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Here you will find some pictures, units, and sketches my children and I did with our birds nature study. I hope
you enjoy :).
Muscovy
This guy was such a friendly bird. The children had so much fun feeding him. He immediately came to us when
we stepped out of the car and was not shy at all. We were unsure of what type of water fowl he was so we became excited
and spent the next day locating information on him.
He is a Muscovy.
Scientific Name: Cairina moschata
"Native of tropical America (Mexico to n. Argentin). A clumsy, black, gooselike duck with large white
wing patches and underwing coverts. Male: Has a bare, knobby red face (unmistakable when we 'met' him). Female:
Duller, may lack facial knobs. Domestic Muscovy (which it appears this bird is) can be white, (our guy
was white as you can see from the photo) black, or patched. Ecscaped birds often become semiwild." ~
excerpt taken from "Peterson Field Guides- Eastern Birds"
Canadian Geese
Canada Goose
Scientific Name: Branta canadensis
"The most widespread goose in N. America. Note the black head and neck or 'stocking' that contrasts strikingly
with the pale breast and the white patch or chinstrap that runs onto the side of the head. flocks travel in long strings in
V formation, announcing their approach by muscial honking or barking. (These guys were definitely honking).
Considerable variation in size between various races." ~ excerpt from 'Peterson's Field Guide- Eastern Birds'
Habitats - Lakes, ponds (as in this case), bays, marshes, fields.
The MOST exciting part of these guys were the goslings (of course :) We are reading 'Charlotte's Web' for our literature
study currently and the goose in the book had her goslings hatch a few chapters back. It was such a God send for the
children to see and get so close to such amazing little creatures. We thanked the Lord for allowing us to see these
tiny treasures - especially so soon after reading about them in our literature study. It could not have been a more
perfect 'meeting'. Now when the goose or gander in the book walks their goslings or the author mentions them , the children
become so excited and have a reference point for their imaginations. :)
Below please see some nature sketches my children made of these dynamic birds. The girls' are 4 years old at
the time these were drawn and my son is 6.
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| Briana's drawing of a gosling |
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