Connecting With Other Classrooms
To contribute to the discussions below send e-mail to: JN-Talk@Learner.org
| | Teacher to
Teacher Connecting With Other Classrooms To contribute to the discussions below send e-mail to: JN-Talk@Learner.org
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Wednesday, May 15, 1996
We departed by school bus at 7:00 a.m. so that we had a reasonable =
chance of getting to Long Point before 10:00 a.m., which lies 160 km =
south west of our school, on the north shore of Lake Erie. The =
temperature when we left was about 10 C and, contrary to the weather =
forecast, the sun was shining.
We arrived just after 9:30 at Old Cut Field Station, which is where =
one of 3 bird banding stations operated by LPBO is located. It is the =
only one which is open to the public and has a visitor centre. The =
temperature was pleasant, about 12 C. The sky was clear and had been =
clear all night, with a southerly breeze. This meant lots of migrating =
birds!
We divided the group of 24 into two groups. The first group of 12 went =
to the banding station and the second out to collect birds from the =
mist nets.
The following species of birds were banded by the first group:
1 Blue Jay (over wintering bird?)
1 Red Breasted Nuthatch (over wintering bird?)
1 House Wren
2 Swainson=B9s Thrush (long distance migrants from S. America that are =
in population decline)
2 Grey Catbirds
2 Yellow-Rumped Warblers (1 male and 1 female)
2 Common Yellowthroats (1 male and 1 female)
3 White-Throated Sparrows (1 female, 2 not determined- this species is =
about 1 week behind on the average migration period and would be =
headed much farther north)
1 Orchard Oriole (male)
2 Ruby-Crowned Kinglets (females)
The second group banded these birds:
1 Least Flycatcher (female)
1 Purple Martin
1 Grey Catbird
1 Winter Wren (over wintering bird?)
1 Hermit Thrush
3 Black-Throated Blue Warblers
1 Lincoln=B9s Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow (male)
1 Brown-Headed Cowbird
1 Blackburnian Warbler
In addition, we observed the following birds while at LPBO:
1 Purple Martin
1 Northern Cardinal (over wintering bird?)
1 Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
Later in the day we saw a Northern Oriole at Backus Woods Heritage =
Conservation Area, the largest uninterrupted tract of Carolinian =
Forest in Canada. There, we learned more about the Long Point =
environment and its history, and the relationships between birds and =
their habitat. The Northern Oriole had found a section of the =
Carolinian Forest that had just leafed out, and was, no doubt, in =
search of insects there. We visited one of the few large Tulip Trees =
in Canada. These species are probably familiar to many, but none of us =
had ever seen one before.
Birds at Backus Woods:
1 Northern Oriole
1 Great Blue Heron
1 Barn Swallow
2 Canada Geese
Students and teachers were overwhelmed by our first hand contact with =
migrating birds. We feel that the Internet and Journey North are =
great, but there is nothing quite like first hand experience to bring =
the whole idea of migration to a focus!
© Journey North 1996