Nature Study- What cool stuff have you seen lately?

[Rosie_0801]

Other than snow. :p

 

We've been monitoring the frogs in our back dam and saw an echidna come to bathe in the front dam this morning! I figured we had some around here, but it's not often you see echidnas. This poor fella must have been feeling really overheated because he heard us, turned to go, changed his mind and came back.

[BridgeTea]

I had to go read up on the echidna. Wow! What an odd little creature. One article I read said echidnas are great swimmers. I never would have guessed that looking at the pictures.

 

Well, we've had lots of brief visits from our neighborhood redtailed hawk lately. He will circle the field outside our windows looking for a meal, and you can tell when he spots something because he will just sort of "brake" in mid-air, flopping down to stomp on a mouse or vole. As soon he's got it securely clenched, off he flies into the neighbor's field to settle down to eat. Every single time, three crows come flying out of nowhere at this point to harass the tar out of him and chase him off. If he dares to land again, the crows practically dance on his head until he gives up and leaves the area completely. Even with binoculars, I haven't been able to tell if the hawk gets to take his meal with him, or if it gets left behind. The crows aren't eating it, that's for sure.

 

It's a mystery to me why the crows even care that a hawk is eating my field mice. The crows don't harass any of the other birds, just the hawk. And why are there always three crows: one zooming in from the south and two from the north, every single time?? It's like they have a personal vendetta, and they definitely work together to get rid of the hawk before returning to...wherever it is they are coming from.

[4Kiddos]

We saw galls lately on the oak leaves but no snow:

 

[Rosie_0801]

What pretty galls! We have none so nice. Ours look like someone chewed something and spat.:(

 

I've read stories including chickenhawks before, but that was back before I had the internet to look them up. :D

[Bug's Mom]

We've been monitoring the frogs in our back dam and saw an echidna come to bathe in the front dam this morning! I figured we had some around here, but it's not often you see echidnas. This poor fella must have been feeling really overheated because he heard us, turned to go, changed his mind and came back.

 

 

I had never heard of echidnas until yesterday morning during Mark Kistler's online art class. Dd knew what they were and was excited that we were going o draw one!

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

No interesting animal sightings but we are trying to find the creature who keeps bringing bones to our yard. Every few days we will find a bone near the house. These bones are old and dirty, probably dug up. There are no other signs of the animal. I don't even know if the bones are from the same animal or part of a collection this animal has. We have found a jaw bone, several vertebra, leg bone, and a few I am not sure about.

 

We have been on a hunt for different mushrooms (although the season is ending now). At first we had trouble finding them but we started going off trails and digging under leaves and have found quite a variety. Some were as big as my foot, some were breathtakingly beautiful others were gross.

 

Dd is making a journal page of ice crystals. We will look at frozen creeks and study the ice patterns and on our window where condensation has frozen (these leave beautiful fern like crystals).

[Myra]

We've been watching (and listening) to the geese migrating in their usual V formations. But yesterday we had a rare treat, a bobcat skulked around the edges of the woods. This is the second time we've seen a bobcat in the 6 years we've lived here.

 

Myra

[TheReader]

we have a bird nest in the rafters of our back porch :) We've enjoyed watching the mama and daddy bird feed the babies; so sweet!

[helena]

We've been having a good time with visits from the neighborhood squirrel. He walked by our classroom sliding glass door the other day (all casual like :lol: ) with a huge round fruit in his mouth. So funny.

 

We've also been watching our Huernia plant bloom. WOW!

I took a photo to show you, but I can't figure out how to attach it... boo.

[idnib]

I have nothing exciting to report but that fact reminded me to get outside. So thank you!

[windmillmarie]

The canada geese have been all over the place here. We have been talking about how the flocks seem to be following the interstates and roads when they fly. There is a big nature preserve and a river if you drive about 40 minutes south on my closest interstate. There's a Ducks Unlimited habitat about 15 miles north of me off the same road. We think the geese are flying back and forth between the two because they seem to have a schedule. There hasn't been snow yet. I wonder if that'll make a difference?

 

My kids are in school, but they can still keep track of the geese because it's so loud! It's very hard to miss a huge honking flock of canada geese!

[Penguin]

Please can I talk about the snow?! We have about a foot and it is glorious. We moved to northern Europe from a southern part of the USA, and we just had our first big snowfall since we arrived. We tried to capture snowflakes to put under the microscope, but it didn't go very well. I have read some ideas now, and hopefully we will have more luck the next time.

 

But I got out my copy of Discover Nature in Winter by Elizabeth Lawlor, and we had success working on some of the ideas in the snow chapter.

[idnib]

We tried to capture snowflakes to put under the microscope, but it didn't go very well.

 

 

You guys might enjoy this macro photography of snowflakes:

 

http://myedol.com/post/36969630593

[Rosie_0801]

The canada geese have been all over the place here. We have been talking about how the flocks seem to be following the interstates and roads when they fly.

 

 

The warmer (comparatively anyway) air rising gives them a boost. People flying gliders use roads to gain height too.

 

Macro photography is the coolest ever!! I've only been to the snow three times and never when it was actually snowing. Go right ahead and talk about snow, Penguin. I just didn't want twenty people to answer "Uh, snow, you stupid woman. Duh." Hehe

[serendipitous journey]

lots of fungus. No snow but tons of fungus. Thinking about doing the Fungus Among Us unit ...

[Jayne J]

Please can I talk about the snow?! We have about a foot and it is glorious. We moved to northern Europe from a southern part of the USA, and we just had our first big snowfall since we arrived. We tried to capture snowflakes to put under the microscope, but it didn't go very well. I have read some ideas now, and hopefully we will have more luck the next time.

 

But I got out my copy of Discover Nature in Winter by Elizabeth Lawlor, and we had success working on some of the ideas in the snow chapter.

 

 

Have you read "Snowflake Bentley"? It is about the man who developed methods for photographing snowflakes. He studied snowflakes all his life. It is a really nice picture book, but interesting enough for older kids as well.

[Rosie_0801]

I think my dd will be ready to start a journal next year. I bought an Australian nature study book that came with an ebook of journal pages to print out and her grandmother has been cleaning out her drawers and showed up with a larger than A4 scrapbook with a dog gardening on the front. So I think we are set. :p

 

When they are a bit older and appreciate that it is expensive to be too snap happy when not using a digital camera, I'd love to buy them Polaroid cameras. I used to have a map showing the major terrain types of our state and when I find it again (Why can't I find the wretched thing? Why is the internet hiding it from me??? !!!) I intend to plot a course that covers them and can be done in a long weekend. I hope to be able to take them on that little trip each season. I have a few destinations in mind, but I need to find that map!

[Crafty Mathy Mom]

We have at least 20 turkey vultures (aka buzzards) that have started roosting in the pine trees across the road from our house.

[lewelma]

some cool mushrooms: Stink horns, and basket fungus. In the woods behind our house.

 

 

[Rosie_0801]

WOW! They are the fungiest fungi EVER!

[delaney]

Just the Geminid Meteor shower this morning, but it was pretty cool!

[Plink]

We are watching red-tailed hawks too - funny how many people mentioned them.

[4Kiddos]

Wow Lewelma! Those are great mushrooms!

[Rosie_0801]

Those Red Tailed hawks are very handsome.

 

I poked around more online and did eventually find the map and info I needed, so I have my nature study tour all planned out! We live in dry woodlands, and we'll cover the other categories in this link. http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/learning-and-discovery/information-for-students/ecosystems Happily we can kill two birds with one stone in two cases, combining marine and coastal in one place with an estuary and mangroves, and again up north combining Mallee and inland waterways at a spot that also has salt pans. We live in the middle of the state so it makes three day trips, coming home to our own beds each night. This is a very good thing because ds likes to party all night when we are away. If I schedule it right, their father will be here for two of the days, so will probably pay for some of the petrol; and their uncle may come for the third day so he gets his road trip fix without having to pay for all the petrol too. :driving:

[BugsMama]

We went on a nature walk this morning. I'm a city girl myself, and honestly don't know what to call this stuff.... But, we're trying! Blog link in siggy- what is this, moss? Fungus? Green things growing on trees.

[Jane in NC]

Venus Flytraps in the wild..

 

 

And a black skimmer...

 

[Critterfixer]

We evidently have a colony of bees in our neighborhood. A late fall swarm arrived in November, but didn't take to our nice white box. But the main group is still around, and hungry! Every warm day they come to the Boardman feeder and tank up. So the boys and I have gotten experience in bee-handling, including giving bees baths. Yes, it can be done for a sticky bee.

We had some that got there early and were chilled, which meant we hauled down a five gallon bucket of warm water and a jar. Bees were bathed in the hot water, then transferred to the warming jar to go sit by the fireplace for a bit before release.

 

It's been so much fun that we are hoping for a spring swarm, and are even entertaining the idea of ordering our very own Russian bees. And bee suits for everyone.

[Tullia]

I saw this cottontail soaking up the sun under a rose bush. It's been living in my rose garden since May.

 

 

[caitlinsmom]

We just moved so we are trying to get our nature bearings again.

We have been enjoying listening to the owl in one of our pine trees. It has the most beautiful hoot I've ever heard, so very clear and precise. Ds (the resident bird man) claims it's a great horned based on the call.

We saw our first Mountain Bluebird in another pine last week. The kids exclaimed so loudly that it flew off before I saw it. :) I've waited 30 years to see one, I guess I can keep waiting.

The lakes and rivers are swarming with geese but that's a normal around here so it doesn't feel "cool" anymore.

[kroe1]

We live in south Florida next to a nature preserve as well as on one of the barrier islands. Everyday all year is a nature study. Yesterday, I remember seeing a coyote, tons of woodstorks, sandhill cranes determined to stop traffic, and a few alligators. The bald eagles are all in town as well.

[Pod's mum]

We've been watching kangaroos in the last of the crops, including one that fell over hopping over a fence. I've never seen them stumble, normally they are effortless. She quickly recovered. I think she has a pouch-young as well as a half-grown at her side. (Surrounded by smalls; sound familiar Rosie?)There are several that live around where we regularly camp. We also watched a fox and my dd thinks she's tracked down it's den now. She also watched black wasps with orange antennas, caught some and re-released. She also discovered that large meat ants will take over a caravan if you spill jelly(jello), leave chop bones and then go out for the evening. Not fun returning in the dark!

No snow, it was hot! Nearly 40 C, high fire danger, followed by fantastic clouds and some rain. Not good for the last of the crop, but great to be in.

We enjoyed our usual green parrots, galahs, magpies, kestrals, swallows etc, but also saw a new one, we think a black kite. No brown snakes or sleepy lizards this trip though.

Dd got to ride in the harvester reaping wheat too, before the rain. Sadly back in the city now.

[ErinD]

lots of fungus. No snow but tons of fungus. Thinking about doing the Fungus Among Us unit ...

 

 

Serendipitous Journey, we did A Fungus Among Us this past spring, and so far it has been our all-time favourite nature unit study. I can't recommend it highly enough! We're still fungus spotting. :)

[serendipitous journey]

 

Serendipitous Journey, we did A Fungus Among Us this past spring, and so far it has been our all-time favourite nature unit study. I can't recommend it highly enough! We're still fungus spotting. :)

 

Thanks for the recommendation! You are motivating me to organize myself & do it. For the thread, here's a list of nature study units available from Shining Dawn Books. Those looking for Young Earth science materials might esp. like this, as the authors are YE; also Charlotte Mason types, as art, literature, and composer studies are supported; we ourselves are Old Earth and use the materials easily & with great delight!

 

Animal Signs

Beautiful Birds

Butterflies Flutter By

Captivating Clouds

Constant Conifers

Coping with the Cold

Delightful Deciduous Trees

Everchinging Erosion

Flying Creatures of the Night

Forgs and Toads

Fruits and Nuts

Fungus Among Us

Hard as a Rock

Incredible Creeks

Peaceful Ponds

Remarkable Rain

Snow and Ice

Spectacular Spiders

Wonderful Wildflowers

 

There are also Nature Studies through the Holidays units available for Christmas and Easter: these described as particularly Christ-centered studies. The other materials, listed above, I have found to be flexibly ecumenical.

[Rosie_0801]

We've been watching kangaroos in the last of the crops, including one that fell over hopping over a fence. I've never seen them stumble, normally they are effortless. She quickly recovered. I think she has a pouch-young as well as a half-grown at her side. (Surrounded by smalls; sound familiar Rosie?)There are several that live around where we regularly camp. We also watched a fox and my dd thinks she's tracked down it's den now. She also watched black wasps with orange antennas, caught some and re-released. She also discovered that large meat ants will take over a caravan if you spill jelly(jello), leave chop bones and then go out for the evening. Not fun returning in the dark!

No snow, it was hot! Nearly 40 C, high fire danger, followed by fantastic clouds and some rain. Not good for the last of the crop, but great to be in.

We enjoyed our usual green parrots, galahs, magpies, kestrals, swallows etc, but also saw a new one, we think a black kite. No brown snakes or sleepy lizards this trip though.

Dd got to ride in the harvester reaping wheat too, before the rain. Sadly back in the city now.

 

Sounds vaguely familiar. You weren't camping at my place, were you? :p

 

I haven't seen any joeys for a few months, but have certainly seen evidence of stumbles a few times. The joeys sometimes get caught on the fences. Last time my aunt freed it and crossed her fingers its mum came back for it, other times they break their legs and she has to knock them on the head. I haven't seen the local fox, but know there is one. We have sugar ants everywhere and lots of waspy things. Not euros thankfully, but natives. The only parrots we have at home are cockies and crimson rosellas, though there are galahs in town. We have swallows build their nest over our front door each year. They are so cute! There are also Willy Wagtails around, magpies and ravens of course, Superb Fairy Wrens and some other little birdies I haven't got a good enough look at. My aunt said we get a lot of seasonal birds. We saw an Ibis and a heron the other day. We have red bellied black snakes, which she says is good because they eat the other snakes, but avoid humans, which the ones they eat don't. Sometimes we see bearded lizards on the road. Turns out the echidnas nest in my aunt's shed every winter. She said the smallest she's ever seen was the size of a large potato, so I'm hoping we get to see next year too!

[Pod's mum]

"Sounds vaguely familiar. You weren't camping at my place, were you? :p"

 

No, wrong state?

 

 

"I haven't seen any joeys for a few months, but have certainly seen evidence of stumbles a few times."

 

The 'band' near us have three half grown at mum's side. It's funny seeing a head pop up from the crop and waiting to see the smaller ears pop up beside that.

 

I've not seen the adults land badly from jumping fences. But there are a lot of rocks where we stay, so she probably landed on one, but she was off and going instantly..

My kids reared a barely-furred male, Eastern Red kangaroo a couple of years ago, (see we can in our state :thumbup1: , your state is nasty, officious in that respect) and he was a clumsy little beggar. He was blind in one eye so he became a bit of a clumsy BIG beggar.

 

My dd has decided she will do a nature journal, she has gotten herself organised to do it, but I made her sit up there and catch up on maths instead.

(Who's nasty, officious now? :sneaky2: )

 

I've tried to quote for the first time, lets see if it works.

 

ETA, nope it didn't, I'll put quotation marks and italics instead.

[Rosie_0801]

We get swamp wallabies too

 

I've never seen roos with more than one baby at a time. Cool.

[Pod's mum]

Try this cool nature study fact...

"Kangaroos usually have one young annually. The joey remains in the pouch for nine months and continues to suckle until twelve to seventeen months of age. Kangaroos can have 3 babies at one time. One becoming mature and just out of the pouch, another developing in the pouch and one embryo in pause mode. There are 4 teats in the pouch and each provides different milk for the different stages of development."

 

from here... http://koalaexpress....garoo facts.htm .

 

Our locals have a bulging pouch and a 'teenager' at heel. I think they kick out the teenager as the pouch one starts to emerge more.

By the way, the big red roo was an import, we have the smaller greys where we camp.

 

I thought they just had two teats, but am willing to be corrected.

(My dd learned about test*cals with our joey, but he wasn't much help on pouch and teats.)

 

Ha! I just saw I wrote there are three half-grown.

I meant that three mums each have: a half-grown + full pouch.

Otherwise, wow!

[regentrude]

We saw 4 bald eagles today in trees near a fish hatchery

[kubiac]

It's no basket fungus (!) but it's been raining here, and we came upon a fairy ring of mushrooms in the empty lot near the freeway.

[kubiac]

It's a mystery to me why the crows even care that a hawk is eating my field mice. The crows don't harass any of the other birds, just the hawk. And why are there always three crows: one zooming in from the south and two from the north, every single time?? It's like they have a personal vendetta, and they definitely work together to get rid of the hawk before returning to...wherever it is they are coming from.

 

 

Oh! I know this one! I know this one! Pick me, pick me! :D

 

In short, the crows don't care about the field mice, but they do care about a hawk's potential ability to eat their young! It's called mobbing (see below) and crows are the leading mobbers of the bird world!