Wixon Innovation Middle School - Dennis, MA
Out we set on our Nature Scavenger Hunt today... and what did we find? Who did we hear? Who did we see? We had a long list of discoveries and there are some very sharp bird nerd eyes developing for spotting our feathery friends out in the grounds around the school! We even had an unexpected mammal sighting... not what you might think! One of the student's parents evidently works on the grounds maintaining those wonderful playing fields. The kids asked if we could count him as a mammal on our scavenger hunt. I agreed we could. This was our first outing with TRUE binoculars and the bird nerds in training enjoyed being able to see some of the birds more vividly as they develop their skills with the binoculars. It seems simple, but truly it isn't for beginners. They'll all be pros at using binoculars and hopefully sharing those skills with others who care about the birds. Check out the amazing camouflage of the Song Sparrow who let us watch him/her for a few minutes! We also got to observe a new species of bird today, a Chipping Sparrow. I even got a not so great photo of one from behind as it was foraging near the edge of the school. The sharp-eyed students spotted him before I did, naturally! (double click photos to enlarge)
Our List:
Osprey
Brown-headed Cowbird
Song Sparrow
Mourning Dove
Crow (American? Fish? - couldn't say)
American Robin
Pine Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow - SO well camouflaged!
Using binoculars to observe Song Sparrow
Nest - squirrel? Owl? Hawk? (not the greatest photo I realize...)
Pointing out the nest
Scavenger hunt result
Another scavenger hunt result
American Robin
Feather & photo bomb!
Feather found. Busy Birdwatcher! Keeping warm, holding notebook, balancing clip board, wearing binoculars, and delighted with her feathery treasure!
Chipping Sparrow (from behind)
'Til our next enrichment - Happy Birding!
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