Bird of the Week X

This week's "Bird of the Week" is the Dark-eyed junco. The Junco is a medium sized sparrow that is gray with a black hood and a white belly. It has white, outer tail feathers that are quite visible when it flies. It's eyes are dark, it's legs are pink, and it's bill is "whiteish". The male and females look similar with the females being a little more paler and browner.

The first photograph is of a male and the second photograph is of a female.

Junco's are the "snowbirds" of our area, appearing around here only in the winter. They are very common at back yard bird feeders and will sometimes appear in flocks of 25 birds or more. The Junco feeds primarily on the ground, scratching the ground looking for insects and seeds.

Photos taken from All About Birds.

Determining Density

The students have been hard at work learning about density.  They are using the formula Density = Mass/Volume or D=M/V.  The units are grams per cubic centimeter or g/cm3.  We have used the skills we learned earlier in the year about how to find the volume of a cube using the formula LxWxH and of finding the volume of an irregular shaped object by displacement.  We have used pan balance scales and electronic digital scales as well.
We did an activity called "Massing Water" to determine that the density of fresh water at room temperature is 1.0 g/cm3.

Bird of the Week lX - Monday, November 15th, 2010

This week's "Bird of the Week" is the Red-tailed hawk.   The Red-tailed hawk is the most common and widespread hawk in North America. It is a bird of open country, but also frequents woodlots and suburban backyards. It is frequently seen sitting on utility poles where it watches for rodents in the grass along the roadside.
This large hawk has long and broad wings. It's wing span is between 45 - 52 inches. That's 4 1/2 feet! The tail is broad and red and most commonly has a pale chest and dark band across it's belly.

The Red-tailed hawk is a sit-and-wait predator, usually watching from elevated perch and then flying down to capture small and medium-sized mammals, birds, and reptiles. It will take young birds and squirrels out of their nests sometimes.
Around here, the Red-tailed hawks' nest is a large bowl of sticks in tall tree. You may also see their nest atop of a utility (light) pole along the highway.

While many eastern Red-tailed hawks migrate, there is a sizable number that live around here year-round.  These photos were taken in October, 2009 right outside my classroom window!  This hawk caught and ate a Gray squirrel.
Photos by Mr. Williams

Sink, Float, and Density

As part of our Sink, Float, Density unit, the students used a dozen different materials to see if they would sink or float.  Next, they made aluminum foil boats and tried to see how many marbles they could hold before they sank.

Each group of students was given a 6" x 6" sheet of aluminum foil.  Some groupd got more than 50 marbles in their boat before it sank!  We used this activity to talk about buoyancy and displacement.

Finding volume

We have just completed finding the volume of various objects.  For water, we poured it into various sized graduated cylinders and learned how to read them correctly.  They all now know what a meniscus is!

Using a ruler, we measured the length, width, and height of them and them using the formula L x W x H, we determined their volume. We then found the volume of irregular shaped objects by displacement.

Bird of the Week Vlll - November, 8th, 2010

This week's "Bird of the Week" is the American crow. The crow is widespread, common, obvious, and known to most people. What a lot of people don't know is how complex their life is. Young crows remain with their parents until they can find a home of their own, and individual relationships may last years. Young American Crows do not breed until they are at least two years old, and most do not breed until they are four or more. In most, but not all populations, the young stay with their parents and help them raise young in subsequent years. Families may include up to 15 individuals and contain young from five different years.

American Crows congregate in large numbers in winter to sleep in communal roosts. These roosts can be of a few hundred, several thousand, or even up to two million crows. Some roosts have been forming in the same general area for well over 100 years. In the last few decades some of these roosts have moved into urban areas where the noise and mess cause conflicts with people.
The American Crow appears to be the biggest victim of West Nile virus, a disease recently introduced to North America. Crows die within one week of infection, and few seem able to survive exposure. No other North American bird is dying at the same rate from the disease. If you see a dead crow, do not pick it up! Tell your parents about it.
The American crow is omnivorous. This means it eats food that is animal or vegetable. Things such as waste grain, earthworms, insects, carrion, garbage, seeds, amphibians, reptiles, mice, fruit, bird eggs, roadkill, and nestlings are part of it's diet.
The male and female Crow look alike, however, the male averages slightly larger. Crows live in out area year round. It's common call is a harsh "caw." It also has a variety of rattles, coos, and clear notes.
Photos from All About Birds and Istock photos

Bird of the Week - Vll November 1st, 2010

This weeks "Bird of the Week" is the is the European starling. The Starling is not native to North America. All the European Starlings in North America descended from 100 birds released in New York's Central Park in the early 1890s. Today, European Starlings range from Alaska to Florida and northern Mexico, and their population is estimated at over 200 million birds. Its successful spread is believed to have come at the expense of many native birds that compete with the starling for nest holes.

The Starling is a stocky, black bird with a short, square-tipped tail. It is about 8 - 9 inches long. It has pointed, triangular wings and has a long pointed bill which is yellow in the breeding season (spring and summer). It has shimmering green and purple feathers in the spring. The male and female birds look very similar.
While many Starlings migrate, some do winter over in our area. Starlings eat many kinds of invertebrates, fruits, grains, seeds, and garbage. They forages(look for food)in open, grassy areas. They feed in large flocks, often with blackbird species. Starling nest in cavities (holes) in trees.
Photos taken from All About Birds.