Watching Wildlife

Watching Wildlife

I had a good time earning my Watching Wildlife Patch, it's a retired try it. I spent some time today examining the Ants. We looked around for ants at the skate park but we didn't find any there so after a scooted around a bit we went over to the outdoor skating rink and looked for some there. we actually found some! Hooray! I decided to do an experiment, I crumbled up a cracker and a potato chip and placed them near the ants to see what the would do.  They started to pick up the food (even the really big bits) and haul them away. They liked the cracker more than the chip. The next thing I did for this badge was the Animal Grocery store. Animals don't have a grocery store to go to but they do have a grocery list.  This is the list I made for Spiders Rabbits and Worms. Birds can change there colors through the seasons. This Robin like to hang out in our apple tree.  The First picture is in April and the second one is in May. His chest feathers are getting redder as the season changes!

The next thing I did was watch some worms.

 Mom went out this morning and dug up a couple of worms for me to look at.

 They were soft and smooth though when I looked at them with my magnifying glass I saw they  had little ridges on them. Mom says it helps them to move.

 Then I took a flashlight and shined it on them. I could definitely tell which one was the head  when I did that. It tried to get away from the light! I couldn't see any eyes but they could definitely see the light. Mom says they have light sensory organs.

 I like to play with worms. They aren't at all slimy like some people say they are. You do have to keep them moist though or their skin will dry out and they will die if that happens.

Animals are fun and interesting. They all seem to have their own language. if you spend some time watching them you can see them talking to each other. if you are lucky they might even talk to you. 

Some examples of animals talking are: 
When an ant uses it's antenna to communicate with other ants where food is.

Rabbits thump to get attention, they might use thumping to signal fear, or as a warning to others at something seen or heard. 

The White tailed deer uses it's tail to signal danger to others in it's herd. 

Animals are really interesting and I enjoy watching them. You should always be careful when watching or interacting with wildlife because they don't have the same rules we do.