You can enjoy a simple mammals homeschool nature study with these resources we have gathered for you to use in your own backyard. It is such a delight to study and learn about these beautiful creatures!
NOTE: All of the mammals homeschool nature study resources listed are available as an Outdoor Hour Challenge in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. If you have a membership, you will be able to pull up the Outdoor Hour Challenge curriculum and print any notebook pages, coloring pages, or other printables for your mammals nature study.
Additional Mammal Homeschool ActivitiesIncluded with Membership
Mammal Outdoor Hour Challenge Notebook Page
Mammal notebook page
Running List of Mammals printable notebook page
Looking for Signs and Tracks
Mammal nature study journal idea printable. Mammals at the zoo.
Join The Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support
Can you believe all of these mammals resources you will find in membership? You will also find a continuing series on mammals plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges for nature study in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. There are 25+ continuing courses with matching Outdoor Hour curriculum that will bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool! In addition, there is an interactive monthly calendar with daily nature study prompt – all at your fingertips!
We live at the edge of a pine forest which is the perfect habitat for the western gray squirrel. They are a constant feature of the landscape that we observe every day from our window. As we spend time in our yard, we see the fluffy tailed, agile gray squirrel making himself at home as he gathers pinecones or as he eats seeds that fall from our birdfeeders.
The timing of last week’s Outdoor Hour Challenge spotlighting squirrels was perfect for us. We have four or five (hard to tell them apart) gray squirrels that come to our yard every day. Here’s a link to last week’s squirrel nature study entry if you missed it: Squirrel Nature Study-make a link.
There was a time they attempted to climb the feeder poles to get to the seed but we’ve extended the slick metal poles up higher and they eventually gave up trying. Instead, they prefer to expend their energy in eating the seeds that the birds drop from the feeder or the deer spill out onto the ground.
We’ve observed them taking specific routes through the yard. One travels high in the tree tops and jumps from branch to branch to eventually make it to the feeder where he runs headfirst down the tree trunk. Another runs along the wood fence that borders our yard, then he races across the lawn, up onto the tree stump, back down and around the fallen log, and then he arrives at his destination under the feeder.
Here in Central Oregon we have both tree squirrels and ground squirrels. The Belding’s ground squirrel has already gone into hibernation until next spring! The ground squirrels are only active for a few months each year as they breed and gather food. Fascinating!
We had to look up our squirrels in our mammal field guide and you may need to also. Use the information to decide which tree and ground squirrels you have in your area so you know what to look for when you are out for your Outdoor Hour Challenge time. We had a hard time deciding what the differences are between a squirrel and a chipmunk until we did our research. You can see one of the posts about this topic linked at the bottom of this post.
Additional Posts You May Wish to Read:
Chipmunks or Squirrels? – In this post we share how we can tell the difference between a chipmunk and a squirrel.
Tree squirrels are some of the most entertaining critters to inhabit our neighborhoods. This week’s Outdoor Hour Challenge will help you and your little squirrel hunters observe local squirrels more closely as you note their behavior and features. Squirrels are not shy so you should be able to spot them and make some observations with ease. You may want to take along a pair of binoculars to get a closer look!
Archive Outdoor Hour Challenge – Click the link above to take you to the original challenge.
“The squirrel’s legs are short because he is essentially a climber rather than a runner; the hips are very strong, which insures his power as a jumper, and his leaps are truly remarkable.”
“The squirrel has two pairs of gnawing teeth which are very long and strong, as in all rodents, and he needs to keep busy gnawing hard things with them, or they will grow so long that he cannot use them at all and will starve to death.”
“During the winter, the red squirrel does not remain at home except in the coldest weather, when he lies cozily with his tail wrapped around him like a fur neck-piece to keep him warm.” Handbook of Nature Study, pages 234 and 235
Make sure to click the link below to read the entire Outdoor Hour Challenge with helpful links, nature study ideas, printable notebooking pages, and suggested follow-up activities.
Members here on the Handbook of Nature Study have access to this printable squirrel watch activity page. These ideas may help you get started with your squirrel observations and then provide a place to record your follow-up thoughts for your nature journal.
A complete list of printables currently available to members can be viewed here:
This Outdoor Hour Challenge is part of the 2018-2019 Plan here on the Handbook of Nature Study. We’ll be using the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock to discover new things about the world around us. Join us each Friday for a different nature study topic. Make sure to subscribe to this blog to receive the weekly challenge right in your email box.
Please note this is an affiliate link to Amazon.com to a book I own and love!
Now that there is no longer a newsletter with a planning page, I decided that I am creating a printable page for you to use instead. Keep track of the month’s Outdoor Hour Challenge topics, be inspired to create a nature journal page, jot down notes for future study, and use the list of archived suggestions to go deeper into a particular topic.
New printables are now posted in the Member’s library!
Members have access to two brand new printable notebook pages.
Squirrel Watch Activity: Use the ideas on the page to take a fun look at squirrels. There is also a place for you to draw a squirrel.
Know Your Own Backyard – Window Observations: This time of year it can be a challenge to get outdoors. Use this page to record your window nature observations.
Print a complete list of printables available to Members for easy reference:Printables for Members
This is an active time of year for chipmunks (and squirrels) as they busy themselves getting ready for the up-coming winter season. On our most recent hikes we have seen them scurrying around on the forest floor and crossing our trail as they gather a storehouse of food. Sometimes, they try to gather OUR food!
Use the ideas in this week’s archive post by clicking the link above for more details.
There is also a free printable Rodent Study notebooking page in this entry: Squirrel or Other Rodent.
Note: You do not need to purchase the ebooks to participate but they are handy to have for planning and for the regular and advanced notebook pages included in each one. Click the graphic at the bottom of this post to go over to check out the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership. If you would like to see a sample of this ebook, you can download a sample here: More Nature Study Autumn Sample.
Use the discount code NATURE5 for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Membership!
November 2015 Newsletter– Mammal Big Grid Study printable: If you are a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you may wish to use the Mammal Big Grid Study printable as part of this challenge.
If you own the Discover Nature Close to Home book (see this entry for a short review and link), you can use it as a reference for this challenge as well as the Handbook of Nature Study.
If you would like to do a chipmunk study rather than a squirrel study, use the Chipmunk Study in the More Nature Study – Autumn ebook.
Additional Ideas:
Research a local squirrel and create a nature journal entry.
Research what a squirrel’s nest looks like and then go on a nest hunt.
See how close you can get to a squirrel if you see one in person. Of course you never want to actually try to touch a squirrel!
We have been on the lookout for tree cones for the past few weeks (as part of the Winter Tree Cone Study) and picked the Ponderosa Pine as our subject for a tree cone study. There are many Ponderosa Pines in our neighborhood and they are easy to spot because of their size and trunk pattern. Our family has done a thorough tree study of the Ponderosa Pine in the past but this time we focused just on the cone.
Here is a close up of the cone showing it’s scale pattern and the sap too.
Here is a cone that the squirrels have taken apart to find the seeds hidden inside. This is a common sight along our local walking trail. It seems where there are Ponderosa Pines, there are squirrels.
I completed the tree cone observation page for my nature notebook. I included an image and some facts about the Ponderosa Pine cone. You can find the printable notebook page here: Winter Tree Cone Study.
Flexible scales
Egg shaped cone
Tipped with slender 1/8 inch prickles that can curve out
Seed is 3/8″ and the wing is 1″
Red and gray squirrels eat the seeds. California quail also eat the seeds.
Overall cone length is 3-6″
All information is from my Peterson Western Trees field guide.
Use the ideas in this week’s challenge to learn more about squirrels. Hopefully you will be able to observe a real squirrel displaying his qualities of agility and ingenuity.
This post contains affiliate links to items I recommend on Amazon.com.
Book Review It is always nice to have a good reference book when studying mammals…one that covers tracks and scat is very helpful. One book that I enjoy and find creates interest in this topic is the book, Tracks, Scats and Signs by Leslie Dendy. This is one a series of books that is aimed at stimulating interest in nature study, using inviting illustrations and simple to understand text. This is a book you will share with your children before going outdoors and then use in a follow if you find some tracks or scat. You can sketch the tracks in your nature journal or take photos to include if you wish.This book is included in Fun With Nature: Take Along Guide if already own that one.
Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #7.Use the notebook page in this challenge to record any mammal tracks or scat you find in your own backyard. Look up the tracks and then complete the notebook page for the animal you discover. You can add to your own field guide pages any time you find something new in your backyard.
Our much anticipated trip to Yosemite for our autumn visit was a huge success. We didn’t plan it but we were leaving the day the park was closed because of the government shutdown. I was very grateful that we were able to get in our visit and hikes before the trails and campground were closed indefinitely.
The image above shows a glimpse of the devastation from the Rim Fire. This is along Hwy 120 above Groveland, CA. It was an awesome sight to see and you could see signs of the fire as we continued into the national park itself and up along the Tioga Road. Much of the area along the road had been cleared before the fire so my husband thinks that many of the trees, although scortched, will revive. We shall be anxious to see if he is right.
We had reserved a campsite along the Merced River in the Lower Pines Campground…perfect! We enjoyed our two nights in our tent with a show of stars at night that was unbelievable. The camping was a little quiet for us with no children along for this trip but it was fun to just be a couple again.We sat in chairs and watched squirrels and birds. We huddled around the campfire and enjoyed the peaceful cracking and snapping of the flames on the oak wood. The air was crisp in the mornings but not so cold we couldn’t break from the cocoon of the sleeping bag.
One afternoon we took a long walk along the valley floor. This time of year there are no big crowds around so you see lots of wildlife. In the image above, you can spy a bobcat! He was wandering along the trail and then he went down to the river. We also so numerous deer…adults and babies too. One time we saw a herd of 20+ deer grazing in the meadow.
Yosemite Falls is bone dry right now. I felt sorry for all the travelers who came from all over the world to visit Yosemite when the falls are dry…just not the same. Autumn is not a time for huge waterfalls in Yosemite but their are other reasons to come at this time of year. The story of Yosemite in the autumn is the change of season with colors and the quiet awesomeness of viewing the granite that also change in color with the light.
Our campsite was visited by many, many squirrels. They were busy collecting seeds of some sort and having a feast. The Stellar’s jays and Common ravens also came to visit and first thing in the morning they were very noisy. The seemed to say, “Wake up! Wake up! You are missing the sunrise!”
Our second day we hiked the complete Panorama Trail. This is an eight mile hike that includes three waterfalls…that actually have water. The image above is the very top of Nevada Falls and although it is not running with much water, it is still a fabulous waterfall. (see below)
Here I am after hiking down from the top with Nevada Falls in the background. Isn’t it an awesome sight? It is hard to describe the sound of a big waterfall, especially this one back in the corner of the valley. The sound cracks and echoes all around you. About this time in the hike, I am getting tired and the downhill climb is harder than climbing up.
Here is a portion of the trail that is a little easier and the views are phenomenal. I love the sky in this image. When I’m hiking, I always watch the sky for signs of storms but this day it was perfect with partial cloud cover a lot of the time. Breezes would cool us off as we hiked. Autumn really is a terrific time to hike at Yosemite.
This is also about the point where we observed a mama Black Bear and her cub…off in the distance but we still became hyper-aware of our surroundings. There were several other hikers, some in front and some in back of us, so we alerted them to our sighting and shared bear stories before we all spread out again.
I was in the mood for looking for fall colors. The maples and oaks were starting to turn color and I found this large leaf along the trail. My husband thinks I’m nuts sometime but he cooperated and took my picture so I could share it with you. This is a good place to point out that hiking in Yosemite is a bit of a rock scramble at times (that is the trail behind me). These are not smooth, easy trails that you can hike along without paying attention. You are always looking down for your next step…not many flat trails here. This is why I started using a walking stick…it makes my hiking so much more pleasurable.
I was so inspired by the Bigleaf maples that back at the campsite I created a nature journal page with some of the information I found interesting. My leaf sketch was a bit of a fail..I think I was hung up on trying to get it to fit in the box I had created on the page and so it looks sort of squished. Oh well, you get the idea of a maple leaf.
The last day of our trip we took the long way home and drove out Tioga Pass, along Hwy 395, and then across on Hwy 89 and 88 to get home. This took us through the high country where the aspens were ablaze with color. We stopped several times to enjoy the views. Now this is what autumn should look like!
It was a fun trip and I am looking forward to the winter season and visiting Yosemite National Park to really see the full circle in this amazing place. We are aiming to hike in the Mariposa Grove of sequoia trees whether there is snow or not. Not sure where we will stay yet…hoping that the government closure is over by then.
Squirrel nature study happens quite frequently at our house. We tend to have squirrels that are not shy about making themselves at home in our birdfeeders and in our trees, especially the walnut tree. I knew we had a squirrel challenge to complete this month so I have been waiting for one to come along to observe. Wouldn’t you know it? We could hear them chattering up in the tree a few times over the past few weeks but we have not actually seen our resident squirrels.
Our Outdoor Time
Kona and I completed this squirrel challenge on our own today…it was a drizzly, gray day. Kona is the squirrel hunter in our family and she will chase them along the fence line and watch them from the base of the tree. She loves a good squirrel chase. Today though there was no squirrel around.
We made use of our time by trying to find some signs of squirrels. We found quite a few walnut shells which are dead giveaway. We looked up in the tree but we couldn’t see any squirrels up there. We made our way around to the side of the house and the birdfeeder where the squirrels sometimes sit and munch on seeds. No squirrels today.
We then went around the side of the house and we saw some tracks in the mud. I think they are cat tracks.
One last tree to check out…nope, no squirrels today.
Well, we didn’t see a squirrel to observe but we ended up really enjoying our time outside. I gathered a colorful leaf bouquet, watched a flock of finches in the feeder (post to come), and we got some fresh air before it really started to rain. Successful….yes!
I did pull out the field guide and look up squirrels and read through the pages. Mr. B and I will be keeping our eyes out for squirrels as the month goes by and once the leaves are all down for the season I know we will be able to see more clearly when we hear the squirrels chattering.
Don’t forget you can study any rodent this month and there is a free printable notebook page for you to use with your Handbook of Nature Study.Rodents included in the Handbook of Nature Studyare the muskrat, house mouse, woodchuck, red squirrel, and the chipmunk.
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if already own that one.
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