scavenger hunt - nature friend magazine april 2009.pdf · in this issue are hidden a tadpole and...

In this issue are hidden a tadpole and

a frog. You can see here what they look

like; however, where they are hidden they

may be any size and any color. So get your

binoculars (or magnifying glass) and start

searching. Can you find the tadpole, and

the frog that he will become?

Scavenger Hunt

I See It! from March

Front Cover: An American robin feeds a grasshopper to a nestling. Story on page 18.

BaCk Cover: A ruffed grouse on a drumming log. Story on page 20.

Invisibles ...................................... 3

A Bird That Cannot Fly .............. 4

Pictures and Poems ..................... 6

Fishing for Answers .................... 7

Animal Babies ............................. 7

Wondernose ................................ 8

Creation Close-ups ................... 10

The Mailbox............................... 11

In the Beginning God Created Brown Bats ......... 12

You Can DrawA Whitetail Fawn ...................... 14

A Blue Jay—from August You Can Draw ....................... 15

Robin’s Nest ...............................18

The Story Behind the Photo ..... 20

Who Am I? ................................ 21

April Nature Trails .................... 21

Frozen Alive .............................. 22

Hippity Hop .............................. 23

Butterfly Gardening .................. 24

A Bow in the Clouds ................. 26

Page 4 Periwinkle

Page 12 Wood Anemone

Page 16 Snow Trillium

Page 11 Indian Pipe

a p r i l 2 0 0 9 n a t u r e f r i e n d4

Do you know a bird

that cannot fly? The

penguin is such a bird.

Although it cannot fly, it is

a good swimmer and lives

in the ocean much of the

time.

The best-known of the seventeen species is the

emperor penguin, which lives in the Antarctic

and is the only one that may never touch land in

its lifetime.

The Antarctic contains the coldest, windiest,

and driest climates in the world. There are only

two seasons—a cold summer and a freezing

winter. During summer the sun shines most of

the day, but many areas never get warm enough

to melt the snow. Along the coast, however, it

can get surprisingly mild for Antarctica—around

freezing or a little above. In winter it is dark

nearly 24 hours a day, with frequent, powerful

storms and strong, freezing winds.

In late March or early April—the beginning of

winter—ice starts to form. The emperor penguins

now leave the open sea, their comfortable home

and feeding place for the last three months. They

march single file, waddling along slowly day and

night for a week. After waddling and tobogganing

nearly 70 miles (113 km), they reach the place

they were born. Over the next few weeks, 7,000

penguins will arrive in this one colony. The

Antarctic has forty independent colonies.

During their courtship, the male and female

sing so they will know and remember each other.

In May or early June, the female lays a single

egg while standing up. It slides to her webbed

feet, and she manages to push it into her

incubating pouch. The next day she transfers her

precious cargo to the male. With the help of his

beak, he quickly pushes the egg onto his feet and

into his warm pouch. Then the female waddles

back to the sea to eat. It’s been two months since

she had food.

The harshest time of winter is upon them.

Thousands of males huddle together to keep from

freezing and to protect the precious eggs in their

pouches. Blizzard after blizzard hits them. There

is nothing to eat and nothing to drink except

the snow and ice. For most of the day and all the

night, darkness covers the land.

In mid-July the eggs begin to hatch. The male

penguin has fasted for at least 15 weeks and has

lost half his body weight.

by Eva Goertzen

p l e a s e t e l l a f r i e n d a b o u t N a t u r e F r i e n d . 5

The little chick is hungry. The father penguin

regurgitates a milky liquid into his beak and feeds

the chick. But at the most he has only one more

meal. The mother penguin is on her way back,

but how is she going to find her family among

the thousands of penguins? The mother finds the

father by calling, and listening for his call.

The father penguin passes the chick from his

pouch to her warm one. She has plenty of food

to regurgitate for the chick. The male penguin

must get to the ocean or he will starve, but first he

sings a little song. The chick chirps back. By these

chirping songs they will recognize each other

later, even though the thousands of chicks all look

alike and are all chirping. What a miracle!

For the next three weeks the male penguins eat

continually to gain back their weight and have

extra to feed their chicks. An adult penguin will

find and feed only its own chick. The chicks are

growing bigger, so they need more and more

food. The parents now take short turns in feeding

the chick and returning to the ocean. Some of the

ice has melted, so the ocean is nearer.

When the chick is about five months old, it

must learn to feed on its own. It is summer time,

and the chicks travel to the ocean. They know by

instinct how to swim, dive, and find food. They

will remain in the ocean, feeding, growing, and

playing until they are four years old. Then they

will make their first trip to the “nesting” grounds,

even though they won’t choose a mate until they

are five or six years old. Thus the cycle continues

year after year by these amazing creatures. These

birds that cannot fly teach us lessons of love,

sacrifice, and commitment. s

© N

oah S

tryc

her

/ ist

ockp

hot

o.co

m

Want to have your picture or poem published in Nature Friend? Use black ink, dark pencil, colored pencils, or paints on clean, unlined paper, and do not fold drawing. Send to Pictures and Poems, 4253 Woodcock Lane, Dayton, VA 22821, or e-mail to [email protected]. Include your name and address. If you want your work returned (whether we use it or not), please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Space is limited, so it is not possible to publish every submission.


Debbie Rohrer, 11 Cadott, WI

Eric Liddell, 13 Ephrata, PA

Little ThingsI saw a little songbird As I took a little walk. A little butterfly was On a little flower stalk. I came across a little ant, Busy as could be, While a little caterpillar Munched a little leaf. A little stream was flowing, And I saw a little frog; Beside it, a little turtle Was resting on a log. Now all these little things, Insignificant though they seem, Are very important in God’s eyes. He even cares for little me. So we should always remember, No matter how big or how small, God cares for every creature; He made them, one and all.

Erica Lauterwasser, 17 River, KY

BirdsBirds chirp and chatter all day long.They never cease to sing their song.Flying around is what they do best,Finding a safe place for a nest.

Landing on branches far and nearWith nothing but their wings to steer,It’s a wonder they don’t break their necks,Yet here they are, perching on our decks.

They’re, oh, so fun to watch and seeWhen they’re with their chicks and family.Their chicks are always cute and soft,Lying chirping in their loft.

God loves His little soaring creatures,Their faces, and their charming features.He cares for every one the same,And He knows them all by name.

Amanda Ake, 13 Woodstock, GA

Hannah Yoder, 9 Garrett, PA

Jill Tyler, 10 Hutchinson, KS

Mariah Pemberton, 13 Charlotte, NC

Rebekah Stoeppler, 12 Shafter, CA

Rhoda Anne Crist, 11 Nappanee, IN

Sharon Miller, 5 Lyndonville, NY

I swim in cool water.

I am hard to claim.

I’m large and powerful.

___________ is my name.

1.

7“ p a c k e d f u l l o f i n f o r m a t i v e f a c t s i n a f u n w a y . ” — p a

by Kelly R. Polark

Chick __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Joey __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Foal __ __ __ __ __

Cygnet __ __ __ __

Fox

Bear

Whale

Rabbit

Opossum

Pheasant

Penguin

Elk

Tiger

Swan

Elephant

Lion

Giraffe

Mink

Seal

Bison

Moose

Beaver

Coyote

Flamingo

Kangaroo

Zebra

Cub __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Calf __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Kit __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Pup __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

I am a member

Of the sunfish class.

I eat fish and frogs.

I’m a largemouth __________.

2.

I grow two to five feet.

My snout reaches far.

I have tough, sharp teeth.

I’m a ___________________.

3.

Spotted and colorful,

I sure stand out.

I swim in streams.

I’m a rainbow _____________.

4.

I’m long and sleek.

Weedy lakes I like.

God made me strong.

I’m a northern _____________.

5.

I’m striped and golden.

People fish and search

For me for dinner.

I’m a ________________.

6.

Bugs, snails, and worms—

I eat my fill.

I’m a common fish.

My name is ____________.

7.

I have a spiny fin.

In a school I swim by.

I can see very well.

I am a big ______________.

8.

I’m a bottom-feeder

And a tasty dish.

Because I have whiskers,

I am called ______________.

9.

I am used as bait.

Fish give me a chase.

Some call me a minnow.

Another name is ____________.

10.

I am shaped like a disk.

There are many of me.

I swim in schools.

I am a ______________.

11.

Caviar and my eggs

Are one and the same.

I’m big and long-lived.

_____________ is my name.

12.

Match the animals with their

babies. Some animal babies may

have several names; however,

we have listed them only once.

by Sherita Leinbach, 12 Narvon, PA

Answers on page 11.

Answers on page 11.

© K

laas

Lin

gbee

k /

isto

ckphot

o.co

m

by Rebecca Martin

A.Q.Wildlife Wondernose Question #80

What animal will do a handstand to mark its territory?

Like many big mammals, our 300-pound mystery animal is territorial. Each male has his territory that he defends as his own.

Some may claim several hundred square miles. And how do they let intruding animals know when they’re entering another’s territory? That is where the handstand comes, in, Wondernose. Our mystery animal may mark his territory in several ways, but one way is to back up to a tree or rock, walk up the surface with his back feet, and leave his scent with urine or a gland near his tail. This enables him to leave his scent high off the ground as a warning. Smaller males will respect the territory of the large male that put his scent so high.

This mammal has a six-foot-long body and is stockily built, with dense, thick fur. You want to know what color the fur is, Wondernose? I’m afraid if I tell you, you will guess the answer to the riddle right away.


Surprise, Wondernose. Though it is often called one, this animal is not a true bear. It resembles bears in shape and size, in its lumbering, flat-footed way of walking, and because it has only a stump of a tail. Like bears, it will climb a tree when chased. It usually gives birth to one or two cubs at a time.

Ah, you still want me to describe the coloring? As I’ve said, that will be a giveaway. This appealing creature is creamy white, but wears black “stockings” on its legs and a black “collar” over its shoulders. Small black ears decorate the great white head, and the amusing pattern is completed by a black patch over each eye.

Yes, of course, we’re talking about the giant panda, a creature that seems designed for a child’s delight. Let me remind

In Pennsylvania dutch (a language spoken by many

of our readers) the term “gvunanaws” (wondernose)

is used to describe someone who is curious about

everything around him. Wondernose asks lots

of questions to satisfy his or her curiosity. After all,

that’s a good way to learn, isn’t it?

Scientists estimate that a big panda has to keep eating for ten hours a

night in order to sustain itself.

by Rebecca Martin

9

you, though, that the panda’s cute color pattern has a serious purpose. It serves as an excellent camouflage when the panda moves over the snow where there are dark rocky outcroppings.

Pandas are shy and secretive; they live in the remote, forested mountains of Southwestern China and Eastern Tibet. In some places, the bamboo grows so densely that a panda’s trail is almost like a tunnel through the green growth.

You’re right, Wondernose, pandas eat bamboo—and lots of it! Scientists estimate that a big panda has to keep eating for ten hours a night in order to sustain itself. A panda’s jaws have strong muscles for chewing the fibrous bamboo. From June to September, a panda feasts on the young shoots—a

tender delicacy. But through the cold, damp winter, it

must be content with bamboo leaves and stalks.Maybe you’ve heard that pandas eat nothing but

bamboo. When the Western zoos first acquired these big teddy bears, they thought they would have to provide an exclusive diet of bamboo. But the fact is that pandas will also eat grasses, small rodents, fish, and eggs. They can catch fish the way a bear does, by flipping them out of the water with their paws.

Let’s take a look at those paws. There are five clawed toes on each foot, and each forefoot has a small pad that serves as a thumb for grasping. This is important when feeding on bamboo shoots. Picture this cute animal sitting down with its hind legs stretched out, while holding a bamboo shoot like a hotdog and chewing away.

Would you believe, Wondernose, that the Western world had never heard of the giant panda before 1869? Not until much later were the first specimens brought to zoos. Giant pandas today are rare, and protected by law in China. Thus, when the President visited China in 1972, he knew he had received a rare and valuable gift when he was presented with a pair of giant pandas. Very few

panda babies have been born in captivity, so we know very little about their family life. On the few occasions when a zoo panda had a cub, hundreds of children have been fascinated by the sight of this teddy bear mother cuddling her teddy bear baby.

All this talk of teddy bears has made you think of the koala bear, Wondernose, and now you wonder what the difference is between a koala and a panda. Well, the koalas live in Australia, not China. They are not black and white. They’re much smaller than the pandas, and, like so many Australian mammals, have a brood pouch for their young. Koalas do have a specialized diet like the pandas, but they eat eucalyptus, not bamboo. One thing is the same, though— koalas look like teddy bears too!

“ i w a n t g o o d l i t e r a t u r e f o r m y g r a n d c h i l d r e n . ” — t n

s

© F

rank

van d

en B

ergh

/ ist

ockp

hot

o.co

m


Robin RoostOne day we went out to work in the flowerbeds, and

Mom saw a nest in the flower planter. Several days later there were four little blue eggs in the nest. Finally, the eggs hatched. We got to see the mother robin feed the baby robins.

Atlee Longenecker, 9, Bernville, PA

Wild GeraniumGrace E. SauveLapeer, MI

s

Polyphemus MothJakob Ursu, 11 Elmira, ONT

s

s

Monarch Butterfly Caleb Royers

Ant HomeJudienne Faith Santos, VIC Australia

s

Do you have a nature experience you want to share, a question you’d like to ask, or a thought you want to share about something in Nature Friend? We want to hear from you! Write to: The Mailbox, 4253 Woodcock Lane, Dayton, VA 22821, or e-mail [email protected].

Dear Nature Friend,Did you ever hear

of a rainbow around the sun? Our cousins

in Paraguay witnessed this stunning spectacle at their house. The ring occurred at noon on a bright, sunny day—a full rainbow ring around the sun, and, I think, almost a full

second rainbow ring. It was phenomenal! Almost too bright to behold the glory! (They wondered if this is

how the rainbow around the throne in heaven looks?!) Maybe you can explain the conditions needed to create such an exceptional rainbow.

The Siegrist familyPittsgrove, NJ

We suspect the halo around the sun was caused by light passing through ice crystals in thin, high-level cirrostratus clouds. While halos are sometimes white rings, they can have color too. As the light passes through the ice crystals, it is dispersed like light passing through a prism, and the colors of the spectrum (rainbow colors) are the result.

—Nature Friend

Dear Nature Friend,One day my family and I were out in the backyard when my sister heard a “Gobble, gobble, gobble.” She said, “That’s a turkey!” My mom said, “It’s just someone

playing with you.” The sound got closer ’til finally we

saw it. It WAS a turkey! It walked to our yard. Every time it said “Gobble, gobble, gobble,” my mom jumped.

Once the turkey chased my brother on his bike.

We asked some friends if they wanted to see the turkey. They said “Sure” and came over. Their dad was wearing a red shirt. The turkey jumped on him!

That night the turkey sat in our wreath (It was Christmas time.)

The next day the turkey was still there, but the owner was looking for it, so we gave it back. But it came back another time and stayed that day too. Its name was Woody.

Jenna Stanley Youngsville, NC

Dear Nature Friend,I am wondering what sound ostriches

make. Diana Rose Mullet

Reedsville, WIDear Diana,

While an ostrich may hiss, at times the male also makes a deep, booming sound that can be heard for a considerable distance.

—Nature Friend

Dear Nature Friend,One day in April I was taking a walk

around our place. I looked into a hole that Dad had dug for a fence post, and saw some orange and black spots. So I reached down into the hole and got it out, and it was a baby turtle! I took it in and showed it to the rest of the family. I asked Mom what kind she thought it

was, and she thought it was a painted turtle.Owen Champ

Scurry, TX

BEWARE!Most of the readers

probably like to collect birds’ nests. But I advise against it!! Small parasites called bird mites live on birds’ nests. Although they do not pester every nest, they are on some nests, and humans can get bird mites by handling those infected nests. Once a human gets bird mites, he/she can hardly get rid of them! They cause swelling and itching (so bad you can’t sleep), and finally they enter your body. They cause pain and misery for the rest of this life. A man once said, “I burned all my possessions, just so my family would not get these…terrible bugs!” The way this man describes bird mites, I don’t want them and NEITHER DO YOU. I am thankful I read about them before I went on my grand bird nest hunt!

Natalie BaileyAlpharetta, GA

Dear Readers,Though not common, human

infestation by bird mites is miserable, according to our research. Even if measures are taken to kill mites, collecting bird nests is not legal without a government-issued permit, so that alone is reason to not collect them.

—Nature Friend

“ i a p p r e c i a t e t h e e d u c a t i o n a l r e s o u r c e N a t u r e F r i e n d i s … ” — M n 11

A N S W E R S

Answers to Fishing for Answers on page 7:

Polyphemus MothJakob Ursu, 11 Elmira, ONT

1. Muskie 2. Bass 3. Longnose gar 4. Trout 5. Pike 6. Yellow perch 7. Bluegill 8. Walleye 9. Catfish10. Dace 11. Crappie 12. Sturgeon Answers to Animal Babies on page 7:

Chick: Flamingo, Penguin, Pheasant Joey: Kangaroo, Opossum Foal: Zebra Cygnet: Swan Cub: Lion, Bear, Tiger Pup: Fox, Coyote, Seal Calf: Moose, Elk, Elephant, Whale, Bison, Giraffe Kit: Rabbit, Mik, BeaverAnswers to Who Am I? on page 21: Cougar

12

T racey Knierim is an animal lover. On her farm in Geauga County, Ohio, she has a dog, six cats, a

fish, and over 6,000 bats!When Tracey and her husband Jeff purchased

the farm in 2005, they discovered the 150-year-old barn was home to a colony of bats. Tracey has been interested in bats for a long time. “I used to go out at dusk in the spring and watch the skies for the first bat of the year. It was a sign to me that summer was almost here,” she said. Now when Tracey sees that first bat, she knows thousands more are on their way, and they’re coming to her place for dinner!

The Knierim colony is made up of little brown bats and big brown bats. The bats hibernate in southern Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky, from October through March. Then in April or

May the female bats migrate back to their birthplace, the Knierim barn. The warm, protected barn is the perfect place to have their young, called pups. Each year, the female bats will return to the same location.

The male bats also migrate, but prefer to live alone or in small groups of two or three.

Living with bats has been an interesting experience for the Knierims. For the most

part, the bats are self-sufficient. They don’t require much of Jeff and Tracey, but the Knierims do feel a responsibility toward the bats. Any repairs to the barn wait until late October after the bats have migrated.

The bats help the Knierims too, eating thousands of mosquitoes and insects in the yard. In fact, a single bat can catch and eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes in an

by Julie Warther

© J

ulie

War

ther

13a p r i l 2 0 0 9 n a t u r e f r i e n d

hour! With 6,000 bats flying around, they don’t have much of a mosquito problem.

The nightly acrobatics draw a lot of interest to the Knierim farm. From spring until the bats’ migration in fall, Jeff and Tracey welcome visitors to the farm to view the bats. Tracey provides an educational talk and tour of the barn. At dusk, the bats begin to circle inside the barn, then dart out cracks, crevices, windows, and the wide open door. Spectators duck as bats swoop over their heads. Bats dive and catch a snack as they head to the wetlands across the road

Bats are the only mammals that can fly!

There are over 1,100 species of bats.

Bats live on every continent except Antarctica.

Bats are the longest-living mammals for their size, with a life span of about 30 years.

Predators to bats include snakes, raccoons, cats, skunks, owls, and hawks.

Although bats are known to carry rabies, the incidence is very low—less than one-half of one percent.

for a drink on the fly.Although many get to share in the evening routine

with the Knierims, Jeff and Tracey are the only two around just before daybreak when the bats head home to roost for the day. When the bats return from their night forages, they swarm. At that time, most or all of the bats in the colony are flying around the barn at the same time. Bats are everywhere!

Living with bats may drive some people . . . well . . . batty. But for Jeff and Tracey Knierim, it’s just another day (and night) on the farm! s

ss

ss

ss

© Julie W

arther

… a White-tailed Fawnby Judy Kauffman

Want us to consider your drawing for publication? Send your completed drawing on clean, unlined paper, and do not fold. On the back write your name, age, and address. Send to You Can Draw a Fawn, 4253 Woodcock Lane, Dayton, Virginia 22821. If you would like it returned, you must include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. You may e-mail scanned art as a high-resolution jpeg attachment, 3 inches and 300 d.p.i. Send to [email protected]. Label art with name, age, address, and then crop excessive margins. Name file: fawn-child’s name-age-city-state. While we appreciate all the hundreds of submissions we get, we can print only a few of them. Selections are made from all age groups and not based on quality alone.

The White-tailed Fawn drawings will be featured in the August issue.

Please return your drawing by May 15.

1 On the light-weight paper, draw four squares as shown here. Note they are slightly angled. Next sketch an outline of the fawn, using the squares as a guide to get proportions right. When satisfied, trace your drawing onto heavy paper (cardstock) using a color pencil that matches the object you are drawing. A window will help you see the drawing beneath the heavy paper as you trace.

you will need:[ [

4 pencil 4 color chalks 4 color pencils 4 light paper 4 heavy paper 4 foam board 4 white acrylic paint 4 fine paintbrush

2Begin the detail with

an “alive” eye in three tones—black, a touch of blue, and a white highlight.


3 Place the foam board under drawing, and with an underhanded grip, begin shading. (Notice how soft the results are with foam

underneath.) I used a number of browns for the fawn, especially a dark reddish brown, then a dark chestnut and black for darker areas. If you are like me, you will make mistakes. I have found that white acrylic paint works great in making corrections or for highlights anywhere. This works especially well for the spots on the fawn, and is much easier than avoiding coloring each white spot. I also used this for flower petals.

Soft chalks and a cotton ball are always my choice for a soft sky. Pastels or color pencils may also be used. If using a light blue

color pencil, you can soften it by coming back across the blue with a white color pencil. This is called burnishing with white. Finish coloring the branch and leaves. Use white paint to touch in the delicate flowerette clusters with your tiny brush.

The field area is a mix of green, French green, and yellow. Back-ground evergreens are quick strokes of dark green and black.

(Practice on scrap paper first.) Add the foreground flowers, grass, and rocks as shown.

4

5

15“ a t r e m e n d o u s a s s e t t o a n y g r a d e s c h o o l c u r r i c u l u m . ” — K a t h y B a n k s


by Tammy Young Coté

Jamison stepped out his back

door one morning and found a perfect little bird’s nest on the back porch. The startled robin perching on the nest’s edge flew up to a nearby tree branch and cried a warning. Over the next few weeks, Jamison and his family observed as four blue eggs appeared and hatched. Baby robins are an amazing sight—a special gift from God! Have you ever found a bird’s nest?

You can start looking for a robin’s nest as early as April

© W

endy

Ren

tz /

ist

ock

photo

.com

“ i w a n t g o o d l i t e r a t u r e f o r m y g r a n d c h i l d r e n . ” — t n 19

by Tammy Young Coté

in many parts of the country. Robins are a traditional sign of spring because they are one of the first birds to start nesting, or building their homes, each year. They will often build on protected, lower tree branches or even closer to people—on deck railings, under window awnings, or on top of air conditioners!

Both males and females work to build the nest. The male will help gather materials like mud, grass, and small twigs. The female will shape the nest, using her body to smooth the inside. Although Jamison thought the nest he found appeared overnight, a pair of robins actually take between two and six days to build a nest.

The result is a beautiful and sturdy little home. The outside looks like a basket of wooden braids woven together into a ring a little bigger than a softball. The light-green inside is a cushion of the softest young grass, molded and smoothed by the mother robin’s breast to provide the best cushion for her eggs and young.

When the nest is ready, she lays the bright blue eggs. She lays one each day until she has three or four eggs. The mother robin sits on her eggs to keep them warm and protected, dropping her wings to cover the nest or crying out if she senses danger. Sometimes the male will bring her food, but most of the time she leaves the nest for a short while to find her food. She usually stays close, and she rarely leaves the nest for more than ten minutes at a time. In fact, the mother robin spends about fifty minutes out of each hour sitting on her eggs!

After about two weeks, the eggs hatch. The mother robin is very tidy, and removes any waste from the nest immediately, including the egg shells. The babies, called “nestlings,” are tiny and helpless. Their necks are barely strong enough to hold up their heads, which are bigger than their bodies. Their eyes are closed, and they have no feathers, only short, downy fuzz.

Both the male and female find food for the young. Each time the nestlings feel a movement on the nest,

they hold their heads up with all their might, their mouths wide open to the sky, begging for food. Baby robins look very strange when they are waiting to be fed, because they can open their beaks wider than the size of their heads. Their necks are so skinny that they appear to have just open beaks on little brown twigs!

The young stay in the nest for another two weeks or so. During that time, their eyes open, feathers slowly grow in, and they start to look more like adult robins. Their bodies get stronger and bigger, and the nest gets more crowded. Next the nestlings enter the fledgling phase; that is, they are ready to leave the nest and learn to fly.

A pair of robins repeat this whole pattern once or twice in a single season, sometimes using the same nest for each brood, sometimes moving to a new one. You can find a new robin’s nest as late as July. Look for nests near where you have seen robins on the ground hunting for food. Check protected branches in bushes and trees, and check around your house on flat, sheltered areas. If you find a nest, especially a nest with eggs or nestlings inside, be careful. Robins work hard to build their home and protect their young, so it’s better not to touch. Just enjoy watching them from a safe distance. s

© D

an D

ried

ger

/ is

tock

phot

o.co

m


hump, thump, thump. Echoing through the forest on a cool spring morning, the beat started

slowly, then rapidly picked up tempo before slowing to a stop. Somewhere ahead of me in the dense underbrush, I knew a male ruffed grouse was beating his wings—drumming, as we call it. Several minutes later I spotted the grouse standing on a moss-covered log (see back cover).

Later, I slipped back into the area cautiously, carrying a camouflaged blind, a small chair, and my photo equipment. Just as I had suspected, Mr. Grouse was gone—probably foraging for food.

I quietly set up the blind about 25 feet from where I had first spotted the grouse. I tied back several small saplings and cleared crunchy leaves from the blind. Grouse are birds of habit, and I knew he would be back to drum on this log.

by Mark Petersheim

Early the next morning I crept inside the blind and set up my tripod and camera in the dark. Very slowly I nudged the camera lens through the blind window and waited for action.

Soon the familiar thump, thump of the drummer awakened the sleeping forest. It was dim early morning light, requiring me to shoot a slow shutter speed. This allowed me to capture some of the motion from the rapid wing movements.

Over the next several days, I returned to the blind several more times—once with my six-year-old daughter, and, on another occasion, with my wife. They, too, were able to witness this amazing spring-time event. Memories were made, photos captured, lessons learned, and relationships deepened as we witnessed God’s amazing creation – the beautiful ruffed grouse drumming on a fresh, spring morning. s

21

Having witnessed the courtship behavior of common tern couples many times before, I decided I would like to try to capture this ritual with my camera. The male tern flies around looking for fish to bring back to the female, who waits on a low perch and calls out to him. On a spring evening, this behavior can occur once every ten minutes till sundown. Unfortunately, even with the large telephoto lens that I use to photograph birds, this female’s favorite spot to wait for her dinner was prohibitively far from the shore of the swamp. Wearing chest waders and trekking about in waste-deep water with my camera and lens was a daunting task, but I feel this image was worth it. Although terns are often confused with gulls, they have a certain elegance in flight that distinguishes them and makes them ideal subjects for photography. It seems that these birds appear graceful in any pose in which you happen to catch them!

“ i l i k e t h e w a y y o u l e t r e a d e r s h e l p w i t h t h e m a g a z i n e … ” — p a

I am a big mam-mal. I am tawny-colored. My throat, belly, and inner legs are light-colored, and my tail is long, tipped with black. I have long legs and a relatively-small, round head. I will kill deer, elk, and mountain goats. I live in the USA and Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America. Who Am I? Darren Shank, 9

Dayton, VA

In April, we enjoy watching northern flickers migrate through our area. Last year my sister Bethany and I took turns using binoculars to watch twelve of them in the yard. A male, identified by his black “mustache,” hopped

up to a robin, which then flew over his head. In a flash of yellow, the startled flicker flew off

to his mate.The next day there were eighteen “flickies,” as we call

them, in the yard, and the next week we saw twenty-two. I think flickers are pretty. I hope your family enjoys flickers as much as

mine.Rachel A. Stevenson, 10

Trout Run, PA

by Scott LinsteadCommon terns

s

© M

ike

Rogal

/ ist

ockp

hoto

.com

Nat

ure

Frie

nd S

ubsc

riptio

ns42

53 W

oodc

ock

Lane

Day

ton,

VA

228

21

____

_ Th

is is

a g

ift *

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_*

Nam

e of

gift

giv

er

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_A

ddre

ss

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_C

itC

ity, S

tate

, Zip

Phon

e N

umbe

r (__

____

____

_) _

____

____

__-_

____

____

____

____

_

Che

ck #

____

____

____

____

___

Cre

dit c

ard

exp

____

__/_

____

_

____

____

____

_ _

____

____

____

___

____

____

__ _

____

____

____

V

isa

or M

aste

rcar

d

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

___

3-di

git c

ode

on b

ack

St

reet

or P

OB

#

Z

ip c

ode

(Cre

dit c

ard

billi

ng in

fo)

Plea

se p

lace

in e

nvel

ope

with

pay

men

t.Th

ank

you.

See

test

imon

ials

, sam

ple

issu

es, a

nd o

rder

at

ww

w.n

atur

efrie

ndm

agaz

ine.

com

.Te

l. 54

0-42

1-30

68 o

r 877

-434

-076

5Fa

x 54

0-86

7-95

16

A g

ift o

f Nat

ure

Frie

nd M

agaz

ine

will

brin

g en

joym

ent t

o ch

ildre

n an

d gr

andc

hild

ren

each

mon

th o

f the

yea

r. C

onsi

der a

lso

your

chur

ch, s

choo

l, an

d re

gion

al li

brar

ies.

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_Su

bscr

iptio

n N

ame

Ple

ase

prin

t

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_A

ddre

ss

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_C

ity, S

tate

, Zip

__ $

47 1

yea

r - C

an/M

ex__

$60

1 y

ear -

For

eign

__ $

34 1

yea

r - U

SA__

$64

2 y

ears

- U

SA

12 is

sues

of N

atur

e Fr

iend

per

yea

r

2009

Supp

limen

tal S

tudy

Gui

de fo

r Nat

ure

Frie

nd__

$24

1 y

ear

__ $

44 2

yea

rs - S

hips

with

mag

azin

e so

no

extra

for f

orei

gn

The

Stud

y G

uide

has

exc

erci

ses r

einf

orci

ng

mat

eria

l cov

ered

in N

F m

agaz

ine,

and

als

o bo

nus f

eatu

res o

n w

ritin

g an

d ph

otog

raph

y.

All

paym

ents

U.S

. fun

ds

s

by Joanne Linden

hen the cold winds of autumn blow the last leaves off the trees, we can go into our cozy houses to get

warm. Birds fly south, furry animals grow extra hair, and snakes slither into deep underground burrows. But where do frogs go?

Many frogs burrow into the mud at the bottom of deep ponds and lakes where the water doesn’t freeze. They remain there until spring. But there are a few frogs that are different. The wood frog is one little frog who spends his winter on land. Though he is small, he is tough and hardy. He snuggles under dead leaves, logs, or rocks before the first snow flies. As the temperature drops, he drifts into a deep sleep. His heart stops beating, and he quits breathing. If you looked at him, you’d think he was dead. But he isn’t. He survives the winter by freezing. You would think he is rock solid, but he is only about sixty-five percent frozen. When spring comes, he just thaws out. His heart starts pumping, and he begins to breathe again. What is his secret?

Wood frogs have a natural antifreeze that keeps their cells from being destroyed by the cold. In the fall, their liver begins to produce large amounts of a sugary substance called glucose. Glucose travels through the frog’s body, surrounding its internal organs and protecting them from freezing. In the spring, when the snow starts to melt and our little froggy starts to thaw, the glucose travels back to the liver and is stored there until the next winter.

Wood frogs come to life again when melting snow turns into small pools of water in ditches, swamps, and marshes. They lay their eggs in these shallow pools. Their babies, called tadpoles, develop quickly into frogs before the spring pools dry out.

This spring, listen to the chorus of frogs. When you hear “Quork, quork, quork,” you just may be hearing a wood frog calling…all thawed out for another season!

© P

hili

p P

ule

o /

isto

ckphoto

.com

23“ T h e o n l y c h i l d r e n ’ s m a g a z i n e w e c a n f u l l y t r u s t ! ” — W A

f you live near a pond, you can hear the frogs at night. It almost sounds like they are singing.

God created frogs in a special way. They start their lives in the water. The female frog lays her eggs in water. She lays several thousand of them at a time. Each egg is in a jelly-like covering that protects the egg. The eggs float together in a clump called a spawn.

After several days, a tadpole wiggles out of each egg. The tadpoles breathe through gills, and have long tails, which

by Deborah Christensen

make them look almost like fish.In five weeks, back legs start to grow. Then,

front legs begin to grow. The gills disappear, and the tadpoles develop lungs. Then they

can breathe air just like we do. Their tails become smaller and smaller.

About three months after the frog eggs were laid, the tadpoles become froglets. They are almost adult frogs, but not quite. They can leave the water for short periods of time, but they still need to grow more.

When the froglets become adult frogs, they leave the pond. Most of the animals that God puts in the water stay there, but not frogs. Sometimes they will go back to the pond for a swim, but they live on land most of the time. They will spend the winter sleeping in mud under the pond. In the spring the cycle starts all over again.

Listen for the singing of the frogs at night, and look for them near water, on reeds, sitting on lily pads, and submerged with just their goggly eyes peeking at you.

Remember to thank God for the special way He created them—and for the special way He created you. s

© D

ogw

ood R

idge

© D

ogw

ood R

idge

24

lot of people plant vegetable gardens, rose gardens, or flower gardens. But how about a garden that attracts butterflies to your yard and keeps them coming back every

year? First, you must learn about the butterflies that

live in your community, and decide which ones you would especially like to attract to your yard. Use a field guide to learn what plants these butterflies need. This research is valuable so you can plant the right plants for them.

Butterflies need a host plant and a nectar plant. The host plant is where the butterflies will lay

By Sonja Miethke

their eggs. When the caterpillars hatch, they will be hungry and will begin to eat the leaves of the host plant. Once the caterpillars go through metamorphosis, the butterfly that emerges will need a nectar plant for food. Butterflies use a proboscis to drink nectar from a flowering plant. The proboscis, or feeding tube, is like a flexible straw that the butterfly rolls up when not feeding, but extends when sucking nectar.

Some perennial nectar flowers that butterflies especially like are butterfly bush, butterfly weed, swamp milkweed, and purple coneflower. Depending on your plant selection, you may be able

Rac

hel

Kee

ney

, 1

4,

Nurh

am,

ME

“ I w a n t g o o d l i t e r a t u r e f o r m y g r a n d c h i l d r e n . ” — T N 25

to get some starts from friends who are thinning their flower beds.

Planting should be done in the spring. Since butterflies are cold-blooded, choose a sunny spot for your garden. Plant your flowers in masses, because butterflies can smell a cluster of nectar flowers from far away. Plant tall flowers in the back, and shorter ones in the front. If you have only a small area for plants, even a few pots of flowers will attract butterflies.

Some butterflies like to eat overripe fruit. You might put some near your garden. Red admirals, red-spotted purples, commas, question marks, and mourning cloaks are a few kinds of butterflies that like fruit.

Want to give your butterflies a drink? You can bury a small bucket to the brim, and fill it with clean sand. Add just enough water to keep the sand wet.

Just for fun, in a notebook, write down which plants are your host plants, and check their leaves for eggs every so often.

Butterfly gardening is fun, and it is even better when you do it with family and friends. Sit back and enjoy the show in your very own butterfly garden! s

Alle

n S

han

k, 6

, D

ayto

n,

VA

Char

ity

Kin

g, 1

3,

New

com

erst

own,

OH


ave you endured a close and furious thunderstorm? If you have, you may have had the exhilaration of seeing a beautiful rainbow arching the black backside of the storm as it moved on. Maybe you were too relieved to ask “What causes

a rainbow?” You will see a rainbow only when the sun is shining in

part of the sky while rain is falling in another part of the sky. You must face the falling rain with your back to the sun. You see a rainbow when sunlight shining past you is refracted and then reflected back to you by millions of raindrops.

Sunlight is a mixture of all the colors of light: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. When all these colors are mixed, our eyes see white light. Since light is actually rapidly-moving waves, obstructions in the atmosphere can change the direction of its movement. (A discussion of light appeared in the Jan. 2007 issue of Nature Friend.)

When sunlight enters a raindrop, it slows down. Light waves travel more slowly through water than through air. Any sunlight that enters the drop at a 48° angle or greater, is refracted or bent slightly. Light at lesser angles passes straight through. A very energetic light wave causes red light, so the raindrop doesn’t slow or bend it very much. The light wave causing violet light is the least energetic of the visible light waves. It slows more easily and bends more significantly. The other colors bend varying degrees between red and violet. Since each wavelength of light bends at a slightly different angle, the white sunlight

by Lyndon Martin

separates into its component colors of light. When the waves of colored light hit the back of the

raindrop, it acts as a tiny mirror and reflects them back through the front of the drop. The light bends again slightly as it reenters the air and travels back in the direction from which it came. Since each light color is refracted at a different angle, only one color of light exits each raindrop at the correct angle to reach your eyes. A rainbow is made up of light waves refracted and reflected by millions of raindrops.

Red light is on the top or outer band of a rainbow, and the other colors lie in bands inside the red, ending with violet on the bottom or inner band. Such a rainbow is called a primary bow and is generally bright. Sometimes a rainbow appears as an entire half-circle. If rain is not falling all the way along the circle or some object blocks part of the circle, we can only see a segment of bow. Since rainbows are reflections of sunlight, they are actually complete circles. The horizon cuts our view of the rainbow in half. Airplane passengers could see an entire rainbow if the sun were high above the plane.

Sometimes a secondary bow appears outside the primary bow. It is always narrower and dimmer than the primary bow. The light that causes a secondary bow enters the raindrops at such an angle that it reflects twice off the back of the raindrop. This reverses the order of colors in the secondary bow.

The simplest way to form an artificial rainbow is to stand with your back to the sun and spray a fine mist from a


garden hose toward a dark object (like a tree). You may need to turn to adjust your “rainstorm” to the proper angle with the sun.

A clear, rectangular dish full of water can act as a prism

to split sunlight into the color spectrum. You will also need a mirror that fits into the dish. Fill the dish with water. Slip one edge of the mirror into the dish to rest on the bottom. The other end should extend over the end of the dish at a 45° angle.

Position the dish facing a window so sunlight strikes the water covering the mirror. As sunlight enters the water it is refracted into its different colors. The mirror, like the back of the raindrop, reflects the color spectrum out of the water onto your wall or ceiling. You may need to adjust the angle of the mirror or dish for the spectrum to appear. If you try this in the evening or on a cloudy day, use a flashlight in place of the sun.

After you have a spectrum projected on the wall, hold a magnifying glass between the dish and the spectrum. The lens bends the different colors of light back together and the spectrum disappears proving that the colors blend to make white light.

Several thousand years ago, Noah emerged from the ark after the worst storm in history. God set a rainbow in the sky over him to seal His promise to never destroy the whole earth again with a flood. When you see a rainbow after a furious thunderstorm, think of God Who also looks on the bow and will be faithful to you. s

© Z

ibed

ik /

ist

ockp

hot

o.co

m

“See Study Guide for a diagram of a secondary rainbow.”

scavenger hunt - nature friend magazine april 2009.pdf · in this issue are hidden a tadpole and...

Documents