November 15, 2001

Which Raptors do Port Edwards Elementary School Fourth Graders Prefer? by Dan

Great Blue Heron by Lauren

Migration, A Big Deal by Angie

Why do Ducks Quack? by Bobby, Kevin & Ryan

Poetry

Raising Fledglings  by Class 6-3

Oh, Cardinal  by Kendall

Art

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron by Britni

Duck by Bobby, Kevin & Ryan

Great Blue Heron by Lauren

Great Egret at Dawn by Lily

Black-necked Swan by Jared

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Raising Fledglings
By Class 6-3, Grade 6
Hamersville Elementary
Hamersville, OH
Ms. Henline

Brooding in a flimsy nest
Looking forward to a day of rest.
He's returning to giver her a break,
Hatching these eggs, there's a lot at stake.
Seven days have gone by,
Seven days more before they fly.
Fledglings grown, searching for food.
Hunters now - they must elude.

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Oh, Cardinal
By Kendall, Grade 3
Preston Elementary School
Preston, MD
Ms. Vickers

Cardinal, oh cardinal, so red
Cardinal, oh cardinal, with a crested head
Cardinal, oh cardinal, how beautiful you are
Cardinal, oh cardinal, you fly so far.

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Black-necked Swan
Jared, Grade 7
Minnehaha Academy Middle School
Minneapolis, MN
Mrs. Humason

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Migration, A Big Deal
By Angie, Grade 7
Minnehaha Academy Middle School
Minneapolis, MN
Mrs. Humason

Birds migrate to find areas with a higher food supply. A high food supply helps birds with many other activities such as breeding and flying. Migration can take place from north to south or from east to west. There are three types of migration; complete, partial, and irruptive.

Complete migration is the most common type of migration for birds. This is when birds take-off in late fall, heading for a specific site to winter. Their wintering is usually the same every year, and it can be as much as 15,000 miles away from their summer home.

The second type of migration is called partial migration. This is sometimes called seasonal movement. This is when a bird will take-off and just keep flying until they reach an area with a suitable food supply. This site and its distance from the original home will vary from year to year; from a few hundred miles up to nearly one thousand.

The third type of migration is called irruptive migration. Irruptive migration is when birds leave their homes only when they have to. This may be only every three to five years, or could be on many consecutive years. This depends on the bird population, food supply, and weather each year.

Bibliography

Tekiela, S. 1998. Birds of Minnesota: Field Guide. Adventure Publications, Cambridge, MN. Page
     xiii. 

Webster's Random House Dictionary. 1999. Random House, New York, NY. Page 838.

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Why Do Ducks Quack?
Bobby, Kevin & Ryan, Grade 8
Harrington Middle School
Mt. Laurel, NJ
Ms. Barrett

Have you ever heard a duck quack? Did you ever wonder how it makes its sound? Birds use one hundred percent of inhaled air to make sound, compared to humans which only use two percent of inhaled air. Sound production depends on tension, which is controlled by pressure by the contraction of muscles and the diameter of the passageway. Sound tone depends on tension of muscles. When muscles vibrate, it produces movement that results in the production of harmony.

All calls and songs come from the syrinx, a unique organ in the bird's body cavity at the division of the trachea and bronchi. The elaborate syringeal muscles enhance the frequency of their songs. The syrinx consists of two independent halves that can produce two different sounds at the same time.

A professor by the name of R. K. Potter and his peers discovered these two independent songs while observing and analyzing the song of the Thrasher, which can sing with two different voices. So the next time you hear a quack, I hope you know the facts!

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Which Raptors do Port Edwards Elementary School Fourth Graders Prefer?
By Dan, Grade 4
Port Edwards Elementary School
Port Edwards, WI
Ms. Welniak

I surveyed all 4th graders at Port Edwards Elementary School and asked them which raptor was their favorite. The results, shown on the graph, show more students preferring Snowy Owls over Great Horned Owls. More students also preferred the Bald Eagle over the Red-tailed Hawk.

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Great Blue Heron
By Lauren, Grade 8
Harrington Middle School
Mt. Laurel, NJ
Ms. Barrett

Have you ever seen a large bird fly over your house? Did you know what kind of bird it was? You may have thought that it was a crane, but it was probably a Great Blue Heron. Many people mistake the Great Blue Heron for a crane.

Great Blue Herons live in swampy, marshy places, or by the shores. They live near water because their major food source is fish. They also eat frogs, crayfish, small mammals, and maybe even reptiles. You may see them in Mount Laurel, NJ because their range is from Southern Canada to Mexico.

The Great Blue Heron is quite a large bird. It can grow to be 52 inches and have a wingspan of 70 inches. They have long, stick-like legs and long skinny necks. Their beaks are yellow in color and work like a spear. Some even have long, black crests along the back of their head. The Great Blue Heron has a hoarse squawk.

Every year, the female Great Blue Heron lays three to five eggs. There is a 25 day incubation period required before the eggs hatch. Nests are built by the female in tall trees and are used year after year.

As you can see, the Great Blue Heron is a beautiful and graceful bird. If you have ever seen one fly, you would think the same thing. I hope everyone gets a chance to see a Great Blue Heron.

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