Posts Tagged With: science

MAMMAL MONDAY # 28

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

MAMMAL MONDAY # 28

Happy Mammal Monday! We’re extra excited for you to meet today’s primate! We’re heading to the rainforests of Central Africa! These monkeys have brightly colored faces! Grab your bug spray and your rain gear and let’s head into the forest to see these majestic animals!

MEET THE MANDRILL!

   Range/Habitat: Western Central Africa/ rainforests

   Diet: Omnivore: fruit, seeds, invertebrates

   Length/Weight: 25-32”/24- 82 lbs

  Conservation Status: vulnerable

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Mandrills are the largest of all monkeys.
  • They have brightly colored faces with red and blue.
  • Mandrills also have brightly colored rumps with short tails.
  • Mandrills have large 2 ½ inch canine teeth. They will bear them to other mandrills; it is most often a friendly gesture.
  • They are related to baboons, but are not baboons.
  • Mandrills store food in their cheeks while they’re foraging.
  • They spend most of their lives on the ground, but sleep in the trees.
  • Female mandrills are much smaller than the males.
  • They live in troupes. The troupes are led by a dominant male and include females, young and non-ranking males.  Troupes will also join other groups and form large hordes.

We just love the colorful Mandrill. They have a very interesting social structure and are very intelligent. Unfortunately their rainforest home is disappearing. Doing things like recycling paper can really help protect our rainforest homes! Who’s up for recycling as much paper as they can? We are!

Categories: Animals, Children, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

March Craft/Activity!

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Hey everyone! So this month’s craft is really more of an activity to get you outside! We’re a bit late with posting it, because we had some IT issues with our conversion :)! Anyways, we hope you enjoy BACKYARD BINGO! That’s right folks, we made you a bingo game to take outside to your backyard or your local park!  It’s PDF (our first) so please let us know if you have any trouble printing it!

 

Get outside and Enjoy!!!

Backyard bingo-1

Categories: Animals, backyard, birds, Children, crafts, education, Environment, insects, Local, mammals, nature, reptiles, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

FEATHERY FRIDAY # 27

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

FEATHERY FRIDAY# 27

Birds come in so many bright colors and we have found a really neat one for you today! These birds are located all around the Eastern world, so let’s head to out and see if we spot a bird with purple plumage!

MEET THE PURPLE SWAMPHEN!

   Range/Habitat: Eastern Europe-Southeast Asia-Australia/ swamps, coastlines

   Diet: Omnivore: aquatic vegetation, invertebrates

   Length/Weight: 15-20”/ 18- 46oz

   Conservation Status: Common

 

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Purple Swamphens have beautiful purple and black plumage.
  • They also have bright red legs and bills.
  • Purple swamphens don’t have webbed feet, but are excellent swimmers.
  • Both the male and female incubate the eggs and take their chicks.
  • Purple swamphens are regarded as noble birds in Ancient Rome
  • Hear the call.

 

We just love these lovely birds! If you were a bird what color would you be? Ellie loves green and Edmond wants blue!

 

 

 

 

Categories: Animals, birds, Children, education, Environment, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY # 27

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SUPER SURPRISE

THURSDAY# 27

Who’s that large bird flying over the hills of the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe?  Let’s get our binoculars and head out into the woods to find this fabulous bird on Super Surprise Thursday!

MEET THE COMMON BUZZARD!

   Range/Habitat: Europe-Asia-Eastern Africa/ forests, mountains

   Diet: Carnivore: voles, mice & insects

   Length/Weight: 20-22”/ 19-36 oz

   Conservation Status: Common

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Common Buzzard also Eurasian buzzard.
  • They are raptors.
  • Common buzzard varies in color depending on where they live.
  • They have a wing span of 48”-60”.
  • Common buzzard males perform aerial acrobatics to attract females. They also give the females materials to build a nest while flying.
  • They live up to 25 years.
  • Common buzzards have a very unique call.

 

Common buzzards are such beautiful birds! What fun would it be to watch the males do all those acrobatics!

 

Categories: Animals, birds, Children, education, Environment, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

WATERY WEDNESDAY # 27

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

WATERY WEDNESDAY# 27

Who’s excited for Watery Wednesday? We sure are! We’re heading to the rivers and wetlands of Southeast Asia to meet a catfish who can “walk” on land! What? You read that right, these fish can come out on land! Are you excited now? Let’s go meet this fascinating fish!

MEET THE WALKING CATFISH!

   Range/Habitat: Southeast Asia/ wetlands, swamps, ponds

   Diet: Omnivore: fish, mollusks, invertebrates, weeds

   Length: up to 16”

   Conservation Status: Common

 

Fun Facts:

  • Walking Catfish have barbells on their faces.
  • They have long bodies.
  • Walking Catfish have the ability to crawl on the land.
  • They have specialized gills that help them breath out of water.
  • Walking catfish are nocturnal (active at night).
  • They are a tropical species.

 

Wow! How cool is that there are fish in the world that can use their fins to crawl across land! They do it to find a better habitat! We just love these super cool fish!

 

 

Categories: Animals, Children, education, Environment, fish, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 27

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 27

Yay it’s Reptilian Tuesday and we’re packing our bags and heading to Africa to meet a lizard who is brightly colored! Who’s hoping on board with us? Grab your passports and let’s go looking for lizards!

MEET THE RAINBOW LIZARD!

   Range/Habitat: Western to Eastern Central Africa/ grasslands, desert

   Diet: Omnivore: mainly insects with occasional vegetation

   Length: 12-16”

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Male Rainbow Lizards turn bright orange and blue when they bask in the sun.
  • Female Rainbow Lizards are grey all the time.
  • Rainbow lizards have sticky tongues to help them grasp insects.
  • They live in small social groups with a dominant male and females and less dominate males.
  • Dominate males sit on the highest point to bask and the other lizards of the group bask at lower points.
  • Male Rainbow Lizards bob their heads to attract females.
  • Female Rainbow Lizards lay around 25-30 eggs in a clutch.

Aren’t these lizards gorgeous with their bright colors? It sure is cool that they live in small social groups too. We do wonder how sticky their tongues are; who wants to test it out?

Categories: Animals, Children, education, Environment, nature, reptiles, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

MAMMAL MONDAY # 27

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

MAMMAL MONDAY # 27

We’re back to our regularly scheduled program this morning and it’s time to meet a flying mammal from the deserts of Northern Africa! That’s right folks, we’re talking bats today and have we found a tough little one for you today! Grab your night vision goggles and let’s head out to the desert on the Mammal Monday!

MEET THE DESERT LONG EARED BAT!

   Range/Habitat: North Africa-Western Asia/deserts

   Diet: Carnivore: insects, scorpions

   Length/Weight: 2 ½-2 ¾”/ 1 oz

   Conservation Status: least concern

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Desert Long Eared Bats are one of the few desert dwelling bat species on earth.
  • Desert long eared bats roost in groups in caves and buildings.
  • Their ears are around 1 ½” long and sit horizontally on their foreheads.
  • They are known to go into a hibernation like state during very dry periods or droughts.
  • Desert long eared bats often hunt in pairs.
  • Their main prey item are scorpions! They even eat very toxic scorpions, including their poison glands.
  • When Desert long eared bats attack a scorpion they often get stung on the face without harm, because they are immune to the venom.

 

WOW! Can you imagine eating a scorpion? We would definitely like to avoid having them on our menus, but these awesome bats don’t only eat them but they are immune to their venom! Animal’s adaptations just never cease to amaze us!

 

 

Categories: Animals, bats, Children, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

BACKYARD ANIMAL WEEK # 5

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

BACKYARD ANIMAL WEEK!

(FEATHERY FRIDAY)

 

Quack! Quack! It’s the last day of our Backyard Animal week! We sure hope you have enjoyed it! We went to our local pond to find the Feathery Friday friend. This bird is found all around the Northern hemisphere, so there’s a good chance you could have them in your backyard!

MEET THE MALLARD!

   Range/Habitat: North America-Europe-Asia/ wetlands-ponds-lakes

   Diet: Omnivores: plants, invertebrates

   Length/Weight: 20-26”/ 2 ¼-3 ¼ lb

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Mallards are most abundant ducks on earth.
  • They are the ancestor of nearly all domestic ducks.
  • Mallards are very adaptable to many different habitats.
  • Male mallards have green heads with a white neck ring and a yellow bill.
  • Female mallards are molted brown in color with a bright blue patch on their wings.
  • Mallards often eat by upending (dip heads into the water and their tails stick straight up in the air).
  • Female mallards take care of the eggs and chicks.

 

We just love going to our local duck pond and watch the Mallards. Their funny waddling on land and quacking makes us laugh and laugh! Do you have any Mallards in your area?

 

 

 

Categories: Animals, backyard, birds, Children, education, Environment, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

BACKYARD ANIMAL WEEK # 4

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

BACKYARD ANIMAL WEEK!

(SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY)

 

Who’s up for some backyard bird watching? Sometimes birds are the most abundant animal in your backyard. If you’re like us though, we don’t know all of our bird friends! Today’s Super Surprise bird is one everyone should know pretty well! Do you have your binoculars? It may not be hard to spot…

MEET THE BLUE JAY!

   Range/Habitat: Central-Eastern North America/ woodlands, parks, suburban

   Diet: Omnivores: acorns, seeds, spiders

   Length: 12”

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

 

  • Blue jays are related to crows.
  • They are highly intelligent and social birds.
  • Blue jays can mimic speech and other birds; often you can hear them mimic hawks.
  • They are highly territorial.
  • Blue jays have bright blue plumage. They do not have pigment (cells that give fur, feathers and skin color). The color in their feathers comes from structure of the feather and how the light hits it.
  • Blue jays are considered songbirds.
  • Blue jays can be found in pairs or small family groups. They can form pairs for life.
  • They have different calls, including an alarm call to warn for predators.
  • Blue jays use mud to build their nests.

Blue jays are beautiful birds! We love to see them in our backyard. They are very smart. How cool is that they can mimic other birds and human speech? What are some of your favorite backyard birds?

 

 

 

 

Categories: Animals, backyard, birds, Children, education, Environment, nature, reptiles, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

BACKYARD ANIMAL WEEK # 3

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

BACKYARD ANIMAL WEEK!

(WATERY WEDNESDAY)

 

We’re heading to a local creek to see if we can find today’s Backyard Animal! These animals can be very loud! There’s nothing better than hearing the males call on a nice summer evening! Grab a flashlight, because this amphibian is out at night!

MEET THE NORTH AMERICAN BULLFROG!

    Range/Habitat: Western-Central & Eastern United States/ wetlands, rivers,

lakes

     Diet: Carnivore: reptiles, mammals, other frogs

     Length: 3 ½-8”

     Conservation Status: common

 

Fun Facts:

  • North American Bullfrogs are the largest frog in North America.
  • They spend most of their life in water.
  • North American bullfrogs have eyes and nostrils on top of their heads. This helps the frog stay underwater but still be able to see and breathe.
  • They have large ear drums.
  • Female North American bullfrogs can lay several thousand eggs at a time.
  • It can take a North American bullfrog tadpole up to 4 years to become to an adult.
  • They are nocturnal (active at night).
  • They are ambush predators.
  • North American bullfrog males are very territorial.
  • Only males call!

How awesome are the large frogs? It sure is fun to go looking for them at night! Do you have bullfrogs where you live? What animal do you like to hear on a warm summer night?

 

 

Categories: amphibians, backyard, Children, education, Environment, nature, reptiles, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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