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Sunday, May 19, 2013
Florence Elementary has Bird Watchers Club

The Bird Watchers Club at Florence Elementary did more than identify birds under the direction of Martin Schadler with the Boone Cooperative Extension.

The students became acclimated to the bird culture by building their own nests using twigs, grasses, dirt, pebbles, and feathers. A few students tried their luck using a clothespin as a beak to maneuver the nesting material. They soon realized that using two hands was enough of a challenge, a task a bird performs with ease.

Feathers can tell you a lot about a bird. They can tell you their age, diet, size, and health. The club went a step further to examine the feathers beneath a microscope, identifying the parts and uniqueness of each feather.

To encourage future bird watching the club made bird feeders by using two liter bottles, clothes hangers to hang the feeder and PVC pipe for the perch. Each student left with a feeder and a bag of seed. Different types of bird seed will attract a variety of birds. Sunflower seed will attract cardinals and thistle will attract goldfinch. While welcoming our feathered friends, the students will be able to observe their size, shape, body parts, color and markings. Over time they will become familiar with their song and even their feeding behavior.

B.J. Porciello and her daughter, Adrianna Porciello, visited the Florence Elementary Bird Watchers Club and brought several roosters and hens from their hobby farm. Each chicken had their own personality and name. Scooter, an “Old English Black Breasted Red” Bantum entertained the group by poking his head out of his box and letting out a few crows after his turn with the students. They brought “Buff Brahmas” and a “Golden Comet” chicken and allowed the students to hold, feed, and pet then Adrianna showed the group the body parts of a chicken which included the spurs, waddles, comb, ear, and beak. She shared two general ways to determine the egg color of a hen. The first way is by the color of the hens’ leg but a better indicator is by the chickens’ ear lobe. A red ear lobe typically produces a brown egg.

Tom Sproat, with Critters in the Classroom, educated the students on the difference between predator and prey. Predators can come in all sizes from a bear to a shrew and prey can range from the size of a buffalo to a mouse. The difference is the placement of their eyes. The predator eyes are looking forward and the prey’s eyes are located on the side of their head. The students played a game of survival and each student had to catch their meal (sock mouse) as a predator. Then they put on prey glasses to see the world around them as the prey would and they realized how difficult it is to simply catch a meal.

They learned how plant eating animals (prey), known as an herbivore, have flat molars that hit on the top and bottom and carnivore (predators) molars are side by side that operate like scissors. An omnivore which are humans, have both flat molars like the prey and canine teeth like the predators.
To end the program Mr. Sproat brought in two majestic raptors to display their strength, stature and beauty. The first one was a Great Horned Owl named Kentucky and the second one was a Red Tail Hawk. The students were allowed to be photographed with these predators creating a moment to complete the Bird Watching Club experience.

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The Bird Watchers Club is showing off their bird feeders made of household items which will welcome our feathered friends.