What? The Great Backyard Bird Count
When? February 12-15, 2021.
Who? Anyone around the world!
How? Count birds in your yard and at your feeders. Report the data to the Great Backyard Bird Count.
The list below includes the top ten birds counted in the Great Backyard Bird Count in 2020. I would suggest taking a look at the list and use the links to decide if you have any of these particular birds in your local area.
Several of the birds are found on the east coast so make sure to scroll down to “similar species” if you live in other areas to determine if there is a similar bird for you to watch out for in your backyard count.
Top Ten Birds Reported in the Great Backyard Bird Count 2020
Download the Cornell Feeder Bird coloring book. The image above is an example that I completed for the mourning dove.
Download and save the Cornell Feeder Bird coloring book. This book has many of the most common birds you’ll see in your backyard and it makes a perfect complement to your family’s bird nature study.
Don‘t forget about the Learning About Birds ebook in the Member’s Library.
Since writing this challenge years ago, we’ve moved to Central Oregon where we have an abundance of Norther flickers. I observe them every day at my bird feeder right outside my window. They’re such beautifully colored birds and I never get tired of watching them cling to our tree and then swoop down to the suet feeder. Their large size makes them easy to identify but we often hear them long before we see them. You may also see them land on the ground so don’t be surprised about that behavior.
I hope that you can use the links in the original challenge to look at and hear the sounds of the Northern flicker. If you would rather study another tree clinging bird, you’ll find several links in the challenge to get you started.
If you have access to the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook, there are two notebook pages to choose from for your nature journal.
To purchase an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership, click on over to the Join Us page at any time.
You can use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off your Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
You may wish to download and use the Learning About Birds ebook available in the Ultimate Naturalist Library. There are lots of birds included in this ebook, including tree clinging birds like the woodpecker and the nuthatch.
February Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge
I’m starting to get anxious for wildflower season! In honor of that enthusiasm, I’ve created a new set of notebook pages for you to use to enhance your plant family studies. If you have the Botany in a Day book (link at the end of this entry) on your bookshelf, pull it down and get ready to use it alongside these notebook pages for your nature journal.
There are two wildflower nature studies planned for late February, so I invite you to use those flowers to get started with your plant family studies. (Bloodroot is in the poppy plant family and hepatica is in the buttercup family.)
02/05/2021 – Flicker Bird Study
02/12/2021 – Scarlet Saucer Fungi Study
02/19/2021 – Bloodroot Nature Study
02/26/2021 – Hepatica Nature Study
New Printables in the Members Library
Plant Family Notebook Page Set: This nine-page set includes pages for recording notes and lists of the more common plant families. You’ll find pages for the mint, mustard, pea, lily, aster, mallow, rose, and parsley families. There is also a generic page for you to use with any of the other plant families you might study with your children.
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 and will include the benefits shown below.
This is my affiliate link to the Botany in a Day book that I highly recommend to go along with a study of wildflowers.
All of the Outdoor Hour Challenges this month are from the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook.
Here in Central Oregon, we’ve entered the season of pink sunrises and cold frosty mornings. There may be a new dusting of snow on the ground which will soon be marked with critter prints as they come out from cover to search around for their next meal. Living so near to a river, we see its story each day as we look out the window and venture out to walk along the riverbank.
We’ve had plenty of foggy, misty mornings this month and sometimes it takes until noon for the fog to disappear, but we almost always have a bit of sunshine at some point each day. My husband and I try to take advantage of the sun’s warming rays to get outside for a quick walk. I was able to get an image of a coyote trying to sneak along the river one foggy morning last week. He was on the hunt and would occasionally stop and stand as still as a statue before he rushed along some more and then eventually out of sight. We often see the coyote prints in the snow and mud, so we know they’re out there roaming around but we rarely see them in the daytime.
This January we’ve experienced a great thaw. A warm rain caused the snow and ice to almost disappear from the landscape; the melting snow making great pools of water where the ground is frozen underneath. We actually can see green grass and the violets are blooming in a few spots around our yard.
I think the most interesting aspect of the great thaw has been the revealing of the habits of the mice that live around our property. At first, we could see their trails underneath the snow, like tunnels that lead from their warm little homes under the earth that then lead out to where they can scurry under the birdfeeders to gather fallen seeds.
Now that the snow is all gone, you can see the paths among the vegetation. I wrote about this survival method a few years ago when I discovered that critters live and thrive in the “subnivean zone” during the cold winter months. They do not hibernate like other animals which fascinated me. They create a world underneath the snow where the snow acts as an insulator from freezing winds and temperatures.
The most exciting story this month is that of the elk returning to our neighborhood. They are early morning visitors, so most mornings I open my blinds the minute I’m up and around. We put up our critter cam again to get some video of them as they walk majestically by in the early hours of the day.
We’ve had a much milder January than is normal, so we’re bracing for the possibility of a wintery February. Time is moving along quickly and as always, we have plenty to occupy our thoughts as we venture out each day to notice the drama and excitement that happens right outside our door.
I invite you to join us this month for the Outdoor Hour Challenge as we work our way through the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook.
Please use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist membership.
This week I invite you to do a little stargazing with your family. Bundle up and be prepared to find the constellation Orion in your night sky. Use the information found in the Handbook of Nature Study and the links in this challenge to educate yourselves about this winter constellation.
I use the Sky Guide app on my iPadto locate constellations and other night sky objects easily. I know there are several apps out there to use, but I’ve really enjoyed having Sky Guide. If you have experience with other star apps, leave me a comment!
If you have access to the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook, there are two notebook pages to choose from for your nature journal.
If you have access to the Member’s Library and can download the Winter Wednesday ebook, there’s a Winter Night Sky notebook page in that ebook that can be used as a follow up if you wish.
To purchase an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership, click on over to the Join Us page at any time.
You can use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off your Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
The night sky is a fascinating subject to study. Over the years we’ve used our powers of observation to notice so many things right from our own back deck. We have a fairly dark neighborhood so gazing at the stars is a bit easier than if we lived in the city. My youngest child has always had an interest in learning about space and the universe, so hooking him into a little nature study at night has been easy and fun. We further nurtured his curiosity by creating a high school astronomy course that fit his needs and interests.
Look for the August 2013 newsletter in your member’s library!
Tips for a Night Sky Study
* It takes a long time for your eyes to adjust to being outside at night. I read it takes 30 minutes, so allow enough time to get your “night vision” working before you start to look for stars.
* Have a good glow in the dark type constellation chart and know where your compass points of reference are while standing at your observation spot. This will make it easier to orientate your star chart to the sky.
“Geology, mineralogy, physical geography, botany, nature, biology, astronomy–the entire realm of science is like a beautiful fenced green field and we need to bring the child to the gate and leave it open for him. He doesn’t need a thorough collection of facts. He needs what Huxley calls ‘common information’ so that he’ll feel some connection with things on the earth and in the heavens.” Charlotte Mason
* Don’t expect too much at first. It takes time to learn the basics like where the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, and North Star are to be found during each season. Take it slowly and realize you have many years of stargazing to learn more.
* Dress appropriately! It is cold at night for a large part of the year so bundle up. Have a blanket to wrap in or to lay on for stargazing.
* Spend some time viewing the night sky and watching for meteorites, satellites, and airplanes. This is a fun activity because they move across the sky and are easy to spot.
* Get the whole family involved and take turns pointing constellations out. Our family became really good at this by using a free iPhone app called Sky Map. It allows you to point your phone at the sky and identify the objects you can see using a GPS system. Fun! (There is also an Android app—Google Sky Map.)
* Binoculars on a tripod are a great alternative for amateur stargazing.
Look for a Local Observatory
* We visited our local observatory several times a year and enjoyed the help and explanations of the volunteer docents. It was great to get one on one time with astronomers and students who were willing to share their knowledge with interested children.
Night Sky Tracker- Highly recommend!
Keep a Journal
* Keeping a journal is an excellent way for older children to learn more about the night sky. We didn’t require a journal entry every time we completed an observation but only when there was something interesting to note.
I created a high school level course for my son to complete during his 11th grade year. See the details and suggestions here:
The link above will share all the resources we used to make astronomy a living science course.
If your children are young, remember that you’re trying to build interest in the night sky, make them curious to know more, and to build an appreciation for all that they see.
Please note that the August 2013 Newsletter in the archives contains lots of ideas to help with a night sky study. Members can find it in their library for download.
To purchase an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership, click on over to the Join Us page at any time.
You can use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off your Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
This week, using the links in the challenge, you’ll be introduced to feldspar. This isn’t a common nature study topic, but feldspar is a rather common rock-forming mineral that we can learn a little about using the Handbook of Nature Study.
You may decide this is a study that perhaps your older or more advanced students may wish to complete. If you have younger students or don’t have a specimen of feldspar to observe, see the alternate activity linked below for a more general rock nature study.
Here’s a quick overview of feldspar:
Feldspar, which means field stone, names a group of minerals that are much alike.
Feldspar is always a part of granite and other igneous rocks.
The most common colors are white or gray, pale pink or pale yellow, but feldspar may also be olive green or brown.
All feldspars are made of aluminum, silicon and oxygen.
I would love for you to be encouraged in your rock study by this entry I wrote a few months ago: Teaching the “Hard” Nature Study Subjects – Rock Study. In my experience, I find this to be one of the more challenging nature subjects. But, the ability to take it slow and learn alongside your children can make this less intimidating.
If you have access to the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook, there is a notebook page for you to print and use for your nature journal.
Alternate Study: Here’s an alternate to the feldspar study linked in the Outdoor Hour Challenge this week. If you click over to the Rock Study Grid activity, you can print a notebook page activity to use with other rocks you may already have in your collection.
To purchase an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership, you can click on over to the Join Us page at any time.
You can use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off your Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
New Goals for 2021 and a Reflection on my 2020 Goals
Setting nature study goals each year has been a powerful tool in my life. Creating specific goals keeps you focused and then periodically reviewing the goals allows you to see what you’ve accomplished and how to further reach your goals by breaking the larger goals down into smaller bits. A few things have helped me be successful and I thought you might like to hear about those tips as you perhaps think about making your own nature study goals for 2021.
Be Flexible
First of all, don’t think of things you didn’t accomplish as “failures”. Maybe the timing wasn’t right for working on a particular goal. I’m thinking specifically of one of my 2020 goals to visit a new national park. I could not have anticipated the impact of a worldwide pandemic when I wrote that goal. Find a way to be flexible if you find you can’t achieve your original goal. We decided to build a “campsite” in our backyard where we could sleep outside whenever we felt like it. Some may call it “glamping”, but it really did fill the need to be outside in nature at night.
Review Your Goals Periodically
Another tip to achieving your nature study goals is to look at them periodically to see which ones can be added to your planner. I keep a weekly/monthly planner and I can add reminders to work at a goal. Can we go for a hike this week? Are we counting birds for Project Feederwatch this week? Do we need to get to the library to gather books for research and planning? Keep an eye on nature study goals as you go along.
Break Larger Goals into Smaller Steps
Breaking larger goals down into bite size pieces is also necessary to achieve more substantial nature study goals. For instance, planning a camping trip will involve some pre-planning. Deciding on a destination, reading about the habitat, making required reservations, gathering equipment, and blocking out time on the calendar are all steps that can be done to accomplish the larger goal of going camping.
We achieved our rather large 2020 goal to build a backyard habitat for wildlife by following this tip. Sometimes it is the largeness of a goal that keeps us from reaching it. You can read the first installment in my series to see our first steps: Creating a Wildlife Habitat.
Make a Reasonable List
I also suggest keeping your goal list to a manageable size. It is easy to want to include a lot of great goals but as you start your list of goals, keep it simple. If you are just starting out with nature study, your goal list may only have a couple of items. You can always add things later in the year!
Create Achievable Goals – Don’t be too ambitious!
Another mistake I made in years past is to overestimate my long haul interest in a topic. For instance, one year I made the goal to learn about and then find in real life every rock in a particular book. Wow! That was hugely ambitious and would have taken a miracle to accomplish. We did manage to complete the study of quite a few rocks from the book but my interest really did wane after a few months. A more reasonable goal would have been to “learn more about the rocks in my local habitat”.
I hope you are encouraged to create your own nature study goals after reading my tips. My main message is to make sure you create a list that helps you with your own interests and supports your family getting outdoors to learn more about your own particular habitat.
So, without further ado, here is my list for the upcoming year.
Nature Study Goals – 2021
Nature Journal Goals: I’m trying out a different format this year for my daily nature journal notes. I’m anxious to share this with you so watch for it in upcoming posts. I’m also testing out some ideas for the Member’s Library that includes a perpetual nature journal using notebook pages I’ve designed. It’s most definitely a work in progress and I’ll be adding them to the Member’s Library after seeing which style works best for me.
Backyard Habitat development: We’re going to keep adding to the wildlife garden we started last year and hopefully add some more beneficial elements that are practical and beautiful in our Central Oregon climate.
Local Hikes: I’m determined to try to find places to hike in all seasons.
Make notes in field guides: This is a project I started last year and I think it’s just a part of what I do now with my field guides.
Project Feederwatch and Great Backyard Bird Count: We are in the middle of the Project Feederwatch season already and it brings us such joy to see our backyard birds come each day.
Go camping: We have a new, much smaller travel trailer now and this opens up some of the more rugged campsites in our area. We can be completely off grid and get out into the forest much easier. We’ve already mapped out some places we want to go explore. Even with COVID restrictions, we should be able to get outside and camp this summer.
Learn about succulents: I’ve developed a love for succulents. The amazing variety and the beautiful colors and shapes have captured my heart. I became aware this year of the flowers that succulents have that I overlooked. So joyfully, right now my succulents are covered in snow and ice but I know that next summer they will again treat me to a colorful display. I have a great desire to learn more!
You can join as an Ultimate Naturalist Library member and immediately have access to hundreds of nature study ideas and printables. The library is growing every month and there are plans for publishing 2 new ebooks in 2021! If you join now, you’ll have access to those ebooks as soon as they publish!
Click the graphic above to see the complete benefits of a membership. Join and make 2021 the best year of nature study ever for your family!
Use the discount code NATURE5 for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership!
“Out in this, God’s beautiful world, there is everything waiting to heal lacerated nerves, to strengthen tired muscles, to please and content the soul that is torn to shreds with duty and care…. nature study is not a trouble; it is a sweet, fresh breath of air…She who opens her eyes and her heart nature-ward even once a week finds nature study…. a delight and an abiding joy.” Handbook of Nature Study, Anna Botsford-Comstock
This week we are going to get outside and observe our January weather right in our own backyard. This is a quick and easy study that everyone can do regardless of where you live or what your current weather is outside.
First go to your Member’s Library. There are two printables for you to use as a follow up to your Outdoor Hour Challenge. Choose the activity that fits your needs best. See the images and instructions below.
Know Your Own Backyard – January: This notebook page is a simple activity for your family. Take a few minutes and make some backyard observations and then follow up with a sketch and a short description of what you observed.
Winter Weather notebook page will help you make three weather observations on three different days this month. Afterwards, your child can make a comparison of the winter weather to their memories of summer weather in your backyard.
You can also download and read the December 2015 newsletter from the archives that features dozens of ideas for weather related nature study.
To purchase an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership, click on over to the Join Us page at any time.
Please use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
I don’t know about you but I’m so ready for a fresh start this month. December has been a busy month and the only formal nature study lesson I completed was the first day of winter activity. We took a very long walk in the woods even with snowy trails and it reminded me that I need to be more intentional about getting outside every week with a focus. (You can read my entry on Focus and Consistency from the archives for a little inspiration if you need it.)
So, making a fresh start in January will be easier with a little pre-planning. If you’re a member, you have a schedule and a planning page in your printables library. For everyone else, the January plan is printed below. We’ll mostly be working in the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook over the next couple of months.
01/01/21 Winter Fun – Weather Study – 2 printables from the Member’s Library
01/08/21 Cattle and Deer Nature Study – Winter Nature Study Continues ebook
01/15/21 Feldspar Rock Nature Study – Winter Nature Study Continues ebook
01/22/21 Orion Constellation Study – Winter Nature Study Continues ebook
01/29/21 Crystals Nature Study – Winter Nature Study Continues ebook
New Printables for Members
Animal Tracks Notebook Page: This time of the year is a fantastic time to get outdoors to look for animal tracks. On a recent hike we spotted some large elk tracks in the snow and mud. We frequently have squirrel tracks, goose tracks, raccoon tracks, and dog tracks around our yard. Have you spotted some signs of animals in your neighborhood? Use this notebook page to make a sketch of the track. Older students may wish to try to make them actual size and then use a field guide to identify which animal made the tracks.
Running List Notebook Page: We’ve often used the simple practice of list making to keep a record of our nature observations. This set of pages gives you a variety of styles to choose from to make lists of a particular subject like birds, trees, butterflies, etc. Or you can use a running list notebook page to record things you observe in a particular place. We often would make lists while on vacation. See the samples below.
You may be interested in viewing this post from my archives: Winter Mammal Study- Tracks, Scat, and Signs. This thorough post will give you plenty of ideas for using the Animal Tracks notebook page with your family.
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.
You can use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off your Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
Don‘t forget about the Learning About Birds ebook in the Member’s Library.
New Printables for Members
You may be interested in viewing this post from my archives: 