Winged Wonders: Day 3
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Winged Wonders are a sturdy bunch of ornithologists who love the outdoors and who love birds. We’ve had an amazing week of learning adventures in the fields and forests of Tollgate Farm and the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary. The trip to KBS went especially smoothly, despite the extreme heat. Somehow, the group evaded all but a few moments of rain the whole 3 days. Meals were delicious, and we hiked many miles from the lodge to base camp to the education building and museum area, including a trek to Windmill Island to swim.
Our young birders spent time in focused observation with their binoculars. They looked closely at one particular bird of prey feather and drew their feather. We gathered in an ‘I Wonder, I Notice’ circle, looking closely at the features of some bald eagle feathers. Next they each observed and drew a feather in their journal, followed by a mix and match game where journals and feathers were scattered on the ground. Campers chose one illustration and searched to find the match based on the features drawn. This exercise heightened our use of sight when observing birds and their features. Soon afterwards, campers focused on using their sense of hearing with a sound map, sitting quietly while listening for sounds and drawing symbols or words to map the location of the sounds in their journals.
Campers worked on their bird songs and broke into their bird groups to work on skits to perform for the camp later this week. Heading to the museum area, campers had the opportunity to fish with hook, line, and sinker. Excited, campers caught several fish, weighing and measuring the fish and recording the data to analyze. Soon afterward, campers walked by the rehab enclosures to feed some of the fish they caught to Liberty and Patriot, the KBS bald eagles in the sanctuary. They saved some of the fish to freeze and feed to the eagles later and some to cook over the open fire for dinner.
Groups continued to work on their life-size platform nests of the eagle, raven, red-tailed hawk, and great blue heron. In the process, they had to research dimensions and other characteristics of the large nests to present on the last KBS day. After a long hike to Gull Lake, campers enjoyed a picnic lunch and jumped in the lake to swim, play, and cool off! Returning to the lodge, hikers stopped to work on their nests some more, deliberating on height and insulation. Next, the team dissected bobwhite eggs to compare and contrast with the chicken egg we dissected at Tollgate on Monday. After a hardy game of Wrens and Jays, the group practiced skits and enjoyed s’mores around the campfire before campers headed off for a good night’s sleep. Stay tuned for more Winged Wonders updates and photos.
