INVESTIGATOR S JOURNAL

Transcription

1 Elise Nicol Most Wanted Birds INVESTIGATOR S JOURNAL

2 Student Journal Most Wanted Birds Table of Contents Investigation...Page 1. Sound Surveillance Mystery Sounds Think on Your Own Sleuthing Silhouettes Schoolyard Silhouettes... 3 Take a Walk! Think on Your Own Bird Interrogation... 7 Bird Body Parts... 7 Simplified Bird Body Parts Think on Your Own Become a Bird ID Expert Sketch Your Bird Think on Your Own Solve the Case with Field Guides Mystery Bird Challenge Think on Your Own Sleuthing for Science Citizens Helping Scientists Think on Your Own Bird-Count Tally Sheet Enter Your Count Data Investigate the Database Examine Eyewitness Accounts Think on Your Own

3 Placeholder Sound Surveillance text Placeholder A bird s voice text can reveal its identity to a savvy bird sleuth. Placeholder Mystery Sounds text 1. Listen to the six mystery sounds. Write some words to describe each sound. Sound 1 Sound 2 Sound 3 Sound 4 Sound 5 Sound 6 2. Listen to a recording of an entire chorus of mystery birds. How many kinds of birds do you hear in the chorus? Tally them here: 1

4 Sound Surveillance Think on Your Own Go outside and listen for birds for at least 10 minutes. Record the following information: Location: What is the habitat like here? Time: a.m. / p.m. Time spent listening: minutes How many different species (kinds) of birds did you hear? How many individual birds did you hear? Think about your experience listening for birds. Write a few sentences about this question: Did the number of birds you hear surprise you? Why or why not? I LEARNED... I WONDER... 2

5 Placeholder Sleuthing Silhouettes text Placeholder A good bird text sleuth can know a lot about a bird suspect just by examining its shape. Placeholder Schoolyard Silhouettes text 1. The scene below contains the silhouettes of 24 different bird species. Find and circle them. 2. Label any of the circled birds you recognize. (For example, can you find the gull and the Mourning Dove?) 3

6 Sleuthing Silhouettes Take a Walk! 3. It s time to investigate the scene around you! Use the chart below to keep track of the birds you see and hear. Try to identify them using the shape and sound clues. If you can t identify a bird, sketch it on the next page. Location Date Notes about the bird (What did it look like? What was it doing? Where was it? What did it sound like?) Species (if you know it) How many you saw 4

7 Placeholder Sleuthing Silhouettes text Use the space below to sketch any bird(s) that you can t identify. 5

8 Sleuthing Silhouettes Think on Your Own Birds are everywhere, even where you live! Spend at least 10 minutes outside watching and listening for birds. Record any birds you see or hear below. If there are birds you are unable to identify, draw or describe them on a separate piece of paper. Location Date Notes Species (if known) How many you saw I LEARNED... I WONDER... 6

9 Bird Interrogation Each type of bird has distinct field marks that can help you make a positive ID. Bird Body Parts A bird s body has many parts such as the head, back, wings, and tail. These body parts may have very different sizes and shapes, patterns, and colors. You can use these differences to help identify bird species you see. The differences that help you tell one bird from another are called field marks. Examples of field marks include tail long and forked, wings yellow with white bars, eye stripes gray. Head Crown Eyebrow Eye Stripe Forehead Eye Ring Nape Nostril Bill Back Throat Rump Breast Wing Tail Flank Belly Side Leg 7

10 Bird Interrogation Simplified Bird Body Parts Color each part of the bird using only the colors your teacher specifies. Make sure each part is colored in only one color. (For example, don t put stripes or spots on any body part.) BILL EYE THROAT CROWN CHEEK BACK BREAST WING TAIL BELLY 8

11 Placeholder Bird Interrogation text Think on Your Own Find a photo of (or draw) a real bird that interests you. Label 3 5 of the field marks you could use to help identify the species. Be sure to use the terms on Journal page 7. I LEARNED... I WONDER... 9

12 Become a Bird ID Expert Recognizing a bird s field marks as well as its behavior can help you identify birds correctly. Sketch Your Bird In the space below, write the common and scientific names of your focus bird. Sketch the bird and label at least three field marks that are useful in its identification. See page 7 for names of body parts. Common Name Scientific Name Sketch When sketching your bird, consider the following: Is the tail long or short compared to the body? Are the legs long or short compared to the body? What is the shape of the beak? 10

13 Become a Bird ID Expert Think on Your Own To become an expert on your focus bird, you ll need to know the basic facts about your bird and how to identify it. In the space below, record information about your bird. Refer to the back of your focus bird card, books, and other field guides, or the All About Birds website if you need help Common name of your bird 2. Size and posture 3. Foraging 4. Flight Style 5. Describe its sounds/calls 6. Any other important notes I LEARNED... I WONDER... 11

14 Solve the Case with Field Guides A field guide is an important investigative tool for any bird sleuth. It is filled with information that will help you identify mystery birds. Mystery Bird Challenge 1. Watch the mystery bird video. Take notes and sketch this bird while you watch. Mystery Bird Observations Range Field marks Size Habitat Sound Behaviors 12

15 Solve the Case with Field Guides 2. Now try to make a positive ID of the mystery bird using your field guide. I think the mystery bird is a. 3. Use this checklist to evaluate the identity of the mystery bird. a. Does your bird s range match the mystery bird s range? Yes No Not sure b. Do your bird s field marks match the mystery bird s field marks? Yes No Not sure c. Does the size match? Yes No Not sure d. Does the habitat match? Yes No Not sure e. Do the birds make the same sounds? Yes No Not sure f. Do the behaviors match? Yes No Not sure 13

16 Solve the Case with Field Guides Think on Your Own Sometimes different species of birds look very similar and it can be hard to tell them apart. Bird sleuths rely on important clues to help them decide the identity of a bird. 1. Do you think you were able to accurately identify the mystery bird? 2. If yes, what clues make you conclude the name you chose is correct? 3. If not, what clues would you look/listen for if you saw the same bird in the wild, so you could identify it? I LEARNED... I WONDER... 14

17 Sleuthing for Science Scientists at the are bird sleuths too! Citizens Helping Scientists Answer the following questions after watching the You Can Be a Citizen Scientist video. 1. What kinds of questions are Cornell Lab scientists trying to answer? 2. Why should students do citizen science? 15

18 Placeholder Sleuthing for text Science Think on Your Own How do you feel about becoming a citizen scientist? I LEARNED... I WONDER... 16

19 BIRD-COUNT TALLY SHEET A. LOCATION INFORMATION WHERE DID YOU BIRD? Name of count site (location) B. OBSERVATION INFORMATION HOW & WHEN DID YOU BIRD? 1. Count protocol (check one) Incidental Stationary Traveling 2. Observation date Start time AM / PM End time AM / PM 3. Number of people in group Duration or distance C. CHECKLIST INFORMATION WHAT DID YOU SEE? Are you reporting all the species you identified? (check one) Yes No Species Total # of Individuals Notes Can t identify a bird in the field? Use the next page to sketch any bird(s) that you were unable to identify. Include as many field marks as possible so you can use a field guide to help identify the bird. 17

20 BIRD-COUNT TALLY SHEET SKETCHES 18

21 Sleuthing for Science Enter Your Count Data As a class or individually, you will enter your bird count data into ebird, a national online database on bird distribution and abundance. Follow these instructions to enter data: 1. Go to 2. Choose your location from the BirdSleuth Location drop-down menu. 3. Enter date and effort information: Incidental Observation (Required: date) Stationary Count (Required: date, start time, duration) Traveling Count (Required: date, start time, duration, distance covered) 4. Enter observation information indicate the kinds and numbers of birds you saw. If you create (or are given) a username and password, write them here: Username Password 19

22 Investigate the Database To explore your classroom data, or the data from ebirders all over the world, visit Examine Eyewitness Accounts In your own words, describe the kind of information you can get from each of these kinds of graphs: Histogram Map Frequency Average Count 20

23 Investigate the Database Think on Your Own What question or questions did you answer using ebird data? What did you find out? 21