Red-Tailed Hawks Visit Ms. Seitz's Backyard

Photo by Ms. Seitz

The day after Christmas I opened the shades that look onto my backyard and saw two red-tailed hawks perched in a tree. I went outside in the cold (no shoes, no coat) to get a closer look and noticed that one of the hawks had what looked like a Blue Jay clenched in its talons. Of course, I ran inside and got my camera (but no shoes or coat!). The hawk without the prey kept calling and calling and then flew to a tree in a yard a couple of doors away, but the predator with his prey stayed put and I just took photo after photo. The hawk didn't seem to mind and occasionally even looked down at me. (Eventually, I went in and got some sneakers and a jacket because it was cooooold out there.) The hawk stuck around in the same place for about two hours, and since I eventually had to go inside and get on with my life, I never saw it leave the yard.

Photo by Ms. Seitz

Photo by Ms. Seitz

This was a great way to start the day! (By the way, on Christmas morning I saw a little Carolina wren in my yard. I love the way their short, stubby tails stick up like an exclamation point!

Photo NOT BY Ms. Seitz

Sixty-eight degrees in Brooklyn!

Just returned from Prospect Park with two young birders, Sanjida and Tasfiya.

We visited the bird feeders on this balmy day and saw a Downy Woodpecker, White-Throated Sparrows, a male Cardinal, Mourning Doves, House Finches, and Red-Tailed Hawks (three times!). Quite exciting.

Then we went over to the Prospect Park Lake and saw some American Coots with the funny green chicken feet, a raft of Northern Shovelers, plenty of Canada geese, Mallards and Mute Swans.

It's so nice to bird watch with kids who are really interested in what they see and who, when they go home, follow up on their sightings by doing further research and logging in their nature journals.Way to go girls!

EGG DROP GONE WILD!

As many of you know, each year my fifth-graders are given a challenge...to design and build a craft that will protect a raw egg from a 2.5-meter fall using ONLY the materials I give to each team. Well, this year, the challenge was a little difficult because I changed-up the materials. Only two eggs in the entire fifth grade survived. The winners are Matthew, Eric and Ariel from 5-315 and Ollie, Jason, Danny and Zohaib from 5-307.

But that didn't stop some students from trying to perfect their craft.

Imran, Muallim and Hasib from 5-313 asked me for materials so they could design a new craft on their own time. I obliged and then the boys met me for lunch and dropped their craft. Unfortunately, the egg cracked again.

But the boys didn't give up!

On their own, they acquired the materials and with the masterful design strategy of Imran and the enthusiastic, non-stop work on Muallim, they built another craft. Today, on the last day of school before the holiday break, the boys again met me at lunchtime, this time with Jaif and Gabriel in tow. They also showed up with a brand new jar of Skippy Peanut Butter. But more on that later.

The craft was quite impressive.

Then came the moment. The egg was dropped, and low and behold, SUCCESS! The boys went wild.

For fun, the boys also placed the egg in a jar of peanut butter and dropped it, and that too worked.

The moral of this sorry? NEVER, EVER, EVER GIVE UP!

SNOWY OWLS IN BROOKLYN!

There is a kind of snowy owl invasion going on in the Northeast and some of them are showing up in Brooklyn, NY -- particularly at Floyd Bennett Field and Gerritsen Creek. In fact, some birders saw one yesterday, Dec. 14!  These photos were taken by a local bird watcher who was lucky enough to see one. This is a female. The males are whiter. Snowy owls love big open spaces. They are also diurnal, not nocturnal like other owls. They nest really far north in the Arctic. Right now, Brooklyn is like their Florida.

Scientists aren't exactly sure why so many snowy owls are around this year, but they have some theories. To read more about why snowy owls are here, click here. This site has so much information of all the bird species currently being seen in the area.

RED-TAILED HAWK ATOP PS 230!

This great photo was emailed to me by the mother of third-grade student, Basie. Apparently a bunch of P.S. 230 kids and parents witnessed this marvelous sight while in the school playground after hours. Wow, I wish I could have been there!

PLANTING GARLIC

The small pieces are the cloves. The larger piece is the bulb.

Today, students in the Urban Nature Club finished planting garlic cloves in the school garden. They'll be ready to harvest at the end of the school year.

When you plant garlic, you don't plant a seed. Rather, you plant the individual cloves from a garlic bulb.

While we were planting, a question came up: "What happens to the original garlic clove after its planted? Does it become part of the new garlic bulb?

Garlic cloves waiting to be planted

So Ms. Seitz did a little research and discovered that the original clove gets the new garlic plant going. Once the clove starts germinating, it sends green leaves above the soil's surface. As the new plant gets established, the original clove's job is done and it simply rots away. The new plant starts growing brand new cloves that are all clustered together in what is called a garlic bulb.

Established garlic plants

Saturday Science for Fifth Graders was a Big Success!

We expected a low turnout for the Fifth Grade Saturday Science on November 2, 2013 because of Math and Science Middle School tours and a new ESL program, but boy were we surprised when about 43 families showed up! We made tea bags using mint harvested and dried from the school garden, made lava lamps, illustrated birds, and practiced designing parachutes, among other things. But the coolest thing was when everyone got a chance to do a little chemistry. Using hydrogen peroxide, food coloring, yeast and warm water, students created an oozing, foaming, and quite colorful, mess of elephant toothpaste! What a surprise!

Eastern Phoebe Nest Visits Room 409!

Nathaniel and the nest

Nathaniel in Ms. Stewart's class recently shared an Eastern Phoebe nest with us. Given to him by his grandparents who found the nest in Massachusetts, Nathaniel explained that this was the third nest built by the Phoebes. His grandparents compiled excellent scientific research on the Phoebes, recording each of their broods and taking photos of each of the three nests. Young fledged the first and second nests, but because the third nest was built late in the season, the eggs were unable to hatch. So Nathaniel's grandparents carefully packed it up and included data and photos about the Phoebes, which Nathaniel generously shared with his class during science. Thanks Nathaniel!


To learn more about the Eastern Phoebe and to hear its song, CLICK HERE!

There were two eggs inside

MIGRATING MONARCHS

Over the last several years, I have noticed a considerable decline in the number of monarchs passing through Brooklyn on their way to wintering grounds in Mexico. In fact, I've only seen one monarch and it was flying above Albemarle Road during a recent school fire drill. Lots of kids noticed it!

Click here to find out what scientists are saying about the monarch decline

Scientists are constantly studying the movement of these creatures and often turn to citizen scientists--people like you and me--for crucial data that helps them look for trends, declines and rebounds. To help these scientists, I am recording any sitings on their website and you can too.

Click here to report your monarch butterfly sitings

This is the class monarch we made and sent to Mexican students

Ms. Dalonzo's second grade class and I are also participating in a symbolic monarch migration. That means each student has created a paper monarch and the class has made a larger monarch to send to students in Mexico. So just like the real monarchs flying south for the winter, our paper monarchs are making a symbolic journey south as well. In spring, when monarchs leave their wintering grounds, symbolic paper monarchs made by some other students will make their way north to P.S. 230 with each students in Ms. Dalonzo's class getting a new monarch!

The monarchs at their wintering grounds in Mexico. They hang out in clusters.

This website has tons of great information on monarchs and more!

WHALES IN NEW YORK CITY!

Don't let anyone tell you that there is no nature in New York City. From Harbor Seals on the city's islands to Bald Eagles flying over Jamaica Bay, the city is full of nature. You just have to keep your eyes open! And it's good to have a camera handy. A Queens boater captured what experts think is a humpback whale feeding on fish in the waters right off Rockaway Beach. The whale breached the ocean just five feet from the boat! Yikes! And wow!

Click to see a quick video of a whale off Rockaway Beach

INSECTS IN THE GARDEN

Checking in on the school garden this week brought some very cool surprises. First, Urban Nature Club member and student gardener, Iory, found an odd looking caterpillar in the grass. I didn't know what it was, so when I went home I did a little research and learned that it was the larva of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. I thought that was a little strange since the larva's host plant (the plants eaten by this particular caterpillar) are mostly tree leaves, like Tulip tree, Magnolia, Wild Cherry, Sassafras. The larva usually live high up in these trees in silky nests. Apparently this one fell and found it's way to our garden. Lucky us!

Iory holding the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Chrysalis

By the way, the caterpillar is usually green and only turns brown when its near to pupating. And the yellow-rimmed "eyes" are not eyes at all. They are "eye spots" used to scare away predators. 

The night of the day that Iory found the caterpillar was a night of wonderful transformation. The caterpillar turned into a chrysalis. And that's how it remains as of today. Within a week or so, it will change into a gorgeous Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Stay tuned!

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This afternoon I visited the garden to do some watering. It's been sooooo hot and I was worried about the plants. When I was watering the McDonald Avenue side garden, I took a look at my recently sowed dill and found two Eastern Black Swallowtail butterflies. I recognized them because in previous years I had found them in the herb bed. The caterpillars really like to chew on our dill and parsley. I plucked them off so they don't damage our herbs and are now raising them at home. It's very important that I keep them fed with lots of fresh dill and parsley.

Then I walked over to the raspberry patch, which didn't have much to harvest, but then I noticed a chubby caterpillar on the milkweed in that bed and instantly knew it was a Monarch caterpillar. Milkweed is the only plant a Monarch caterpillar will eat. I also took the caterpillar home and am feeding it as well, since I have lots of milkweed in my home garden. You can see in the photo below just how quickly these guys eat! Since it's so big and fat, it's probably going to pupa soon, so in the morning I will set it up with a little branch to hang on. Again, stay tuned!

The large caterpillar is a Monarch larva. The two smaller larvae are Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars.

Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly

Monarch Butterfly

URBAN NATURE CLUB SUMMER TRIP!

On July 3, 3013, some members of the Urban Nature Club joined me and Ms. Rubens for a nature walk at the Salt Marsh Nature Center in Brooklyn.

We had an amazing time discovering nature and enjoying the great outdoors.

Hamza holds a fiddler crab. He also spotted the diamondback terrapin

 Iory checks out some of the marsh's native plants

Ms. Seitz holding the diamondback terrapin

Saiful really loved the native salt hay

Danny took a dip in the creek

We even splashed a little in Gerritsen Creek and got a special, personal tour of the closed nature center with Park Ranger Gabe Herrera, a Park Slope native.

The 21-year-old ranger is attending Skidmore College, where he is studying anthropology and sociology. He told us about the many free activities, including canoeing, offered at the salt marsh.

Ranger Herrera schooled the boys on box turtles, among other things

Tell your parents about this place and head out there for some free, summer fun! Just click on http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/marinepark/facilities/naturecenters. Another great resources for free, fun nature activities, including camping is http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/urbanparkrangers. They have a great calendar of events all year long! So get OUTSIDE!

NEW DISCOVERIES!

BUNCHBERRY

I love learning new things. And every time I go out into nature, I come back with another little bit of knowledge. For example, I just got back from the Adirondacks in way up north New York. While there, I came upon a beautiful plant way up high on Little Whiteface Mountain. So I snapped a photo and tried to identify it when I returned home. Turns out the plant is bunchberry and it's a pretty unusual plant!

DOGWOOD TREE

Bunchberry is sometimes called dwarf dogwood, because the bunchberry "flower" looks a lot like a dogwood flower. (We have a dogwood in the McDonald Avenue side school garden; it blooms in spring.) But dogwoods are trees and bunchberries are plants. Also, the white "petals" of the bunchberry are not petals at all; they are leaves. The plant's teeny, tiny flowers are actually inside the middle of the four white leaves.

Another cool thing about bunchberry is that it shoots its pollen projectile-style. The little flowers have hair triggers, so when a bee or other insect brushes by the hairs, the pollen shoots out in a puff and covers the unsuspecting bee, who then carries the pollen off to another bunchberry plant. Now that's an amazing ADAPTATION!

BIRD IDENTIFICATION

I often come across a bird that I can't identify, so what I do is take note of its size, beak, and field markings. For example, does the bird have a throat color or wing tip colors? Does the bird have an unusual eye color? Also does the bird have a noteworthy behavior, like jumping up and down or climbing trees?

Today while walking at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, I came across a black and white bird that I couldn't identify. The first thing I noticed was that it was black and white, had a white throat and a white edging at the end of its tail. I also noticed that it didn't mind if I got too close. Oh yeah, and it had a big head!

When I got home, I popped all this information into the computer and, viola!, learned that I had seen an Eastern kingbird! This bird is migratory and must have just flown up from South America. It will breed here in the United States, perhaps even at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. They eat insects and berries, so they are omnivores!

Iory and the Pigeon

Today during Urban Nature Club, Iory brought his pet pigeon to the garden. Iory found this pigeon weeks ago when it was practically featherless and homeless. Iory has nursed his new friend back to health and now pigeon is feather fluffy and very happy to nestle inside of Iory's shirt.

While Iory knows that a wild bird needs to be free, he wasn't prepared for pigeon's first solo flight. As Iory was showing pigeon around to friends, pigeon suddenly flew off and landed on a second floor window ledge, just one window away from the principal's office.

Iory bought a croissant at the deli across the street to coax his friend from the ledge, but pigeon just wouldn't budge. A couple of adult pigeons even landed on the same ledge, but when they flew away, pigeon stayed glued to the ledge. Nothing seemed to get the pigeon's attention, so most of us continued planting in the school garden, while Iory and Danny kept a watch on pigeon.

After about a half hour later, everyone was back staring up a pigeon when pigeon surprised us all by soaring across the street. When he or she (not sure!) couldn't get footing on the brick building, pigeon dropped down toward the street. Everyone ran across the street to see what happened and within seconds pigeon was once again safe in Iory's arms. And yes, Iory even kissed pigeon. The Doctor Doolittle of the graduating class of 2013 was happy once more, but he has been warned. Pigeon is going to want to fly free one day.

Welcome Back!

The Pigeon Rescue Team

Nothing Beats a Boy and his Bird