Kid Birders at SWAT
Cedar Waxwing
On Friday the 12th of June 2009 we opened the 2nd session of the SWAT MAPS banding station! We captured 14 different species and banded 17 newly banded birds with 16 recaptures (total of 33 individuals). The weather was very cooperative and we had a great steady number of birds being captured in the nets.
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White-marked Tussock Moth
By Young Naturalist D
My Dad found a caterpillar on a plum tree during the last days of summer (August 27th). It had a red head with black antennas. At first glance they appeared twice as long as they really were because of all the long black hairs on them. The caterpillar also had four white clumps of hair sticking up along the upper part of its back. Starting at the second hairy white clump there was a yellow stripe on either side running down its back. It also had white clumps of hair around every leg. Overall it had a light green body. Dad thought something so strange looking might not be good for his plum tree so he brought it inside and asked us four kids to figure out what it was.
White-marked Tussock Moth photo by Young Naturalist H.
Butterflies and Kids
Summer Azure
Children are naturally attracted to butterflies and moths, just as they are to birds. However, unless you have a busy bird feeder or larger raptors flying around, it can be difficult for kids to locate birds in the wild. Songbirds do not typically sit still long enough to be seen and can quickly disappear as fast as they arrive. I myself have a hard time seeing many of the birds I hear fluttering around the trees and shrubs.
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Last Child in the Woods [Bookreview]
I am not one to review books but the “Last Child in the Woods – Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder” by Richard Louv just seemed too perfect of a book for me not to recommend to the many home schoolers, educators and parents that visit this blog. Louv goes into great depth about how our children are increasingly disconnected from nature and why it is important to have our children around nature. (more…)
Mon@rch's Nature Blog 