Hey everyone, I just wanted to say thank you for making our field trip a resounding success! I learned quite a bit and had a wonderful time, and I hope all of you did as well. One really cool thing I enjoyed was seeing those chrysalids from the caterpillar that changes its chrysalis colour to camouflage with its surroundings. Also, I thought those quail were awesome.
I wanted to pass on what Meagen said to me after the program was over: she said it was really nice to be able to work with a group that was really interested and knowledgeable about the topic, and that you guys were great.
If you have any photos from the trip you really liked (including photos of Young Naturalists, as long as parents approve -- I will not post any photos of Young Naturalists that parents don't approve first, in writing or email) you are welcome to send them to me at my email address (my name at uc.org) and I will post them here.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
October sightings
Reminder: KWFN YN tomorrow morning! Hope to see you all there.
As promised, our sightings from last month:
As promised, our sightings from last month:
- Mourning cloak butterfly
- Rabbit
- Chipmunk
- Juncos
- Grackles
- Goldfinches
- Cedar waxwing
- Jelly cup fungus
- Golden-crowned kinglet
- Canada geese
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
November program reminders!
Just a couple of reminders:
Wings of Paradise is this weekend! I've sent out an email -- if you didn't get it, please let me know so that I can send it to you. I included a map and the list of people who are coming. The program will be about Monarch butterfly migration, and it should be really interesting! And what a great time of year to be reminded, just a little bit, of what summer is like...
Also, if you haven't sent your photos to me yet, I'm looking forward to seeing them! I have a couple already and I'll be posting them here once I've added a small copyright note to them.
I hope everyone is enjoying the snow. I'm looking forward to getting out my skis this weekend. And my birdfeeder is full of all sorts of critters, including a Cooper's Hawk who thought maybe I was providing a buffet for him. Also, I've seen big flocks of Snow Buntings in fields along the road as I'm driving -- always a sure sign that winter's really here.
My next thing to post will be our sightings from the October meeting. Hopefully I can get to that tomorrow!
Random cool bird fact:
"Although breeding and nonbreeding males look quite different, the Snow Bunting has only one molt each year and no true "Alternate Plumage." After the molt in the late summer the male looks brownish with a brown and black striped back. Underneath the colored feather tips, the back feathers are pure black and the body feathers all are white. The male wears off all of the feather tips by actively rubbing them on snow, and he is immaculate white and jet black by the time breeding begins."
Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (2003). All about birds bird guide: Snow bunting. Retrieved November 18, 2008, from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Snow_Bunting_dtl.html
Wings of Paradise is this weekend! I've sent out an email -- if you didn't get it, please let me know so that I can send it to you. I included a map and the list of people who are coming. The program will be about Monarch butterfly migration, and it should be really interesting! And what a great time of year to be reminded, just a little bit, of what summer is like...
Also, if you haven't sent your photos to me yet, I'm looking forward to seeing them! I have a couple already and I'll be posting them here once I've added a small copyright note to them.
I hope everyone is enjoying the snow. I'm looking forward to getting out my skis this weekend. And my birdfeeder is full of all sorts of critters, including a Cooper's Hawk who thought maybe I was providing a buffet for him. Also, I've seen big flocks of Snow Buntings in fields along the road as I'm driving -- always a sure sign that winter's really here.
My next thing to post will be our sightings from the October meeting. Hopefully I can get to that tomorrow!
Random cool bird fact:
"Although breeding and nonbreeding males look quite different, the Snow Bunting has only one molt each year and no true "Alternate Plumage." After the molt in the late summer the male looks brownish with a brown and black striped back. Underneath the colored feather tips, the back feathers are pure black and the body feathers all are white. The male wears off all of the feather tips by actively rubbing them on snow, and he is immaculate white and jet black by the time breeding begins."
Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (2003). All about birds bird guide: Snow bunting. Retrieved November 18, 2008, from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Snow_Bunting_dtl.html
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
October program
All right everyone! Hope you're ready for a spectacular fall weekend. We'll be out taking photographs of fall colours and possibly fall critters.
This means you need to remember to:
I'd like to try to have my own laptop there so that we can see some of the photos we've taken on a larger screen, but I'd like most of our time to be spent actually taking photos. I would really like to put some of your photos up here on the blog, and maybe even show them to the adult club in January!
If you don't have a camera of your own, we are going to try to have a few extras along with us to share.
Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday!
Just a reminder: I'll have a sign-up sheet for November's trip to Wings of Paradise. I need to know how many people are coming so that I can let Wings of Paradise know, and so that I can make sure I have the correct funds!
This means you need to remember to:
- bring along a camera if you have one -- digital or film
- dress for the weather!
I'd like to try to have my own laptop there so that we can see some of the photos we've taken on a larger screen, but I'd like most of our time to be spent actually taking photos. I would really like to put some of your photos up here on the blog, and maybe even show them to the adult club in January!
If you don't have a camera of your own, we are going to try to have a few extras along with us to share.
Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday!
Just a reminder: I'll have a sign-up sheet for November's trip to Wings of Paradise. I need to know how many people are coming so that I can let Wings of Paradise know, and so that I can make sure I have the correct funds!
Monday, September 29, 2008
September 2008: Bug Hunt!
Thanks again to everyone who came out for our first meeting of the year! We had a great time, despite the rainy weather. After sightings, we played the insect punch game outside, and then we took our nets and our jars out into the damp morning and did a very thorough search for critters without backbones -- the invertebrates.
I'm happy to report that our list was long and impressive, despite the weather! We saw or caught:
In addition to the invertebrates, Young Naturalists also caught or saw:
Remember, our next meeting is going to be about Nature Photography. If you have a digital camera, please remember to bring it. This is a rain-or-shine program; if we can't go outside, we'll bring nature inside. More information will follow!
I'm happy to report that our list was long and impressive, despite the weather! We saw or caught:
- white faced meadowhawks
- other meadowhawk species
- white-marked tussock moth caterpillar
- a different species of tussock moth caterpillar
- bumblebee
- blow fly
- spread-winged damselfly (male)
- milkweed bug nymphs
- aphids
- long-horned grasshopper (female)
- a species of eupelmid
- several different leafhopper species
- cucumber beetle
- yellow jacket wasp nest
In addition to the invertebrates, Young Naturalists also caught or saw:
- tadpoles
- leopard frogs
- a spring peeper
- minnows
- great blue heron
Remember, our next meeting is going to be about Nature Photography. If you have a digital camera, please remember to bring it. This is a rain-or-shine program; if we can't go outside, we'll bring nature inside. More information will follow!
Sightings September 2008
It was great to see everyone at the meeting this weekend! We'll be making sure to post our sightings after every meeting. So here's the list of things Young Naturalists saw over the summer:
- black swallowtail butterfly (egg, caterpillar and adult)
- red-bellied snake
- cicada (cases)
- ruffed grouse
- deer
- groundhog
- great blue heron
- raccoons
- rabbits
- woolly aphids
- yellow warblers
- bats (hoary, little brown and big brown)
- timber wolves
- flying squirrel
- star nosed mole
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
September program
All right! Some of you are probably wondering what the plan is for our first meeting, which is Saturday, September 27th, at 10:00 am at the Nature Centre.
This month we're going to be doing a program on insects.
We will be catching insects, including (hopefully!) lots of butterflies, praying mantis, dragonflies, beetles, and more. We have great nets, jars and terrariums, as well as a microscope and some magnifying glasses. We'll be using field guides to identify as many of the critters as we can. We'll create a list of the insects we catch and/or identify for our sightings book, too!
We'll also be playing a great insect game, and depending on time and weather we may have a craft as well.
If you have an insect field guide that you like to use, feel free to bring it along! Otherwise, you don't need to bring anything. Please remember to dress for the weather!
Early fall is a great time to be looking for insects. Praying mantis, for example, are in the process of finding mates and laying eggs; monarchs are starting to store up on energy in preparation for their trip south. Dragonflies are mating and laying eggs so that their nymphs will hatch before winter, during which they'll hibernate before becoming one of the first aquatic critters to be active in the spring time.
Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
This month we're going to be doing a program on insects.
We will be catching insects, including (hopefully!) lots of butterflies, praying mantis, dragonflies, beetles, and more. We have great nets, jars and terrariums, as well as a microscope and some magnifying glasses. We'll be using field guides to identify as many of the critters as we can. We'll create a list of the insects we catch and/or identify for our sightings book, too!
We'll also be playing a great insect game, and depending on time and weather we may have a craft as well.
If you have an insect field guide that you like to use, feel free to bring it along! Otherwise, you don't need to bring anything. Please remember to dress for the weather!
Early fall is a great time to be looking for insects. Praying mantis, for example, are in the process of finding mates and laying eggs; monarchs are starting to store up on energy in preparation for their trip south. Dragonflies are mating and laying eggs so that their nymphs will hatch before winter, during which they'll hibernate before becoming one of the first aquatic critters to be active in the spring time.
Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
a little Big Bang
A quick update on the state of the world: we have not been sucked into an artificially created black hole. Hooray!
In other news, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) started today. I mention this on a website dedicated to nature because it's the world's biggest experimental facility for physics, and the "natural history" that we study is all here, and so are we, thanks to the sorts of things physicists study. The scientists using the LHC are hoping to figure out fundamental physics questions like what happened during the Big Bang, and what kinds of other dimensions are out there.
I'll admit, I'm not a physicist and I know very little about physics. But even I think an experimental particle accelerator that is long enough to span the entire border between France and Switzerland, 100 m underground, is pretty cool. I don't understand what a hadron is, but I know they're now colliding them at high speeds, like a sub-atomic demolition derby. This is a great opportunity for physicists, and all of us, to learn about the forces that created our universe.
Pretty nifty, I think.
In other news, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) started today. I mention this on a website dedicated to nature because it's the world's biggest experimental facility for physics, and the "natural history" that we study is all here, and so are we, thanks to the sorts of things physicists study. The scientists using the LHC are hoping to figure out fundamental physics questions like what happened during the Big Bang, and what kinds of other dimensions are out there.
I'll admit, I'm not a physicist and I know very little about physics. But even I think an experimental particle accelerator that is long enough to span the entire border between France and Switzerland, 100 m underground, is pretty cool. I don't understand what a hadron is, but I know they're now colliding them at high speeds, like a sub-atomic demolition derby. This is a great opportunity for physicists, and all of us, to learn about the forces that created our universe.
Pretty nifty, I think.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
brochure and registration
So, I know everyone is starting to think about registration and wondering where the brochure is. The sad truth is that it's still in my head. I'm working on it this weekend, so I promise to mail it out next week. If you think you might not be on our mailing list, leave a comment with your name and email address and I will be happy to check for you. Remember that I won't ever publish comments with email addresses in them, so if your comment is "rejected" that's why.
If you're not sure whether or not you want to register, leave a comment with questions or concerns and I'll be happy to answer any of those that I can.
Sorry for the delay guys! It's amazing how fast the summer flies by. You might not believe it, but your leaders did have good intentions of getting the brochure out in July. Oops.
If you're not sure whether or not you want to register, leave a comment with questions or concerns and I'll be happy to answer any of those that I can.
Sorry for the delay guys! It's amazing how fast the summer flies by. You might not believe it, but your leaders did have good intentions of getting the brochure out in July. Oops.
Friday, August 22, 2008
itty bitty swallowtail caterpillar
Further to the last post, here's a photo of the creature that emerged from the egg, about a week and a half after it was laid. It's now been working on the carrot for about a week:
It's not quite as long as my thumbnail yet. Tiny! But the colours are starting to become noticeable. If you click on the photo you can see it a little closer. It's definitely patterned to look like a bird dropping, but as it gets larger it will develop a distinctive pattern of warning colours. I'll try to keep photos coming!
It's not quite as long as my thumbnail yet. Tiny! But the colours are starting to become noticeable. If you click on the photo you can see it a little closer. It's definitely patterned to look like a bird dropping, but as it gets larger it will develop a distinctive pattern of warning colours. I'll try to keep photos coming!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
black swallowtail butterfly in my garden!
Summer sighting, very cool:
I was sitting in my garden this morning and a large black butterfly caught my eye: a black swallowtail! Now, it seemed to be hanging around my vegetable garden. I watched it for quite a while, keeping my distance (I didn't want to bother her because I suspected she was up to something) and once she had gone, I went and inspected my carrots.
Sure enough, there's a tiny little egg on one of my carrot plants. I have a confession: I don't really like to eat carrots myself. So when I planted them, I was secretly hoping that I'd end up with swallowtails! Carrots and other plants in the same family are host plants for the caterpillars of some species of swallowtails.
I thought about bringing the egg inside where I could keep it safe until it hatched, and feed the caterpillar, but I decided it was probably a better idea to leave it outside. Hopefully I'll be able to keep an eye on the egg and then the caterpillar as it grows. It might be a little hard on my carrot plants, but that's okay. I think the caterpillar can have my share!
I was sitting in my garden this morning and a large black butterfly caught my eye: a black swallowtail! Now, it seemed to be hanging around my vegetable garden. I watched it for quite a while, keeping my distance (I didn't want to bother her because I suspected she was up to something) and once she had gone, I went and inspected my carrots.
Sure enough, there's a tiny little egg on one of my carrot plants. I have a confession: I don't really like to eat carrots myself. So when I planted them, I was secretly hoping that I'd end up with swallowtails! Carrots and other plants in the same family are host plants for the caterpillars of some species of swallowtails.
I thought about bringing the egg inside where I could keep it safe until it hatched, and feed the caterpillar, but I decided it was probably a better idea to leave it outside. Hopefully I'll be able to keep an eye on the egg and then the caterpillar as it grows. It might be a little hard on my carrot plants, but that's okay. I think the caterpillar can have my share!
Monday, July 14, 2008
planning next season
All right! Your leaders are starting to plan next season's programs. I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting pretty excited. We have some cool new programs in the works.
What I'm curious about, though, is if there are particular things that any of you Young Naturalists would like to do. Stuff we have done in the past that you really enjoyed, or stuff we haven't done that you think we should.
Let us know! Leave a comment. If you don't want your comment published, just say so right in the comment and I'll make sure your comment stays private.
What I'm curious about, though, is if there are particular things that any of you Young Naturalists would like to do. Stuff we have done in the past that you really enjoyed, or stuff we haven't done that you think we should.
Let us know! Leave a comment. If you don't want your comment published, just say so right in the comment and I'll make sure your comment stays private.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
ferrets and mole-rats and flamingos, oh my!
Has anyone been to the National Zoo in Washington? I've never been but I've heard it's wonderful. They have a great website, too, and I've been poking around there in the past couple of days because someone sent me a link to their ferretcam!
The ferretcam is a webcam trained on the home of Georgia, a black-footed ferret. They're one of the most endangered mammals in the world, and Georgia gave birth to a baby, called a kit, six days ago. Right now the kit looks rather like a little white sausage with four stubby legs. Georgia spends most of her time sleeping, because ferrets are nocturnal, but the kit is quite active so there's often something to see.
You can also access other webcams from the National Zoo's website, and there are a lot of very, very cool animals to see. In addition to the webcams, they have some great information on their site about animals from all over the world, good photos, and all sorts of activities and fact sheets.
The ferretcam is a webcam trained on the home of Georgia, a black-footed ferret. They're one of the most endangered mammals in the world, and Georgia gave birth to a baby, called a kit, six days ago. Right now the kit looks rather like a little white sausage with four stubby legs. Georgia spends most of her time sleeping, because ferrets are nocturnal, but the kit is quite active so there's often something to see.
You can also access other webcams from the National Zoo's website, and there are a lot of very, very cool animals to see. In addition to the webcams, they have some great information on their site about animals from all over the world, good photos, and all sorts of activities and fact sheets.
Friday, June 13, 2008
today's forecast: extreme cold with a chance of dust storms
This is not related to nature on Earth, but...
Has anyone ever wondered what the weather's like on Mars? Now you can find out!
The data comes from the Phoenix Mars Lander, which landed on Mars on May 28, 2008. What's even more cool is that the meteorological station on the Phoenix Mars Lander was developed, built and tested in Canada by the Canadian Space Agency.
Today, when I checked, the maximum Martian temperature for today was -24 degrees Celsius, and the minimum was -70 degrees Celsius! The weather was sunny. Makes me almost glad of our plus 27 degree Celsius temperatures here today!
More Phoenix Mars Lander information:
http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/eng/exploration/phoenix.asp
Has anyone ever wondered what the weather's like on Mars? Now you can find out!
The data comes from the Phoenix Mars Lander, which landed on Mars on May 28, 2008. What's even more cool is that the meteorological station on the Phoenix Mars Lander was developed, built and tested in Canada by the Canadian Space Agency.
Today, when I checked, the maximum Martian temperature for today was -24 degrees Celsius, and the minimum was -70 degrees Celsius! The weather was sunny. Makes me almost glad of our plus 27 degree Celsius temperatures here today!
More Phoenix Mars Lander information:
http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/eng/exploration/phoenix.asp
Thursday, June 5, 2008
great nature websites
We're getting some good feedback on the blog so far. Thanks everyone! I'm open to suggestions or ideas, so if you don't see something you'd like to see, please let us know (email or comments) and we'll see what we can do. There are some limits but this platform (Blogger) is pretty flexible.
As I said, I'd also like to use this site as a space to draw your attention to great websites with good, accurate information. A caveat: I have spent time on the following websites and I really like them. That doesn't mean I have fact-checked every single page, or even seen every single page on the website. They do come from trusted sources, but every source can make mistakes -- even books! So always be alert when you're reading something, and if you think something might not be quite right, double-check it with a different source.
All that said, some of my personal favourites:
As I said, I'd also like to use this site as a space to draw your attention to great websites with good, accurate information. A caveat: I have spent time on the following websites and I really like them. That doesn't mean I have fact-checked every single page, or even seen every single page on the website. They do come from trusted sources, but every source can make mistakes -- even books! So always be alert when you're reading something, and if you think something might not be quite right, double-check it with a different source.
All that said, some of my personal favourites:
- FrogWatch -- Need help identifying frogs or toads? This is a great source for Ontario frog and toad pictures and sounds.
- The Encyclopedia of Life -- A very ambitious project, this open source (meaning, free info!) website is attempting to catalogue all life on earth. Yep, even bacteria. Experts enter the information, and from what I have seen (for the species I know something about) it's accurate. A great starting point if you have to do a project on a particular species for school, for example!
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology -- As a birdwatcher, I think this site is completely awesome. It has links to pictures and species information, bird song, nest cams (see birds raising their young!), bird news... all things ornithological. If you're looking specifically for a picture or info about a specific bird, you'll want to start at the All About Birds Bird Guide.
Monday, June 2, 2008
A couple of things to know...
Bear with us as we get things going on this website. We're experimenting!
For now, the only people who can send posts directly to the blog are the leaders. If you have a sighting or something you want to share, please send your post to one of us and we'll post it for you. Everyone should have Pat's email address, and I'll make sure everyone gets mine as well. If you lose those addresses, post a comment on any blog entry here; the comments come to my email.
Remember to send us your one favourite photo from the May meeting! Not only would I like to make sure that they get up on the site here so everyone can see how awesome we are, but I'd also like to show those photos at the September meeting of the KWFN club. I think they should see some of the stuff we do!
For now, the only people who can send posts directly to the blog are the leaders. If you have a sighting or something you want to share, please send your post to one of us and we'll post it for you. Everyone should have Pat's email address, and I'll make sure everyone gets mine as well. If you lose those addresses, post a comment on any blog entry here; the comments come to my email.
Remember to send us your one favourite photo from the May meeting! Not only would I like to make sure that they get up on the site here so everyone can see how awesome we are, but I'd also like to show those photos at the September meeting of the KWFN club. I think they should see some of the stuff we do!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Welcome!
Welcome to the KW Field Naturalists' Young Naturalists blog! This is a website for the Young Naturalists to use to record sightings, outings, events, photos, and other cool nature things for others in the club to see.
The leaders are also going to use this site to post information and announcements for the club, so bookmark this page and we'll keep you up to date.
The leaders are also going to use this site to post information and announcements for the club, so bookmark this page and we'll keep you up to date.
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