Wildlife: Winter Watch

Join: https://meet.google.com/lookup/d5lp4z257m to meet Mr Brock jbrock@worth.org.uk for this activity on Thursdays Period 7.

Please join class code xo32yhh in Google Classroom

You may use this activity to contribute to your DofE SKILLS Section as long as you provide suitable evidence - this could be images, logs, observations and dates/hours you do the activity uploaded to Google Classroom.

Description

No matter where you are in the world there has been no better time to think about the plight of our wildlife and it’s a great time of year to be observing the wildlife in your garden or in your local area. Parent birds are struggling to survive the winter temperatures and so are working hard to find food and water. So why not encourage as much wildlife into your garden as possible. Bird feeders for different types of birds are a good way to see birds and bird behaviour. A bird bath encourages drinking and washing and it is important to keep these free from ice and replenish with clean water for drinking. Making a scrap book of photos and notes about what you have seen would be a great record and you can do this in the Google Classroom folder below. If you have any questions there will be a chance to discuss what you have seen with Mr Brock.

• Plants of the garden and hedgerow.

Why not use the lockdown period this opportunity to find out more about the natural world around you. Try to catalogue all of the plants that you find in your garden or in your locality. A very useful app for this is PictureThis. This app identifies most plants very accurately and is very impressive with just a click of a button. It also gives you a lot of detail about the family that plant it is in and where you might find it.

Try producing a page of details for each species you encounter produce a folder in the Google Classroom folder below. In no time at all you'll be able to identify many plant species very easily.

• Birds of the garden

When out in the countryside it is easy to see the plant life around you, but it is much more difficult when it comes to mammals and birds. However, thankfully birds have songs and it is possible, using YouTube, to listen to the songs of all of the common or garden birds and that should then enable you to sit in the garden or anywhere outside and listen to the songs you hear and then try to identify the birds from their songs. It is important to remember birds will have different songs to when they are trying to achieve different things!

Here are some useful sites to get you going and give you some great ideas.

• RSPB https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/give-nature-a-home-in-your-garden/

• The National Trust https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/nine-ways-to-build-a-wildlife-friendly-garden

• SAGA https://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/home-garden/gardening/wildlife/attract-more-wildlife-into-your-garden

• The Scottish Wildlife Trust https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/attract-wildlife-to-your-garden/

Here are a few reference sites for bird and butterfly identification.

• Butterfly Conservation https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/identify-a-butterfly

• The Wild Life Trusts https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife/identify-garden-butterflies

• Bumble Bee Conservation https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/identify-a-bumblebee/

• Friends of the Earth https://friendsoftheearth.uk/bees/bee-identification-guide

• Country File https://www.countryfile.com/wildlife/insects-invertebrates/british-beetle-guide/

• Amphibian and Reptile Group https://www.arguk.org/info-advice/id-guides/441-amphibian-id-guide-revised-2019-pdf/file

Two words of warning regarding bird food.

1. If it is stored in your garage or shed make sure it is in secure containers. You don’t want to encourage unwanted visitors.

2. While you want to encourage ground feeders don’t put out more food in the ground that can eaten in a day.

There are lots of animals and birds out there. Go and see how many are in your garden or in your local area.