Urban Naturalists at Roger Williams Middle School: December 2013

Monday, December 30, 2013

Raptors - Not the Cleanest Eaters!

Today, the Urban Naturalists finished up their projects creating made-up creatures and presented them to the class. All the creatures had excellent adaptations that allowed them to survive in even the harshest of environments.

We then checked out some fun raptor biofacts and learned a bit more about the hawk we saw while on one of our Roger Williams Park adventures.

Emily shows us some of the adaptations of hawks and owls that
allow them to live in a wide range of habitats

We then did a very fun and messy activity - dissected owl pellets. Raptors (such as owls and hawks) are carnivores who eat things such as mice, rats, squirrels, voles, small birds, frogs, and lizards. When they eat their prey, they do not chew it up like humans do. They either gobble it down whole or consume it in smaller chunks by ripping it up with their beak. As they do this, they do not have the ability to take off all the fur, feathers, and bones of the animal. Instead, their bodies separate out the undigested parts and they cough them up as a solid pellet. Scientists are able to collect these pellets and dissect them. These pellets can tell us alot about the animal or the area! Is the animal healthy? What types of animals are the raptors consuming? How big is the raptor that left the pellet? How many animals did they consume?

Shailyn finds a skull!

Our Mad Urban Naturalist Scientist!

One Urban Naturalists carefully
removes the fur away from a rat skull!

Check out this cool rat skull!

One student found 3 skulls!

Skull and jawbone

Neutaconkanut Hill Park "Place of Many Squirrels"

On November 7th, the Urban Naturalists took a very wet adventure to the highest point in Providence - Neutaconkanut Hill! Despite the pouring rain, the Urban Naturalists suited up in rain ponchos and hiked up the hill to visit a wonderful nature spot.

We took the hike up to the top of the hill and saw a BEAUTIFUL view of Providence! Most of the Urban Naturalists were able to find the spot where their houses were located!

View from the top!

We then had an adventure in the park along some of the trails! Though we didn't spot many animals, we did find alot of fungus enjoying the rain!

Using our excellent skills in finding clues to learn about the landscape, we discussed how the direction of growth of fungus can tell us whether it had started growing on the tree before or after the tree fell to the ground. Shelf fungus grows parallel to the ground. Therefore, if the fungus we find on a log is parallel to the ground, we know it started growing after the log fell. If the fungus we find is perpendicular to the ground, we know the fungus started growing while the tree was still upright!

Look at this wonderful fungus! If this tree limb ever
falls to the ground, we'll know the fungus started
growing on the tree prior to falling because
the fungus will be facing funny directions!

We then saw an area where two Cameros crashed many years ago. The crash site was left on the hill to be an example of how nature takes over in time. We discussed how the cars look like they have "sunk" into the ground and that many parts of the cars were now rusty. We didn't find many traces of leather or fabric seats. We also talked about how the metal would break down over time, but it would never go away. Many Urban Naturalists wondered how this would affect the plants and animals around the cars. Only time will tell...