We now have ten bluebird boxes up around the school campus! A huge thanks to Dr. Lynn Siefferman, ornithologist from AppState's Department of Biology who came to teach us about local birds last week, for putting together the boxes and bringing them over to Cove Creek for the kids to paint. She donated the boxes and not only helped with the painting, but also stayed after the session and hang all the bird boxes up.
Each team of students painted a bird box. They are numbered so that we can monitor bird activity and keep track of it using this collaborative spreadsheet. You can see the location of the boxes on the map below. Make sure to check them out next time you're in school, the kids are very proud of them. A shout out to Casey Tester, Olivia's mom, for bringing delicious clementines and juice for snack, and Melanie Hollis for helping out with the painting. As well as our usual Nature Team members Angela, Sabene and Amy. That was one messy painting ordeal! But well worth it as you can see in the pictures of the finished products below...
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American robin, common grackle, American crow, American goldfinch, dark-eyed junco, song sparrow, Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, northern cardinal, eastern towhee, northern cardinal, eastern bluebird and pilated woodpecker... are some of the more common birds we might see around the Cove Creek area. Last week we were fortunate enough to host Dr. Lynn Siefferman during our EcoRaiders meeting. Dr. Siefferman is an ornithologist from Appalachian State University who is an expert on eastern bluebirds. Her research looks at how the magnificent blue and orange coloration of this species of bird evolved. Her work in conservation biology also takes her into streams, where she studies freshwater mussels! Dr. Siefferman taught the EcoRaiders about the most common species of birds in the area, she showed the different tools she uses to handle and tag birds, explained what to do if they find a nest, injured bird or fledgling, and why conservation of bird species is so important. She answered all the EcoRaiders' questions and listened to their exciting anecdotes about family members' encounters with birds. She even had them chirping away trying to imitate songs of different birds. It was a fun and very informative session. The students have been organized into smaller groups (with names of birds as their team names) and will work with their teammates on several projects in the next few weeks. Dr. Siefferman has put together some bluebird boxes that the EcoRaiders will paint and we will put around the school grounds. We are looking forward to learning more about birds through bird watching and monitoring their activity patterns. If you want to see some pictures of local birds we're studying, check out these "picture cards" we put together. Thank you to all the parents who continue to be an active part of the club through volunteering during sessions, bringing snacks, or simply by adjusting to a later pick up and encouraging their kids to be in the club. It's been a great ride so far! |
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June 2017
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