NEED 2020 Spring Bioblitz's Journal

June 11, 2020

June 11th! We're almost done!

Have you noticed the sound of the wind has changed? Spring into Summer on Cape Cod changes the direction of the wind from the NorthEast to the SouthWest...at the same time the leaves of our deciduous trees are reaching full size, catching the wind and creating rustles and shushing noises. The grasses and roadside wildflowers are getting tall and blooming. Look around for flowers and grass seed heads along roads, trails, sides of buildings, and open areas. Can you find a spittle bug house? Are there grasshoppers, leaf hoppers, caterpillars hiding in the grass? Are you lucky enough to be near the saltmarsh? The fiddler crabs are darting through the green sea pickle, and around the sea lavender leaves that are growing bigger than my hand. The last picture challenge is to record clearly what you see living and growing in your neighborhood and favorite places. Notice things that you see everyday and record them--producers, consumers, and decomposers!

Posted on June 11, 2020 01:34 PM by falmouth5thgraders falmouth5thgraders | 0 comments | Leave a comment

May 29, 2020

Week 5! It’s June already, and just weeks until the Summer Solstice!

Have you noticed how the birds seem a little bit quieter? Most of them are nesting. Many birds have already had the first batch of young hatch from their eggs! Watch for birds flying with full mouths. Some are building nests (many birds, like Robins, will build more than one nest each spring/summer), some are carrying little white blobs (those are called fecal sacs and are full of baby bird poo! The parents carry it away from the nest to keep the nest fresh and clean.), and some are carrying food back to the nest for the young. Many insects are visible now as you look at the maturing leaves on plants. Check for caterpillars, tiny but growing fast, on the underside of leaves. If there are Oak trees near your home, look for Oak-apple Galls growing from the leaves. Galls are actually made when an insect (in this case, a tiny wasp) lays an egg in the new leaf. As the leaf grows it actually makes a safe, food-filled sphere around the larva that hatched from the egg. Inside the growing gall is a growing insect! There are so many unexpected things to be found--look around and send a picture of something you noticed living around your home and wonder about. We will identify it and share your observations with other citizen scientists. Take a look at the photos already up (to get inspired) and then SEND IN YOUR PHOTO--need@dy-regional.k12.ma.us

Posted on May 29, 2020 05:00 PM by seashore_teachers seashore_teachers | 0 comments | Leave a comment

May 23, 2020

Week 4! What’s been happening with cold-blooded creatures? Have you peeked into a pond, puddle, or stream lately?

The warming of the soil and freshwater habitats means new creatures emerging everyday!
Did you hear any frogs, or toads when you were listening last week? Freshwater, even puddles, can be full of life in the spring. Frogs, toads, and salamanders all leave jelly covered eggs to grow in shallow freshwater. Tadpoles are starting to hatch! Newts are on the hunt in the ponds. Insect larvae are hatching into the water, overwintering nymphs are active and patrolling the shallows of the kettlepond for tasty prey. Reptiles are warming up and starting to move around too. Check out sunny areas on a pond! Turtles can be seen basking, warming their bodies in the sun. Snakes are beginning to be active and can be found in sunny areas around stone walls and meadow edges and yards. Last thought for you...Cape Cod is special in the connections of ocean and freshwater, Herring and Eels both use our streams as a way from ocean to pond and back again! The shadbush is blooming and that means the herring are running in the rivers and streams.

Posted on May 23, 2020 01:44 PM by seashore_teachers seashore_teachers | 0 comments | Leave a comment

May 13, 2020

Week 3! Step outside and listen! Can you hear how many new spring sounds have begun?

Take some time to listen for signs of Spring. That means stopping and sitting someplace (away from people noises) and closing your eyes. If you sit still for 30 seconds, how many nature sounds do you hear? Can you hear birds? How many different songs do you hear? Quietly open your eyes and see if you can spot the birds making the songs. Do you hear buzzing? The Bees and other pollinating insects are out and about too. The birds and bees are visiting the bursting buds and blossoms. The bees and butterflies are feeding on the nectar in the flowers. The birds are searching for little inch worms and other insects that are on the new leaves...are you lucky enough to get a good look and a photo? Take a look at the photos already up and then SEND IN YOUR PHOTO--need@dy-regional.k12.ma.us

Remember to give your school, teacher, and label the photo with your best guess for what it is and where you took the photo!

Posted on May 13, 2020 11:39 PM by seashore_teachers seashore_teachers | 0 comments | Leave a comment

May 6, 2020

Week 2! I Notice that buds are bursting, and blooms are opening, and birds are arriving!

Take some time to look around for signs of Spring. That means looking closely at the buds on branches to see if they are opening up into blossoms or tiny leaves. Check in the grass of a lawn or field for tiny wildflowers that are already in full bloom and making seeds! Look for ferns that are poking up as fiddleheads. Watch and listen for new birds arriving to Cape Cod for the nesting season. Orioles, Catbirds, and LOTS of shorebirds have arrived in the past few weeks...are you lucky enough to get a good look and a photo? Take a look at the photos already up and then SEND IN YOUR PHOTO-- need@dy-regional.k12.ma.us Remember to give your school, teacher, and label the photo with your best guess for what it is and where you took the photo...

Posted on May 6, 2020 04:02 PM by seashore_teachers seashore_teachers | 0 comments | Leave a comment

April 28, 2020

Week 1! Find a fungi or other decomposer for your first mission!

Try and get a shot of a decomposer. That means a mushroom or fungus or a leaf that has fallen to the ground and has weird stuff growing on it...look at old wood (shingles, fence posts and rails, edges of gardens). Peek under a log and see what's down there--PUT IT BACK when you are done! Take a look at the photos already up and then SEND IN YOUR PHOTO-- need@dy-regional.k12.ma.us Remember to give your school, grade, teacher, and label the photo with your best guess for what it is...

Posted on April 28, 2020 03:53 PM by seashore_teachers seashore_teachers | 1 comment | Leave a comment

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