Outdoor Hour - Birds

This month's Outdoor Hour Challenge has been Birds.  Most of our focused nature time was spent on owls (which I wrote about here), but we accomplished a few other miscellaneous bird-related activities, as well.

One of the first things we did was identify bird feathers.  A great source for identifying bird feathers is the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Feather Atlas.  It contains pictures of flight and tail feathers of most common North American birds.  The Feather Atlas gives you the ability to identify a feather based upon its pattern and color, or if you think you know the bird that the feather is from, you can search on that bird.  I will tell you that there were a couple of feathers that we thought for sure we knew (It's yellow, it must be a goldfinch) and were completely wrong (No, it's a flicker)!

The other source we used for feather identification was the book Bird Feathers.  This book was helpful in that it included more than just flight and tail feathers.  Using this book, we were able to identify a body-feather of a ring-necked pheasant. 

Please note, that it is illegal to possess the feathers, nests, or eggs of over 80% of the birds found in the United States (Birds Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act).  If you find a feather, I suggest taking a picture of it for later identification (and also make a note of the date and where you found it - something I neglected to do and would have found helpful).  Here is a summary of some of the key provisions of the Act.

We have also been participating in Project FeederWatch.  On Mondays and Tuesdays we record the birds that visit our feeders.  So far we have seen the following birds:
Dark-eyed Junco - Usually more than one and a sign that other birds are in the area.  They are most often under the feeders picking up seeds that the other birds have dropped, but occasionally I'll see them on the feeders, probably knocking food down to their friends.  They have a hard time balancing on some of the feeders.
Black-capped Chickadee - a favorite from my childhood.
Tufted Titmouse - they seem to be the least afraid.  The only ones that come to our window feeder.
White-breasted Nuthatch - the little acrobats, hanging onto the feeders with their heads below their tails.
Downy Woodpecker - we often see the male and female taking turns.
Red-bellied Woodpecker - the first time I saw this bird, I was just stunned by its red head.  I am always excited to see it at the feeder.
American Goldfinch - a little hard to identify in its winter colors

The following have been seen, but not on our FeederWatch days:
Mourning Dove - at first glance these birds seem rather plain, but upon closer inspection they are really quite pretty.
Carolina Wren - saw my first one a year or two ago.  We are at the northern end of its range.
Blue Jay - I've always thought of this bird as kind of a pest and it is so numerous here, I take it for granted.  It is funny that when we were out west and saw our first Steller's Jay, we thought it was so exotic!
Red-breasted Nuthatch  - this is a new one for us.  I saw a bird at the feeder that looked like a nuthatch, but something wasn't quite right.  It didn't seem big enough.  Then I noticed the eyestripe.  I took a quick look at the FeederWatch poster that we have hanging on the wall and there it was - Red-breasted Nuthatch.  Cool!  To be added to my bird life list.

Finally, I came across a book at the library about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.  The book, The Race to Save the Lord God Bird was in the Children's book section, but I found it fascinating.  It starts with an account of the early days of ornithology, which seemed to revolve mostly around shooting specimens and then painting pictures of them.  Specimens continued to be collected even after it was evident that a species was in decline.  The heart of the book was the work done by Cornell and, in particular, Jim Tanner in photographing and recording the Ivory-bill.  Because the book was published in 2004, just before the claims of sightings in Arkansas came to light (after not having a documented sighting in the US since 1944),  I decided to watch the 2010 video, Ghost Bird.  The video shows footage from Arkansas that some say shows an Ivory-billed Woodpecker in flight.  However, the video is contested by others, including famed ornithologist David Sibley, who have come to the conclusion that the bird in the video is something else, possible a Pileated Woodpecker.

I really hope that the bird still exists, but given the lack of sightings and the loss of habitat, it seems unlikely.  One of the positive aspects of the search for the Ivory-bill has been the preservation of habitat.  The drawbacks, which I had really not considered until reading and watching the video, are that millions of dollars are being spent to hopefully bring about the recovery of the species.  That means millions of dollars less for other, perhaps more viable, projects.  An interesting debate.

Outdoor Hour - Owl Study

Last week, I watched as the weather reports showed two storm systems heading toward the northeast.  The meteorologists were predicting they would converge and the result would be a blizzard.  I knew that this likely meant that my older son, who is now in public school, would have a day off.  For us, a day off from public school means a day off from homeschool (just try and get the homeschooled one to work when the other one isn't)!

But, there are some homeschool activities that do not seem like work and I managed to slip those in on the snow day.  First, knowing that teenage boys like to eat, I suggested we make cupcakes that look like little owls.  (The idea came from an old  Family Fun Magazine.)  I baked the cupcakes the night before the storm.  My son made the icing and frosted all the cupcakes the day of the blizzard.  Then the two of us did the decorating.  Lots of silliness as we chose the color for the owl's eyes (the one on the bottom right looks a little zombie-ish).

Later that afternoon, we used the computer to watch a really fascinating show on PBS's Nature called Magic of the Snowy Owl (one sad part may upset little kids).  It was comical to watch the owlets as they first spread their wings - and landed on their face.  Those little guys ate a lot and kept their parents busy.  Initially, the mother had to give them small chunks of food, but it wasn't long before the babies were able to gobble down whole lemmings!  The parents' concern for their young was evident and very touching.  What magnificent birds!

This week, we dissected some owl pellets that were left over from our biology studies last year.  We used the bone chart and the rat skeleton to identify what we found.  It seemed like each pellet contained at least two rats/mice.  My son's pellet contained two easily identifiable skulls while mine contained one, but seemed to have many more mandible pieces and parts of pelvises.

After dissecting the pellets, we read the section in Owl Puke about how the pellets are actually formed.  We learned that owls have two stomachs. The first stomach has acids and enzymes that break down the food, and mucus that helps move everything including bones and fur into the second stomach.  The second stomach has powerful muscles that both grind up the meat and wad all the indigestible stuff into a pellet.  This pellet will then move back to the first stomach and be regurgitated.

To wrap up our owl study, we compared owl feathers with those of other birds.  Owls are unique in that they are able to fly silently.  The reason for this can be seen when looking at the edges of their feathers.  An owl feather is fringed along its edge.  (See this side-by-side comparison of an owl and a hawk feather.)  The fringes break up the turbulence over the wing and allow for silent flight.

I'm hoping we can find a Owl Prowl hike to join in the next month or two.  The barred owl mating season occurs over the next two months and is a good time to hear the signature "who cooks for you" call.

Oh, by the way, we got at least two feet of snow during the storm!

Outdoor Hour Challenge at Handbook of Nature Study.

Outdoor Hour - Rocks & Minerals

The weather this month has really not been conducive for getting out and looking at rocks.  We have had snow cover all month and the past week has been especially cold.  (Excuses, excuses!)

That did not mean we could not do some rock study though.  We got out our box of rock and mineral specimens.  Many were from a rock shop in Estes Park, Colorado that we visited several years ago.  I remember we had a great time looking at all the different rocks and choosing ones to take home with us.  This can't compare to digging for rocks yourself, but it does allow you to get a variety of rocks and minerals from around the world.  Thankfully, I had the brainstorm to take pictures of the rocks in the labeled containers in the store.  Our rock box was not at all organized or labeled, so without the pictures, we would have had a pretty hard time identifying them.  (Although, I think it would be a good test to try and identify them using a guide book or website and see how far we could get).  B went ahead and made identification cards for them and put them on display.

The other activity we did was to grow crystals.  We started with Epsom salt crystals.  We have grown Borax crystals in the past, but I liked the results of the Epsom salts better.  They grew more quickly and had a much more delicate look.

In the process of digging out our "rock box", we also found some crystal growing activities that I had probably bought as stocking stuffers, but had never used.  One kit came with some "magic" water and a little cardboard tree.  The tree sucks up the water and the crystals form on the branches.  Not as spectacular as hoped, but it probably has to do with the temperature and humidity level (lack of humidity right now) in our house.

In the box, we also found some Popcorn Rock.  This is a limestone rock that we put in a glass bowl, covered with distilled white vinegar and then waited for the vinegar to evaporate.  Aragonite crystals formed on the surface of the rock.  And here is our vocabulary word for the month: Polymorph.  We learned that Aragonite and Calcite are polymorphic, meaning that they have the same chemical composition (CaCO3 - Calcium Carbonate), but different structure.  (The best example of polymorphs may be graphite and diamonds. Both are made of carbon, but because of the different heat and pressure under which they form, they have different structures and different properties).

There is so much more to do, but we have run out of time this month!  We have just started getting into the Golden Guide to Rocks, Gems and Minerals.  For a little book, it packs a lot of information. We will be doing Earth Science next year, so I am sure we will continue our studies.

The Birds are Back!

Wow!  That didn't take them long.

My son and I went out at lunchtime today to hang up our bird feeders (we take them down in the Spring because of bears) and within an hour, the birds had found them and were having their lunch.

The Tufted Titmice found the feeders first followed by Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, and a Downy Woodpecker.  Seriously, all within an hour of putting them up!

Tufted Titmouse

White-breasted Nuthatch

Female Downy Woodpecker

Male Downy Woodpecker

Continued Mammal Study - Deer

The night I submitted my last Outdoor Hour post for our mammal study, my husband was awakened by a sound that he at first thought might be a squirrel running across the roof.  Then he decided maybe it was an animal scratching on a tree outside.  He went downstairs to see if he could figure out what it was.

What he saw in our neighbor's yard were two white-tailed deer bucks locking antlers!  He watched as they fought for a bit and then one ran off with the other in pursuit.  The next morning, he took us outside to see the signs they had left behind.

Markings from deer hooves on new pavement.

Area of neighbor's lawn dug up by fighting.

I know it is really hard to tell anything from the pictures, but it's all I have.

This event prompted some research on white-tailed deer.  We first read from the CT DEEP's wildlife fact sheets and then from the State of Wisconsin's Critter Corner page.

Here are a few interesting facts:

• Deer are ungulates, meaning they have hooves.
• White-tailed deer are the smallest deer in North America.
• The underside of their tail is white and is raised as a flag when they leap away in alarm.
• Their coat color varies with the season, a more red-brown in the summer and gray-brown in the winter.
• The peak rutting or mating season in CT is the last two weeks in November.
• Male deer, called bucks, grow a new set of antlers each year.  The antlers are covered with a soft tissue called velvet that they will rub off in the fall. While the antlers are still covered with velvet, they are very sensitive and the bucks will not use them to fight.  Instead, they will stand on their hind legs and use their forefeet.
• The size of antlers depends on a couple of things, including maturity, but most significantly, nutrition.
• The bucks use their antlers for sparring and they are usually shed from the middle of December to late January in CT.  Deer in more southerly states shed their antlers later.
• Female deer, called does, depending on their diet and health, can have between one and four fawns at a time.

Seeing deer in our neighborhood is not that uncommon.  We have often seen several in the woody area behind our house, but I have never seen a buck.  Next time I hope my husband will wake me up!

Beaver - America's Largest Rodent

Where did November go?

At the beginning of the month, I had all of these wonderful plans for our mammal studies.  However, a weekend in Boston and five days visiting family in Pennsylvania - while great fun - made the month zip by.  Barb's nature study plans came to the rescue again.  They served to remind me to get outdoors, even for a short time.  They also allowed me to focus on just one thing, which is what I needed this month.

I asked my son which mammal in our area he wanted to learn more about.  Right away, he said, "Beavers."  He was remembering our exciting encounter with a beaver during an afternoon of kayaking at a nearby pond. We had inadvertently come too close to a beaver lodge and were able to witness the warning slap of a beaver's tail.

So this is how we introduced ourselves to beavers.  At the beginning of the month, I organized a hike with our homeschool group at a local park that has a nature center.  During our hike, we saw a pond with a beaver lodge.  At the end of the hike, we visited the nature center where we were able to view a pond diorama containing a stuffed beaver.

We did a little reading about beavers including this section from my Complete Field Guide to American Wildlife by Henry Hill Collins, Jr.:

Hardly another mammal has played so romantic a part in our history. Demand for its beautiful and useful pelt first lured trappers into the North American wilderness, helped found the Hudson's Bay Company, and established the Astor fortune. Excessive trapping extirpated the species over wide areas. Now it is being restocked and creating ponds and wet lands of great value to fishing, wildlife, vegetation, aesthetics, and the water table. For these it is probably worth far more to men each year now than its pelts ever were, even in the best year of their price and popularity in the heyday of Jim Bridger and the Mountain Men of the early West.

Other interesting facts we learned about the beaver:

• It is the largest rodent in North America.
• It can weigh up to 60 lbs.
• It is most active at dawn, dusk, and at night.
• Their ears and nose are sealed and a membrane covers their eyes when they are underwater.
• They have a double-layer coat which they waterproof with an oily substance called castoreum that is secreted from scent glands.
• They can remain underwater for up to 15 minutes.
• The largest beaver dam is over 1/2 a mile long.

We also learned a new vocabulary word:  fossorial.  Fossorial means the animal is adapted to digging and living underground.

Beavers build dams to raise the water level near their lodges.  Raising the water level serves several purposes one of which is to ensure that the water is deep enough that it does not freeze all the way to the bottom.  The deeper water also extends the waterways into the forest giving the beaver safer access to food and building materials.  It is no wonder, that beavers are often used as mascots at engineering schools.  Had I been thinking about that, I would have searched out the statue of the MIT mascot while we were there for the Splash! program this month.


This week, B and I went on a hike by ourselves around a pond where we had previously seen beaver activity.  It had snowed lightly the day before, so I was hoping we might see some tracks, but no luck there.  We did see the stumps of a few saplings and a large area on a bigger tree that had been gnawed.  As we learned in the videos that Barb had linked to on one of her pages, beavers are active all winter, so I'd like to go back in the winter and see if we have any luck with the tracks then.  Or, since beaver are pretty skittish, see if we can see vapor coming from their lodges.

Picture taken in October.

Picture taken in November.  Definitely more activity.

Beaver lodge on right.

Here are some videos we watched, some of which Barb had linked to on her blog.  They are from the BBC and are hosted by Richard Attenborough:
Beaver Lodge Construction Squad
How Beavers Build a Lodge
Beaver Facts
Beavers in  the Snow

The beaver is a fascinating animal.  I think reading more about how they affected the history of North America would be interesting.

While we didn't do all that I had hoped we would do this month, we did learn a bit more about one specific animal and that is good enough for me.

Outdoor Hour: Focusing on Trees

Can I just say... I love trees!  I love to take pictures of them, try to identify them, touch them, sit under them.  Trees just make me happy!  So, it is no wonder I was eagerly anticipating this month's Outdoor Hour Challenge.

How did we focus on trees this month?

• We used Tree Study Grid from the October Newsletter to focus on specific aspects of trees we were looking at.
• We kept a list of the trees we identified.
• We went on a hike to find a specific kind of tree.  Read about that in my post about Great Pond.
• We went looking for a couple of state and national champion trees.  Read about that in my post about Large Trees.
• We looked up information on what trees were the oldest, tallest, heaviest, and had the largest trunk circumference and added that information to our nature notebooks.
• We did artistic activities related to trees.  We made a leaf "rainbow" by skewering different colored leaves on a stick.  We also did leaf rubbings in our nature notebooks and identified the trees the leaves were from.

B's leaf rainbow.

In identifying trees, I found that the trees like oak, maple, and birch, which I would expect to be the easiest to identify, were the hardest.  I think I expect them to be easy because they are common, but there seem to be many that are similar.  This is especially true when all you have to go on is the bark.

Trees identified and comments:
Common Witch-hazel - unusual in that it flowers at this time of year
Eastern Sycamore - love the mottles bark on the upper trunk and branches
Sassafras - three different kind of leaves on the same tree - "live long and prosper", mitten, single lobe
Cottonwood - very large shiny buds, cotton fluff everywhere when the seed capsules split open
Tuliptree - interesting, distinctive leaf and beautiful flower
Big-tooth Aspen - the name says it all, aspen leaf with large teeth
Quaking Aspen - always thought of this as a western tree
Black Birch - aka sweet birch, wintergreen smell
Paper Birch - white, peeling bark
Yellow Birch - wintergreen smell
White Oak - leaves have rounded lobes
Chestnut Oak - part of white oak family, lobes rounded, but not deeply cut
Black Oak - leaves have pointed lobes
Scarlet Oak - part of black oak family, but with more deeply cut leaves
American Chestnut - almost entirely wiped out by blight, shoots grow to several feet before dying back
Shagbark Hickory - fabulous shaggy bark that looks like it is about to come off tree
American Beech - beautiful smooth grey bark
Striped Maple - very large leaves and green striped bark
Red Maple - beautiful fall color
Silver Maple - leaves are distinctive, deeply cut
White Pine - needles in bundles of 5
Red Pine - lovely, flaky, red-grey bark, needles long in clusters of two
Pitch Pine - needles in bundles of 3
Eastern Hemlock - short, flat needles, very small cone
Eastern Redcedar - fibrous bark

Beautiful beech tree.

We never got around to the oak and acorn study this month, but I did note that acorn production seems to be way down this year.  We have two large white oaks in our front yard and nary an acorn.  I suspect it is the lack of rain.

This was a fun month of nature study.  There were several activities I would have liked to have done that we just didn't get to, so I will save them for a later date.

Favorite tree resources on the web:
Virginia Tech's Tree ID Guide - I especially like their Fact Sheets and their Leaf Key (under tools).
Arbor Day Foundation: What Tree Is That?

Favorite Tree Field Guides:

Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast by Michael Wojtech

This is my new favorite field guide, but I need more practice using it. 

Peterson Field Guides to Eastern Trees by George A. Petrides

Another book that looks interesting, but that I do not own is Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America by Michael D. Williams.

See my disclosure policy on the bar at the top of the page.  These books were purchased by me for my own use and I do not receive any compensation for mentioning them or from Amazon if you decide to purchase them.