Bird Feeders for Native Birds

Look at these videos to get an idea of how you can make a simple bird feeder. You might get some ideas for our Technology learning next week. There are lots of ideas and designs so start to think about what you might like to do.

Autumn Cinquain Poem

This is the cinquain we wrote together this morning.

Autumn
Sunset colours
Swaying, blowing, drifting
Crisp, delicate leaves falling down fast.
Season

by Room 10

Cinquain Poems

We analysed these cinquain poems and this is what we discovered.


Tidal Wave
Look out!
It is coming
Like a curling monster
The raging crashing waves approach
Run! run!


Shipwreck
Waves lash
Against the boat
Like a slavedriver's whips
Trying to keep the boat afloat
All's lost


Listen!
With faint dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost crisped, break from trees
And fall.

They have the following rules/pattern...
one word
(subject or noun)
Line 2:
two words
(adjectives) that describe line 1
Line 3:
three words
(action verbs or can be a simile) that relate to line 1
Line 4:
four words
(feelings or a complete sentence) that relates to line 1
Line 5:
one word
(synonym of line 1 or a word that sums it up)

BFG Book Poll

ANZAC Interactives

Cricket Coaching

ANZAC Photo Interpretation

After we had responded to the photos we put them in order to make a timeline.

Making Bird's Nests

Autumn Haiku

Swaying leaves falling
Yellow, green, pink and brown leaves
Crisp leaves are falling

By Jacob Year 4

AUTUMN

Leaves swish in the breeze

Wind chops the leaves off the trees

It smells just like grapes

By Will (Year 4)

ANZAC DAY

Today we looked at photos and then got inot co-operative groups (2 year two and 2 year four students and must be at least 2 girls and 2 boys). The photos included old photos and photos of todays memorial services. Each group had to look carefully at the photos and describe feelings, and ideas. Here are some of the photos...

We read this poem

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Nesting Materials

Purpose of Nesting Material
The term “nesting material” refers to anything that birds may use to construct a nest, whether they create a simple depression of sticks and straw or if they have a more elaborate type of nest structure with intricate architecture and widely varied materials.

Nesting Materials
• Dead twigs or sticks
• Dead leaves
• Dry grass
• Yarn or string or thread—cut into 15 - 20 cm pieces
• Human or animal hair (especially horse hair) (use short lengths—no longer than 15-20 cm long)
• Pet fur
• Sheep's wool
• Feathers
• Plant fluff or down (e.g. thistle down)
• Kapok, cotton, or other stuffing material
• Moss or lichen
• Bark strips
• Pine needles
• Thin strips of cloth, about 5 – 20 cm inches long
• Mud
• Straw or other plant stems
• Hay
• Shredded paper

This material helps…
• Cushion the eggs from the ground and parents' weight
• Insulates the eggs from temperature changes
• Holds the clutch together for heat efficiency
• Camouflages the nest from predators
• Protects the nest from the elements

To best protect their eggs, parent birds select nesting material carefully, and many birds use several types of material to construct a single nest.

Nests

At the end of T2 we made nests just like birds! We used plaster of paris and added brown paint to this. We soon realised that making a nest is no easy task.

Instructions for Nest Building

Things You'll Need:
• Straw or hay
• Plaster of Paris
• Acrylic paint (brown)
• Twigs and other nest materials
• Ice-cream containers or bucket
• Aluminium foil
• Glass jar
1. Step 1
Mix the plaster of Paris with a small amount of water in a glass jar with a lid. The final thickness should be about the consistency of a milkshake.
2. Step 2
Stir a small amount of acrylic paint into the plaster of Paris. Use brown to get the colour of dirt or mud. Stir the plaster and keep adding paint until it reaches the desired colour. Remember, it's much easier to darken a colour than to lighten it, so start with a small amount of paint and gradually add to it.
3. Step 3
Take a plastic ice-cream container diameter and fill it with straw or hay. Pour the plaster mixture onto the straw.
4. Step 4
Use another mixing bowl and put it upside down on several layers of newspaper. Put some aluminium foil over this bowl.
5. Step 5
Apply the straw and plaster combination to the aluminium foil and work it around to get it into a nest shape. Dry completely before proceeding.
6. Step 6
Remove the bird nest from the aluminium foil-covered bowl carefully.
7. Step 7
Finish the bird nest with decorative touches. Mix up more plaster and paint and apply some gathered or store-bought feathers, twigs and leaves. Crafts stores have plenty of finishing touches for these decorative nests, such as little birds and eggs. Or use Easter eggs!

How the Kiwi Lost its Wings

This the book we read in class. Click on the book to read an online version of the legend. There were lots of important messages in this legend about cowardice, bravery, respect for others and the environment, scarifice and much more. We then researched the different birds in the legend and completed fact files. Today we looked at a variety of posters from the NZ exemplars and Annie and Donna made a poster for us to anylse. We then came up with the following criteria for a 'I'm Proud to be a Kiwi' poster.

Here is the criteria we thought was important for a great poster.

The information presented in your poster is accurate.
The poster has a border around the outside.
The poster is not cluttered and is easy to read (clear layout)
The poster is attractive.
The poster is neat and tidy.
The poster’s message is clear.
The poster is colourful, and the pictures and writing are thoughtfully balanced.
The poster has no spelling errors.

Learning about Kiwis

Yesterday we had Bridget from the Queenstown Wildlife Park come and talk to us about the kiwi and what is being done to save these special little birds. Wow! She was a great speaker and we all learnt so much including our teachers. We saw a x-ray of a kiwi with its egg inside it. The poor mother kiwi having to push out hat big huge egg. Thank you so much Bridget. We will be writing to you next week. Click on the kiwi to find out about the Kiwis at the Wildlife Park.

Did You Know...

Their feathers are soft and hair-like
The legs are stout and muscular and each of the four toes has a large claw.
The ear openings are large and well developed, with very long bristles at the base of the bill.
Kiwis have small eyes that don't work well in the day time
They have very strong legs, which help them in burrowing and ripping apart rotten logs.
A female kiwi is larger than the male.
Kiwis live in pairs and mate for life.
A kiwi is extremely territorial in nature and will protect its ’patch’ (as much as 40 hectares) by calling or chasing the intruder and will fight using its razor-sharp claws. The mother and father kiwi chase their baby out of their territory when it is old enough and it has to find its own!
The egg of a kiwi is quite large, as compared with the size of its body and averages 20% of the female weight.
At night, a kiwi can often be heard making snuffling noises, which is caused by the bird trying to clear dirt out of its nostrils, when it is searching for food.
Kiwi is one of the world’s oddest endangered birds and is closest to a mammal in the bird world.
It is the only known bird to have external nostrils at the end of its bill and one of the few to have a highly developed sense of smell.