chicken and instructed in the care of incubators. Students are monitoring the incubators, checking the temperature and humidity of the incubators and turning the eggs by hand. I prefer to have the students turn the eggs rather than use automatic turners as it provides the children a more hands-on participation in the project.<br /><br />The second part of my program is to candle the eggs. My purpose in candling the eggs is to show the students the development of the chick embryo and to help them make predictions on how many chicks might hatch in their incubators. Students learn about what characteristics can be seen in the candled egg that shows chick growth. These include the air sac, veins, the eye spot on the embryo and movement. Here is a video of one of the eggs that we candled.<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwcUPQVRueXNEXEpTObDhpX7s6BZQN-RTQx42_dLbbNWhQr7Be23_aZQbErlbHvwa6WhBqiBrIFBGs' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />The embryos do not all develop at the same rate. Here is an egg that shows an embryo that is significantly smaller than the one in the first egg. It will be interesting to see if this egg hatches. If it does not, perhaps the slower development of the embryo as seen in the candling may be the cause of the failure.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx26LZaeTnT0rYqr9LPukxFHtlJjqu7PYgidScBHTZzLx48E9clPfUwPy5chaRH1WlL5ROgPLKRFW0' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />Some eggs show no development at all. I call these eggs “glowing eggs”. Since there is no embryo or veins inside the egg the candling light passes through unobstructed and the egg appears to glow. I describe it to the children as glowing like an ornament. We compare an egg that glows with an egg that has a developing chick. The students can see the difference and agree that one of the eggs appears to glow much more than the other. Here is a glowing egg.<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwsTmfaCStzCrfZ9bi81DXqV1Q8XPCsiDJ3485mExpMQli7RVdt6hfqBAw7P_Pi8oFMkjbosmgv6Ks' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />Most incubation projects call for the removal of eggs showing no chick development. Since I am using the candling observations as a means of gathering data to make a prediction of how many chicks might hatch I leave the “glowing” eggs in the incubator. At the conclusion of hatching students can see how their predictions compare to the hatching results. I have found that leaving the eggs in have not adversely affected the hatching success.<br /><br />The hatched chicks will remain at the school for about a week so that children can observe their growth. I will pick up the chicks after this period of time and they will live with my flock of chicks, hens and roosters. Next year these chicks will be the hens and roosters that provide me fertile eggs for additional incubation projects.George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com99tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-24552976756498193162012-02-29T14:24:00.003-08:002012-02-29T14:35:20.685-08:00Owl Pellet Dissection with Nazareth Area Intermediate School 4th GradesHere is an analysis of the results of the owl pellet dissections done by the 4th grade scientists at Nazareth Area Intermediate School back in January. I am sorry for the delay in getting this on my blog. I hope the NAIS students aren't too disappointed that it has taken this long to post the results here.<br /><br />Dissection Results<br /><br />In Malachowski’s Home Room class we found 37 mice, 3 shrews, 0 moles, and 1 bird in 13 pellets.<br />In Kimble’s Home Room class we found 28 mice, 3 shrews, 0 moles, and 0 birds in 10 pellets.<br />In Kimble’s Science class we found 37 mice, 0 shrews, 0 moles, and 1 bird in 13 pellets.<br />In Wasser’s Science class we found 31 mice, 2 shrews, 0 moles, and 0 birds in 11 pellets.<br />In Malachowski’s Science class we found 37 mice, 5 shrews, 0 moles, and 0 birds in 13 pellets.<br />In Giemza’s Science class we found 29 mice, 4 shrews, 0 moles, and 0 birds in 12 pellets.<br />In Genua’s Science class we found 31 mice, 2 shrews, 1 mole, and 1 bird in 13 pellets.<br />In Genua’s Home Room class we found 30 mice, 1 shrew, 0 moles, and 0 birds in 11 pellets.<br />In Giemza’s Home Room class we found 28 mice, 5 shrews, 0 moles, and 0 birds in 12 pellets.<br />In Wasser’s Home Room class we found 20 mice, 2 shrews, 0 moles, and 0 birds in 12 pellets.<br />In Thomas’s Home Room class we found 33 mice, 2 shrews, 0 moles, and 0 birds in 12 pellets.<br />In Roth’s Home Room class we found 27 mice, 1 shrew, 0 moles, and 1 bird in 12 pellets.<br />In Thomas’s Science class we found 24 mice, 2 shrews, 0 moles, and 1 bird in 11 pellets.<br />In Roth’s Science class we found 23 mice, 4 shrews, 0 moles, and 0 birds in 12 pellets.<br /><br />Analysis<br /><br />In all we took apart 167 pellets and found 415 mice, 36 shrews, 1 mole and 5 birds. Clearly my hypothesis that mice or rodents are the most favored food is confirmed. The same could be safely said about shrews being the second favorite food. What about my hypothesis that moles and birds are tied for third place?<br /><br />With 5 birds eaten compared to only 1 mole perhaps I need to rethink my hypothesis. Before doing this though, it might be good to look at our results in another way. What if we figured out the percent of the total for each kind of prey eaten? To do this we need find the total number of animals eaten by the owls found in the pellets we dissected. That would be 457 animals. To find the percentage for each type of prey we need to divide the number of that prey by 457, the total number of animals eaten. For mice that would be 415 divided by 457 for 91%. For shrews we must divide 36 by 457 with a result of 8%. The 5 birds eaten divided by 457 gives us 1%. The sole mole divided by 457 gives us a less than a half of 1% result.<br /><br />Looking at the percentage of birds compared to moles eaten does give a slight advantage to birds but it is very close. It may still be argued that birds and moles are tied as a less favored food. If we take apart even more pellets we might find numbers of moles and birds that close this small gap. You can do this by comparing the findings that I have gotten with other classes at other schools that I've posted here on this blog.<br /><br />I looked up what we found last year with the fourth grade ornithologists at NAIS (blog entry March 2011). Here is what they found: 168 pellets dissected resulted in finding 335 mice, 45 shrews, 20 moles and 6 birds. Calculating the percentages for these findings we get: mice 83%, shrews 11%, moles 5%, and birds 1%. There is a reversal of food preference between moles and birds. Why? Perhaps it might be a result of a difference in the numbers of birds and moles available due to changes in mole and bird populations from year to year; there might have been more moles or fewer birds around in 2011. Perhaps there were weather conditions that made it easier or harder to find a particular prey. For example a large amount of snow cover would make it harder for the owls to find moles since the moles live underground and would be covered by snow. Can we compare snow cover in the areas of northern California, Oregon and southern Washington (this is where the owl pellets come from) between the winter of 2010-11 and this winter?<br /><br />How about if we combine the findings of both years? Here is what we get: 863 animals eaten divided up as follows: 750 mice, 81 shrews, 21 moles and 11 birds. In terms of percentages we get: mice 87%, shrews 9%, moles 2% and birds 1% (these percentages, as with the other percentages calculated here, are rounded off to the nearest whole percent). With the combined data we see that the percentage of moles and birds eaten is very close, and are basically tied for a distant third place as far being a favored food for the Barn Owls of the Pacific Northwest.<br /><br />Take apart more owl pellets (a link to Pellets, Inc can be found to the right) and send your data to me. I’ll post it on my blog and we can see if that data supports my hypothesis or tells us that we need to rethink it. Have fun doing that and studying owls and their food chain.George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-57846075026358997892011-10-19T08:09:00.000-07:002011-10-19T08:36:52.989-07:00Still on the MoveNow that we are well into autumn, migration is in full swing.<span style=""> </span>Many creatures headed<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:%20anita" datetime="2011-10-17T21:40"> </ins></span>south weeks ago. Among the first were the tree swallows.<span style=""> </span>Think back to the last days of August and you might recall seeing many dozens of swallows lined up on phone lines as they prepared to leave for points south.<span style=""> </span>Another traveler is the common nighthawk.<span style=""> </span>I remember watching and hearing nighthawks when I was growing up.<span style=""> </span>These would be found in most small cities throughout our area during the summer nesting season.<span style=""> </span>Their numbers have seriously declined over the last several decades.<span style=""> </span>Nowadays I look forward to seeing them at dusk as they migrate southward during the late days of August and the first days of September.<span style=""> </span> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6xc0_yJ_TodJ8JvP_imzDJyQaa6DIWSBPbPEDil_cMbZsM_CjKcq2Ck2Fvqn1uIDe2otewZL4gpmHzohGhmx2CB_dlpgkogO2xcoX35jkmaT4ey8hrugM5TOoy1_Ms6vlEoGJNA/s1600/broadwing2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 260px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6xc0_yJ_TodJ8JvP_imzDJyQaa6DIWSBPbPEDil_cMbZsM_CjKcq2Ck2Fvqn1uIDe2otewZL4gpmHzohGhmx2CB_dlpgkogO2xcoX35jkmaT4ey8hrugM5TOoy1_Ms6vlEoGJNA/s320/broadwing2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665221368449001890" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">One of the greatest spectacles of migration is the movement of broad-winged hawks from their summer nesting homes in the forests of the northeast to their winter haunts in South America.<span style=""> </span>The broad-wings leave en masse at the end of August through to the end of September, after which very few will be seen until next spring.<span style=""> </span>To conserve energy on their long flight south, they typically soar upward in thermal updrafts or winds deflecting off mountain ridges.<span style=""> </span>As they glide up on the lifting wind they look to the south and when they observe other hawks spiraling upward they glide off to another updraft. In this manner they travel several hundred miles each day with hardly any flapping of their wings thus conserving energy.<span style=""> </span>These groups of hawks form a boiling mass of birds that is given the name “kettle.”<span style=""> </span>The largest kettle I have ever observed was about three hundred hawks.<span style=""> </span>Some kettles have been seen with thousands of hawks.<span style=""> </span>The prime time to see broad-winged hawk kettles is the middle of September.<span style=""> </span>Two organization you can check out to learn more about hawks in migration are the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) at <a href="http://www.hmana.org/">www.hmana.org</a> and NorthEast Hawk Watch at www.battaly.com/nehm/. Look to the right and you will find links to both organizations.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8svBXSxyqRtRjJlkl1qMDbMn4L3vh13CWILXMqQaur_XorMrwao9Q02RdTdlxIGcJ7WVGAG2bQ3GhOalYHrAx3SXsiw4-PIrmZN1N9CBDE5Udq0B9Gqmmpo36N3atzKGgvcamsw/s1600/hummingbird.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8svBXSxyqRtRjJlkl1qMDbMn4L3vh13CWILXMqQaur_XorMrwao9Q02RdTdlxIGcJ7WVGAG2bQ3GhOalYHrAx3SXsiw4-PIrmZN1N9CBDE5Udq0B9Gqmmpo36N3atzKGgvcamsw/s320/hummingbird.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665222163823040386" border="0" /></a>There are two other amazing migrants that we have the chance to observe in our fall skies: the monarch butterfly and the ruby-throated hummingbird.<span style=""> </span>The ruby-throat travels to Central and South America.<span style=""> </span>These small birds waste very little time as they move south.<span style=""> </span>All you see is a glimpse of them as they buzz through just above the tree tops.<span style=""> </span>It is amazing that this small bird can make long distance journeys, sometimes traveling hundreds of miles over oceans with no place to stop for rest or food.<span style=""> </span>I came across a very interesting article online by Bill Hilton, Jr., an ornithologist specializing in hummingbird studies.<span style=""> </span>He describes the work ornithologists have done, including his own, to discover the secrets of hummingbird migration.<span style=""> </span>You can find this article online at http://www.hiltonpond.org/articlehummermigrationmain.html or click on link to the right.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5Iq__-kE8v5VXIxM4tgEcracqc2V-azSrEdRnmsUq9P89gegSGl0RGt5NY534XYs6rOxqf7gAJ23W2hCFsuIoKoj7k5cZBM_qb11QVHKCpPKWe60vWUQItrasUpvlQGFbs373w/s1600/monarch3.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5Iq__-kE8v5VXIxM4tgEcracqc2V-azSrEdRnmsUq9P89gegSGl0RGt5NY534XYs6rOxqf7gAJ23W2hCFsuIoKoj7k5cZBM_qb11QVHKCpPKWe60vWUQItrasUpvlQGFbs373w/s320/monarch3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665222964190241538" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The other well-known migrant is the monarch butterfly.<span style=""> </span>Monarch migration starts at the end of August and lasts until early October.<span style=""> </span>The butterflies that pass us on their way south are ones that hatched and grew up here in the northern latitudes.<span style=""> </span>They never see their parents (not unusual for insects). These insects begin life as an egg on a milkweed leaf.<span style=""> </span>They hatch and grow, undergoing metamorphosis, then travel by themselves on a southward journey to Mexico.<span style=""> </span>All the monarchs in eastern North America travel to the same forests in the Sierra Madre Mountains of south western Mexico. How they know how and where to go on this long journey, no one knows.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">To make the story even more interesting, the monarchs we see leaving the Northeast will never return here.<span style=""> </span>Rather, it is their great-great-great grandchildren that will return.<span style=""> </span>Butterflies that grew up here will make their way to Mexico and live there for the winter.<span style=""> </span>In early March they will start the trip northward, but they will never make it back.<span style=""> </span>They will have reached the end of their life, torn and tattered from the long migration and their daily efforts at survival: <span style=""> </span>searching for food and shelter, avoiding predators and surviving dangers like the ravages of wind and rain.<span style=""> </span>But before they die, the females will lay eggs.<span style=""> </span>These eggs will hatch and grow into butterflies that will continue their journey north.<span style=""> </span>But even this next generation will not make it all the way.<span style=""> </span>It will take another two generations of monarchs to make it back here to the Northeast. It will be mid-summer before we see these beautiful butterflies once again.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">This marvel of migration is enjoyed and studied by many people.<span style=""> </span>Generally speaking, most of the interest centers on the hawks, though many hawk watchers will record the numbers of monarch butterflies they see flying by.<span style=""> </span>Throughout North America there are hawk migration sites where people gather to watch and count hawks as they soar past.<span style=""> </span>The most famous site is Hawk Mountain along the Kittatinny Ridge in Pennsylvania.<span style=""> </span>There is a hawk watch site outside Albany, NY along the Helderberg Escarpment at Thatcher State Park, and I just learned of a hawk watch on Mount Peter in southern Orange County, NY.<span style=""> </span>This site is purported to be the third oldest hawk watch site in the east and is staffed by volunteer observers.<span style=""> </span>I spent time this past September observing hawks, monarchs and hummingbirds at each of these sites.<span style=""> </span>Here is what I saw.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">My observations at Thatcher Park, September 12-14, 2011</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Broad-winged Hawk - Sept 12 - <span style=""> </span>144, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>57, Sept 14 - <span style=""> </span>28, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>229</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Monarch butterfly - Sept 12 -<span style=""> </span>28, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>46, Sept 14 -<span style=""> </span>30, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>104</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Sept 12 -<span style=""> </span>4, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>0, Sept 14 -<span style=""> </span>1, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>5</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Other Raptors</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Bald Eagle - Sept 12 -<span style=""> </span>4, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>1, Sept 14 -<span style=""> </span>0, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>5</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Golden Eagle - Sept 12 -<span style=""> </span>1, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>0, Sept 14 -<span style=""> </span>0, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>1</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sharp-shinned Hawk - Sept 12 -<span style=""> </span>3, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>0, Sept 14 -<span style=""> </span>2, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>5</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Coopers Hawk - Sept 12 -<span style=""> </span>2, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>1, Sept 14 -<span style=""> </span>0, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>3</p> <p class="MsoNormal">American Kestrel - Sept 12 -<span style=""> </span>2, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>1, Sept 14 -<span style=""> </span>1, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>4</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Merlin - Sept 12 -<span style=""> </span>1, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>0, Sept 14 -<span style=""> </span>0, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>1</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Osprey - Sept 12 -<span style=""> </span>2, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>2, Sept 14 -<span style=""> </span>0, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>4</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Northern Harrier<span style=""> - Sept 12 - </span>1, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>1, Sept 14 -<span style=""> </span>0, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>2</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Unidentified Accipiter - Sept 12 -<span style=""> </span>2, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>3, Sept 14 -<span style=""> </span>1, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>6</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Unidentified Buteo - Sept 12 -<span style=""> </span>0, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>0, Sept 14 -<span style=""> </span>1, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>1</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Unidentified Falcon - Sept 12 -<span style=""> </span>0, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>1, Sept 14 -<span style=""> </span>0, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>1</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Unidentified Raptor - Sept 12 -<span style=""> </span>1, Sept 13 -<span style=""> </span>2, Sept 14 -<span style=""> </span>0, Total for the three days -<span style=""> </span>3</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">My observations at Mt. Peter, Orange County, NY, September 16, 2011</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Broad-winged Hawk<span style=""> </span>661</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Monarch butterfly<span style=""> </span>361</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ruby-throated Hummingbird<span style=""> </span>0</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Other Raptors</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Bald Eagle<span style=""> </span>11</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Golden Eagle<span style=""> </span>0</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sharp-shinned Hawk<span style=""> </span>35</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Coopers Hawk<span style=""> </span>5</p> <p class="MsoNormal">American Kestrel<span style=""> </span>14</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Merlin<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>0</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Osprey<span style=""> </span>11</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Northern Harrier<span style=""> </span>1</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Unidentified Accipiter<span style=""> </span>5</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Unidentified Buteo<span style=""> </span>2</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Unidentified Falcon<span style=""> </span>2</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Unidentified Raptor<span style=""> </span>1</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The most amazing observation at Mt. Peter’s was the movement of monarch Butterflies.<span style=""> </span>I was at the site from 9:00 in the morning until 5:30 in the evening.<span style=""> </span>During the day, from 9 until 4 we had seen 116 with the majority of those in the afternoon hours.<span style=""> </span>Then from 4 until 5:30 245 monarchs flew by.<span style=""> </span>I have never before seen so many monarchs in such a short period of time.<span style=""> </span>It was like a river of butterflies flowing past.<span style=""> </span>I wonder what conditions created such an amazing spectacle.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">While at Hawk Mountain on September 17th I observed several thousand broad-winged hawks in migration.<span style=""> </span>Hawk Mountain posts their observations online at www.hawkmountain.org or clink on link to the right.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Monarch Butterflies observed at Sapphire Elementary School, Monroe, NY, September 19-23, 2011</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Monday, Sept 19</p> <p class="MsoNormal">10:00-11:00 with Mr. Costa’s class – 3</p> <p class="MsoNormal">12:00-1:00 with Mrs. Buonamano’s class – 4</p> <p class="MsoNormal">1:00-2:00 with Mrs. Rende’s class – 2</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Tuesday, Sept 20</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Rainy weather no monarchs observed</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wednesday, Sept 21</p> <p class="MsoNormal">10:00-11:00 with Mrs. Zuzek’s class – 5</p> <p class="MsoNormal">1:00-2:00 with Mrs. Cassese’s class – 2</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thursday, Sept 22</p> <p class="MsoNormal">9:00-10:00 with Mrs. Teel’s class – 1</p> <p class="MsoNormal">11:00-12:00 with Mrs. Janeczko’s class – 12</p> <p class="MsoNormal">12:00-12:30 during my lunch – 1</p> <p class="MsoNormal">12:30-1:30 with Mrs. Cahill’s class – 2</p> <p class="MsoNormal">1:30-2:30 with Mrs. McNamara’s class – 3</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Friday, Sept 23</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Rainy weather no monarchs observed</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Monarch Butterflies observed at Smith Clove Elementary School, Central Valley, NY, October 11-14, 2011 </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Tuesday, Oct 11</p> <p class="MsoNormal">9:00-10:00 with Mrs. Rojas’s class – 5</p> <p class="MsoNormal">10:00-11:00 with Mrs. Quintana’s class – 7</p> <p class="MsoNormal">11:00-12:00 with Mrs. Dell-Webster’s class – 7</p> <p class="MsoNormal">12:00-1:00 during lunch – 1</p> <p class="MsoNormal">1:00-2:00 with Mrs. Apostolico’s class – 3</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wednesday and Thursday, the 12<sup>th</sup> and 13<sup>th</sup> were rainy days with no observations made</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Friday, Oct 14</p> <p class="MsoNormal">8:00-9:00 upon arrival as school – 1</p> <p class="MsoNormal">10:00-11:00 with Mrs. O’Dowd’s class – 1</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I encourage any class that has the chance to observe monarch Butterflies to record their numbers and e-mail them to me.<span style=""> You can take time to observe monarchs during recess or give students a reward for their hard work by going outside to specifically look for monarchs. </span>Record the time at which the observations were made, the weather conditions and wind direction.<span style=""> </span>Encourage students to be careful in their observations, you don’t want to count the same butterfly twice.<span style=""> </span>Watch carefully to see that the monarch has moved on.<span style=""> </span>If you see another monarch 5 or 10 minutes later you can be assured that it is a different butterfly.<span style=""> </span>Once a butterfly has moved on it is not likely to circle back, after all they are on their way to Mexico.<span style=""> </span>I will keep a track of these observations post them periodically and gladly answer any questions you might have about migration and these amazing migrants.</p>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-90933192236851122662011-06-22T19:09:00.000-07:002011-06-23T11:20:55.266-07:00Painted Turtle Laying EggsWhile in Monroe, NY working with the Sapphire Elementary School I observed this Painted Turtle (<span style="font-style: italic;">Chrysemys picta</span>) laying eggs. It was already well into the act when I found it on the lawn next to a Dunkin Doughnuts parking lot. I observed it digging her nest for about 15 to 20 minutes before she started laying eggs. She laid 7 eggs in about 10 minutes. I watched her burying the eggs for about 20 minutes before I had to leave.<br /><br />A great reference for Painted Turtles is Thomas Tyning's book, <span style="font-style: italic;">A Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles</span>, in the Stokes Nature Guides series.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwqYcokONwkxepZBOycCKOp4HjMTXxQIdd8LTjjBRr52FLOJI3Kc240TQulP3L3M0ZlnQphLbD258w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-47946963695176993492011-06-11T04:06:00.000-07:002011-06-11T04:09:35.758-07:00King Elementary Owl Pellet Study<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> 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unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">I had a wonderful time exploring owl ecology and their prey preference with all of you 3<sup>rd</sup> grade ornithologists.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Here is a review of what we found.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mrs. Davis’s class dissected 9 pellets and found 22 mice, 1 shrew, 1 mole and 1 bird.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mrs. Sirico’s class dissected 9 pellets and found 30 mice, 1 shrew, 0 moles and 0 birds.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mrs. Kipp’s class dissected 8 pellets and found 25 mice, 0 shrews, 0 moles and 1 bird.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The overall results were 77 mice, 2 shrews, 1 mole and 2 birds.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This would seem to contradict my hypothesis of shrews being a second favorite food over moles and birds (I always present the favored prey for owls as a hypothesis answering the question of what owl like to eat).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our results say that birds and shrews are equally favored.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Remember though, we have a very small sample of 26 pellets.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That number of pellets could have been produced by three or four owls in 3 or 4 nights.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Do you think it is a good idea to base our decision on this small of a sample?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Look over other owl pellet dissection results here in my blog.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Combining the results from other school would serve to increase our sample size and give us better data that we can use to evaluate my hypothesis that mice are the number 1 favored food, with shrews being the second most favored and moles and birds tied for third favored.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"></span><br /></p>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-19714324235666377622011-06-11T03:54:00.000-07:002011-06-11T04:06:50.425-07:00Field Ornithology at King Elementary<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> 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mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">Well, the school year is winding down and I am trying to catch up with blogging about my school visits. I did my annual bird survey at King Elementary in Warwick on June 1. Here is what we found.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The weather was hot, not the best birding conditions, but we still found 29 species of birds. Six species were observed by all three classes.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Mrs. Flynn’s class was in the field from about 9:20 to 10:00.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The temperature was in the mid 80’s with slight haze in the sky and no wind.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Mrs. Shoock’s class started looking for birds at about 1:00 and ended at about 1:45.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The temperature was in the low 90’s with a strong breeze from the West and a hazy sky.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Mrs. Boccia’s class looked for bird from about 2:20 to 3:00<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The temperature was in the mid 90’s, very humid, sky with complete high altitude haze and slight breeze from the West.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Here is the total list of birds seen.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I have put a letters after each species to indicate which classes observed or heard that bird.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Black Vulture (B, F, S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Turkey Vulture (B, F, S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sharp-shinned Hawk (S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Coopers Hawk (B)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Red-tailed Hawk (B)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Chimney Swift (B)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Downy Woodpecker (F)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Eastern Phoebe (F)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Eastern Kingbird (B)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Blue Jay (B, S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">American Crow (F, S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Tree Swallow (S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">House Wren (B, S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Eastern Bluebird (B, F, S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wood Thrush (F)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">American Robin (B, F)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Gray Catbird (B, F, S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">European Starling (F)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Cedar Waxwing (B, F)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yellow Warbler (B, S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Common Yellowthroat (B)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Chipping Sparrow (B, F, S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Song Sparrow (S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Rose-breasted Grosbeak (F)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Red-winged Blackbird (B, F, S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Brown-headed Cowbird (B)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Baltimore Oriole (F, S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Purple Finch (F, S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">American Goldfinch (S)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">It was exciting to see so many birds even though we were looking for birds during the hottest time of mid-day.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The best time to look for birds would be early morning and I am sure if we were to survey birds around the school at that time we might get an additional 5 to 10 more species.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I think every school should establish a yearly list of birds observed or heard at their school. Additional bird studies could be conducted at school, including setting up bird feeders and conducting a feeder watch, and building, setting up and monitoring nest boxes. When students do animal reports they could be encouraged to do reports on birds that live around the school, incorporating their own observations of those birds in their reports.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-40940504981266197302011-06-07T20:13:00.001-07:002011-06-07T20:23:34.725-07:00<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">Today I visited three 4<sup>th</sup> grade classes at Lynnwood Elementary School in Schenectady (Guilderland Central School District).<span style=""> </span>We were ornithologists studying owls.<span style=""> </span>As part of our class we dissected owl pellets to learn about what their preferred prey is.<span style=""> </span>Here is what we found.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mrs. Janssen’s class dissected 10 pellets which contained the bones of 30 mice, 7 shrews, 1 mole and 2 birds.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mrs. Follonsbee’s with several students from Mr. Miller’s class dissected 13 pellets which contained the bones of 38 mice, 1 shrew, 0 moles and 0 birds.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mrs. Romano’s class with several students from Mr. Miller’s class dissected 14 pellets which contained the bones of 43 mice, 1 shrew, 0 moles and 0 birds.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A total of 37 pellets were dissected revealing the remains of 111 mice, 9 shrews, 1 mole and 2 birds.<span style=""> As a way of illustrating what a hypothesis is </span>I told them that I had researched what Barn Owls eat and had hypothesized that their most favored food was rodents, such as mice. Shrews were a second favored prey and moles and birds were tied for third.<span style=""> </span>Our findings would seem to support this hypothesis.</p><span style="color: black;">In our wrap up discussion I mentioned that there seemed to be a larger than usual number of prey per owl pellet.<span style=""> </span>I speculated that this might be due to the large number of smaller mice found in the pellets.<span style=""> </span>We could see this size difference when comparing skulls, jaw and hip bones.<span style=""> </span>We wondered whether this might reflect the fact that at this time of year there might be many more rodent nests which the owls might find by listening to the squeaks of the young</span>, hence the finding of smaller sized bones of young mice<span style="color: black;">. An owl eating 4 or 5 small young mice might get as full as an owl eating 2 or 3 full grown mice.<span style=""> </span>If we compare the average number of prey animals per pellet to the findings of pellets at a different time of the year we might find evidence supporting this.</span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">The average number of animals per pellet with the Lynnwood students was 3.3 animals per pellet.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">We can compare this to the findings from four 4<sup>th</sup> grade classes at Leptondale Elementary School in Wallkill (see previous post).<span style=""> </span>These were pellets were collected approximately one month earlier.<span style=""> </span>At Leptondale there were 40 pellets dissected.<span style=""> </span>These contained the bones of 122 mice, 3 shrews, 1 mole and 2 birds.<span style=""> </span>This gives an average of 3.2 prey per pellet.<span style=""> </span>That is not much different than the average found at Lynnwood, perhaps we need to look at owl pellets found even earlier in the year.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Let’s look at pellets collected in mid-winter.<span style=""> </span>I visited the Nazareth Intermediate School in Nazareth, PA in January (see previous post in the blog archive).<span style=""> </span>Working with 14 4<sup>th</sup> grade classes we dissected 168 pellets and found 335 mice, 45 shrews, 20 moles and 6 birds for an average of 2.42 prey per pellet.<span style=""> </span>If we look at what Lynnwood students found in March of 2010 there were 111 mice, 5 shrew, 1 mole and 0 birds in 41 pellets for an average of 2.9 prey per pellet.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">There does indeed seem to be a difference in the number of prey eaten per pellet at different times of the year.<span style=""> </span>It also seems that there might be a difference in the number of shrew and moles taken at different times of the year.<span style=""> </span>Look over other owl pellets studies that I have done with other schools at different times of the year in my blog archives.<br /></p>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-17992524241843929582011-06-07T20:03:00.000-07:002011-06-07T20:11:07.190-07:00Leptondale Elementary School Owl Pellet Dissection<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">Ah, spring has run away on me and I am late in getting some of my school visits recorded here on my blog. One of my favorite environmental education activities is owl pellet investigations. It's an incredibly exciting way to learn about owl behavior and there predator-prey relationships.</p><p class="MsoNormal">In May I had my annual visit at the Leptondale Elementary School in Wallkill, NY. The 4th grades do my Owl Ecology session. The culmination of the class is the dissection of owl pellets to learn about what owl eat. Here are the results for all four 4<sup>th</sup> grade owl pellet dissections.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mrs. Psilopoulos’ class dissected 9 pellets and found 28 mice, 2 shrew, 0 moles and 1 bird.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mr. Zupan’s class dissected 11 pellets and found 35 mice, 0 shrew, 1 mole and 0 birds.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mrs. Danneman’s class dissected 10 pellets and found 25 mice, 1 shrew, 0 moles and 0 birds.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mrs. Davis’ and Mrs. Gunderson’s class dissected 10 pellets and found 34 mice, 0 shrews, 0 moles and 1 bird.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The totals for all four classes were 122 mice, 3 shrews, 1 mole and 2 birds found in 40 pellets.<span style=""> </span>That is an average of 3.2 prey per pellet.<span style=""> </span>This average is a little higher than what I often find at other times.<span style=""> </span>What do you think might have caused this higher average?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">More food for thought.<span style=""> </span>If an owl produces two pellets a night, how many mice would an owl consume in a year?<span style=""> </span>By eating this many mice do you think the owl helps farmers and orchard growers?<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Clearly mice are the most favored prey.<span style=""> </span>With the data we collected it is not clear that shrews are much more favored than moles and birds.<span style=""> </span>More pellets should be dissected to see if there really is a difference.<span style=""> </span>You can order more pellets for yourself (see the link to Pellets,Inc. at left), dissect them and add that data to our findings, or you can look over other reports in my blog from other schools for more data.<span style=""> </span>As a mater of fact, you can look to see what Leptondale students found in past years by looking through the blog archives.<span style=""> </span>My blog is www.schoolyardnaturalist.blogspot.com.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Take some time to wander in the woods and find pellets from owl in your backyard!<br /></p>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-67770994691122003012011-03-28T19:22:00.000-07:002011-03-28T19:40:53.420-07:00Owl Pellet Studies at Altamont and Jefferson Elementary Schools<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">On Friday, March 25, I visited the Altamont Elementary School and worked with three fourth grade classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I worked with Ms. DeGennaro, Mrs. Flanagan and Mrs. Vogel’s classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Here is what we found when we dissected owl pellets.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Ms. DeGennnaro’s class –<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in 8 pellets dissected we found 20 mice, 1 shrew, 0 moles and 0 birds</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Mrs. Flanagans’ class – in 9 pellets we found 24 mice, 1 shrew, 0 moles and 0 birds</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Mrs. Vogel’s class – in 8 pellets we found 24 mice, 0 shrews, 0 moles and 0 birds</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">This is a very small sample to use to determine if my hypothesis (remember I had answered the question, “What is an owl’s favorite foo?” with the hypothesis that mice were the most favored, shrews second most and moles and birds tied for third) was correct.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Clearly, mice are the most favored, but before we can say that shrews are the second most favored we have to think about what these numbers mean.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Yes, there were 2 shrews found in the 25 pellets we dissected along with no moles or birds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That may or may not mean that shrews indeed are the second most favored over moles and birds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Our sample size of owl pellets is very small.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Because of this we should not be ready to say that shrews are surely the second most favored food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We would want to dissect more pellets to get more evidence. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>As a matter of fact I did an owl ecology session with 5<sup>th</sup> graders at Jefferson Elementary School in Rotterdam today. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>Here is what we found.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Mrs. Bondi’s class –<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in 11 pellets dissected we found 32 mice, 0 shrews, 0 moles and 0 birds</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Mrs. Walker’s class – in 11 pellets we found 24 mice, 0 shrews, 0 moles and 0 birds</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Mrs. West’s class – in 11 pellets we found 29 mice, 7 shrews, 0 moles and 0 birds</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Mrs. Fiske’s class – in 9 pellets we found 23 mice, 1 shrew, 0 moles and 0 birds</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Mrs. Zanta’s class – in 11 pellets we found 37 mice, 2 shrews, 0 moles and 0 birds</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Looking at just the Jefferson Elementary findings we see out of 53 pellets dissected there were 145 mice, 10 shrews and no birds or moles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This confirms what we found at Altamont, mice are the most favored.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Now with a larger sample size we can better determine the preference</span> for shrews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>With two shrews found by the Altamont students and 10 shrews found by Jefferson students it does appear that shrews are the second favored food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>With no moles or birds found at either schools we are still not sure if they are a third favored food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As a matter of fact with no moles or birds found we might presume that they are not eaten at all.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Just as discussed in each class I visited, the more pellets we can dissect the better of an understanding we will have for owl food preference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If we increase our sample size we would get more data that might shed light on the question of what role do moles and birds play in the owl food preference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We can do that by looking at what was found in owl pellets dissections in other schools, including what was found at Altamont and Jefferson Elementary schools in previous years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>To do this check out my blog at </span><a href="http://www.schoolyardnaturalist.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">www.schoolyardnaturalist.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> to see what the findings at other schools were and then draw conclusions about my hypothesis.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Of course if any student would like to do further studies on their own and dissect more pellets they can get pellets from Pellets,Inc. at </span><a href="http://www.pelletsinc.com/"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:#0000ff;">www.pelletsinc.com</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Naturally if students have more questions they can e-mail me and I would love to help them with their research.</span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"></span></o:p></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"></span></o:p></p>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-39099246394122753892011-03-22T14:27:00.000-07:002011-03-22T14:58:55.078-07:00Field Ornithology at Ostrander Elementary School, Wallkill, NY<span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Here are the results of the spring bird surveys that were done with Mrs. McQuiston, Mrs. Wager, Mrs. Missale and Mrs. Stokes’ 3rd grade classes on Thursday and Friday of last week.</span><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></o:p></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Mrs. McQuiston’s class<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Thursday, March 17,<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">2:00 PM<span style="mso-tab-count: 3"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Temperature – low 50’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Strong breeze from the west<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">5 % cirrus cloud cover<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span></span><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></o:p></p><p></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Red-tailed Hawk – 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Ring-billed Gull – 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Mourning Dove – 3<span style="mso-tab-count: 7"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">American Crow – 76<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">American Robin – 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Northern Cardinal – 3<span style="mso-tab-count: 7"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Red-winged Blackbird – 8<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Common Grackle – 3<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">House Sparrow – 10<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">111 birds total among 10 species<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Mrs. Wager & Mrs. Missale’s class<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Friday, March 18 ,</span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">11:40 AM<span style="mso-tab-count: 4"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Temperature – high 50’s<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Very s</span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">trong west wind<span style="mso-tab-count: 3"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">99% </span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">low cumulus cloud cover<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Canada Goose – 315<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Red-tailed Hawk – 3 (2 adults, 1 juvenile)</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Ring-billed Gull – 1</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">American Crow – 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2">American Robin – 4 </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2">European Starling – 4</span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2">Red-winged Blackbird – 12<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span></span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1">Common Grackle – 7</span></span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1">House Sparrow – 7<span style="mso-tab-count: 3"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span></span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2">360 birds total among 9 species<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Mrs. Stokes’ class</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Friday, March 18 </span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">2:05 PM</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Temperature – high 60’s</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Very strong west wind</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">20% cumulus cloud cover</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Red-tailed Hawk – 4</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Mourning Dove – 3</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">American Crow – 1</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">American Robin – 7<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2">Cedar Waxwing – 3</span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2">Northern Cardinal – 1</span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2">Red-winged Blackbird – 12</span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2">Common Grackle – 9</span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2">House Sparrow – 10</span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2">37 birds total among 9 species <span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span> </p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></span></span><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></o:p></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span> </p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">A total of 12 different kinds of birds were observed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Six species were seen by all three groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Canada Geese were for the most part in three large groups at very high altitude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>These birds were definitely in migration heading north.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The large numbers of crows seen on Wednesday with Mrs. McQuiston’s class were likely birds heading back to roost from their daytime feeding areas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>These birds streamed past in a loose group over a period of a few minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We wondered if we might observe a similar movement on the 17<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We did not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This was likely due to the high winds that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The strong westerly winds on the 17<sup>th</sup> were about 20 to 30 mph and may have affected how, when and where the crows flew that day on their way from their feeding areas.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></o:p></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">A classic way to judge winds speed is the Beaufort Wind Scale developed in 1806 by Sir Francis Beaufort, a British admiral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> See link to the right to go to the Wikipedia entry for more information</span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> on Beaufort and how to use his scale to measure wind speed.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></o:p></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">It would be interesting to observe birds around the school as the season progresses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In a few short weeks many more different kinds of birds will be returning from their winter homes to find nesting areas around the school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>At the same time large groups of birds like the Canada Geese and the American Crows will most likely not be seen as this grouping or flocking behavior would not be done during the nesting season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>An overall year list of birds would give an idea as to the birds that migrate through to more northerly habitats, return to nest during the warm weather or are resident all year round.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Such a list if maintained over a number of years could be used to determine such things as global climate change, habitat change or species change in the environment.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Compare bird observation findings at other schools in my blog. Look through the archived entries to see done at the same schools in different years, on different dates and at different times. </span></p>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-21498380625350767212011-03-17T19:59:00.001-07:002011-03-17T20:05:34.336-07:00Owl Pellet Study at Ostrander Elementary School<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span>I completed the final owl study class with 2<sup>nd</sup> graders at Ostrander Elementary School in Wallkill, NY today.<span style=""> </span>Here are the results of the owl pellet dissections.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Dutka’s class – 8 pellets dissected, prey found – 22 mice, 3 shrew, 0 moles, 1 bird</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lupoli’s class – 8 pellets dissected, prey found – 17 mice, 3 shrew, 1 mole, 1 bird</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Nisa’s class – 5 pellets dissected, prey found – 7 mice, 3 shrew, 2 moles, 0 birds</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Busse’s class – 8 pellets dissected prey found – 15 mice, 2 shrew, 0 moles, 0 birds<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I had presented the following hypothesis to the students in response to the question what is the favorite food of Barn Owls. Mice and other rodents are the most favored food. Shrews, small insectivore mammals are the second favored food. Moles, another small insect and worm eating mammal, and birds, small birds mostly found in barn areas are tied for the third most favored food. What does the data tell us about the hypothesis?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the 29 pellets dissected there were 77 prey animals found.<span style=""> </span>Of these 77 animals 61 were mice.<span style=""> </span>Mice were definitely the most favored food.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">My hypothesis stated that shrews were the second favorite.<span style=""> </span>Is that correct?<span style=""> </span>Of the remaining 16 animals eaten by Barn Owls that produced the pellets we dissected 11 were shrews.<span style=""> </span>What do you think?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now look at the number of moles and the number of birds eaten, 3 and 2.<span style=""> </span>Though it is not an exact tie, you can’t get any closer to a tie than that.<span style=""> </span>It does seem that moles and birds are tied as the third favorite food.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Finally consider this.<span style=""> </span>There are many other potential prey for the owls, small amphibians, large insects, other small mammals, but it seems from what we found that owls seem to not prey on them.<span style=""> </span>You can research this to find out if Barn Owls might eat other animals.<span style=""> </span>One research source is my blog, <a href="http://www.schoolyardnaturalist.blogspot.com/">www.schoolyardnaturalist.blogspot.com</a>.<span style=""> </span>Check it and see what other data has been collected with owl pellet studies at other schools, including what was found at Ostrander in previous years.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-20510644960175289732011-03-03T13:56:00.000-08:002011-03-03T14:03:02.632-08:00A January Owl Ecology Class<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> 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unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I am late with this post. My apologies to the young ornithologists at the Nazareth Intermediate School in Nazareth, PA. In January I had my annual visit to this school </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">where I did a lesson on Owl Ecology.<span style=""> </span>We talked about the 4 common owls of the Nazareth, PA area, the Eastern Screech-owl (<i style="">Otus asio</i>), the Great Horned Owl (<i style="">Bubo virginianus</i>), the Barred Owl (<i style="">Strix varia</i>) and the Barn Owl (<i style="">Tyto alba</i>).<span style=""> </span>Our discussion covered the identification, behavior, and habitat needs of these owls.<span style=""> </span>We also talked about how students might do field studies of the owls with the help of their parents or other responsible adults.</span> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">We then dissected owl pellets to see what food preferences the Barn Owl has.<span style=""> </span>The pellets we dissected were from western Barn Owls purchased from Pellets,Inc. (see link below to the right).<span style=""> </span>Here is the data we collected.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Thomas/Miller classes<span style=""> </span>24 pellets, 54 mice, 6 shrews, 2 moles, 1 bird</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Kimble/Velekei classes<span style=""> </span>26 pellets, 52 mice, 4 shrews, 4 moles, 0 birds</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Roth/Giemza classes 24 pellets, 57 mice, 6 shrews, 1 moles, 1 bird</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Emrick/DeBoer classes 24 pellets, 37 mice, 8 shrews, 5 moles, 1 bird, 1 insect</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Genua class 12 pellets, 28 mice, 6 shrews, 3 moles, 1 bird</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Reed class 10 pellets, 12 mice, 5 shrews, 1 moles, 0 birds</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Rohn/Quinones classes<span style=""> </span>23 pellets, 45 mice, 4 shrews, 1 mole, 0 birds</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Reynolds/McCarron classes 25 pellets, 50 mice, 6 shrews, 3 moles, 2 birds</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Analysis</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">One hundred sixty-eight pellets were dissected by fourteen classes of 4<sup>th</sup> graders.<span style=""> </span>A total of 335 mice, 45 shrews, 20 moles and 6 birds were found.<span style=""> </span>In addition to these prey, one pellet included the remains of an insect.<span style=""> </span>These remains appeared to be leg segments from a something like a mole cricket (</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Gryllotalpidae family)</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">.<span style=""> </span>Taken in whole this data indicates that on average Barn Owls eat 2.42 animals per meal (the pellet is a result of a meal – in one night the owls might produce 3 or 4 pellets as they feed, then stop to rest and digest and then go back to feeding throughout the night).<span style=""> </span>This average matches findings with other owl pellet dissections conducted with other schools (see archives for other owl pellet dissection results).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In our discussion before the dissection we had hypothesized that mice would be the favorite food, with shrews second favorite and moles and birds tied for third.<span style=""> </span>It is clear that mice indeed are the most common prey and that shrews are second.<span style=""> </span>It seems though that moles are more often eaten than birds by a factor of three.<span style=""> </span>Look through other owl pellet dissections in the archives of this blog and see if this bears out with the findings in those sessions.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I wonder if the owl ate the insect as a primary prey or if it might have ingested the insect when it ate a mole that had eaten the cricket.<span style=""> </span>Moles feed on underground insects and other invertebrates.<span style=""> </span>It is possible the mole had just eaten the cricket and then was eaten by the owl.<span style=""> </span>Unfortunately I did not take notes as to what else was found in the pellet with the insect parts.<span style=""> </span>If mole remains were found along with the cricket remains that would support the idea that the owl ate a mole that had eaten the cricket.<span style=""> </span>If I ever find insects parts in owl pellets in the future I know that I will be sure to make note of what other prey were found in the same pellet.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The owl food chain affects farmers.<span style=""> </span>Since mice, and these mice are for the most part are field mice (<i style="">Microtus</i> spp), are the favored prey the owls, eating them affects farm production by reducing the amount of plant crops eaten by the mice.<span style=""> </span>I have a little math exercise I call “Mouse Mathematics” that I will post in the near future that illustrates what this cost savings for a farmer might be.<span style=""> </span>Look for it being posted soon.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-45283144174627997182011-02-14T20:02:00.001-08:002011-02-14T20:44:34.841-08:00Native Americans and the White-tailed DeerI've been doing my Native Americans and the White-tailed Deer program a lot recently. In this program I show students how the Eastern Woodland Indians used the white-tailed deer (<em>Odocoileus virginianus</em>) in one way or another for food, clothing, tools, toys, musical instruments, ornaments and jewelry. I'm grateful to Larry Montalto and Jeff Gottlieb for their help with research and materials. An outstanding resource that Larry shared with me is the book "Primitive Technology: A Book of Earth Skills" edited by David Wescott.<br /><br />Larry tells me that he has found over 60 things made from or with deer parts. See a link I found to a cool poster that depicts some of these items and where they come from in the deer.<br /><br />At the Jefferson Elementary School in Rotterdam Amanda in Mrs. Hemphill’s class came up with some questions that she sent me. Here are my answer that I shared with her and her classmates.<br /><br />How many babies do they have? They usually have two babies. Sometimes they have only one and every now and then they might have triplets.<br /><br />How long do they live? Deer can live to about 10-12 years of age but that is very unusual for wild deer. Females live longer than males. It would not be unusual for a female to reach 7 or 8 years old. Males usually only get to be only 3 to 5 years old. Many male deer get hit by cars as they run around chasing after female deer in the fall. They also spend so much time chasing females that they don’t eat enough to build up fat for the winter. If it is a very snowy winter they might not survive.<br /><br />What does they foot print look like? I down loaded this from the internet.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 195px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 215px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573772429253956914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhog_Y1DMFMjV8Mm61Zb7duR1vJY4RmCLHNpNJmjNTiRHrn3EogVh_DoJP3U619-M98vJPnQtvzZJ6-6FTMfdk8SZ1n140U9MEL2OgBVVXwvFAdQcdxDSAVE9fG6j-U-eDy8pmb5A/s400/deer+2.PNG" /><br />How many white-tailed deer are there? The number of white-tailed deer in Pennsylvania is estimated at about 1,500,000.<br /><br />What are their enemies? Man is the biggest predator of the deer which includes deer that are hunted and deer that are killed by cars and trucks. Coyotes and bobcats will also prey on deer, especially young deer and deer in winter when there is deep snow.<br /><br />Are some of them friendly? Deer are wild animals and even if they seem friendly can be dangerous, especially during the fall mating season.<br /><br />You can learn more about deer online or by getting books at the library. Deer are one of the most studied wild mammals so there is a lot of information about them available.George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-87839332242514721972010-12-20T17:14:00.000-08:002010-12-20T17:23:42.229-08:00More Bird Study ActivityI had a flurry of bird study activity recently including an Owl Ecology Program and a Ecology/Winter Bird Count Program at Marlboro Intermediate School and three Christmas Bird Counts.<br /><br />A group of interested 3rd grade students had the chance to do an Owl Ecology session. There was a group of 24 students. We took apart 24 pellets. In the pellets we found 26 mice, 4 shrews, no moles and 1 bird. Compare these numbers with other owl investigations I have done. Look in the archived blogs for them.<br /><br />The 5th grade students and I did an ecology walk around the school building. We focused on some of the diverse plants in the schoolyard. Talked about how they grow, especially looking at some of the trees. We looked for terminal leaf scarring on twigs to see how much the twigs grew each year over the last few years. We looked for signs of animal life including a several squirrel nests and a robin’s nest. Each student had a pair of binoculars to use to observe wildlife, particularly birds. <br /><br />I explained that at this time of year all across the country ornithologists and bird watchers are conducting Christmas Bird Counts (CBC). These counts have been held for more than 100 years. The numbers of birds observed and recorded on these counts are used by scientists to look at trends in bird populations over time. A count is held in a specified area 15 miles in diameter. The count area is divided into sector where teams of observers identify and count as many birds as they can on the count day. <br /><br />We identified and counted birds as we walked around the schoolyard to give students an idea of how ornithologists would do a bird count. Here are our results.<br /><br />Count starting time 1:15 PM<br />Count ending time 2 PM<br />Clear skies, temperature in the low 40’s, gentle breeze from the west<br />Birds Observed<br />Red-tailed Hawk – 1<br />Ring-billed Gull – 7<br />Blue Jay – 3<br />American Crow – 8<br />Northern Mockingbird – 1<br />Northern Cardinal – 3 <br /><br />I have done three CBC’s in the past week. The first was the Greene County CBC with Alan Mapes and Kate Storms. We had 46 species including 5 Bald Eagles, several thousand Snow Goose, a really great look at a Barred Owl, one Winter Wren and a couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers. The most unusual find was a Baltimore Oriole. Oriole are neotropical migrants and spend their winter in the rainforests of South America. Unlike the Marlboro students we did not find any Northern Mockingbirds.<br /><br />The second count I did was the Montezuma CBC. I have participated in this count for the last three years. I was happy to join in the count efforts since back in the late ‘70’s I worked on releasing Bald Eagles at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and I enjoy the opportunity to look for birds there again. Link to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge website below to the right to find out more about this wonderful wild area. I teamed up with Jim Eckler and Dave Robertson and we found 34 species, the coolest (in my opinion) being 8 Trumpeter Swans. We also got 1 Bald Eagle, 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks and a Carolina Wren, the only one seen in the count circle.<br /><br />The third count was the Albany County Christmas Bird Count which I worked with Alan Mapes and Jocelyn Cole. We found 38 species with the most interesting being 2 Northern Shrikes, an adult and a juvenile. Other interesting species were two Ruffed Grouse (an easily missed species), an Eastern Screech-owl, a Barred Owl, two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, and eighteen Common Redpoll. The Screech-owl flew in to my screech-owl whistling. If I hadn’t been looking in the right spot when it flew in we’d most likely have missed it as it had a completely silent flight. We observed it for a few minutes then it flew off without a sound.<br /><br />For more information on Christmas Bird Counts find the link to the right to visit the National Audubon Christmas Bird Count site.<br /><br />A bonus of these bird count explorations is the chance to see a wide variety of habitats and the wildlife found there, more than just birds. On all three CBC's we observed River Otter tracks. On the Albany County CBC we actually had the chance to observe an Otter along with eight other mammals, an unidentified shrew species, red squirrel, gray squirrel, cottontail rabbit, meadow vole, an unidentified peromiscus species (deer or white-footed mouse), white-tailed deer and muskrat.George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-27010367364245103012010-11-14T18:24:00.000-08:002010-11-14T18:25:45.914-08:00Circleville Owl Pellet DissectionOn November 12th I visited the 3rd grade classes at Circleville Elementary School in the Pine Bush CSD and did an owl ecology program. After discussion on how ornithologists might do a survey of the common owls of the Circleville area we dissected owl pellets. Here are the results.<br /><br />Feuerstack’s class 14 pellets – 26 mice, 7 shrews, 0 moles, 0 birds<br />Eller’s class 12 pellets – 25 mice, 2 shrews, 0 moles, 4 birds<br />DelMoro’s class 11 pellets – 23 mice, 4 shrews, 1 mole, 1 bird<br />Lindsay’s class 11 pellets – 25 mice, 1 shrew, 0 moles, 1 bird<br /><br />A total of 48 pellets were dissected. Most of the pellets were the large size pellets available from Pellets, Inc. (see link below on the right). There were 4 small pellets used in Mrs. Feuerstack’s class. These small size pellets might affect the average number of prey found per pellet.<br /><br />A total of 99 mice, 14 shrews, 1 mole and 6 birds were found in the pellets. That averages two and a half prey animals per pellet. If an owl produces four pellets per night how many prey animals might be eaten? How many of these would most likely be mice?<br /><br />It’s interesting to note the number of birds eaten. This seems to be an unusually high number as compared to other dissection classes (look through the blog archives to see other dissection results). Perhaps the owls that produced these pellets have a particular fondness for birds. There could be several reasons for this. One might be that there was an abundance of small birds in the area that the owls hunted making it easier or more likely that they would capture birds for food. Another could be that these owls may have had a preference for birds and hunted them more successfully than the typical owl. Just like people, sometimes an animal develops a taste for certain prey. If that is the case that predator might pursue their favorite prey more so than other predators of their kind. An example of this is a kestrel I once observed. This kestrel had a fondness for snakes. It would often be seen flying to its nest box with a snake in its talons to feed its young. “Feathers in the Wind” by James J. Brett, published by the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association (see link below), lists insect and mice as the most favored food for Kestrels, followed by small birds and amphibians. Snakes as a food source are not even mentioned.George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-82458444276041405682010-11-08T17:57:00.000-08:002010-11-08T18:08:41.794-08:00Ornithology at Bardonia Elementary SchoolBack at the end of October I visited Bardonia Elementary School in Rockland County and took 5th graders outside the school to do an autumn bird walk survey. Each student had a pair of binoculars to use and received instructions on how to use them properly, how to observe birds with the binoculars and how to identify birds by both sight and sound. Students also learned about taking field notes.<br /><br />Twenty-six species of birds were identified. Six species were seen by all three classes: Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Common Grackle and House Sparrow. Many of the birds were observed just outside the 5th grade wing where a bird feeder is set up. These included House Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, Mourning Dove, White-throated Sparrow, Common Grackle, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal and Tufted Titmouse. The Carolina Wren was heard by all the classes off in the woods just beyond the bird feeder area. A small stream flows through this area. This forest tangle is an ideal habitat for this wren.<br /><br />The Red-bellied Woodpeckers were heard and seen in the woods to the west of the school. Both the Red-bellied Woodpecker and the Carolina Wren are species that have in the last few decades been moving northward. Some scientists think that this is due to global climate change. Both of these species are more common in the southern parts of the United States where it is warmer.<br /><br />Another interesting observation was that the last class of the day was the one that observed all but one of the hawks and vultures. Hawks and vultures often use thermal updrafts to soar and glide in. The updrafts make flying easier. Updrafts build as the day wears on and the sun heats up the earth. Earlier in the day there would be less rising hot air. This is may, in part, be the reason the first two classes did not observe the hawks and vultures.<br /><br />This late in the fall many of the summer residents have left, migrating for areas to the south. They have left not so much because they don’t like the cold weather, but because the cold weather makes it harder to find food. These birds eat mostly insects. The cold weather affects the numbers of insects available for the birds to find for food. Some of these birds travel as far as South America for the winter. They will be back by mid-May of next year when there will be more insects for food. <br /><br />Here are the results of our survey.<br /><br />Mrs. O’Hara class – 8:40 to 9:40 AM, clear skies, very few clouds, little to no wind, temperature in the upper 50’s, 15 species identified<br /><br />Mourning Dove – 3<br />Downy Woodpecker – 1<br />Red-bellied Woodpecker – 2<br />Blue Jay – 5<br />Black-capped Chickadee – 3<br />Tufted Titmouse – 1<br />White-breasted Nuthatch – 1<br />Carolina Wren – 1<br />American Robin – 18<br />European Starling – 5<br />Cedar Waxwing – 3 <br />White-throated Sparrow – 3<br />Red-wing Blackbird – 25<br />Common Grackle – 2<br />House Sparrow – 10<br /><br /><br />Mr. Pisano’s class – 9:50 to 10:50 AM, clear skies, very few clouds, little to no wind, temperature in the upper 50’s to lower 60’s, 14 species identified<br /><br />American Kestrel – 1<br />Blue Jay – 9<br />American Crow – 13<br />Black-capped Chickadee – 2<br />Tufted Titmouse – 2<br />White-breasted Nuthatch – 1<br />Carolina Wren – 1<br />Northern Mockingbird – 1<br />Yellow-rumped Warbler – 1<br />White-throated Sparrow – 2 <br />Northern Cardinal – 1 <br />Common Grackle – 13<br />American Goldfinch – 11 <br />House Sparrow – 11 <br /><br />Mrs. Del Valle – 11:00 to Noon, clear skies, very few clouds, little to no wind, temperature in the upper mid 60’s, 15 species identified<br /><br />Black Vulture – 5<br />Turkey Vulture – 5<br />Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1<br />Coopers Hawk – 1<br />Red-tailed Hawk – 1<br />Mourning Dove – 2 <br />Blue Jay – 3<br />American Crow – 3<br />Black-capped Chickadee – 2<br />White-breasted Nuthatch – 1<br />Carolina Wren – 1<br />Northern Cardinal – 1<br />Common Grackle – 9<br />Red-wing Blackbird – 15<br />House Sparrow – 15<br /><br />Here is a composite list of all species seen between all three classes:<br /><br />Black Vulture <br />Turkey Vulture <br />Sharp-shinned Hawk <br />Coopers Hawk <br />Red-tailed Hawk <br />American Kestrel <br />Mourning Dove <br />Downy Woodpecker <br />Red-bellied Woodpecker <br />Blue Jay <br />American Crow<br />Black-capped Chickadee<br />Tufted Titmouse<br />White-breasted Nuthatch <br />Carolina Wren <br />American Robin <br />Northern Mockingbird <br />European Starling <br />Cedar Waxwing <br />Yellow-rumped Warbler<br />White-throated Sparrow <br />Northern Cardinal <br />Red-wing Blackbird<br />Common Grackle<br />American Goldfinch <br />House Sparrow <br /><br />Look through my blog to find other schools where I have taken students out into the field for ornithological observations. You can compare the findings of these different outings. The differences might be due to differing habitats, different locations, different times of year and different weather conditions. What differences do you find and why?George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-91013144897060650552010-10-06T18:56:00.000-07:002010-10-06T18:58:39.733-07:00another owl pellet investigationAnother school year has arrived and I am busy with my Ecologist-In-Residence programs. I still have some visits to write about from last year. I’ll try to catch up, but I do have some results from my most recent visit to Bell Top Elementary School in East Greenbush, NY.<br /><br />Mrs. O’Connell chose my Owl Ecology program for her 3rd grade class. She has selected a theme on owls for her class. The students will be doing research about owls from around the world and she felt that starting the year off with a session on owl ecology would be good. She was also very excited to be able to have the students take apart owl pellets.<br /><br />We dissected 11 pellets and found the skeletal remains of 21 voles, 1 shrew, no moles and no birds. The average of 2 animals per pellet is a little low from my experience. I did note that the pellets I got for this class were smaller than the usual pellets I have gotten in the past. I think that is reflected in the number of prey animals per pellet.<br /><br />Look through the archived entries for other owl pellet explorations and see how these numbers compare to what other classes have found in the past.<br /><br />I am going to try to catch up with some blogs about programs I did last spring and experiences from this summer. This includes a pond ecology session I did last spring including some video of a few pond creatures, an interesting ground bee that I found while doing sheep shearing for kindergarteners and 1sr graders and a cannibal grasshopper we found this summer while traveling out west.George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34917340.post-11118631195767287262010-06-12T13:43:00.000-07:002010-06-12T13:44:32.767-07:00Ornithology at King Elementary, WarwickOn Friday, June 10th, I lead three groups of 5th grade ornithologists around the school yard environment of King Elementary School in Warwick. The school grounds offer a nice variety of habitats including lawn, mixed hardwood forest, old field and marshland. This mix of habitat meets the needs of a variety of birds and other wildlife (in addition to the birds that we were looking for we saw gray squirrels, chipmunks, cotton-tail rabbits and a red fox).<br /><br />Here are the findings for each group.<br /><br />Mrs. DiGi’s class – Our walk started at about 9:15 AM. There was a 75% cloud cover with a slight breeze from the southwest. The temperature was in the low 60’s.<br /><br />We identified:<br /><br />Great Blue Heron<br />Mallard<br />Black Vulture <br />Turkey Vulture <br />Mourning Dove<br />Blue Jay <br />American Crow<br />Barn Swallow<br />Eastern Bluebird<br />American Robin<br />Gray Catbird <br />Cedar Waxwing<br />European Starling<br />Yellow Warbler<br />Chipping Sparrow<br />Song Sparrow <br />Red-winged Blackbird<br />Common Grackle <br />House Sparrow<br />American Gold Finch <br /><br />Mrs. Kunath’s class – We started at about 10:15 AM. Cloud cover had increased to about 95%. The breeze continued to be slight from the southwest. We estimated the temperature to be in the mid-60’s. <br /><br />We saw the following:<br /><br />Mallard<br />Turkey Vulture <br />Mourning Dove<br />Chimney Swift<br />Northern Flicker<br />Great Crested Flycatcher<br />American Crow<br />Barn Swallow<br />Tufted Titmouse <br />Eastern Bluebird<br />American Robin<br />Gray Catbird <br />Cedar Waxwing<br />Yellow Warbler<br />Rose-breasted Grosbeak<br />Chipping Sparrow<br />Song Sparrow <br />Baltimore Oriole<br />Red-winged Blackbird<br />Common Grackle<br />Brown-headed Cowbird<br />House Sparrow<br />American Gold Finch <br /><br />Mrs. Boccia’s class – Was in the field by about 2:30 PM and had the shortest time afield since it was the last group before school dismissal. The weather had become more threatening with cloud cover about 70% including thunderclouds. The breeze remained slight but shifted to the west. The temperature increased to about the low 70’s. At one point some rain began to fall but did not last much more than a few minutes.<br /><br />We spotted the following birds:<br /><br />Black Vulture<br />Turkey Vulture <br />Blue Jay<br />American Crow<br />Eastern Bluebird<br />American Robin<br />Gray Catbird <br />European Starling<br />Yellow Warbler<br />Chestnut-sided Warbler<br />Chipping Sparrow<br />Song Sparrow <br />Baltimore Oriole<br />Common Grackle<br />House Sparrow<br />American Gold Finch<br /><br />We spotted a total of 28 species for the day. The third group out had the least number of birds. This might have been the result of several factors. One is that mid-day to early afternoon is not the best time to see the most numbers of birds. When the day gets hot many birds look for a place to rest out of the heat of the day. The best time to find most birds is early morning just after sunrise. The third group also did not have time to explore all the habitats around the school.<br /><br />One of the first birds that were spotted for the day was a great blue heron. I explained to the students that it might be the only one we’d see. Actually we saw another four or five. All of them were observed by the early group. These herons might have been heading out from their nesting or roosting areas where they had spent the night. They would have been heading out to find hunting areas for the day.<br /><br />Our view of the fox with Mrs. Boccia’s class was quite exciting. The fox seemed to have some issues with its fur. It might have mange, but otherwise seemed to be OK. We watched it hunt along the edge of the field where it seemed to catch some kind of small animal before heading off into the old field habitat.<br /><br />We named one corner of the school yard chipping sparrow corner since there were several chipping sparrows hunting for food and feeding young. When ever the adults would fly up from the ground after capturing some food we’d spot where the young were from the squawking they would make as they begged to be fed. We were able to observe the adults feeding the young.<br /><br />At one point we had a great view of a male red-winged blackbird displaying his red shoulder patches when a second male landed on the lawn where the first blackbird was feeding.<br /><br />It would be a great ornithology project to make a checklist of the birds of King Elementary School.George Steelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03471991814196765878noreply@blogger.com3