by NIAS | Jun 1, 2023 | Family Activity
Family Activity
Although it may be summer vacation, it is always a good time to learn new things. This summer, make a nature journal with members of your family and/or friends. Get a small notebook for everyone that can easily be carried with you on your nature adventures. Date your entry and note the time. Also note whether it is sunny or cloudy or rainy or snowy. If you come back to the same location at a later time, it’s fun to compare how things have changed and what different things you experienced. It’s also enjoyable to compare your drawings and what you learned with others.
There are many ways to do your entries!
1) Use your senses! You could find a peaceful spot and just sit, watch, and listen. Jot down anything you see, hear and/or smell. If a child cannot write, they can try to draw the object or animal.
2) Go insect-collecting! First, always use caution for any biting or stinging animals that you might encounter. Use an insect net and catch some insects! Pick up stones and see what is underneath. Carefully place any insect in clear containers with air holes to observe then for a short amount of time. Draw them and describe them in your notebook. Release the insect when done.
3) Go Bird-watching! Have a pair of binoculars and also use your sense of hearing. You will hear many species of birds before you actually see them. Learn their songs and calls and then try to identify the bird. When you see a bird, note the size, beak shape, color, tail size and shape, presence of wing bars, and any behavior. See if you can determine if they are male or female. Write down and draw all of the birds you see. Come back another day and see if the same birds are around. This will help you also learn about which species migrate and which species do not.
4) Look for leaves and flowers! First, it would be important that you do not touch any plant unless you are certain of what it is. There are some plants that cause itching and irritation as well as blisters if you touch the sap. Walk around and look at the different flowers and leaves of plants and trees that you see. Draw them and if you identify the plant as safe, do a leaf rubbing in your notebook. If you come back another time, note whether you see the same flowers or not.
Save your journals and reflect on them later, especially in a different season. When you may be missing some of the birds or greenery in the winter, you can enjoy your drawings!
Get Outside!
A fun adventure to go on with friends or family is to take a bike ride! Go for a ride in a park, around the neighborhood, or on a bike path nearby. Bike rides are a good way to have fun with friends and family outside while getting a little exercise!
Take a family trip out to Elkhorn Creek Biodiversity Preserve on July 27 between 1 – 5 p.m. to join us at our annual butterfly festival! At this festival, participants can join guides on butterfly tours, or look for butterflies on their own.
One fun activity to do in order to cool down this summer is to make popsicles! All you will need is a container (either small cups, an ice cube tray, or a popsicle tray), your favorite juice, and popsicle sticks. Pour your juice into your container of choice, then put your container safely into the freezer. Keep an eye on your popsicle, and when the juice is half frozen, stick the popsicle stick in until frozen completely. Take your popsicle out of the freezer and container, then enjoy with friends and family outside!
Summer Outdoors
Many ideas for summer fun for kids and their families in Summer Activities: Nature Activities for Children, by Irmagard Kutsch, Brigitte Walden (illus.).
On a rainy day, go outside during or after a rain to listen, smell, touch and see its effects. Ideas from Listen to the Rain, by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault.
If it is raining, would you describe it as soft and slow, roaring and pouring, hurly-burly, topsy-turvy, ligihtning-flashing, thunder clapping, sounding pounding roaring or dripping.
- Can you see raindrops of different sizes?
- Can you find any animals moving during or after a rain? Which ones?
- Which plants still hold some rain drops in certain places? Where?
- What can you smell after a rain?
by NIAS | May 1, 2023 | Family Activity
Spring Nature Activities
It’s spring! It’s time to enjoy the outdoors, and it can be done in the simplest ways.
Take leisurely walks around the block, in the garden, in a park, or, if you live near Freeport, at Oakdale. Take along a “treasure bag” and encourage children to pick up cones, sticks, rocks. Have a shelf at home to display these treasures. Teach them not to pick flowers, except in your yard; instead, stop to observe carefully a plant or flower. Count the petals. Name the colors. Smell. Look at the leaves. Are the leaves directly across from each other on the stem or are they alternate—or perhaps only at the base of the plant? What shape are they? Are they smooth or rough? If the child is old enough, have him draw the flowers—or have her look very closely and sketch from memory. Do this with the child. Then look at the plant. What did either of you forget to include?
Choose a tree to befriend. Begin now in the spring and watch the tree closely as each season progresses. Let the child take pictures, which you can post on a bulletin board. But encourage everyone to draw his or her own impressions of the tree. At the end of year, make a collage of drawings, photographs, journal observations.
Spring Observations
Take your kids for a walk around your yard or a nearby park. What signs of spring do they see? Jot down their observations in a small notebook.
Choose a tree that is just leafing out; ask them to describe the leaf shape this point, its color and size. Have each one sketch a leaf. Then let the kids take pictures. (But have them sketch or draw first). Choose a flower. Choose a few other plants or growing things that the kids point out, but only a few.
For each one jot down the observations the kids make, have each one sketch one thing he or she chooses, and then let them take a few pictures – but only a few. Post their observations and choose a few pictures.
Two or three weeks later, repeat the process with the same tree, plant, flower, etc. Have them note the changes.
Repeat again in another two or three weeks.
You can use your imagination and theirs to put together, perhaps on poster board, their observations, pictures they’ve drawn, some of the pictures. Have them choose which of these they want to put on the board; by choosing, they will be more aware and reflective.
You will a have a visual and written book of the blossoming of spring.
Spring Exploration
Take a family trip out to Silver Creek Biodiversity Preserve on Saturday, May 11th at 10:00 a.m. to go on a tour and learn how to use binoculars!
As spring begins, more species of insects and birds can be seen outside. On a sunny day, consider going outside with your family and friends to see how many different types of insects you can find!
One fun thing to do this spring for the birds is to make a bird feeder! Take an empty juice carton, and cut a few holes about halfway down the side. Then, paint it your favorite color, poke two holes in the top to attach string to, and glue a stick for the birds to perch on near the bottom. Fill the carton with bird food, hang on a nearby tree, and watch for the birds to come!
Family Activity
Make your own window decals or “clings” to help protect your feathered friends during migration time. During migration, birds encounter numerous threats, including strikes with buildings and windows. Birds have difficulty knowing that a window is approaching when the reflection shows the sky behind them. If you break up the reflection in the window by turning off lights or putting decals in the windows, this can reduce window collisions and help the birds finish their journey.
This activity was created by New York Audubon and only requires a few items you likely already have at home. You’ll need some glue, dish soap, a plastic surface, a paintbrush, bird stencils or bird photographs to help you create fun shapes, and markers for decorating once dry.
Follow the instructions provided in the link above and create some clings to stick to your windows during peak migration of spring and fall! Make sure you create quite a few decals for large windows and place them no more than 2-4 inches apart on the window.
by NIAS | Apr 27, 2023 | Family Activity
Family Activity
Celebrate the theme of World Migratory Bird Day 2023
Celebrate the theme of World Migratory Bird Day 2023 about water by exploring aquatic ecosystems. All living organisms, including YOU, require water.
Put on some boots, bring some nets and containers, and of course, bring binoculars. Walk around aquatic habitats, such as near streams and creeks and search for creatures that rely on water. There are many bird species than tend to be near or on water, such as Sandhill Cranes, Red-winged Blackbirds, American White Pelicans, Great Blue Herons, and many species of waterfowl. Many migratory warblers and sparrows require water for survival on their long journeys. These birds use the habitat for shelter, food, and for their nests. See if you can observe the behavior of these birds by keeping distant and quiet. You may get a chance to see their nests and what they use for food. Water is a great place that attracts insects that many birds can eat.
When you have an opportunity, safely collect water samples from the creek (ensure an adult is with you and be careful in and near the water). What kind of organisms can you find in the water? Many invertebrates live in water including insects, their larvae, and crayfish. You may also find vertebrates in the water like amphibians and fish or mammals that live nearby.
When you return home, consider how you use water. Think about how often you use water or waste water and learn ways to conserve it, such as turning off the faucet while brushing teeth and not putting toxic materials down the drain.
Learn more about World Migratory Bird Day at migratorybirdday.org.
Let’s Get Ready for the Special Children’s Nature Walk
Can you guess which bird is identified below? Which of these can we find? Get out your bird books or go online and see if you can bring the identity of these birds with you when you come with us on the Special Children’s Nature Walk at Oakdale on May 24. These are birds we are likely to see that morning:
Bird A
- I have red on my wings.
- I like to be near water.
Bird B
- I like to live in the open, away from the trees.
- I like to eat mealworms.
Bird C
- I have a rosy-red breast.
- I just come through Oakdale on migration.
Bird D
- I have a dark gray back and red-brick breast.
- I like to eat worms.
Bird E
- I have a solid black cap, white cheeks and black throat.
- I am little and friendly.
Bird F
- I have a black head and upperparts, a white wing bar and bright orange underparts.
- I love to eat oranges!
How about this creature we might see?
- My eight simple eyes help me see to the front, behind, below, above and to the sides. I have eight legs too.
- I eat lots of insects, many of which carry diseases or are harmful to plants. I’m really not such a bad fellow.
Or we might find this one:
- I am able to breathe and drink through my moist skin.
- I have two webbed feet, four legs, two eyes and a backbone.
- I’m green and live in and out of water.
Backyard Feeding Tips to Attract the Baltimore Oriole
Jelly is one of the most effective oriole foods you can offer. Smooth grape jelly is best, but the birds will also take orange marmalade or red cherry, strawberry or raspberry jellies. Offer jelly in small dishes, in a hollow orange rind or smeared on an orange half and the orioles won’t be able to leave it alone. Do not, however, offer sugar free jellies; it is the sugar that gives the birds the necessary energy and calories they need. Ideally, organic jellies are best.
As the weather begins to warm up head out to your favorite trail to enjoy the spring weather and nature.
If the wind is strong, go outside and fly kites with your friends and family! If you do not own a kite already, then go to the store and purchase one before finding an open area outside to fly the kites in. Compete against your friends to see who can fly their kite the highest and longest!
An entertaining planting craft that you can do as a family is to make your own grass cups! All you need are cups, construction paper, scissors, tape, soil, and grass seed. First, start by cutting out silly faces from the construction paper, and tape them onto the cup. Put soil inside the cup, then plant the seeds inside. Water your grass daily, and watch it grow!
Fly like a Bird and Learn about Migration
Ask yourself: Why do birds fly over our town? Where do you think they are going and why? Birds may fly around for several reasons: to find a new home, to find food, to find water, or to seek shelter and safety. Then learn about migration, which is a longer distance flight. Spring is a time for many birds to migrate. Why do birds migrate? They might be looking for better food availability, breeding areas to find a mate, or better climate.
Learn about migration by playing migration games with your family. Have several family members or friends pretend to be a flock of migrating birds – perhaps in a “V” formation that geese do. Take turns being the leader of the V while the others make two angled lines. Follow the leader without bumping into each other and keeping the V formation – it’s tricky unless you communicate! Birds call to signal each other – you can make this fun by having the lead bird call back things like, “You getting too tired, Jack?” or “How are you doing, Jill?” or by making bird calls!
by NIAS | Mar 1, 2023 | Family Activity
Want to attract the bluebird?
Build it and they will come! Building bluebird nest boxes is a great way to help conserve birds at the local level. Boxes are readily available at most home improvement stores or you can check out lots of nest plans at www.birdwatching-bliss.com and build it yourself.
To make it more successful, remember:
- Limit pesticide use; bluebirds diet consists of insects which can be affected by pesticides.
- No perch! Perches encourage predators and the birds don’t need them.
- Houses should be put up at the end of February or early March.
- Make sure boxes are 200 yards apart if putting up more than one nesting box.
- Face the box east or northeast, away from prevailing winds.
- Place boxes 4–8 feet high, facing a clearing if possible.
- The North American Bluebird Society has very strict guidelines for monitoring nesting boxes that you should check out.
Some websites have live Eastern Bluebird Webcams so you can watch babies in the nest. Do a search online.
Do you have a preschool-aged child in your life? Teach them this little finger play.
Two little bluebirds
(hold one finger from each hand in front of you)
Sitting on a hill
One named Jack
(wiggle one finger)
One named Jill
(wiggle the other)
Fly away Jack
(put hand behind back)
Fly away Jill
(put other hand behind back)
Come back Jack
(bring one hand back to front with finger up)
Come back Jill
(bring out other hand)
Winter Tree Buds
Explore with your kids the buds of various trees. In February or early March, while buds are still tightly closed, cut off a 12-inch twig from various trees. Use garden shears for a sharp, clean cut and cut at an angle. Never take more than you need.
Fill a jar with water and put in the twigs. Place in a sunny windowsill and change the water every few days.
Check daily and note how the buds begin to swell. Finally, the flower buds will burst open. The leaf buds take a little more time.
Eagle Craft Idea
Try this craft idea with your kids and encourage them to be creative.
Kids can trace their hands and one foot on a brown paper bag. Cut out the tracings and glue or tape them together as shown in the picture below.
Glue some white paper to the head area, find something fun for the black eyes and make a triangle beak out of orange paper and glue on.
Draw some feet out of orange paper and glue those on.
These would be fun to make after the Eagle field trip on Feb. 21st! You could even hang them in a window.
Late Winter Exploration
If there is still snow on the ground, take a trip outside to make snow angels (or snow birds)! Lay down on your back in the snow, then move your arms and legs side to side.
While you make your snow angels, look up at the sky to watch for any birds flying by. In the evening, go outside with your family and you might hear some owls!
Go outside and try to spot the American Woodcock. This is the best time of year to find one! When the American Woodcock flies, it looks like a nerf bullet! While you are trying to find one, you can take a walk and look for animal tracks in the snow.
by NIAS | Feb 1, 2023 | Family Activity
February can seem dreary, but conifers cheer us, giving us the gift of green against gray skies.
Take a walk noticing the different conifers in your yard and neighborhood. Collect some of the cones and needle clusters. Are the tops of the trees rounded or pointed? How are the needles of various conifers different? How might animals use conifers?
Kids and adults alike can hunker down with these two coloring books (or others); all that you learn in these can sharpen awareness when you then take them along on late winter walks.
Birdwatchers Coloring Book, Dover Nature Coloring Books.
A Walk in the Woods, Dover Nature Coloring Books. For all ages. The woods in all seasons are celebrated: includes the amazing life below pond ice and the early spring flowers.
Family Activity
February or March can seem dreary, so looking for the gift of colors can help!
Go on an adventure with others. Bring a notebook and colored pencils or markers. Look for all different shades of color as you explore and take note of them in your notebook.
Look for BLACK – Such as the black feathers of an American Crow or the black scat of a mammal.
Look for BROWN, such as mud emerging from the melting snow, the tree trunk, or the Brown Creeper eating insects on the tree trunk!
Look for RED – The red coloring found in the Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-headed Woodpeckers, or male Downy Woodpeckers.
Look for ORANGE – Sometimes fungi are orange or maybe you’ll spot a Baltimore Oriole.
Look for YELLOW – Like in the American Goldfinch or the rays of the warming sun that is now out longer!
Look for GREEN – The needle like leaves of evergreen trees or some mosses emerging from under the melting snow.
Look for BLUE – Blue Jays and American Bluebirds are common and easier to see against some snowy WHITE backdrops.
What other colors can you find? The world really is a colorful place!
Play a Migration Game
Several family members or friends can pretend to be a flock of migrating birds—perhaps in a V-shape as with geese. Have them rotate position so the lead bird can go to the back for a break and another moves into leadership.
Birds call to signal each other – you can make this fun by having the lead bird call back things like, “You getting too tired, Jack?” or “How are you doing, Livy?”
Make a Bird Bath
As migration brings more birds to our area, you can welcome them with a homemade bird bath as well as commercial ones. They can drink and bathe and fluff their feathers after their long journey. You can simply use a garbage lid. Or use large plant saucers or shallow bowls placed on tree stumps. The water should be no more than 3 inches deep. If it is deeper than that, you can put gravel or stones in the bottom—which is a good idea anyway to anchor it more firmly.
Be sure to change the water and to keep it clean; you can hose it down for a quick cleaning; occasionally wash with warm water and soap and a brush; scrub it vigorously, then rinse thoroughly. An adult can add a little bleach to the water; in that case, take special care to rinse thoroughly. Put your birdbath near shrubs or trees.
Decorate Windows to Prevent Birds from Crashing into Them
- Use sparkly ribbons or strips of black garbage bags; the glitter and flutter will help to warn birds away.
- Or you can draw flowers or squiggly lines with tempura paint.
Ideally, these devices would be about 4 inches apart, but you can judge how much you need by whether birds frequently hit your windows.
Do the Feather Test
Why don’t ducks get wet? Ducks have glands at the base of their feathers that release oil to spread over the top layer of feathers.
Take two feathers: Coat one with vegetable oil. Dip each in water. What happens? Can you see how the oil prevents water from soaking the feather?
Feed the ducks – but not with bread. Bread isn’t good for ducks and can make them sick. Instead try grapes cut in half, frozen peas that have been defrosted, birdseed, cracked corn, barley, or oats.
Since Valentine’s Day is in February, a fun craft to do would be to make a heart owl. Carefully cut out a heart-shaped head, feet, and a set of wings from construction paper, then glue them on to the edges of a paper plate so that it resembles an owl. You can use googly eyes or just draw your own eyes on, and write a clever phrase, such as “Hoo loves you?” in the middle.
by NIAS | Jan 1, 2023 | Family Activity
Make a pinecone feeder; just spread peanut butter and cornmeal on a pinecone and roll it in a pan of birdseed. Tie a sturdy string or twice, cut into a two-foot length, to the top part of pinecone and tie the other end of the string to a nail or hook where the birds can easily reach the pinecone and where you can see them.
When it snows, make a snowman (a small one will do nicely) and, in addition to the usual carrot for a nose and raisins for eyes, give him a sunflower or raisin belly button and decorate him with birdseed, shelled peanuts, berries, fruit, Cheerios.
Ideas from Project Learning Tree of the American Forest Foundation.
Go on a Winter Evergreen Walk
- Go on a winter evergreen walk. Stop, look, listen – the crunch of snow, the crackling of twigs, the wind. Notice the dark green of the evergreens against the sky. If there is snow and sun, point out the contrast of blue sky, dark green, and the snow.
- Look on the ground for pine cones and high in the trees.
- Look up through the branches of evergreens, talk about the patterns, and the ways evergreens provide shelter from wind, rain, and snow.
- Look up at the deciduous trees; find the nests and holes now visible with the leaves gone.
- Look for evidence of how animals survive in winter. How could evergreens help them? Look for animals tracks, scat, other signs of animals. Ask: If you were an animal in winter, where would you stay?
- Look for the whorls of branches on conifers. Each year the tree adds a new whorl of branches. Estimate the age of the tree by counting the whorls (adding two or three years for the early years before the tree started making whorls).
- Back inside, enjoy some hot chocolate or tea, pointing out that these treats come from trees.
- Make a Winter Treat for the Birds – Mix one part peanut butter or suet with five parts corn meal and pack the mixture into the crevices of a large pine cone. Hang outside and watch the birds enjoy their treat.
Forest Exploration
– Ideas from Project Learning Tree of the American Forest Foundation.
Go on a winter evergreen walk. Stop, look, listen—the crunch of snow, the crackling of twigs, the wind. Notice the dark green of the evergreens against the sky. If there is snow and sun, point out the contrast of blue sky, dark green, and the snow.
Look on the ground for pine cones and high in the trees.
Look up through the branches of evergreens, talk about the patterns, and the ways evergreens provide shelter from wind, rain, and snow.
Look up at the deciduous trees; find the nests and holes now visible with the leaves gone.
Look for evidence of how animals survive in winter. How could evergreens help them? Look for animal tracks, scat, and other signs of animals. Ask: If you were an animal in winter, where would you stay?
Back inside, enjoy some hot chocolate or tea, pointing out that these treats from trees.
Then make a winter treat for the birds: Mix one part peanut butter or suet with five parts corn meal and pack the mixture into the crevices of a large pine cone. Hang outside and watch the birds enjoy their treat.
Fun in the Snow
A fun activity you can do with your family and friends as it starts to snow is to go sledding! Bundle up with all your buddies, grab a sled, and find the biggest snowy hill outside to sled down!
