Fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium) gets its name from its ability to quickly populate a recently burned out or disturbed area. It’s hard to believe how this wildflower springs to life after a devastating wildfire, but it does so among the ashes!
Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Look for pink spires of flowers on top of tall leafy stems with narrow willow-like leaves. See the images in this ebook and in the links below. Here’s a nice YouTube video for you to watch: Fireweed.
Look up the range map on USDA: Fireweed Range. Check to see if you have fireweed in your local area. Use the printable fact sheet from the USDA to learn all you can about this common wildflower: Fireweed Plant Guide.
If you have a membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you’ll find the complete challenge with images, more links to resources and videos, journaling ideas, a notebook page, and ideas for studying flowers in the evening primrose family. You’ll need to sign into your Ultimate or Journey level membership to see the book download.
Ebook includes nature study lessons for common silverweed, fireweed, salsify, Indian paintbrush, and forget-me-nots.
We’re starting the new Outdoor Hour Challenge series of wildflowers with the common silverweed. This plant is in the rose family and many of us in North America will be able to spot it after a simple study of its characteristics and an image or two. Thankfully, the silverweed has a very distinctive leaf pattern which helps us distinguish it from other small yellow flowered wildflowers.
Here are a few ideas to get you started. If you have a membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you’ll find the complete challenge with images, more links to resources and videos, journaling ideas, a notebook page, and ideas for studying flowers in the rose family. You’ll need to sign into your Ultimate or Journey level membership to see the book download.
Look for common silverweed in sandy habitats along stream banks, shorelines, and meadows. It is low growing and there are mats of flat rosettes with creeping red colored runners. Another identifying feature is the leaves that have up to 20 leaflets with smaller ones mixed in among the larger ones. There is a single golden yellow flower on a leafless stalk.
The usual bloom time ranges from May to August.
Ebook includes nature study lessons for common silverweed, fireweed, salsify, Indian paintbrush, and forget-me-nots.
I always get excited when we start a new series of challenges. Plus, who isn’t ready for a little wildflower nature time? Join us each Friday as we work through the Wildflower Ebook #3.
I’m hoping to create journal pages for each of the four wildflowers in this month’s Outdoor Hour Challenges.
We have silverweed, fireweed, and salsify in our front yard so we won’t have to travel far to make careful observations.
I hope you can join us for some flower nature study this month!
6/4/2021 – Silverweed Nature Study
6/11/2021 – Fireweed Nature Study
6/18/2021 – Salsify Nature Study
6/25/2021 – Indian Paintbrush Nature Study
New Printables in the Members Library
Circles in Nature Notebook Page: Take a walk and look for circles in nature. Use the notebook page to sketch and record some of your observations.
Pollinator Observation Notebook Page: Learn about the pollinators in your neighborhood and then use this notebook page to keep track of your research.
Click the graphic above to view the complete list of printables available as part of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
Members also have access to the Nature Planner pages in their library. Print out this month’s page and use it to stimulate your weekly nature study time.
If you’d like to have access to the member’s printables and the newsletter archive, I invite you to join with an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership. Your membership will be valid for one year from the date of purchase. Click the graphic above to see the many benefits of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
Magpie nature study week! Once you identify a magpie, you’ll never have trouble spotting it again. It has such a beautiful color pattern, and the tail is very distinct. This makes the magpie a perfect bird to study even with very young children.
The Outdoor Hour Challenge this week is officially the black-billed magpie but some of you might need to also look up information on the yellow-billed magpie.
Take some time to prepare for your magpie study by clicking the links below:
Make sure to look at the range maps in a field guide or on All About Birds to determine if you might spot a magpie in your area.
Please note that I will not be posting the complete challenge here on the blog, but you will find the detailed challenge in the Bird Nature Study Set #1 ebook that’s available both in the Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level memberships. Sign into your account and download the ebook for the details, more links, and notebook pages.
Birds included in this ebook include the pelican, sandhill crane, Clark’s nutcracker, egret, American dipper, horned lark, magpie, swan, and snipe.
We’re entering wildflower season and I couldn’t be happier! I love looking for new flowers and recognizing my old favorites as the season progresses.
Beginning the first week in June, we’ll be starting a new series of Outdoor Hour Challenges based on my Wildflower Ebook #3.
Topics include: fireweed, salsify, paintbrush, forget-me-nots, and silverweed.
Please note these flowers are not found in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. I’ve written these nature study lessons with information from field guides and internet sources. In addition, there are observation suggestions and sketching information for each flower.
Members need to log into their accounts and then scroll down to find the ebook for downloading.
If you need to purchase a membership, you can do so at any time during the year. Your membership will last for one year from purchase.
Please use discount code NATURE5 for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
What wildflowers are you looking forward to learning about?
Shooting Star
Purple Chinese Houses
Lupine
Yarrow
Wild Mustard and Wild Radish
Henbit
Cow Parsnip
Columbine
Chicory
Cocklebur
Fireweed
Salsify
Forget-Me-Not
Paintbrush
Common silverweed
Additional Wildflower Challenges
I’ve written Outdoor Hour Challenges for every wildflower listed in the Handbook of Nature Study. You can find them under the “Garden” tab on my website. That’s dozens of wildflowers to choose from!
You can have access to the ebooks in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships.
In addition, there are many other summer related challenges available in the summer ebooks.
We had a fun time counting birds for the project even though we had snow two of the three days and temperatures down into the teens. We had far fewer birds than the last two years. 2021 has turned out to be a surprising year of crazy ups and downs as far as the weather here in Central Oregon. I think this influenced the bird count.
Eurasian collared dove 5
Mourning dove 3
Downy woodpecker 1
Hairy woodpecker 1
Mountain chickadee 6
Pygmy nuthatch 3
House finch 11
Dark-eyed junco 3
Northern flicker 1
Song sparrow 1
Common raven 1
Here’s a video sharing the GBBC’s results for 2021.
We’re going to study the horned lark this week as part of the new bird nature study series.
Here are a couple links to get your study started:
Look at the range map in a field guide or on All About Birds . In practically the whole continental United States, this bird is a year-round resident if you have the right habitat.
Do you have a habitat nearby where a horned lark may live? Use your Outdoor Hour to look for this beautiful bird. Take along a pair of binoculars and a field guide to observe and identify any bird you see while you’re out on your excursion.
Here’s a video of the horned lark singing: Horned Lark.
Please note that I will not be posting the complete challenge here on the blog, but you will find the detailed challenge in the Bird Nature Study Set #1 ebook that’s available both in the Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level memberships.
Members: Sign into your account and download the ebook for the details, more links, and notebook pages.
Birds included in this ebook include the pelican, sandhill crane, Clark’s nutcracker, egret, American dipper, horned lark, magpie, swan, and snipe.
We moved to Central Oregon four years ago hoping to spend a good deal of time exploring this part of the world. The pandemic slowed us down but we’re hoping this year to get out and have some new adventures over the spring and summer months.
One place that’s been on the list is the Painted Hills here in Oregon. They are part of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monumentfoundin eastern Oregon. Turns out they’re not extremely far from us and we took a day trip to hike the Painted Hills on a bright sunny spring day.
If you’re traveling from Bend, Oregon, the trip to the Painted Hills is an easy drive of a little less than 2 hours. The scenery is gorgeous so the time passes by quickly. The route takes you through the town of Prineville where you can stop for a coffee break or pick up groceries for a picnic.
The Painted Hills are dog friendly so bring your leash and some extra water for the trail.
Once you arrive, there will be a place to stop at a restroom and gather up a map from the kiosk. The trailhead to the overlook is just a little way down a dirt road. There is plenty of parking for the short overlook trail. I highly recommend this as a first hike to get the best views of the colorful terrain.
Note: If you’re on a road trip and are passing this way, take the time to visit the Painted Hills, taking a rest stop and a short hike.
We walked out to the overlook, snapped a few photos of our group, and then headed back to the parking lot.
We had the whole morning to spend exploring so we walked from the overlook trail to the Carroll Rim Trail. This was a little longer hike with some elevation gain on the way out. The day we visited was very windy so we were not too hot, but I would imagine in the summer this is a grueling, hot trail because it is completely exposed.
In late March, the wildflowers were just starting to bloom. I of course had to stop and take a few photos. We thoroughly enjoyed this hike because it led us away from the crowds and up to the top for a bird’s eye view.
After the Carroll Rim Trail, we took the cars over to the Painted Cove Trail. This is the trail you often see on Instagram where people are walking along a boardwalk with the colorful landscape in the background. It’s a short accessible trail that you could add onto a day trip if you have time.
What a fun day we had! Views, hiking, picnic, wildflowers…just my kind of place.
We made it back to Bend in time for dinner at a local brewery. Everyone, including the dog, loved the adventure of a new place to explore together.
Even in the pandemic, we are determined to get out and hike if we can do it safely. Now that we’re all vaccinated it seems more likely to happen.
Tips:
There are no concessions at the Painted Hills, so bring all you might need for your day. I highly recommend a picnic at the grassy picnic area where there are lots of tables to sit in the shade.
This is an excellent day trip if you’re visiting the Bend, Oregon area.
I would arrange to arrive early to beat the summer heat.
There is no fee to enjoy the Painted Hills.
There is the opportunity to travel on from the Painted Hills to John Day Fossil Beds where there is a paleontology center and the official visitor’s center for this whole area. (We hope to visit here soon!)
This week’s bird is one that’s on my personal wish list. I hope to see a dipper in person at some point in my adventures. After completing the nature study for the American dipper, you’ll be prepared to see one too!
Read all about the American dipper on AllAboutBirds: American Dipper.
Below you’ll find a few ideas for a dipper study. Make sure to download and use the complete Outdoor Hour Challenge from the Bird Set #1 ebook available in the member’s library.
Here are a few study ideas for you to get started:
Choose a resource to use for the American dipper, Cinclus mexicanus.
Make sure to look at the range maps in a field guide or on All About Birds to determine if you live in their range and habitat.
Their diet is mostly aquatic insects and their larvae, dragonflies, small fish, worms, and fish eggs.
Please note that I will not be posting the complete challenge here on the blog, but you will find the detailed challenge in the Bird Nature Study Set #1 ebook that’s available both in the Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level memberships. Sign into your account and download the ebook for the details, more links, and notebook page.
Birds included in this ebook include the pelican, sandhill crane, Clark’s nutcracker, egret, American dipper, horned lark, magpie, swan, and snipe.
The great egret is one of those birds that once you can identify it, you start to see it everywhere! This unique bird is both majestic and interesting.
Make sure to read the entry on AllAboutBirds: Great Egret.
Fun fact: During breeding season, a patch of skin on their face turns neon green.
Below you’ll find a few ideas for an egret study. Make sure to download and use the complete Outdoor Hour Challenge from the Bird Set #1 ebook available in the member’s library.
We see egrets regularly, but I rarely get a good image.
Choose a resource to use for the great egret, ardea alba.
Make a day trip to a habitat where you might see a great egret or other water bird. Take your field guide along and try to identify any bird you spot during your Outdoor Hour. Look for birds hunting along the shore or wading in the water.
Please note that I will not be posting the complete challenge here on the blog, but you will find the detailed challenge in the Bird Nature Study Set #1 ebook that’s available both in the Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level memberships. Sign into your account and download the ebook for the details, more links, and notebook page.
Birds included in this ebook include the pelican, sandhill crane, Clark’s nutcracker, egret, American dipper, horned lark, magpie, swan, and snipe.
Shooting Star
