Outside with the Insects

Well...after several weeks studying insects inside with slide shows and insects under plexiglass...we headed outdoors today!

We were happy to head to the County Extension Building to take a look around the parking lot and into the wooded area.

I missed the first few minutes due to a low tire pressure...but it seemed like the boys were happy to run around to find insects without me...under the watchful eyes of Mr Joe and Mr Steve!

Here are some of the pictures of what they found:

Grub on the piece of a fallen tree

Geometric Moth

This plastic-like worm will soon be a click beetle! 

Let's Get Quacking!

Today we learned about the Mallard and the Wood Duck.  For all those who say all waterfowl are alike...I would like to say...

I DON'T THINK SO!

This is what we learned about these two species of waterfowl:


Wood duck 
General information 
Wood ducks are primarily found along rivers and large creeks within bottomland hardwood forests, Stage 3 wetlands and swamps with emergent woody vegetation adjacent to Stage 2 wetlands, and shallowly flooded Stages 5 and 6 hardwood forest. Wood ducks nest within cavities. Usually, nest sites are within or adjacent to flooded timber; however, wood ducks have been known to nest up to one mile from water. Cavity availability is critical for a sustainable population. Thus, artificial cavities are readily used by wood ducks and have been, most likely, the number one reason for the increase in wood duck populations during the past 50 years.

Habitat requirements
Diet: acorns are the primary diet item in fall and winter; other hard mast, various miscellaneous seeds and soft mast, as well as waste grain (especially corn) also are eaten; in¬sects and other invertebrates are most important for wood duck chicks and hens prior to and during the nesting season

Water: obtain water through diet and drink free-standing water regularly; see cover requirements below

Cover: Stage 3 wetlands and swamps; shallowly flooded bottomland hardwoods; nest in tree cavities in stage 6 hardwoods and artificial cavities

Mallard 

General information 

The mallard has one of the most extensive breeding ranges of any duck in North America, extending across the northern one-third of the U.S., and up to the Bering Sea. As migratory waterfowl, they winter south of Canada, throughout the U.S. and south to Central America. Mallards are dabbling ducks that nest in tall grasses and forbs or in shrubby cover. They need open water (Stage 2 of wetland succession) with associated emergent aquatic vegetation (Stage 3) to raise young. Mallards prefer to spend the winter in wetlands that contain all 4 wetland stages, including Stage 1 (open water) and Stage 4 (harvested grain crops). In addition, riparian areas with open water may be used. These birds feed at or near the surface of the water by filtering food items such as invertebrates, seeds and other plant material. Dabbling ducks are often seen tipping upside down in the water to reach food at the bottom of a wetland. Unlike diving ducks, they feed in much shallower water and do not dive to obtain food.

Habitat requirements

Diet: aquatic plants, insects and other invertebrates, hard mast (especially acorns), grains and other seed are primary components in the diet; ducklings eat mostly aquatic insects; most food is associated with wet¬lands, but mallards will readily dry-feed in agricultural fields during winter

Water: see cover requirements below

Cover: nest in grass and forb vegetation (some¬times they nest under shrubs) preferably within one-half mile of a wetland that provides open water with some adjacent emergent aquatic vegetation; brooding cover is open water with considerable emergent aquatic vegetation for protection from predators; ideally, wetlands have a minimum of 50 percent open water and 10 percent to 20 percent emergent vegetation; in wintering areas, mallards rest on open water bodies, such as streams, rivers and warm-water sloughs

We also learned about wetland succession in order to understand the habitat needs of these birds.  Wetlands are much like a forested area as far as the emergence of plant life.  However, it looks very different...also there are only four stages of succession.  Here are the basic stages we discussed:

Stage 1 — deep water with little vegetation,
Stage 2 — shallow water dominated by submerged and floating aquatic vegetation,
Stage 3 — very shallow water or wet ground dominated by any variety of emergent aquatic vegetation Stage 4 — ground becomes drier and upland vegetation similar to the surrounding area becomes dominant

We then learned about home range and seasonal home range, which brought us to the topic of migration.

A home range is the area in which an animal lives.  A seasonal home range can be defined if an animal uses a different area during different seasons. A seasonal movement, or migration, is made when an animal moves from one seasonal home range to another. Migration for many species, such as waterfowl and songbirds, involves movements to and from wintering and nesting areas.  Long migrations require available habitat along the route.  Areas of suitable habitat or paths that do not restrict movement are required for animals to move from areas within their home range or during migration. These areas are known as corridors. 

Here is a picture of the corridor paths in North America:

After all of this information, the 4Hers were given a task within their team groups.  They were asked to draw or write a scenario for both species that would show the ideal habitat.  Since these species are very different in their needs, the idea was to show the difference in the land that would be managed for these species.  The groups did a great job with this activity.  Both groups (and Sean our lone senior) chose to draw their land sites which included keys.  This was a good practice to prepare them for contest.

So, after all of that sitting...I decided to let them have fun with a game!  We played Migratory Headache from my Aquatic Wild book!  Well, that was the plan...but this is how I adapted it to fit our situation:

We had a great location for this game to work...a basketball court the day after a hard rain.  There were several puddles of shallow water and the playground (that is filled with pea gravel) had washed out some of its gravel onto the court.  I had all the 4Hers line up along one end of the court (Canada) and told them they needed to get to the other side (Mexico).  The north end of the court was their wintering location and the south end was their nesting area.  The object of the game was to go from their wintering location, find two stopover locations (puddles) to find food (5 pieces of pea gravel at each location) and then find a nesting location to have babies (leaf of their choice), and then return with the same pattern (two more stopovers) before returning to their wintering spots!  Oh...and in order to keep from falling over each other, they needed to be a wingspan apart from each other!

We played this game twice and it was so much fun for them to play and for me to watch.  The first migration went well...and everyone found their needs met.  The second migration...I took out some areas set aside for stopovers because of environmental scenarios as well limited the nesting area.  We lost two birds in that migration.  It was a great way to show the importance of our wetlands.  And, I think everyone enjoyed getting the chance to run (fly) around like birds.

SIDE NOTE:  While the 4Hers were busy creating their ideal scenarios, we spotted a woodpecker on a tree close by...Sean could not resist checking it out closer.  Ms Renee and I joined him and I got a picture of it when it stuck its head around the tree before flying off.  I think we saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker!  It is so fun to be able to know the birds we see!  Well at least try to know them and have the tools to look up those that we do not know! 

Dinobot Challenge

Tonight the teams were asked to create a dino-bot that would roar and crash through a set of pillars knocking them all down in less than a minute.  The teams would not only be judged by their ability to create a robot to meet the challenge, but also a robot that looked and acted like a dinosaur.

The teams did a great job with this challenge.  There was a lot of trial and error.  The teams would try a style of robot and then adapt as needed to make it work better.

Team 1 had a robot that had long arms on each side but it fell apart easily.  The team continued to add supports and wheels to keep the arms intact during the procedure.  Unfortunately, the robot was not knocking the pillars down, but pushing them across the room!  After several attempts, they realized that the arms were not tall enough to get to the tops of the pillars.  So, in one last attempt to have success (down to the wire on their time constraints!), the team added hooks to the end of their arms to raise the level of the arms on each side.  Unfortunately, the added hooks did not have the support needed to keep the arms up and this attempt failed as well.  They were very disappointed but I was glad to see them trying until the very end.  Also, they tried to add sound effects to their robot which made their robot unique.

Team 2 struggled with their robot knocking down the pillars as well.  However, just as Team 1 persevered, so did their efforts.  The big difference with the Team 2 robot was the way it looked.  In fact, the more the team adapted the robot's arms to reach out far enough, the more it began to look like a dinosaur.  In the end, Team 2 not only successfully knocked down the pillars, but they had a dinosaur that began the procedure, opening its jaws and rushing through the 'town' knocking everything down with ease!  YAY!!!  Great job Team 2!

We will be taking off next week, but will finish up strong at the end of the month with our alligator!

Bingo Bash

Our annual fundraiser for our county 4H took place tonight.  We put on a fun night of food and BINGO with great prizes along with a silent auction full of desserts and crafts.  The money raised tonight will help with scholarships and summer camp for our 4Hers throughout the county.

Our family helped by making a fancy pineapple torte with whipped cream frosting for the silent auction.  We also made other desserts to sell by the serving...yummy peanut butter chocolate bars and coconut brownies!  Henry also made a flag quilt for the auction.  There were many other desserts and crafts created by the 4Hers throughout our county.  Then the prizes were either donated or purchased by the various clubs.  The top prize being a large screen TV.



When we arrived, there were lots of people setting up and we jumped in to do our part...we helped arrange prizes and auction items as they came in the door.  Then we purchased our BINGO cards and food and enjoyed the evening!  The last our we spent working the food booth with other members from our club (Mrs. Brenda, Ms. Jamie, Treyton, Brianna, Daniel, Sean and Edward...with a little help from Brendan...Renee, Naomi and Caitlin arrived later!).

Henry did not want to give up our BINGO cards!  I guess it was a good thing because he won a microwave and gift card.  (We hope to use this for a fundraiser for our WHEP contest expenses later in May!)

He also took pictures of the other winners throughout the night.  The best picture was of the lady who won the TV...she was a little excited!  And a woman who won a scarf was a sweetheart...showing off her new accessory! (For more pictures of our fun evening check out my Facebook page.)

There was also a group of older women who won prize after prize...they were surrounded by BINGO cards and you could tell they really enjoyed the game but took it very seriously also.  It was great to see them having so much fun!

Everyone had a great time...even if they did not go away with a prize.  We are so glad we could help out and enjoy the time with all the 4Hers from the county.

Oh!  I also won the bid on that nice flag quilt..I just could not let it go so I bought it back!  LOL!

Election Results are In...Breaking News!

We had our regular monthly meeting for our 4H club tonight.

We had our regular business meeting and then a program from Mrs. Renee about making laundry soap and glass cleaner.  She did a great job with the presentation and even had a good sample of the two soaps for all those who brought containers!  She let the 4Hers who volunteered to help make the big batch of laundry soap.  Thanks to her for a great money saving soap for our homes!




The main goal of the evening was to elect our officers for next year.  Here were the results with those being contested having an asterisk!

President -Joseph*
Vice President - Sean
Secretary - Kevin
Treasurer - Daniel
Council Delegate - Brianna
2nd VP - Zach*
3rd VP - Taylor*
Council Delegate Alternate - James
Reporter - Jonah
Parliamentarian - Becca*
Historian - Naomi*
Community Service Chairman - Caitlin
Call Committee Chair - Jaron
Fund Raising Chairman - Henry

This was a great experience for the 4Hers to vote.  It was also fun to see the perseverance of those who tried for several offices.  I think everyone ho wanted a position was satisfied by the end of the night.  We will have a strong group of leaders for next year!

We also had a group picture taken with the hopes of having us in a local magazine.  I will update later if this happens.

 It is hard to believe we are already so close to the end of this year that we are thinking about NEXT year!  So thankful for a great group of youth leaders!

The Owl and the Bat

Doesn't that sound like a good children's book?  Of course the Big Brown Bat reminded me of a Dr. Seuss book, so why not write a children's book about these two animals that we discussed at our WHEP meeting this afternoon!?  Well...maybe one day I will, but for today...I was just fortunate enough to have time to teach a class about these two wildlife species!

Big brown bat

General information

Big brown bats are one of 46 bat species in North America. They inhabit nearly all of the U.S., except for south Florida and south-central Tex­as, and use a variety of vegetation types, from farmland to mature deciduous forest. Big brown bats are insectivores. Lactating females will eat their weight in insects daily. Males and females may roost individually or in small numbers, but males and females usually roost separately. Females may roost together in a maternal col­ony when pups are born and nursing. Females usually give birth to one or two pups, often in a hollow tree or attic. Big brown bats, as with all other bat species, are nocturnal and are the only mammals capable of flying. Big brown bats will drink “on-the-wing” by dipping their lower jaw into a water source. Big brown bats hibernate in the winter in northern latitudes, therefore, do not actively feed during winter months, but instead rely on stored fat reserves.

Habitat requirements

Diet: night-flying insects, especially beetles

Water: free-standing water is required daily when they are active

Cover: buildings and hollow trees are often used for daytime roosts; bat houses may also be used for daytime roosting; caves, mines and buildings are used for hibernation

We first learned about the big brown bat.  Here is the information we covered:
Although learning about these animals is interesting and I have a respect for their benefits to our habitats, I must admit that I did not spend a lot of time with this species.

We then learned about one of my favorite animals...the Great Horned Owl.  I grouped these two together for their nocturnal features.  However, the owl is much easier to appreciate.  Even if it does regurgitate its waste, it is an amazing bird!  This is what we learned:

Great horned owl

General information

The great horned owl is found throughout North America in a wide variety of vegetation types including open Stage 6, interspersed with areas of Stages 2, 3 and 4, including orchards, farm woodlots and city parks. They also are oc­casionally found in rocky canyons away from forest cover. The great horned owl is nocturnal and roosts during the day in trees or on shel­tered rocky ledges.

Habitat requirements

Diet: great horned owls forage at night; the diet is extremely varied but commonly includes small- to medium-sized mammals including rabbits, skunks, squirrels and others, as well as reptiles, amphibians, large insects and fish

Water: water obtained from diet

Cover: nest in abandoned nests of hawks, crows or herons, and in large tree cavities, crotch­es, stumps, caves and ledges 

Then I surprised the group with their own owl pellets to dissect   They were suppose to determine the meal of the owl by the contents of the pellet.  After a few minutes, the first group asked if  I had made their pellet.  I laughed and said no...but they insisted that it was home-made.  Sure enough it was FAKE!!!  They got a ball of lint with a plastic skeleton!  The other group had to dig through hair that had been recycled into a nice pod of bones, hair, oil and waste!

I told the second group that I wanted them to pretend they were owls and reassemble the pellet.  They immediately started talking about the lint being pressed around the bone...carried out to the edge of the tree cavity and set out until the nice scientists came by to pick up their specimen in a nice neat bag!

It made me think of a children's book!  Maybe I will write about the little owl who did not want to puke up its guts!  LOL!

Another fun day with the WHEP crew!  I am so glad we are able to enjoy this project!  Many more adventures to go before the end of the 4H year!

Also a BIG THANK YOU to Ms Brenda who gave everyone a bag of wild bird seed to pique our interest in bird watching!  I hope we can buy a nice bird feeder to put in one of our trees in the front yard soon!

Robotics Challenges Complete!

Both teams completed their challenges tonight!  And this one happy 4H Mom!  I was really starting to worry that I was going to need to show how little I really knew about computers and programming!  I am so thankful we have two very smart 4H teams who solved their own challenges!

Team 1 really had me worried because they could not seem to get their robot to release their ball!  I told them to keep trying and it would work.  Thankfully...that was true and the ball managed to be picked up...moved around the room...and then the big release!  The team was so proud of themselves!

Team 2 struggled with rotating the robot around in circles.  I am sure there is a programming skill that they are missing but they eventually got their robot to turn around five times. YAY!

While the teams were programming...the moms were planning!  I found several lessons on-line.  We will meet three more times in the month of April so we picked three designs for the teams to create.  Watch for future blogs about fans, merry-go-rounds, and alligators!