Show Grade Twos a Nest, And They’ll Draw It!

Teachers, when you have that short bit of time to observe a Live Eagle Cam with your class, log into one of these two spots and have your students make observations, write about the eagle behaviours, draw them, paint them…it’s so beautiful to watch!

Either today or tomorrow or the day after that, the eggs should hatch at Duke Farms.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/eagle-cam

OR

Decorah…at…

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/eagle-cam

The weather today has been quite lovely at Duke Farms in Virginia.

Eagle March 23, 2016

Horrible weather…sleet…rain…slush and wind in Decorah.

Rain and Snow on Decorah

Grade twos made amazing observations of the eagles, rubbing off their chalk every time Mom changed her posture in the nest and began to sketch again.  After the sketching practice, the students added their colour with different media.

Thank you for your class, Elisa!

Feeling Bad For Dad

It was just yesterday that I photographed Mr.’s beautiful family…three babes and his lovely Mrs.

P1170607However, last evening held a huge wind storm and a driving rain.  This morning held no cries and demands from the nest.  I noticed as I was pouring my first cup of coffee.  It appeared that Mr. and Mrs. were hanging onto the duct tape searching into the nest, when an angry male (actual Mr.) swooped in with tremendous aggression…the female flying away and the male battling with Mr. and falling to the ground.  Mr. then moved in to his territory…but, alone.  It was such a sad sight.  I’m imagining that some situation was encountered in the night that left Mrs. fighting on behalf her young ones.  For some reason I’m not imagining a positive outcome and I feel a sense of loss.

Dad made himself as large as he could at the entrance to the nest all morning long and still calls out redundantly from the eve’s trough.  Instinctively, his role has disappeared.  I wonder how long before he accepts his loss.

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Nesting

It’s just after eight in the morning and I’m sipping coffee, wrapped in my warmest pyjamas.  Outside, it spits rain, sometimes pours, and generally looks grey. I haven’t posted photographs of Mr. and Mrs. this year.  Each year, across from my kitchen window, sparrows build a nest in my neighbour’s vent.  I’ve seen many a tragedy at the base of this location, but, I’ve also seen babes take flight.  It’s a challenging world out there; the world of cats and crows, cowbirds and magpies…the world of people!

Here is a photo of the new Mrs., on guard after madly preparing nesting materials and tripping back and forth to the feeder.  The original couple to this nest this season was found dead on the ground, mayhaps attacked by other birds.  It is a ‘man-eat-man’ out there in nature!  Not certain, but I DID solicit the help of someone else to remove their tiny bodies.  It wasn’t 24 hours later and the new family had moved in.

Mrs.

This year’s Mrs.

Yesterday I taught for Mary and it just happened to be that Calgary Birdman, Andrew Stiles, was building bird boxes with several classes of grade three students.  The last group to go through was working with a class of grade nine helpers and these seemed to be as swept up in the action as the younger students.  I don’t think any of us get tired of being stewards or with creating things with our hands and a collection of tools.  For a short time I helped at the pre-drilling holes station.  Children are excited, just as adults are, to use power tools!  It was a wonderful morning watching children delight in this process.  I wish children would spend more time outdoors.  I think they would be amazed!

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