Do you have some time on your hands these days for a little extra nature study?
Here’s a short of list of the newer Outdoor Hour Challenges you may want to complete that feature some totally awesome mammals. I’m personally working my way through the list in my own study and following up with nature journal pages for each one. I still have a few more to go!
You can click the link below to find all the mammal related nature study ideas here on the Handbook of Nature Study. I invite you to click on over and find something too!
The golden mantled ground squirrel is a cute little squirrel that often invites itself to your family picnic. With stripes on their body but not on their face, they are quite easy to identify from other squirrels and chipmunks too.
Note they only have stripes on their body and not on their face.
Use this week’s challenge to learn more about this interesting little rodent. As always, preparation will make you ready for the time you may encounter this animal in the future.
Here are a few ideas to get you started with a golden mantled ground squirrel:
Choose your resource for learning about the golden-mantled ground squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis). This could be a field guide, a book from your local library or an online resource like this one: golden-mantled ground squirrel. This website has very clear images of this animal: golden-mantled ground squirrel. Notice the lack of an eye stripe!
Please note that I will not be posting the complete challenge here on the blog, but you will find the detailed challenge in the High Desert ebook that is 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.
If you don’t have a membership yet, you can click the graphic above and join today for immediate access to the 25 ebooks and so much more! Remember that all levels, even the Discovery level membership, include access to all of the archived newsletters!
Topics in this ebook include:
Bitterbrush
Sagebrush
Greater sage-grouse
Succulents
Mountain Lion
Coyote
Pocket Gopher
Bristlecone Pine
Elk
Turkey Vulture
Juniper
Snowberry
Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel
River Otter
Use the discount code INITTOGETHER to receive $10 off an Ultimate Naturalist Membership!
The High Desert ebook is now ready for you to download and use with your family. This ebook has been a labor of love on my part because it is filled with some of my favorite topics and things I have in my own habitat. I have been anxious to share these subjects with you my blog readers for a long time!
I have included many links and resources for nature journal pages for your family to use in your nature study.
We will be working our way through this ebook in a few months so get ready to follow along. Please note that even though this ebook is titled “high desert”, many of the the topics can be found in other habitats. In most cases, I have suggested an alternative nature study idea to supplement or substitute for the ebook topic. I encourage you to give it a try!
There are 14 brand new Outdoor Hour Challenges for you to complete as part of your nature study lessons with your children. These Challenges are not based on information in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. You’ll be using internet links and field guides to glean information about each topic. See the bottom of this post for book and resource ideas you may wish to have as a supplement to this High Desert ebook.
This 63 page digital ebook has 14 challenges and supplemental activities
There are multiple custom notebooking pages for each of the topics. You can choose from simple notebook pages or more advanced notebooking pages.
Here are the specific topics included in this ebook:
Bitterbrush
Sagebrush
Greater Sage-grouse
Succulents
Mountain Lion
Coyote
Pocket Gopher
Bristlecone Pine
Elk
Turkey Vulture
Juniper
Snowberry
Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel
River Otter
How do you get the new High Desert ebook?
Members of the Ultimate Naturalistand Journey levels have access to the new ebook in their library. You need to click the “Members Area” button at the top of the website, sign into your account, and the ebook is there to download and save for your family to use when desired.
If you don’t have a membership yet, I’m offering a $5 off discount code that will be good towards your Ultimate Naturalist membership.
Discount Code: OHC10
Here are my favorite resources that I use all of the time in my own study of the High Desert habitat.