Hi everyone! I went for a hike yesterday in the forest by my house where there is a pond. I miss exploring the forest with you so, I thought I would take you on a little forest adventure here! On my hike I pretended to be an ornithologist – a person who studies birds.
Engage
My forest has a pond. Do you know what a pond is? Is it the same thing as the ocean? Is it the same thing as a lake? Is it the same thing as a river? Well, all of these things have one thing In common -water. But, ocean water is salty and the ocean is BIG. A lake is fresh water (not salty), but still often big. A river is moving water. So what is a pond? What lives there?
Click here to hear Mrs. Emma read about ponds.
Thanks Mrs. Emma! I like to sit by my pond and watch the plants and animals that call it home.
Look what came to say hello to me today! Mallard ducks! They like to live in ponds because they eat pond plants and little creatures that live in the water.
Let’s be ornithologists together. Do you remember from the video what the male mallards look like? What about the females? Which one is the male and which one is the female?
The female is on left, and the male on right!
Are there more male mallards or female mallards in this photo?
Males!
Hmmm… why is the mama mallard duck brown? Do you have an idea? Tell your family what your idea is, then watch this video to find out.
Female mallard ducks need to camouflage in the pond plants so they can sit on their eggs and be safe from predators. Mallards build an aquatic nest on the ground or in a lower hole in a tree near ponds. They love being near the water.
This is where they would build a nest.
The female ducks are playing hide and seek in this photo. Can you find them?
Share
Pick a bird you would like to learn more about. Tell us what it is. You will need to choose a bird to go to the next step. Your parents can email Mrs Melanie at mvaneyk@sproutsacademy.ca to tell her what it is.
Extend
I think ducks are so cool! I learned about them and want to share my findings or what I learned with you. This is called a research project. Whoa, that sounds important ! Maybe you have a big brother or sister or cousin or dad or mom who does research projects. Now it is your turn to be an ornithologist and do your own research project on a bird. We will be doing this for the next two weeks so take your time and enjoy learning.
Here are the first two steps that we will do this week: Pick a bird that you think is super cool. Got one?
Start learning about the bird. Hmmm… how could you do that? Where do you go if you have a question about a topic?
Here are some ideas:
A book
Or a website. This one is great for learning about birds.
Ask an expert
Parents please watch: Research Projects for 3-6 year olds
Next week you get to teach us one fact about your chosen bird. We will talk more about that next Thursday.
So, here is a cool fact about Mallard ducks and their webbed feet. I’m going to pretend to be a mallard because I love swimming!
I hope you enjoyed my research findings and investigating mallard ducks. Before I go, I want to read you my favourite duck story so get cozy. Or, if you are ready to play, you can listen later. Have fun!
Mrs. Melanie reading Lucky Ducklings by
