Hepaticas

Today’s nature calendar task:

Search for opening buds of hepaticas.

This task was easy since I have a sharp-lobed hepatica in my garden. The buds are almost open. I think they would be very difficult to find in the wild if they had not opened yet.

A handful of Chickadees and Nuthatches

We returned to the conservation area where we had fed the chickadees two weeks ago. The kids were eager to explore every small side trail leading off the main path. At one point we could hear lots of chirping and singing in the trees. I took out my ziploc bag of birdseed and almost immediately they were on our hands, one after the other in rapid succession.

"But bird-stalking is only to be done upon certain conditions. You must not only be 'most mousy-quiet,' but you must not even let a thought whisper, for if you let yourself think about anything else, the entirely delightful play of bird-life passes by you unobserved; nay, the very bird notes are unheard."

Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1 pg. 90

It is very difficult (impossible) for my children to be 'most mousy-quiet'. The birds were brave and did not seem to mind their constant chatter.

Last time we fed the chickadees. This time we were greatly surprised to have red-breasted nuthatches come on our hands as well!

"He (the nuthatch) was walking head first down the trunk of that tree, picking tiny eggs of insects from the bark and seemingly quite as much at home and quite as unconcerned in that position as if he were right side up."

Burgess Bird Book for children, pg. 220

We had read the chapter on nuthatches from the Burgess Bird Book, but the birds in real life left a greater impression. The kids could really see them crawling down the bark head-first, hiding their seeds in little holes in the trunk.

My 2 1/2 year old was adamant that she did not want a bird to land on her hand. She eventually fell asleep in her stroller and I placed a little bit of birdseed on her knee.

"The chickadees appear in small flocks in the winter and often in company with the nuthatches. The chickadees work on the twigs and ends of branches, while the nuthatches usually mine the bark of the trunk and larger branches, the former hunting insect eggs and the latter, insects tucked away in winter quarters."

Handbook of Nature Study, pg. 68

The nuthatches were more aggressive than the chickadees. We even had two nuthatches on our hand at once occasionally. They were landing on top of my camera and looking at me while I was taking pictures! They ended up with most of the seed, as they would take it and stash it in a crevice in a tree and be right back again. The chickadees, however, would take their seed and eat it immediately.

I suspect that in a few weeks the bugs will be out and the birds will no longer be interested in the food that we have, and we will not be interested in standing around being eaten by blackflies!

For our April nature calendar, we have had some fun tasks in the past few weeks. We have been enjoying the blossoming branches on our kitchen table, we hunted for the elusive skunk cabbage, and I finally managed to make a 'toy windmill'.

This is our second month working on this nature calendar. I am starting to notice that while there is a great variety of activities, there are also some ongoing themes. In March we had a number of days where we looked at how the days were getting longer. April has a collection of activities related to the weather.

I try to post daily on our experiences with this nature calendar, come check out what we are up to!

First bees

Today’s nature calendar task:

Watch for the first bees in search of nectar.

We have seen a few insects on warmer days, and we saw bees on our visit to the garden centre. Our crocuses are out, I should take a closer look to see if there are any bees.

Snakes

Today’s nature calendar task:

Snakes will soon venture from their winter crevices.

We had an April snowstorm at the beginning of this week. I bet the snakes are thinking twice about whether or not they will come out.

We did see a chipmunk the other day. They could make a tasty post-hibernation snack for a large snake.

Transplant seedlings

Today’s nature calendar task:

Transplant indoor seedlings when the second leaves appear.

I think they mean to transplant them into a larger pot, since it is still too cold here to put them outside.

milkweed seedlings awaiting transplant

Our milkweed seeds and our mystery seeds are coming along nicely. Only a few have their second leaves. I am afraid to transplant my seedlings, I'm pretty sure they will die. I'm glad I still have some milkweed seeds left so I can sow them directly in the ground when it is warmer.

Updates on past nature tasks:

April 4th: Build a toy windmill.

After my first disastrous attempt with wood and nails I came up with this much simpler version using a plastic bag. Instead of a windmill or weathervane I decided upon a windsock. I cut out a lid from a plastic container to make a ring. Then I cut a large piece of plastic in a triangle and taped the whole thing together. I tied on a piece of string and put it out on the tree. It works great!

Spring birds

Today’s nature calendar task:

Birds to look for this week or soon: Tree swallow, winter wren, sapsucker, ruby crowned kinglet.

On our hikes I have seen the golden-crowned kinglet, and some unidentified swallows and an unidentified woodpecker (probably a downy).

It has snowed here the last three days and there has been a frenzy at our feeders. We have had a flock of at least 30 goldfinches, plus some house finches, mourning doves, house sparrows, a few chickadees, some juncos, a pair of cardinals and the song sparrow. The red-winged blackbird has also made an appearance.

I am especially enjoying the transformation the goldfinches are making, as they lose their drab winter coats and replace them with the gorgeous bright yellow feathers and the saucy black cap.

Some of the female birds are tricky to identify. Your backyard feeders are a good place to really take a close look. The female house finch is a good example, she's all brown with some stripes on her breast. There are a lot of sparrows that have striped breasts, it is easy to get confused. Slightly larger, but looking an awful lot like the female house finch, is the female red-winged blackbird. She has not a speck of red or black and again, is all brown with a striped breast. The female house sparrow does not have the tell-tale black throat that her mate has, she is all brown but without the striped breast. With a little time, these more difficult birds to identify will also become familiar.

Big dipper

Today’s nature calendar task:

Which way is the big dipper facing at 8 pm?

We have had snow here this week, and the skies have been cloudy. When we have a clear night, we'll go take a look. I found a good book about the big dipper from the Let's Read and Find Out Science series. It is called 'The Big Dipper' by Franklyn M. Branley. It is a good book for younger children, ages 3 to 5, although my 6 1/2 year old enjoyed it too. I also highly recommend the books by H.A. Rey, The Stars, and Find the Constellations. They are very good for older children, perhaps ages 6 and up.

Updates on past nature tasks:

April 4: Build a toy windmill

I attempted this yesterday, and since it involved hammers, nails and a handsaw, it was a project for me, not the kids. After getting very frustrated making a rather pathetic looking weathervane (I am too embarrased to post a photo) I decided I either need to develop some woodworking skills or I should leave all such projects to my husband. He suggested that he teach me how to use power tools. The jury is still out on this nature task.

March 10th: The song sparrow is due.

It often takes a little while for the birds that have arrived to find my backyard. I had heard the song sparrow much earlier, and I saw one on a hike, but yesterday he showed up in my backyard.

I was delighted to see that he had chosen the 'feeder' that I had put out just for him. In the book 'Projects for a Birder's Garden', they suggested putting out a shallow rock, and filling it with birdseed containing millet. They also suggested having a shrub for cover nearby. (Page 3, if you happen to have this book).

I put my rock with the millet next to my scruffy brushpile by a shrub. That's exactly where the song sparrow was!

The photo isn't particularly good. You can see the snowfall we had this week. The song sparrow has a stripey breast with a little 'bow-tie' and the black spot in the middle of his chest.

Wren birdhouse

Today’s nature calendar task:

Build a wren's home for your backyard.

We enjoyed building our bluebird house. I think it took my husband an hour to build. It should be easy to convince him to build us a wren house. He is currently working on a bird bath fountain design using the water pump from our pond.

I have noticed the birds taking dust baths on our deck in the mud the kids left behind from making mud pies. Maybe I'll set up a dust bath station too!

The book Molly suggested has a wren birdhouse design, as well as tons of other backyard bird ideas. It is called 'Projects for the Birder's Garden'. I found a copy at my local library. You can also do a google search on wren birdhouse plans and lots of free designs will come up.

Shrub branches

Today’s nature calendar task:

Place more shrub branches in water in the classroom.

We are on our second set of flowering branches. The first set we tried were some forsythia branches from our backyard. They bloomed a beautiful yellow. We noted that the flowers came out first, and then the leaves.

Currently we have two different shrubs in our vase on the table. The first is from a decorative crab apple. The leaves came out first, and the flowers are just about ready to bloom. The second is a decorative plum. It has small white flowers first, and then the leaves appear.

crabapple blossoms on our kitchen table

My kids have taken a liking to the Red Osier Dogwood shrubs that we see everywhere while we are hiking. The bark is a striking red colour. That will be our next shrub branch cutting. I'll just have to remember to bring my pruning shears on our next hike.

Toy windmill

Today’s nature calendar task:

Make a toy windmill.

I haven't quite figured out how I will do this yet. The picture on the calendar looked like a small weathervane.

Here's an interesting link that has instructions for making your own weather station. It has a straightforward weathervane design. It also has instructions for a rain gauge, which was April 2nd's nature task. I think I'll try that tomorrow.

Update: windsock successfully made, April 9th.

Willow tree cuttings

Today’s nature calendar task:

You may start new willow trees by placing cutting in water.

We happened to do this last fall. Willow branches root very easily in water. We will go and visit the willow at our park and do it again. We didn't plant our willow in our yard, since it would take up the entire space in a few years. I love the long, drooping branches of the willow.

Click here to read about our experience in October growing the willow roots.

Rain gauge

Today’s nature calendar task:

Set up a rain gauge to measure April's rainfall.

We didn't manage to make our rain gauge today. I think I will use a canning jar and put a ruler on the side. I'll need to find a spot in the backyard where the branches from the trees won't be over top of it. It doesn't matter so much just yet since the leaves aren't out, but later on it will. Perhaps we can record our rainfall on the calendar.

Updates from past nature tasks:

March 28th, the skunk cabbage

I have been searching high and low for this flower. I knew it would probably grow somewhere swampy. On our first hike we did not find it at a conservation area we like to visit that had some nice swampy areas.

Then I went online and searched my area for known places that this flower exists. I found two sites, and off we went.

The first place we tried we could not find it. We hiked the trail twice (it was short). We did see a Golden-crowned kinglet though. They are a very tiny bird, they arrive early in the migration season.

Finally, at the second place we found it!

It really is an unusual plant. It is supposed to smell bad, but I did not smell anything. The leaves are just starting to come out. There was a cluster of about four of them in this spot. It might be easier to find them earlier in March, if there was still snow on the ground. They are able to raise the temperature of their surroundings and melt the snow around them.

They are a good size flower. With all the brown leaf litter they were not easy to spot.

Of course, once I had seen one of them I started to realize that they were all over the place. Later in the summer this section will be covered with tall grasses.

There are probably at least 10 plants in this photo. Look for the dark red triangles.

April birds

Today's nature calendar task:

Birds to look for this week or soon: Kingfisher, Loon, Flicker, Vesper Sparrow.

We have heard the flicker calling in the small woods near our house a week or so ago. He has a beautiful laughing call.

Last week we saw a kingfisher swooping over the water at the marsh we visited. He has a very loud and interesting call. The kingfisher dives into the water to catch fish. The one we saw did not dive, but he certainly was looking for fish. It was a delight to see him, he is not a bird I see very often.

I just looked at a photo of the Vesper Sparrow. He looks an awful lot like a female House Finch. I'll have to take a closer look at my field guide to find out how to tell the difference.

The links on the birds listed above will take you to the species accounts at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All about Birds pages. They have lots of information about each bird, good photos, distribution maps, habitat and behavior descriptions. Click on their link to hear the songs of each bird.