A Little Bit More
Every species has its own niche (rhymes with stitch) – its specific “occupation” within the environment. Although both woodpeckers and nuthatches forage over the very same areas, their different methods of searching keep them from competing directly; they have different niches.
Nuthatches are the only tree-trunk foraging birds that regularly feed by moving head downward, probing in cracks and crevices for insects. This feeding technique makes the nuthatches easy to identify and their precarious “antics”, like hanging upside-down from a horizontal perch, often make them particular favorites at bird feeders.
Both nuthatches and woodpeckers are particularly fond of suet at bird feeders during the winter months. This solid fat provides a high-energy food source as a temporary supplement to their insect diet. But don’t just ask for “suet” in your grocery store. You may get a greasy, messy chunk of fat. Quality suet is the hard, crumbly fat that surrounds the kidneys and loins. Tell your grocer that you want kidney suet “for cooking” and you’re more likely to attract a following at your feeder. Bon appetite!
Activities
English & Science – Cinquain (sin-QUANE)
Objectives: Creative writing about an animal or plant
Materials: Paper and pencil and access to Electronic Naturalist units
Have your students look at one of the many Electronic Naturalist units for information they can draw upon. Now have students write about their subject using either the traditional or modern cinquain format – a 5-lined prose format. Your students will need to carefully read the unit they’re using and then integrate that information before attempting this exercise. This should draw on their creative “juices” and will prove interesting.
The traditional cinquain is based on a syllable count.
- line 1 - 2 syllables
- line 2 - 4 syllables
- line 3 - 6 syllables
- line 4 - 8 syllables
- line 5 - 2 syllables
The modern cinquain is based on a word count of words of a certain type.
- line 1 - one word (noun) a title or name of the subject
- line 2 - two words (adjectives) describing the title
- line 3 - three words (verbs) describing an action related to the title
- line 4 - four words describing a feeling about the titlem, a complete sentence
- line 5 - one word referring back to the title of the poem
Key Concepts
Identification, Behavior and Regulation
Questions
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