Backyard Explorations! Bird Series - Part 4

1 MAY 2020
BACKYARD EXPLORATIONS

Bird Beak Buffet! or Fill The Bill!

In todays lesson we explored beak and bill adaptations. Adaptations are changes made through time by which an organism or species becomes better suited for survival in its environment. When discussing beak adaptations we are noticing how different bird species have developed different beak structures in order to find and ingest food. As we discussed in previous bird videos, birds can eat many different types of food and their beaks are suited to help them do that!

Please find the video below. It will be uploaded soon, I just have to make some edits as it is too large to upload as one file. Thank you for your patience!

Activity! You can do this at home or in your classroom!

Please find a photo version of the activity I used in this lesson from Growing up WILD curriculum.

The directions in this activity were to let students pick and explore different beak types throughout the station set up and then discover through experience which beak type worked the best for each station. During this time, I was not able to do this with students so instead I put together a simple demonstration of imitation beaks that were similar in use to the birds I showed.

Birds I mimicked in the video:

• Woodpeckers
• Herons and Egrets
• Pelicans
• Hawks, Eagles and Owls
• Hummingbirds

This was a super fun video to make and an awesome way to let kids or even adults explore beak adaptations hands on. I would love to hear about your own explorations with this activity! What bill type worked best? Can you find similar items in your home that would work as a bill too? If so, what bird would that best imitate and what food would it be eating? 

Have fun and be creative!!

Backyard Explorations! Bird Series - Part 3

25 April 2020
Backyard Explorations 

Fun Bird Seed Craft!

With Easter being in the Month of April this year, what better time than now to introduce a super fun craft that can help our feathery friends with finding food in their habitat! This is an excellent way to get the whole family thinking about how they can further their stewardship and hands on at the same time!

Fun Fact: I had to do this recipe twice because the first time I got the water to gelatin ratio wrong HA!

A Facebook user named Bonnie Wiley shared this post on Fb and that is why you are able to access it today! Thank you Bonnie!! I have copied some of her methods at the end of this post and added a few pointers for those of you trying this at home.


Here are some of the photos from the craft and a fun hide and seek activity for you all!

< Out of the 7 eggs I made, these
are the few that turned out. HA


There are> two eggs hidden in
this Colorado Blue Spruce. Can you find them?



Bird Seed Egg Recipe and Directions

10 cups of seed makes 3-4 dozen normal size eggs. I used larger eggs and halved my recipe. This style can make 10-12 eggs.


Ingredients

- 1 box of gelatin mix, KNOX unflavored gelatin is a good one or un-flavored JELLO 

Here is KNOXs web site so you can find the directions online too
- 10 cups bird seed, Bonnie used Pennington birders blend. I just used a song bird mis I found at the grocery

Directions

1. Prepare the gelatin as directed on the box 

Helpful hint: Each packet will use 1/4 cup cold and 1/4 cup boiling water. So 1/2 cup total

2. Mix in your bird seed. 

Helpful hint: If you are halving this recipe use 2 packets of Gelatin and 1 cup water (1/2 cup cold and 1/2 cup boiling) and 5-6 cups of bird seed

3. Optional: It helps to spray cooking spray in the eggs so they come out easier. I had a good turn out doing this with mine.

4. Pack the eggs with the gelatin seed mixture. 

Helpful Hint: If the tops and bottoms of the egg pieces are connected by a little plastic, cut the plastic! other wise the eggs break in two.

5. Place the eggs in a container large enough to hold them and put them in fridge to set up. This is good practice because sometimes the eggs have holes in them and the gelatin may leak all over your fridge!

Try to use the eggs as quickly as possible! If left inside the shells for too long the seeds begin to germinate and mold begins to form and that's no good for the birds!

Video will be posted soon! Just too big to fit in one clip.

Backyard Explorations! Bird Series - Part 2

17 APRIL 2020

Backyard Explorations - Birds and signs of Spring!

Habitat Components!

What makes up habitat?
Habitat is made up of 4 main components: Food, Water, Space and Shelter. Other components of habitat are Sunlight and Air

Birds, like us, need all 6 of these components in order to survive. We all need food and water in order to give us energy and maintain our basic bodily functions. We all need an adequate space to live in and reproduce and shelter to protect us from the elements. We need air to breathe and sunlight helps us to quantify our days and times. Sunlight for birds can also trigger how they move about the landscapes and when they migrate to different areas. Without these factors we, including our birds, would not be able to survive.

Fun Fact: Other organisms can live without sunlight and air! Anaerobic (a cell or process that does not require oxygen (air)) organisms can live and survive without oxygen and some without the exposure to light.

In the video we focused on being stewards of our lands and natural areas. The video highlights how we can provide aspects of habitat (Food, Water and Shelter) for the birds in our own backyards.

Food
We can provide birds food in our own back yards in a variety of ways. For our seed eaters (finches, chickadees and others) we can provide bird feeders and suet blocks for them to visit and munch on. For our insect and nectar eaters (hummingbirds, flycatchers and others) we can provide a garden or a flower bed. This allows the insect eaters to perform a valuable arthropod reduction service and can quite possibly aid in the protection of you garden and flower beds from hungry little bugs. Our nectar eaters are able to visit the flowers and sip the sweet nectar. If you would like to attract more humming birds you can also hang a hummingbird feeder. Typically these feeders come with a packet that you can mix with water and make a tasty drink for them! If yours didn't come with a packet you and always make your own by visiting This Link!






This is a short video of a Northern Red-Shafted Flicker coming to munch on our suet block!





Water
We can provide water sources in our own back yards to birds by simply putting out birds baths! This allows the birds to visit and great a drink or they can even take a bath! This allows the birds to get the water source they desire and get clean at the same time. If you choose to have a bird bath it is good practice to change out the water every or every other day. This way the birds have access to clean water. Birds can also use ponds, lakes, creeks and sometimes our swimming pools to get the water they need as well.

Shelter
Shelter is any place where a bird can rest, sleep or raise young. Shelters look different for different birds. It can be a nice place on or in a tree, it can be a nesting site, it can be a bird box. All in all a shelter is a place that birds can be protected from the elements. One way that you can provide shelter for birds is to put out a bird box for them. You can also provide shelter by keeping your trees and bushes healthy and providing shrubbery around your house, building brush piles away from your house and growing native seed bearing ornamental and lawn grasses. If you have barns, sheds, garages, decks, patios or other structures on your property these may also be suitable options for birds to seek shelter.

In this video I am calling back and forth to a

Black-Capped Chickadee pair. They have found

shelter and I believe are nesting in this awesome

Colorado Blue Spruce tree!

Don't forget that you can also help out your bird friends and be a good steward by picking up litter and other micro trash!! Not only does this protect our bird buddies but it also helps us to keep our common spaces nice and free of unnatural debris!


Actual video to come soon. It was too large to put on in one go so I have to make a few edits.

Backyard Explorations! Bird Series - Part 1

11 APRIL 2020
Backyard Explorations - Birds and signs of Spring!

What is a bird?

A bird is a vertebrate (animal that has a backbone) that posses feathers, a toothless beak/bill and lay eggs with a hard shell. They belong to the Class Aves and are referred to as avian species.

How can we identify birds?

Birds can be identified by their size and shape, feathers (shape and structure), the colors and patterns of those feathers and the songs and calls that they make. Observing bird behavior and the habitat that you find them in are also key ways to identify birds. 

There are many apps out there that you can put on your phone or other device that help you to ID birds. Suggested apps: Song Sleuth, Merlin Bird ID, Audubon Bird Guide and eBird are just a few.

To learn more click HERE for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology page and build your bird ID skills! 

Where can you find and observe birds?

Often birds like to perch on tree, bush/ shrub branches, fence posts, power lines and other structures. This allows the birds a space to call/ sing from, forage for food and observe what is around them. Sometimes you can find birds on the ground foraging for insects or worms or other things that they eat. If you have a bird feeder or nesting box near your home this is also a great was to observe these awesome critters.

If you are wanting to find and observe specific birds it is worth it to do a little research. Find out what habitat you are most likely to see that bird in and then visit habitat that is similar to make your observations. Ex. If I wanted to observe Great Blue Herons I would go to a habitat where this is water. Herons are great at fishing and use their long bill to stab or spear fish and other prey.

Original video for this lesson to come soon! It was too Large to load as one clip.

Please enjoy the photos below of some Idaho birds

These two photos show American Coots and Mallard Ducks on Fisher pond in Cascade, Idaho. As you can tell, I am super amazing at photography.

These photos were taken through my binoculars in Riggins, Idaho. If you look on the highest point of the rocks in the center of the photo you can see a Chukar. You can't see it very well but that's what it is!

Aspens: Facts and how to identify an Aspen tree

3 April 2020
Backyard Exploration: Aspens!

Good Day Everyone!

Todays topic of exploration was Aspen trees! Aspens are a deciduous tree species. Deciduous means to "fall off" or to "shed". In the case of Aspens they loose their leaves in the fall and winter. As opposed to Evergreen trees which keep their needles and stay green all year. A major way to identify an Aspen is to look at its bark. The bark will often be white or grayish in color and will sometimes possess a powdery substance on its surface. There are also dark linings (similar to eye shapes) at the base of branches that can be a quick identifier.

Aspen tree bark consists of layers - From the inside out: Cork Cambium (the first layer of "Bark"), Photosynthetic Chlorenchyma (Photosynthetic Cells), and another layer of dead/ dying cells. 

The last layer of cells you see are typically the white powdery substance shown in the video link below. The powdery layer on the outside of the tree is formed by dead and dying cells from the layer(s) below. There are many questions surrounding this white substance and why the aspens have evolved with it rather than developing the corky, woody and thicker bark that is seen on most tree species. Although, thicker bark does develop around the base of older Aspens and in areas the tree has been damaged. A possible explanation for the powdery substance on the bark of Aspens could be to prevent sun scorch (damage to the plant from the suns radiation). Research is ongoing.

Clones and Individuals! 

Aspen trees have dense underground root systems that promote shoots that turn into trees later. These shoots are genetically identical to their parent tree. Clone stands can be distinguished by their different characteristics. Ex: Difference of leaf color between aspen stands throughout the year, leaf shape and size, when leaf drop occurs, disease resistance,  and bark characteristics (Ex. color may be - greenish-white, yellowish-white, yellowish-gray, or gray to almost white in color.)

Fun Fact: Pando, which means "I spread", refers to large stands of identical Aspens! How neat is that?!

Aspens can also be spread to new areas by their seed!Aspen trees are dioecious which means there is a male tree and a female tree! How cool is that?! The male tree releases pollen to pollinate the female trees. After pollination occurs catkins form (see the illustration below) and the seeds are released creating a brand "new" Aspen tree!

I have included a link to the live version of the exploration as well as some links and diagrams below about where I found information on Aspens. Feel free to check them out and build your own knowledge treasure chest on this amazing tree species. 

Youtube link for Aspens: https://youtu.be/6wUSUydIyk4 

https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/aspen/grow.shtml

https://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/Tree%20Enlarged%20Photo%20Pages/populus%20tremuloides.htm

https://www.colorado.edu/ebio/2015/10/20/mystery-aspen-powder

 

Hoar Frost: A closer look at snows surface

26 MARCH 2020
Backyard Exploration: Hoar Frost!

Good day to you all! 

If you live around the McCall area I am sure you have noticed the new snow and the magical layer of Hoar frost that formed on the surface. Hoar frost is caused by a temperature gradient (a difference in a measurable variable like temperature) meaning the temperature at the bottom of the snowpack is warmer than the surface temperature. Ideal conditions for hoar frost to occur are when the night sky is clear and the temperature drops below freezing. This creates the temperature gradient! Since SNOW IS WATER the moisture in the snowpack creeps towards the surface due to the basic principle of warm particles rising and cooler particles sinking. As moisture particles reach the surface they are no longer clinging to the snow/water around them and begin to crystallize and spread out. Thus, HOAR FROST IS BORN!!

Thanks for reading about todays outdoor learning experience. Stay tuned for more pictures, fun facts and crafts in the weeks to come. Have a wonderful day!

Please find pictures and a video link from todays Backyard Exploration below!

Youtube link for Hoar frost: https://youtu.be/tcuvf1OLP70

Backyard Explorations! Introduction!

25 MARCH 2020
Backyard Exploration!

Good Snowy Day Everybody!

My name is Megan Chandler and I am the new Americorps placement out of the University of Idaho, Valley County Extension office. I am (and surely you are too) currently working remotely due to COVID-19 but that does't mean that exploring the world around us should come to a stop! Many of us can do it in our own back yards! 

The following posts, video links and content in this series were created while I was quarantined in my home due to COVID-19. Because of this I was unable to engage the public and my community with programming and events like I normally would. Using this blog space and a social media platform (Facebook, FB) seemed like the best idea to get my content into the world and to have it be shared with other folks and their families that were quarantined. A major part of my position in this office is to create meaningful content and host learning days that are relevant to environmental education. 

Video links and posts that you will find throughout this blog and on FB include:

• Hoar Frost: A closer look at snows surface
• Aspens: Facts and how to identify an Aspen tree
• All about Birds!
• Identifying birds: What is a bird?
• Habitat: Where do birds live?
• Bird Seed Craft: How can we help birds?
• Beak and Bill Adaptions: How do Birds eat?:
• Bubble Science: Bubble art craft!
• Water Properties: H2Olympics!
• Water in landscapes: Watersheds!

I had a wonderful time creating this space and its content and I hope that you and your families enjoy it too! Don't forget to check out the UI Extension, Valley County Facebook page for more content and educational videos so you can explore, learn, create and discover in your own backyard!

Youtube link for introduction video: https://youtu.be/PiraKj0Sxxw 

See you soon!
Megan