1. Observing Birds
What it’s all about
For most
children, birds are the most easily accessible wild animals. They provide a wonderful
opportunity for children to be inspired by watching nature. Observing birds allows children to engage in
studying and recording animal activities in a scientific manner. Bird watching provides children with
opportunities to study bird behaviour patterns, classification, adaptation and
ecology. For many children, birdwatching becomes a lifelong enriching
experience.
What you will need
1. Some basic household
materials for building a bird feeding station; perhaps some wood, if you like
to try some simple carpentry.
2. If possible (but not
essential), a pair of binoculars, a recording journal, and a bird book.
Getting started
A good time to start
this project is in the autumn when food gets scarce for the birds. If you feed the birds regularly, they will
make your home part of their daily circuit throughout the winter and summer.
Begin by helping your
child make a birdfeeder for your garden or veranda. You can make a feeder from a milk carton/jug, scraps of wood, or
other simple materials (see the Figure 1-1 and 1-2 for some simple design
ideas). Try to let your child do most of the work in making the feeder. You can
assist with the difficult parts, or intervene if the child asks for help. It is much better for your child to make a
feeder than for you to go out and buy one.
By involving your child in the design and building of the feeder, s/he
will have a greater interest in carrying out the project.
Hang the feeder from a
line in a place where it can easily be seen from the house/apartment. Be
careful to put it in a place where cats or other predators cannot get at
it. Have your child suggest ideas where
to place the feeder so that it is out of the reach of predators. Squirrels are sometimes a problem, too, and
you might need to put up squirrel barriers (once again, ask the child for
suggestions).
Commercial birdseed and
blocks of suet can be purchased from a pet or hardware store. Alternatively,
you can use kitchen scraps or stale bread crumbs. Try to get the child into the
habit of putting food out each day.
Starter activities
1. Give the child a
notebook to record observations. (Or make a notebook together.) This should be
stored safely and used like a diary, with each observation dated.
2. Observe the
activities at the feeder. Start with simple questions like “How many different
types of birds visit our feeder?” “How many of each type are there?”. Record these numbers each day. Using a bird
guidebook, try to identify the birds.
You can also get your child to do simple drawings of the birds that
visit. Point out that this is one way that scientists record data, and that
when recording scientific data, artwork need not be perfect. (A bird diary with
drawings can become a magical possession.)
3. Invite your child to
make observations at different times of the day. Review the daily entries with your child and ask him/her and if
there are differences in the numbers of birds that visit on different days, or
at different times of the day.
Encourage him/her to make educated guesses on the possible reasons for
any differences observed.
4. Note the weather at
the time of each observation, and invite your child to see whether s/he can see
any relationships between the types of birds that visit and the weather.
5. If you have friends
or relatives in different parts of the region, try to make this a shared
study. Compare notes on the types of
birds that visit in different geographic areas.
6. Have your child look
for specific bird behaviours such as bird squabbling. Do birds of the same type
squabble or fight? What are the outcomes of squabbles? Do birds of different
types squabble? Is the outcome always the same? Do birds ever hurt each other
during their squabbles? Is there different behaviour between adults and young
birds? Can you identify mating behaviour? Appeasement rather than hurting or
killing is often the outcome of animal conflicts: can you identify appeasement
behaviour?
Taking it further
1. Start experimenting:
a) Have your child place different types of foods in
piles or dishes to see which are preferred by each type of bird. Invite your child to compare food
preferences with the different types of beak and/or body size.
b) Make several feeders and put them at different heights
. Observe which feeder is the most
popular with each type of bird. Compare this preference with the type of feet
the birds have to see if there is any relationship between the type of feet and
the height of the feeders.
c) Record where the birds fly from to reach the feeder
(fence, bush etc.) Make a map showing these sites in the notebook and measure
distances. Then provide some new perches closer to the feeder (branches, posts
etc.) and see which are preferred.
d) Provide different types of feeders (different sizes,
openings, with or without perches, etc.) and observe which works best for each
type of bird.
2. Help your child to
photograph the different birds that visit.
Compare the photographs to the pictures in the birdbook. Look for similarities and differences.
3. Try recording bird
calls on an audiocassette. Invite your
child to match the bird calls with the various birds. Ask the child to try
imitating them to “call” birds. (Some stores stock inexpensive bird-calling
devices. You might want to consider
purchasing one.) Have your child experiment with these calls in the yard or
when you are going for a walk in the neighbourhood or in the park. See if the
calls make the birds pop up out of the bush to take a look at you.
4. Take a birdwatching
walk or hike. Early morning or late
afternoon is usually best for birdwatching. Also try looking at water birds on
the ocean or on a lake. All towns have birdwatching groups who welcome
newcomers and novices (especially children).
You might want to consider joining one.
5. Try making a bird nesting
box before the nesting season (generally the springtime). Birds like a small
(20x15x15cm) waterproof box placed up high where there is little likelihood of
disturbance by predators. Different sizes of entry hole are favoured by
different types of birds; try holes of 3, 4 and 5cm in diameter in different
boxes. Record which birds investigate the box, which make nests, and the dates
of these activities. If baby birds appear, count them and record their relative
successes in learning to fly, weight gain etc.
6. Try making a bird
bath. This is just a flat tray of any diameter containing less than 3cm of
water to avoid drowning. As with the other items, it should be place where cats
and other predators cannot get to it. Activities involve observing behaviours
in the water bath (drinking, bathing, grooming and so on.)
7. There are various
national scientific networks that actively solicit bird feeder data from
amateurs. Check out this internet website:
http://birdsource.cornell.edu/pwf/index.html
8. Buy your child bird
books or binoculars at gift-giving times.
2. Ecosystem in a Jar
What It’s All About:
Most people pass by
ponds and ditches unaware that they are teeming with miniature life. The
animals and plants that live in these small bodies of fresh water can easily be
brought indoors. A whole new world will be revealed to your family - a world of
interdependent creatures. Children are fascinated by these small pond creatures
and will happily learn to identify and study small freshwater animals and
plants for months.
An important biological
idea is revealed in an aquatic ecosystem that you can set up at home. Below,
you will find instructions on how to build such an ecosystem. This ecosystem is a miniature model of the
Earth in that it has only one source of energy - the Sun. On Earth, all the energy that plants use to
grow, reproduce and produce oxygen is supplied by the Sun. All life depends on
plant growth and the oxygen that plants produce. In a similar way, the plant
life in an aquatic ecosystem (both visible and microscopic) provides the energy
and oxygen needed by the rest of the living organisms in the ecosystem.
Many communities contain
small but rich pond ecosystems. Sadly, ponds are not valued much and are often
seen as muddy nuisances. Ponds are being drained and lost all around the world.
The reduction in the number of ponds is thought to be contributing to the
world-wide decrease in frogs, newts and salamanders (animals known as
amphibians.)
What you will need
• A large clean, clear jar such as a pickle
jar, with a tightly-fitting lid. An extra large plastic soda or water bottle is
also suitable, although a bit harder to fill.
• Water, bottom mud, and aquatic plants from a
freshwater pond habitat. You can collect the materials in ice cream
buckets and plastic bags. Scoop nets are useful for catching some of the larger
aquatic beetles.
• Magnifying glass, magnifying sheet or hand
lens.
• Journal or notebook for recording
observations.
Getting started
Look for a pond or ditch
the next time you and your child go for a walk. Forests and parks are good
places to start. Get close to the surface of the water to see if you can see
any organisms swimming around. You
might want to dip a plastic bag in the water and look at what you bring
up. A waterscope can be a useful tool
for looking a pond life (see Figure 2-1).
If you look closely, you should see small transparent creatures zooming
around that you and your child can bring home to create your “pond.” Most children will be thrilled at the idea.
Some will express distaste, but if you persist with the idea, most children
become fascinated by pond studies.
1.
Look closely at the water before you begin to build your ecosystem. The water from the pond will be full of tiny
creatures without backbones (called invertebrates), tiny plants (called
phytoplankton), and bacteria. The
bottom mud will be full of interesting larger animals, such as worms, leeches,
snails, flatworms, an assortment of insect larvae and eggs that are hidden in
the mud. If you use a magnifying glass
or magnifying sheet to look at the plants and animals, you will be able to see
greater detail. Encourage your child to identify as many organisms as possible
and to draw pictures in a pond notebook.
2.
Place 2 cm of bottom mud on the bottom of the jar. Then carefully pour the pond
water down the side of the jar, taking care to disturb the bottom mud as little
as possible. Fill the container about
3/4 full. You can add tap water if you
don’t have enough pond water. Get your
child to plant a small quantity of the aquatic plants in the mud bottom. (They
will grow rapidly.) Add a stick that is
long enough to protrude out of the water when it is leaning against the side
(see Figure 2.2). Ask your child to
guess why you are putting this in. (It’s to allow certain pond animals to crawl
out of the water.) You can either invite your child to write down their guesses
in their pond notebook or explain to them the purpose of the stick. Don’t be surprised if the water takes several
days to clear after you have created your miniature ecosystem.
3.
Seal the jar. This will prevent evaporation and ensure that this is a closed
ecosystem in which the plants and animals are in balance.
4.
Place the jar or aquarium in the shade; in the northern hemisphere an unshaded
north-facing window is ideal. Do not
put it in direct sunlight, as the heat from the sun will kill the animals. You
will need to monitor the light conditions carefully to ensure that the
ecosystem doesn’t overheat and that it is getting enough light. Try not to
disturb your ecosystem.
5.
Look at the ecosystem every day or every other day so that you can see the
changes in the populations of small invertebrates. Look at it at night too.
Try shining a flashlight in the side. Some animals get more active at
night.
6.
Use the magnifying glass to examine the organisms in the water. Leave the pond notebook by the aquarium and
make regular notes about the activities of the organisms. You and your child may choose to watch
together, or you may want to take turns observing and recording. Each week, measure and record how much the
plants are growing. Encourage your
child to think about what is happening in the ecosystem by asking questions
such as:
Where are the
animals found at different times of the day?
Where do they
go at night?
Who eats
whom?
How much do
the animals eat?
Do any new organisms appear?
Do the numbers of certain types of
organisms appear to be increasing or decreasing?
7.
Here are some of the organisms you may see (see Figure 2-3):
- water fleas (Daphnia) bobbing up and
down as they move. These aren’t
really fleas and they don’t bite. Look for increases and decreases in
their number.
- copepods (Cyclops) zooming around or
floating. The females will have
egg cases that look like baggy shorts.
- tiny black dots (seed shrimps) zooming
around.
- leeches swimming or looping along the glass
(They may only come out at night).
- white or red worms (Tubifex ) in the
mud waving their tails.
- transparent or green hydra attached to the
sides of the jars catching water fleas.
- snails gliding along the glass (Look for
tracks made by the teeth on their tongues as they eat the algae on the
glass).
- eggs laid on the glass or on the plants
(Watch for them to hatch)
- insect larvae chasing and capturing other
species.
8.
Watch for animals that change form. For example, insect larvae will turn into
adults (metamorphosis). If this
happens, be sure to release them outside, preferably near a pond.
9.
Look at the bottom mud as it develops an orange layer. This is a natural
phenomenon that occurs when bacteria that live in mud reproduce and increase in
numbers.
10.
If things go well, your ecosystem may survive for several years. You may wish to add new pond water from time
to time to boost the numbers of organisms. If you wish to dispose of your
ecosystem, return the components to the original pond or to a local watery
ditch.
11.
Things to watch out for:
•
overheating, which will cause everything to die and turn black and
stinky;
• takeover by anaerobic bacteria (those
that can live in low or no oxygen environments). This is unpredictable and happens occasionally despite all your
care and attention. All the components of the ecosystem will gradually turn
orange (and sometimes black) as the system becomes anaerobic (no oxygen) and
the other organisms die;
• walls of the jar become covered in black
or brown “stains.” These stains are actually colonies of tiny one-celled plants
called diatoms that tend to stick together on flat surfaces. You’ll need to scrape them off, or light
will no longer be able to get in and the other plants and animals will die,
causing the jar to go black.
Taking it further
1.
You may wish to check your local library for books that examine the life cycles
of the organisms.
2.
Challenge your child to see if she or he can figure out who eats whom and draw
a diagram that illustrates the feeding relationships (called the food web) for
his/her ecosystem.
3.
Investigate or map the distribution of ponds and streams in your neighbourhood
or nearby community.
Do they contain the same organisms as the
pond you used?
Do the ponds look healthy or polluted?
4.
Go on a guided tour or take a weekend workshop at a local nature reserve that
features freshwater habitats.
5.
Consider joining a volunteer community group that is working on the health of
local streams or ponds.
3. Pigeon Diversity
What’s it all about?
Pigeons are fairly
common birds in cities and towns around the world. A careful look at these
birds shows that pigeons have interesting plumage variations. This activity
encourages children to observe pigeons more carefully, to record the variations
they see and try to deduce the genetic makeup of the different birds. This is
also an introduction to the study of biological variation and genetic
diversity.
Pigeons are native to
Europe, where they were originally cliff-dwellers. This explains why they like
roosting in high spots on houses and skyscrapers. They have been extensively
bred by pigeon fanciers and pigeon racing hobbyists. Many of the variants you
will see are derived from birds that were escapees from captivity.
Background information
The characteristics of
all living things are determined by hereditary units called genes. Genes are
parts of chromosomes, long worm-like structures found in our cells. These long structures are made of a
threadlike substance called DNA. Genes are the functional regions along the
DNA. In most big organisms (like
ourselves), every cell in the body contains two complete sets of chromosomes,
hence all genes are in pairs.
Most of the variation in
plumage we see in city pigeons has occurred because of spontaneous changes in
the genes. These spontaneous changes
are referred to as mutations. Some of
the new appearances which originated as a result of mutations were considered
by pigeon fanciers to be particularly attractive. These pigeons were bred so that there would be more pigeons with
the same variations in plumage. At some
point, some of these pigeons escaped into the wild, where they began to breed
with other pigeons.
The original pigeon was
probably “blue” in colour (actually a steely-blue-grey), and had two prominent
“bars” on its wings.
Mutations from this original type have resulted in a
variety of types that now exist in populations. Some of the common mutant types
found in cities are (see Figure 3): checkered wings, red colour (actually a
pinkish-beige), grizzled pattern, and solid black. However, careful observation
will reveal many other, rarer types.
To keep track of normal
and mutant genes, scientists use an alphabetical naming system. Genes are
labelled with letters of the alphabet.
The same letter is used for each of the two genes in the pair.
Let’s use the pigeon
gene for blue colour as an example. The normal gene that determines blue colour
is represented by the capital letter “E”. The mutated gene that causes red is
represented by the small letter “e”.
Because the genes are always in pairs,
there are three possible gene combinations: EE, Ee and ee. In the Ee case, the
gene represented by the capital letter (E) “dominates” the other gene (e), so
pigeons of type Ee look blue exactly like those of type EE. Pigeons that have the ee combination are red in colour.
What’s needed
Journal for recording
observations. Binoculars are useful but not essential.
Getting started
If you see pigeons near
your house or in the park, pique the curiosity of your child by asking why
these birds always seem to hang around buildings. Ask them to imagine where pigeons might have lived before there
were buildings - or cities.
Invite your child to
notice the similarities and the differences between pigeons and to record these
differences by making notes or drawings in a notebook.
Help your child to analyse
the genetic makeup of two or more different-looking pigeons they have
observed. The information in the
“What’s it all about” section above,
and the coding system below should enable them to begin to describe the
genetic features they are observing:
Original Mutation
c = dark bars
on wings C = dark checker
marks on wings