1. Eagles to the Nest
Thematic Curriculum

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About…
ETTN
Eagles to the Nest is a three-day thematic program. It has been designed to take students on
an adventure at Bradford Woods as they discover what life is like for our avian friends. Special
focus is made on our national emblem, the American Bald Eagle. With a nesting pair of bald
eagles, we can provide opportunities for observation and discovery learning through our hands
-on approach to teaching about the eagle habitat.
Students will have the experiential opportunity to learn about connections and complex rela-
tionships involving wildlife, humans and the environment.
This program focuses on connecting information from various subject areas to allow students
to use the information more effectively. As a particular subject is covered, its relation to other
subject areas is also explored. This approach provides students with a holistic view. During the
program, students will be given the opportunity to “get their hands dirty,” take calculations and
research aquatic life.
Activities have been adapted and modified from other environmental education curriculums as
well as created specifically for this program. The ETTN curriculum program has been in place
for more than 10 years. Many people have contributed to the development of this thematic cur-
riculum; when a source was known to be used it has been cited. However it would be impossi-
ble to know all the sources and references made in this compilation. We therefore apologize
for instances when there may not be a source or reference listed.
To all of those who have contributed to this curriculum, your hard work and dedication to create
a quality curriculum are greatly appreciated. This version of the JTTW thematic curriculum was
designed and compiled by the Environmental Resource Center’s Education Coordinator in the
summer of 2004 and last edited January 2010.
About…
Journals
Journals accompany this thematic program and will need to be introduced and handed out to
students on the first day of program. Writing their name and school on their journals will ensure
they do not get mixed up. On the inside front cover of the journal, have students begin to famil-
iarize themselves with property as they locate their cabin on the BW map and label it with a
star. Another component that will need to be addressed at the beginning of program is the
weather page. There are three opportunities to record weather in their journals, one for each
day they stay at BW, as well as space for them to record the mileage they’ve covered each
day. The page entitled “Keep Your Eyes Open” is intended for the students to use for the dura-
tion of their stay at BW. All other pages meant for use for an activity in are indicated within the
activity instructions in the curriculum. Remaining pages may be indicated for general use in
note-taking or to practice sketching—use these pages at your will.
It is important that you do indeed use the journals with the students, they act as a means of
reflection for the students as well as a method of evaluation for their teachers. If not all pages
are used during their stay at BW, the teacher may feel free to continue using the journals back
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Objectives:
 The student will identify dif-
ferent species by observing
their field markings, feeding
and other behaviors, and
their habitat using binoculars
and a field guide.
 The student will differentiate
between woodland and wet-
land bird species by observ-
ing the adaptations of birds
living in wooded and wetland
environments.
 The student will form a hy-
pothesis regarding a particu-
lar bird’s food preferences by
observing the shape of its
beak and feet.
Equipment:
 What Makes a Bird...cards
 Binoculars (one per pair)
 Field guides
 Pencils
 2 #10 cans
 Which Bird Lives...cards
 Journals
Note to Teacher:
This lesson encourages students
to understand the relationship
between an animal’s habitat and
adaptations. Students will dis-
cover the similarities and differ-
ences between birds they see in
a forested area and birds they
observe in a wetland area. Re-
mind them to look closely at the
details of particular bird’s color-
ings, body shape and behaviors
to accurately identify an animal’s
species.
Concepts:
 Observing a bird’s field markings, habits and habitat can identify bird species.
 Birds living in wooded areas have different adaptations than birds living in an aquatic environment.
 Unique beak and foot adaptations allow each different bird species to eat meat, seeds, insects, berries and
other types of food.
Activities in Lesson:
 What Makes a Bird a Bird? (20 min)
 Binoculars & Field Guides (15 min)
 Junior Birder (10 min)
 Bird Observation– Woodland Area (15 min)
 60 Second Story Starts (1 min)
 Signs of Bird Life Scavenger Hunt (10 min)
 Bird Observation– Wetland Area (15 min)
 Which Bird Lives Where Relay? (15 min)
Time: 1 Hour, 40 minutes
Adaptation-An alteration or ad-
justment in structure or habits,
often hereditary, by which a
species or individual improves
its condition in relationship to its
environment.
Binoculars-An optical device,
such as a pair of field glasses
or opera glasses, designed for
simultaneous use by both eyes
and consisting of two small tele-
scopes joined with a single fo-
cusing device
Carnivore-A flesh-eating animal
Field Guide-An illustrated book
that provides descriptions of
plants or animals found in na-
ture
Field Markings– markings used
to identify an unknown species,
usually birds
Focus Knob– knob used to fo-
cus image, located between the
two eye pieces
Habitat-The area or environ-
ment where an organism or
ecological community normally
lives or occurs
Herbivore-An animal that feeds
chiefly on plants.
Omnivore-an animal that feeds
on both animal and vegetable
substances
Right Eye Piece–eye piece on
the binoculars that should first
be adjusted (with the left eye
closed)
Vocabulary
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What Makes a Bird a Bird? (20 min)
Materials: What Makes a Bird a Bird? cards
1. Divide the group into groups of five or six,
and hand each group a set of What Makes a
Bird a Bird? cards. Ask the students to exam-
ine each item on the list and determine which of
the items listed is the single characteristic that
makes birds different from all other animals.
The cards should include the following charac-
teristics that most people commonly think of
when they think of birds: Builds Nests, Has
Wings, Lays Eggs, Has Feathers, Has a Beak
2. Allow each group to explain which character-
istic they chose and why they chose it. Alterna-
tively, you can have a student read each char-
acteristic aloud and have one person from each
group raise his/her hand to indicate the single
attribute decided upon by the group and then
tally the votes. If there is disagreement among
the groups allow the students to debate their
answers until a consensus has been achieved.
*While squirrels build nests, bats and insects have
wings, reptiles and fish lay eggs and turtles have
beaks, only birds have feathers*
Binoculars & Field Guides (15 min)
Materials: binoculars, field guide, pencil, jour-
nal page 6
1. Divide the students into pairs. Give one of
each pair a set of binoculars and give the other
student a field guide. The students may take
turns using these materials.
2. Instruct the students to place the neck strap
attached to the binoculars around their necks.
Remind them to always place the neck strap
around their neck when they switch users.
People who wear glasses may use the binocu-
lars either with or without their glasses on.
3. Both the left and right eye pieces on the bin-
oculars have rubber ends; they can be folded
back onto the eye piece to make viewing more
comfortable for those using the binoculars while
wearing glasses.
To use the binoculars properly the students
should:
 Adjust the focus of the right eye piece: This
should be done each time the pair changes
binocular users to accommodate individual
differences in vision. Hold the binoculars to
the eyes, close the right eye and turn the
right eye piece until the objects in view look
crisp and clear.
 Spot an object with the naked eye: The stu-
dents should try to spot a bird with their na-
ked eye, then bring the binoculars up to their
eyes while looking at the bird to get a closer
view. This will allow students to easily lo-
cate the birds they wish to view.
 Adjust the focus knob: The focus knob is
located between the left and right viewers.
This knob is used to adjust clarity depending
upon the distance of an object away from
the user. Once the students have a bird in
view, they may turn this knob (or tilt this
lever, depending on the design of the bin-
oculars) until the bird is seen clearly.
4. To identify a species using the field guide
the students can simply look through the field
guide until they find the picture of the bird that
matches the animal they are observing. The
students will need to be reminded to look care-
fully at the bird’s field markings. Remind the
students to either write in their journal or make
a “mental note” of field markings such as:
 head crests (feather tufts on the head like
on the Cardinal or Blue Jay)
 black or white eye lines (complete or partial
rings of black or white feathers around the
eye)
 black or white stripes on the tail or wings
 bright patches of red on the head
 soft peach or orange colored patches on
the belly
beak shape (short, long, pointed, hooked,
etc.)
foot shape (small, large, clawed, webbed,
etc.).
All of these details will allow the students to pin-
point the species in their field guide and make
sketches of the birds they observe.
Junior Birder (10 min)
1. Scientists who study birds (Ornithologists)
have very good observation skills. They use
these skills to collect information about a certain
species and their habitat. Ask the students:
 What are observation skills?
 Do they include any other senses besides
sight? (smell, sound, touch, taste)
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 How about memory?
 How might Ornithologists use observation
skills to study wildlife? (tracking, examining)
2. Tell the students that they will be practicing
their observation skills. Organize the students
into pairs of two students. One student will turn
around for 30 seconds while the other student
changes something about their appearance
(clothing, shoes, jewelry, etc.). After 30 sec-
onds, the student may turn around and try to
guess what changes were made. The students
then switch places and this time make more
subtle changes in their appearance.
3. After three or four rounds, ask the students:
 What sorts of changes were easy to detect?
 Which ones were hard? Why?
 Do you think that signs of wildlife will be
more like the easy changes, or the hard
ones? Why?
Bird Observation- Woodland Area
(15 min)
Materials: binoculars, field guide, pencil, journal
page 7
1. Explain to the students that they will be ob-
serving birds that live in and around a forest
and later, birds that live in and around a lake.
2. First, the students will be observing wood-
land birds at the bird blind behind the Interpre-
tive Center. Each feeder is numbered with a
wooden block. The students can indicate the
location of the bird they are observing by whis-
pering the feeder number to their partner. Be-
fore entering the blind, emphasize that it is very
important to be as quiet and still as possible to
avoid scaring the birds. The blind is not sound
proof nor does it totally obscure the students
from view of the animals.
* If using the bird blind, remember to fill the feeders
a few hours before your lesson to attract more birds
to the area*
3. Remind the students to take turns using the
binoculars as they work with their partners to
identify as many woodland birds as possible.
Instruct the students to sit on the bench facing
the feeders as they enter the blind. Some com-
mon woodland species that may be found at the
bird blind include:
Tufted Titmouse
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Goldfinch (males olive colored in winter)
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Redheaded Woodpecker
Cardinal
Blue Jay
Purple Finch
4. Students should record a list of birds they
see or hear. Have student share what species
they have listed.
60 Second Story Starts (1 min)
Materials: journal page 8
1. Allow students 60 seconds to reflect on what
they have been doing and to jot down potential
story ideas to use as a jumping platform for the
stories they will write later in the week.
Signs of Bird Life Scavenger Hunt
(10 min)
Materials: journal page 10
1. Once the students have identified as many
birds as they can at the blind, explain that they
will now be walking to the lake to observe birds
that live by the water. On the way to the lake,
use the Signs of Bird Life Scavenger Hunt to
keep the students focused on the lesson topic.
*Remind students never to walk with binoculars held
to their eyes. This will prevent them from falling or
tripping and causing themselves to receive an eye
injury from the eyepiece of the binoculars.*
Bird Observation - Wetland Area
(15 min)
Materials: binoculars, field guide, pencil, jour-
nal page 7
1. At the lake, allow the students to observe
and identify as many different types of birds as
possible using their binoculars and field guides.
Some birds common to the Bradford Woods
lake include:
Mallard Ducks
Canada Goose
Great Blue Heron
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Bald Eagle
Osprey
Red-winged Blackbird
Bank Swallow
Kingfisher
Green Heron
Grebe
Wood Duck
Loon (migrating)
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
Broad Wing Hawk
Red Tail Hawk
Kestrel
Screech Owl
Barred Owl
2. At the end of the observation period, bring
the students together into a small group to
brainstorm the similarities and differences be-
tween the birds they observed at the bird blind
and the birds observed at the lake. Ask the stu-
dents:
 How many different species did you identify
at the bird blind? At the lake?
 What were the shapes of the beaks on the
birds at the bird blind? What were they eat-
ing? What other types of food might those
birds eat?
 Were the beaks different on the birds at the
lake? If so, how were they different?
 What types of food might a bird living at the
lake eat? Would it depend on the species?
 A Bald Eagle does not swim. Neither does
a Red-Winged Blackbird. Why might either
of these birds live close to the lake?
 Woodpeckers have sharp claws on their
toes. Why doesn’t a woodpecker eat fish
like an eagle?
3. Ask the students if they are familiar with the
term “adaptation.” Allow one of the students to
explain the term and ask the students to point
out the special adaptations of the species they
observed.
4. Ask the students if they know the term
“habitat.” Allow one of the students to explain
the term and ask the students to name the two
different habitats they have been observing to-
day. Challenge the students to tell you how an
animal’s adaptations are related to its habitat
based on the observations they have made.
Which Bird Lives Where Relay? (15min)
Materials: two tin cans, Which Bird Lives
Where? cards
1. Give the group a set of Which Bird Live
Where? Cards including the following species:
Great Blue Heron
Kingfisher
Redheaded Woodpecker
Black-capped Chickadee
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
Downy Woodpecker
Bald Eagle
Mallard Duck
Red-Winged Blackbird
Canada Goose
Pied Billed Grebe
Cardinal
Osprey
Great Horned Owl
Common Snipe
Turkey
Robin
2. Have the students line up at one end of the
playing field. At the opposite end of the playing
field, place two #10 tin cans. Label one can
“Wetland” and the other can “Woodland.” The
object of the relay is for the students to place as
many species in their proper habitat as possi-
ble. The first student should pick up a card, run
to the other end of the playing area, and place
the bird card in the can they think is correct.
Once they return to their group the next student
should go. Review the results of the relay to
conclude. Point out any birds that landed in the
wrong habitat and clarify with the group why
they belong elsewhere.
3. Conclude with a reiteration of the various
components of adaptations that you have cov-
ered today. Ask them to reflect on the different
species of birds they saw and heard and where
they were when they observed them. Review
the skills they learned and used during today's
lesson; using a field guide and binoculars. Fi-
nally ask the students to tell you “what makes a
bird a bird?”
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7. 287
Evaluation
√ Students can identify different species by
observing their field markings, feeding and
other behaviors, and their habitat by using
binoculars and a field guide.
√ Students can differentiate between wood-
land and wetland bird species by observing
the adaptations of birds living in wooded
and wetland environments.
√ Students can form a hypothesis regarding a
particular bird’s food preferences by observ-
ing the shape of its beak and foot.
Keep in Mind
Birds are not always visible for this lesson. Us-
ing observation skills such as hearing will allow
students to increase the number of birds they
list. Be prepared to help students identify birds
throughout the module.
Students may become impatient with waiting to
locate birds; this “down” time can be used to
practice using the field guide or the binoculars.
You may need to separate the students in order
to increase their chances of seeing birds by
minimizing noise.
Back in the Classroom
Investigate raptors that live in your community.
Find out if there are any known bald eagle
nests and what is being done to protect them.
Visit a raptor center or watch for raptor displays
at local museums. Contact the Division of Fish
and Wildlife and find out what you should do if
you find an injured raptor.
http://www.raptor.cvm.umn.edu,
http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/raptor
Use the Eagles to the Nest web site as a tool in
your classroom for further activities relating to
Bald Eagles.
http://www.indiana.edu/~bradwood/eagles
Notes:
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Bald Eagles
The Bald Eagle, habiting only North America, is
our national symbol. They were named by
colonists, who used the old English word
“balde”, meaning white. By this, they were
referring to its white head and tail. However,
there are many different types of eagles around
the world. In fact there are approximately 59
different species of eagle throughout the world,
which can be found on every continent except
Antarctica.
As members of the same species, the 59 differ-
ent eagles share many similarities. For in-
stance, they are all excellent fliers, they all have
excellent vision and they are all birds of prey or
raptors. The word raptor comes from the Latin
word for a plunderer, stemming from raptare "to
seize and carry away." In general, raptors are
predatory birds that have strong, hooked bills
and strong grasping feet. There are seven birds
of prey that are classified as raptors, they are
eagles, falcons, owls, kites, vultures, ospreys
and hawks.
Bald eagles were placed on the endangered
species list when the list was created in 1973.
The bald eagle was given a status of
“endangered,” which means in immediate dan-
ger of becoming extinct, in a majority of our
country’s states. Bald Eagles had seen a de-
cline in numbers between the mid 1800s and
the 1980s that the national Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) attributes to loss of habitat,
poaching, and contamination of food sources.
One cause of food contamination for eagles
was the insecticide DDT, which was sprayed
onto crops and ran into bodies of water where
fish and plants absorbed it. DDT caused bald
eagles’ eggs to have extremely fragile shells,
resulting in a decrease of successful hatchings.
DDT was banned in the United States in 1972.
In July 1995, the FWS changed the status of
the bald eagle from “endangered” to
“threatened.” The listing of “threatened” means
that a species is not in immediate danger of ex-
tinction, but is likely to become endangered in
the future.
By June 2007, the species had seen such an
improvement in numbers that the FWS re-
moved the bald eagle from the endangered/
threatened species list. The bald eagle remains
under the protection of the Migratory Bird treaty
Act and the Bald and Gold Eagle Protection
Act, both of which forbid the selling, harming or
killing of the species.
Protection of eagles has been a nationwide ini-
tiative. Stiff penalties have been enacted for
people who are found disturbing or killing ea-
gles. Occasionally people who find eagles
nesting on their property are tempted to kill the
eagles so they do not have to deal with the fed-
eral regulations that surround the birds.
While the number of bald eagles in Indiana
comes nowhere close to the number of eagles
in states like Alaska, Minnesota, and Wiscon-
sin, the number of pairs is going up and many
pairs are successfully reproducing. The state of
Indiana removed the bald eagle from its endan-
gered species list in 2008, and the species is
now considered one of special concern. Part of
the solution for bringing the number of eagles
up is to educate people about the role the birds
play in the ecosystem. Educating people, how-
ever, often makes them curious and increases
their desire to see eagles in the wild. Eagles are
easily disturbed birds and restoration of them in
the United States will rest on them being left
alone.
History of Bald Eagles at BW
A pair of Bald Eagles first nested by the Ol’
Swimming Hole at Bradford Woods in January
of 1994. Whether this was an old hawks nest
they began to build around, or whether they
started from scratch is not known. The female
was named Rainbow and the male was named
General Patton. Around late February/March of
1995 two eggs were laid. Incubation normally
lasts about 35 days and was undertaken by
both Rainbow and General Patton.
Two male eaglets hatched and after ten to
twelve weeks they took their first flight. By the
end of the summer, they were good fliers and in
the fall they left their parents and headed north.
One of the youngsters however, later died after
flying into power lines. In the spring of 1996
Rainbow laid another egg, which was also
male. Later that year General Patton left Rain-
bow and moved 2 miles north to Lake Patton to
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9. 289
pair with another female. This has really puz-
zled scientists because usually Bald Eagles pair
for life.
No chicks were therefore born in the nest by the
lake in 1997. Rainbow found a younger male,
Casanova, and they began to sort the nest in
January of 1998.
Eggs were spotted via a DNR helicopter that
monitors eagle nests throughout the state in
Rainbow and Casanova’s nest in the spring of
2004.
In April 2007, the eagles’ nest (located across
from the fishing dock) was taken down by a
storm. That spring, Rainbow and Casanova
worked on building a new nest, the location of
which has been confirmed to be near Snake
Island. A DNR fly-over confirmed the pair had a
successful nest in April 2008, hatching three
eaglets. In August 2008, there were reported
sightings of all three eaglets together and indi-
vidual sightings continued through the winter.
You can often see Rainbow and Casanova
perched high up in the trees close to the lake.
You may also catch a glance of them hunting
for fish on the lake. In either case, they are
majestic animals to behold. We are very
fortunate to have them as our neighbors and
hope they stay well into the future.
Birds
Birds have often been called “glorified reptiles”.
They are grouped as a separate vertebrate
class called “aves” and apart from the power of
flight and features connected with it this power
of flight, they are structurally similar to reptiles.
Since birds are warm-blooded, they have a
higher metabolism than reptiles. The mainte-
nance of a high body temperature is necessary
for flight because it requires a great input of
oxygen and energy, over a long period of time.
Anatomy, Locomotion & Behavior
Birds are one of the few groups of animals that
have developed true flight. Powered flight, not
just gliding. Insects and bats are the two other
groups who have also achieved this.
Lightness is achieved in several ways. The
teeth have been lost and are replaced by
a horny bill. Many bones, such as the skull, are
extremely thin. Because the wings cannot sup-
port the bird on the ground, there are many pro-
found modifications in the skeleton, which en-
able the bird to walk on its hind legs–a method
of locomotion called bipedalism.
Another adaptation for flight is seen in the
shape of birds. Whatever their shape, they are
always streamlined. Streamlining is necessary
to reduce friction to a minimum when the bird
flies and is achieved, not only because the body
itself is streamlined, but also the feathers pro-
vide a smooth outer surface.
Birds are extremely active and not only do they
need large quantities of food, they also need
equally large amounts of oxygen required to
transform this food into energy. The blood
functions to transport this oxygen as well as
regulating the bird’s temperature, which is
maintained at between 106 and 114 degrees
Fahrenheit.
Beaks & Bills
The bill is often brightly colored or ornamented.
The beaks of birds come in a variety of shapes.
A specific species design is related to its diet.
In general, beaks are light. This is necessary to
reduce weight wherever possible so that birds
are able to fly.
The mouth is opened by the lower mandible
being moved away from the upper mandible, in
a way that is similar to humans. In many wad-
ing birds and some other species, there are
touch receptors in the tips of the mandibles.
This allows birds to feel the prey they can’t see
– i.e. searching for worms underground and in-
sects in a tree (woodpecker).
The nostrils pierce the upper mandible. Few
birds are known to use the sense of smell in
their search for food.
The beak of an eagle is almost as long as its
head. Like other birds, an eagle's beak is de-
signed to help it eat its favorite food… fish.
Compare beaks of other birds with that of the
Bald Eagle. Eagles are meat eaters. They need
beaks that will help them to tear meat. Bald Ea-
gle's beaks are long and slender with a hook on
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10. 290
Background
the end of them. This hook allows them to pull
flesh off of fish and other animals for food. At
the same time its long slender shape makes the
eagle very streamlined, helping it travel at high
speeds.
Body
Bald Eagles depend on their ability to fly to sur-
vive. Their bodies are designed for flight. To be
a good flyer, an eagle's body has to be both
strong and lightweight. Eagles have several ad-
aptations that make their bodies light enough to
get off the ground, but powerful enough to catch
and kill their prey. When an eagle flaps it's
wings, most of the lift that powers the eagle into
the air comes from the downward stroke. Be-
cause the downward stroke is so important, the
muscles responsible for this motion are quite
large. The flight muscles of an eagle can ac-
count for half the total weight of the bird.
Legs
Birds have evolved legs with few large muscles,
except for those at the top of the leg near the
center of gravity. The lower part of the leg has
very little muscle and is controlled by a pulley
system from the muscles at the top of the leg.
When the bird sits down onto its foot, the ten-
don is tightened over the end of the joint, which
pulls in the toes. This action of sitting down
over the foot causes the toes to curl around the
perch and lock the bird into position. This is
why birds such as an owl can hold tightly onto a
branch even when asleep. To let go it must
raise itself up off its feet in order to release the
toes.
The foot has only four toes. Perching birds may
have two toes pointing forward and two back-
ward, or three forward and one backward.
Feet
Like the eyes of the bald eagle, their feet are
very important tools used in hunting. All eagles
locate their prey with their keen eyesight, then
catch and kill it with their feet. The feet of an
eagle are adapted to catch the kind of food they
like to eat most, fish. The bald eagles feet have
razor sharp claws called talons. On an adult
eagle these talons can be up to an inch long
and are curved almost like a fish hook. They
also have rough bumps on their toes to help
them hold onto slippery fish.
Eyes
An eagle’s eyes are extremely useful hunting
tools. In many ways an eagle's eyes are a lot
like human eyes. Like humans, the eagle's eyes
have a cornea, iris, lens, retina, and an optic
nerve. Light goes through the cornea and the
lens and projects an image on the retina. On
the retina there are specialized cells called rods
and cones. Rods are sensitive in poor light and
are developed best in nocturnal animals. The
cones detect colors and are used during the
day when there is a lot of light. Once detected
by the rods and cones, the information is sent
to the brain along the optic nerve. Once there
the information is translated into a visual image.
In addition to these vision basics, Bald Eagles
have some special adaptations that give them
really strong daytime sight. The Bald Eagle has
a greater concentration of cones as compared
to rods. In fact, in some areas of the retina,
there is nothing but cones. The greater the
amount of cones, the finer the vision and the
higher the resolving power. Resolving power is
the ability of the eyes to focus on objects at a
distance. Being able to see things better at a
distance has its price though. Eagles may have
many cones, but they do not have many rods.
Not having many rods makes it very difficult for
the eagle to see in the dark!
Eagles and other birds of prey have fovea,
which are curved pits in their retinas that con-
tain even greater amounts of cones and a high
density of nerves to send light information to the
brain. These ultra sensitive sites actually see
objects more clearly and from greater dis-
tances.
These two adaptations allow the eagle to see
with a resolving power that is 8 times greater
than humans.
Feathers
The feathers of the birds perform four important
functions:
 They form an insulating layer around the
body, which helps control body temperature.
 They create wing and tail surfaces that are
essential for flight, giving the body a stream-
lined shape.
 They keep the body waterproofed.
 Their coloration can provide a bird with

11. 291
Background
camouflage by enabling it to blend with its
surroundings. It can also make it conspicu-
ous by providing colors and patterns used
with breeding behavior and courtship cere-
monies.
The feathers are perhaps the most important
component of flight.
Feathers are also important in species recogni-
tion. There are two categories of feathers:
 Pennae: outer feathers (contour and flight)
 Plumulae: down feathers
The number of feathers on a bird varies accord-
ing to the species and time of year. A colder
climate means more feathers.
An adult Bald Eagle has over 7000 feathers, but
if you put all of them together they would weigh
less than 21 ounces, or 30 feathers would
weigh less then a penny. Not only are the feath-
ers incredibly light, but they are also strong. If
you put a feather under a microscope, you
would see that tiny hooks hold each strand of
the feather together. These hooks are called
hook barbules; the part that they hook onto is
called bow barbules. All feathers are made up
of a substance called keratin. Keratin is the
same used in the make up of our fingernails.
An eagle's feathers are divided up into different
groups. Each group has it's own special job that
helps the eagle fly and soar. On the wing there
are three types of feathers:
 Primary feathers can be spread out like fin-
gers on a hand to reduce drag.
 Secondary feathers move up or down to
control the amount of drag.
 Covert feathers add thickness to the front of
the wing so air moves faster over the top of
the wing.
The wings of this Bald Eagle are a perfect ex-
ample of its lightweight, yet strong design. Fe-
males can have wingspans of 7 and a half feet
long that weigh less than 2 pounds. Pound for
pound, an eagle's wing is stronger than the
wing of a jet plane.
Color
Birds are among the most brilliantly colored
members of the animal kingdom. Color has
evolved to perform several biological functions.
 Aiding in recognition of species and sex by
particular birds.
 Some colors are used to keep the flock to-
gether.
 Camouflage enables birds to merge with
their background.
Many birds resort to camouflage in order to in-
crease their chances of survival. Not only the
birds themselves but their nests and eggs may
also be well camouflaged. An important aspect
of animal camouflage involves the elimination of
shadows. Animal undersides are more palely
marked than the upper side. This is called
counter shadowing.
In all aspects of camouflage, the behavior of the
animal is crucial if the effects of the camouflage
are not to be ruined. (i.e. crouching close to the
ground to get rid of its shadow, or closing its
eyes so the enemy doesn’t see him).
Flight & Flying
In order for a bird to fly, it must obtain upward
force, called a lift. A bird’s wing is shaped to
enable the birds to obtain this lift. Lift is only
obtained when airflow is smooth over the wing’s
surface. The lift is affected by three factors:
 Surface area of the wing
 Wind speed
 Angle of attack at which the wing is held
Take off is usually achieved by first jumping into
the air. During landing the wings tilt the body
into an almost vertical position and act as
brakes. During flight, power for forward move-
ment is derived from the downbeat of the wings.
Taking off requires more energy than level flight
since the bird must accelerate and climb. A
bird has to beat its wings more vigorously to
obtain the extra lift needed.
Bones
Birds have hollow bones in order to reduce their
weight. In order to be able to fly, large birds
have evolved more severe modifications to the
skeleton than have smaller birds. Certain
aquatic species of birds have some solid bones
to aid in their ability to dive.

12. 292
Background
Instinct and Intelligence
Birds show a remarkable range of behavior.
Many of their habits are intricate; like nest build-
ing. Study has shown that many of a bird’s ac-
tivities are learned and perfected during its life.
However, a number of behavior patterns are
still innate in that the bird is born with the ability
to do them. Learning by trial and error and con-
tinued practice is also very important.
Song
Humans tend to notice birds because they use
the same sense organs as we do. The most
important one is probably color vision, but hear-
ing is also at the top of the list. Birds tend to
have ears that detect the same kinds of sounds
as humans. They hear and communicate over
a similar vocal range as humans, so birdcalls
are audible to humans.
The ear of birds is in many ways similar to that
of a human. The voice of birds, although pro-
duced from a slightly different structure to that
of humans, bears some resemblance. The abil-
ity of some species of birds to mimic human’s
voice shows that they can produce sounds
closely similar to those that we make. One dis-
tinctive feature of the voice of birds is that some
can produce as many as three or four complex
sounds that overlap one another in time.
The speed with which a message can be trans-
mitted and received is the other important fea-
ture of the voice. Some complex songs may
include as many as 80 notes per second. Such
sounds seem like a single continuous note to
the human ear but with the help of sound spec-
trograph recordings, we know they are not .
Messages can be transmitted in many different
ways by many different animals, but sound is a
particularly useful form of communication.
Sound travels well in most of the habitats,
which birds live and is a much better method of
communication in habitats such as woodland,
than any other type. It is not surprising that
birds use sounds as one of their most important
forms of language.
Bird songs are the most elaborate series of
message in the language of birds. Song is not
usually produced equally at all times of the
year, but is mainly concentrated during periods
prior to breeding when territories are being set
up and courtship undertaken.
Songs may be relatively complex, however,
they are highly characteristic, with each species
usually having a very distinct song. A complex
song usually includes a series of notes that are
formed into a recognizable pattern.
There are around three main functions of the
song and the importance of each may vary be-
tween different species. By recognizing their
own type of singing, birds achieve reproductive
isolation from other species. By singing, a male
bird announces his claim to a territory and he
also wishes to attract a mate.
Just as there are different dialects within the
human population, it is common to find local
variations in the songs of different species.
These ‘dialects’ may occur over large areas or
by just crossing over from one valley to the next
one may find that the song of a given species
has changed quite markedly.
Most often song is produced by the males and
not by the females of a species, although there
are exceptions.
Feeding
Because of their lack of teeth, birds feed rather
differently from mammals. The food is not
chewed at all, but transferred to the gizzard
where it is ground up. Many birds eat their prey
whole. This may involve the swallowing of liz-
ards, snakes, large insects or fish that are lar-
ger in relation to the size of the bird. The ma-
jority of birds, however, take smaller prey than
this. Other birds such as the birds of prey tear
up larger prey with their beaks and talons and
others such as the ducks and game birds may
eat foliage.
Birds do not usually prepare their food, but
there are exceptions. Many bee-eaters remove
the stings from their prey before swallowing
them. Birds that eat large insects, like caterpil-
lars that have powerful biting mouthparts, usu-
ally peck the head of their prey. This prevents
the possibility of the insect biting the bird after it
has been swallowed.
Feeding can be dangerous since the bird must

13. 293
Background
concentrate upon it and therefore run the risk of
not noticing the approach of a predator until it is
too late. Drinking is often dangerous too.
Some birds obtain most of their water from their
food, especially the insectivores and birds of
prey which may never need to drink, but many
other species come down to water. In doing so
the birds expose themselves to predators.
Many small birds may satisfy their needs from
the dew or rain by merely sipping drops off the
vegetation. Most birds when drinking lower
their beak into the water until the mouth is filled
up, then they raise their head so that the water
runs down the throat.
Seed Eaters
Birds do not always digest plant material as effi-
ciently as mammals do; birds lack the ability to
break down cellulose and digest leaves and
grass. The parts of plants which birds can and
do eat in quantity are the seeds and fruits.
These are a major component of the diet of
most birds.
Seeds are hard structures and many are rela-
tively difficult to break open and eat. Most birds
that eat these hard seeds have one way or an-
other of breaking into them. Some birds avoid
these hard-covered seeds and do not have to
worry about this problem. Bird species, which
are closely related, tend to eat the same thing;
however, the resources are divided up pretty
evenly. The larger species of say a cardinal,
will eat the larger seeds, while the smaller car-
dinals will eat the smaller of the same seeds.
Seed eating birds face other problems in rela-
tion to their diet. They need powerful gizzards
with a good supply of grit in order to break up
the seed. Seedeaters usually possess a crop,
a bag-like extension of the side of the lower
throat in which food can be stored. Birds that
bring seeds back to their young carry them in
the crop. The possession of a crop enables the
birds to feed rapidly in exposed places and di-
gest the seeds later in safety.
Some birds eat seeds all year round and feed
their young on them. Seeds keep well and as a
result, many seed eating birds store seeds so
that they can find them during the winter when
food is more difficult to come by.
Insect Eaters
A wide variety of birds eat insects. The full rea-
sons for feeding insects to the young are not
known, but insects are probably richer in certain
proteins necessary for animal growth than are
seeds. In addition, insects contain large quanti-
ties of water, which are essential to a growing
chick; seeds do not. The periods of the year
when birds change over from a diet of seeds to
one of insects and back again may be difficult
ones for the birds. The digestive tract is more
powerful and muscular when the bird is eating
seeds than it is when the bird is eating insects;
little is known of what happens during the pe-
riod of changeover from one diet to the other.
Fish Eaters
Some species of birds feed predominantly on
fish. A number of ducks, a few birds of prey,
and kingfishers feed largely on fish, as well as a
few species of owls.
The different species hunt their prey in a wide
variety of ways. Some dive and swim after
catching them from behind, while others dive
upon them from above. Either way, all must
chase their prey briefly. The fish eating birds of
prey and owls plunge down on the prey and
catch them with their talons. Fish are extremely
slippery prey and the mandibles of birds have
evolved in a way that reduces the chances of
their escaping. Once caught, the prey must be
held firm so that it cannot escape. The owls,
ospreys, and sea eagles have particularly long
talons that sink into their prey and roughened
pads on their toes that enable them to prevent
their prey from slipping. Most of the fish eating
birds, including the owls, have unusually long
legs that are bare of feathers, which presuma-
bly reduce the amount of water logging when
the bird strikes the water.
A Bald Eagle’s diet consists mainly of fish,
sometimes making up to 90% of its diet. When
a Bald Eagle is not fishing, it will feed on almost
anything it can catch, including ducks, wading
birds, turtles, rodents, snakes, and carrion
(dead animal matter). Bald Eagles snatch fish
from above the surface of the water rather than
plunging into the water like an osprey. Since
they snatch fish from close to the surface, the
fish they seem to catch most are fish with
downward looking eyes such as catfish and

14. 294
Background
carp. It is believed fish with upward eyes can
see danger approaching and are more likely to
escape the talons of an eagle.
Bald Eagles are diurnal hunters. They hunt by
playing a waiting game. They spend most of
their time perched in trees, using their excep-
tional eyesight to scan for food. From its perch,
a Bald Eagle can see a surfacing fish from a
mile away. Once the prey is spotted, the eagle
swoops down and snatches up the unsuspect-
ing dinner in its vice-like talons. The rear talon
can be over an inch long, and it often punctures
the prey, killing it instantly. Small prey is swal-
lowed whole. Bigger animals are ripped into bite
size pieces with the eagle’s powerful beak. Bald
Eagles also catch prey by stealing it from other
eagles or animals. Bald Eagles have been
known to chase down an osprey causing it to
drop its freshly caught prey. Before the osprey’s
prey reaches the ground, the eagle swoops
down catching it in midair.
Since Bald Eagles are opportunistic feeders
and never know where their next meal is com-
ing from, they have an adaptation that helps
them through times of little food. They have an
enlarged area in their esophagus called a crop,
where they can store large amounts of food. An
eagle with a full crop can usually survive at
least five to seven days without eating. Eagles,
like all raptors, cough up or regurgitate the indi-
gestible parts of their prey. The regurgitated
food is coughed up in the form of a pellet. The
pellet contains anything that is not digestible,
such as fins, scales, fur, bones, feathers and
teeth. Bald Eagles have strong stomach acids
so usually small bones are not found in pellets.
These pellets can help biologists identify what
an eagle is eating.
Sight is important for predatory birds, but fish
eaters have two problems to deal with that
other species do not encounter. An eagle aim-
ing at a fish underwater has to be able to allow
for the refraction of the water, since the fish is
not exactly where it appears to be. No one is
sure exactly how this is done; it may be true
that the young have to learn how much to allow
for when they are fishing with their parents.
Birds swimming after fish underneath the water
have a different problem. The optical charac-
teristics of water are different from those of air-
as you can see when you open your eyes under
water. Birds have a second, inner eyelid that
makes the eye suitable for seeing underwater
without the loss of good vision when the bird is
in the air.
Birds of Prey
The largest birds of prey are the eagle, con-
dors, and vultures. The largest species have
wingspans of eight or nine feet. Not all these
birds kill their prey and most are not above
scavenging from carcasses if they get the op-
portunity. The largest eagles take a wide vari-
ety of prey. Hares and rabbits are common
prey for many species.
The method used by birds of prey in hunting
requires considerable skill and like most, the
hunters can meet with bad luck or scarcity of
prey. Success at hunting affects the breeding
of the birds of prey. They usually have only a
small number of young, usually between one
and three, though a few of the smaller species
may lay more eggs. The young hatch one after
the other rather than all together.
Social Behavior
A number of bird species nest in huge colonies
(about 13%) while the rest are solitary nesters.
One group of fish eating birds commonly found
nesting in colonies is the herons. Among the
smaller birds, a number of seedeaters nest in
colonies. One advantage to being in a colony is
that the birds can 'gang-up' to attack a predator.
When danger threatens, the numbers of birds
attacking a potential predator are often suffi-
cient to drive the animal away.
Pair Bonds
Some birds are noted for their unusual mating
systems. The large majority of birds, well over
90%of them, have monogamous breeding part-
nerships. Large groups of birds such as birds
of prey and swallows are all monogamous.
Most of the other birds that raise their young in
the nest are also monogamous. Although most
birds are monogamous, it's an old wives' tale
that many, such as the swans mate for life or
will not re-mate if they lose their partner.
Territorial Behavior
A territory is an area that a bird defends against
other birds. Once a bird becomes established
in a territory, either as a result of driving the
previous owner out or, more frequently, by tak-

15. 295
Background
ing over one vacated as a result of the death of
the previous owner, it tends to retain this terri-
tory for the rest of its life. Even if the bird is a
migrant, it usually returns to the same patch of
country each year to breed.
Courtship
Courtship is the behavior by which birds recog-
nize others of the same species, find a member
of the opposite sex and become established
members of the breeding population. A lot of
the behavior depends on the type of pair bond
that is formed. However, in most normal, mo-
nogamous birds a lasting bond is established.
Courtship serves to ensure that each individual
bird successfully pairs with a mate from the cor-
rect species. Elaborate displays or songs are
characteristic of each species enabling the fe-
males to select a correct partner more easily.
Courtship performs a second important func-
tion. The continual presence and display of one
bird to the other enables them to increase their
confidence in one another so as to behave as a
pair and, eventually, to breed.
The most common way a pairing occurs when
the male occupies a territory, and then adver-
tises his presence and the fact that he is with-
out a mate. The female approaches the male
and then “persuades” the male to let her get
near him, when he finally “accepts” her pres-
ence, the pairing is finalized. This happens in
many species whether the territory is a large
area of woodland or a small part of a colony.
Nests & Nest Building
Birds build nests in order to raise their young so
it is important that the nest should be safe from
disturbance. There are two main ways in which
birds seek to protect their nest.
 Concealment: By hiding the nest in an out-
of-the-way place, covering it with camou-
flaging materials and taking care to visit it
cautiously so as not to draw attention to it,
the birds hope to protect their young.
 Putting nests in inaccessible places. Being
secretive is not as important since the birds
rely on their enemies being unable to reach
the site at all.
Concealment is the most widely method prac-
ticed. It is better to avoid conflict with a poten-
tial predator than to look for trouble.
There are many different types of bird nests but
the simplest is probably that of a pile of sticks in
a tree where a flimsy platform is formed on
which to put the eggs.
Eggs
The hard-shelled, often distinctively shaped,
eggs of birds are well known. They are com-
posed of three main parts - yolk, albumen, and
shell. The yolk is the most nutritive part, being
relatively rich in fat and proteins. The egg
white, or the albumen, surrounds the embryo
and, although relatively low in nutrients com-
pared with the yolk, holds much of the water
essential to the growing chick's survival. Two
layers of shell membrane just inside the shell
surround the albumen. The eggshell is a po-
rous structure composed mainly of calcium car-
bonate.
The developing chick must obtain all its nutri-
ents from within the eggshell. The chick draws
on these as it develops and also obtains the
calcium it needs for its bones by withdrawing
calcium from the shell.
In order to metabolize its food, the developing
chick must be able to breathe. For this oxygen
must be absorbed into the egg and carbon diox-
ide expired; a series of blood vessels through-
out the egg, outside the chick, enable this respi-
ration to occur.
The laying bird must find extra amounts of food
in order to form eggs. It's estimated that this
may increase her food demands by as much as
40 percent during the laying period.
The size of eggs varies considerably. The
smallest eggs are laid by the smallest hum-
mingbirds and weigh about 0.02 ounces, while
the largest, those of the ostrich, weigh about
3.3 pounds.
Young & Their Care
Young birds hatch from the eggs at the end of
the incubation period. This may be as short as
11 or 12 days for the smaller birds or as long as
11 to 12 weeks in some of the larger birds.

16. 296
The parents are responsible for making sure
predators are kept away from their babies.
They must also keep the little ones warm and
feed them. If well fed, the young may reach
almost adult weight before they leave the nest.
Additional Information
Birds migrate because the area in which they
spend the non-breeding season is not as good
an area to breed on as their summer grounds
and because they cannot survive on their
breeding grounds during winter.
Many birds obtain their direction by use of the
sun. In addition, birds can navigate by the
stars. Under normal circumstances it seems
likely that birds usually find their way either by
use of the sun or the stars.
Studies have shown that most birds die of old
age. This is true of birds that live in zoos or
those which have been tagged. It is not known
how long birds not living in captivity live.
Deaths of young birds are high throughout the
nestling stage, but in many species it is thought
that there is a very high loss during the period
just after the young have left their parents and
when they are learning to fend for themselves.
Black-capped Chickadee
 Are named after the call they make - chick-a
-dee-dee-dee (6).
 They often form the nucleus of mixed flocks
of woodpeckers, nuthatches, and creepers
that move through the winter woods (5).
 They often feed upside down clinging to the
underside of twigs and branches in their
search for insect eggs and larvae (5).
 They are easily tamed and soon learn to
feed from the hand (6).
 In the warmer months they move into the
woods to nest in holes in trees (5).
Blue Jay
 Eat fruit, insects and grain and are one of
the few birds that store their food (5).
 They have a violent dislike for predators and
their raucous screaming makes it easy to
locate a hawk or a roosting owl (6).
Canada Goose
 Flocks migrate south in a V formation (5).
 They have powerful voices and are often
heard before they are seen far off in the sky
(6).
 They nest on Snake Island and are often
seen feeding at the observatory field in
spring.
Cardinal
 It is the Indiana State bird.
 The male is bright red and the female is
grayish with a pink crest (5).
 They are very shy and the slightest move-
ment will cause them to take flight (6).
Cowbird
 Is the smallest of the native blackbirds (6).
 They never build their own nests but foist
their offspring on other birds. The female
cowbird will sneak around looking for a
suitable nest with eggs in it that she can lay
her eggs in, while the owner is absent.
She then deposits her eggs and hurriedly
departs, leaving the egg to be hatched and
the young bird to be reared by the real
owner of the nest. The owner of the nest is
usually a smaller bird e.g. sparrow or a
warbler and thus the young hatchling is
therefore the biggest and strongest of all
the youngsters in the nest. Usually the
cowbird is therefore the only hatchling to
survive at the cost of the whole brood of
another smaller bird (5).
Great Blue Heron
 Is the largest of the heron family and is fre-
quently seen flying gracefully over the sur-
face of the lake.
 While in flight, it watches for fish or frogs,
which are its principle food, however it also
eats small mammals and reptiles (5).
Nuthatch
 Can move down the trunk of a tree head
first.
 Do not migrate but is a permanent resident.
Kingfisher (Belted)
 Feed on minnows, frogs and large aquatic
Background

17. 297
insects. They often sit on a perch or hover
over the water and then dive beak first to
capture their food (5).
 It always swallows its food head first after
flipping it in the air to turn it around (6).
Starling
 Are not native to America but were intro-
duced from Europe in 1892 to Central Park
in New York City. Since then they have
spread throughout the whole country (5).
 They feed in flocks of up to tens of thou-
sands of birds (6).
 They compete with native species for nest
cavities and food. There have been many
debates regarding their economic value, but
their consumption of insects seems to tip
the balance in their favor (5).
Tufted Titmice
 Are social birds and often join with mixed
small flocks of chickadees and nuthatches.
 Although they are frequent visitors at feed-
ers they are not as tame as chickadees.
Woodpecker
 Well-adapted to living in trees, woodpeck-
ers have four strong toes, two pointing for-
ward and two pointing back, with sharp
claws that enable them to cling upright on
the bark of trees and branches. They also
have stiff tail feathers to prop them up verti-
cally (h).
 Have long, flexible, bristled and sticky
tongues that they can probe into small holes
to catch insects (h).
 Their hard pointed beaks are used to chisel
into wood in search of insects and sap, or to
excavate cavities for nesting and roosting.
The birds tunnel down 6-18 inches deep,
making the excavation wider at the bottom
for the egg chamber (h).
 Have especially hardened, thick skulls and
cushioning around the brain like a shock
absorber) to protect them while they ham-
mer. In this way they do not get head aches
(h).
 Hammer on a dead limb of a tree as part of
its courtship ceremony and to proclaim its
territory (h).
 In feeding, most woodpeckers start at the
base of a tree, searching for insects and
spiders and then they move up the trunk in
spirals until they reach the larger limbs
where they explore the undersides of a
branch (h).
Woodpeckers Common to BW
Downy
 Is the smallest tamest and most abundant
of our woodpeckers. They prefer to drill
holes in dying trees (5).
Hairy
 Is one of the most beneficial birds, saving
both forest and fruit by destroying many
harmful insects such as wood-boring bee-
tles. They prefer to drill holes in living trees
(5).
Red-Bellied
 It also is one of the woodpeckers that ha-
bitually stores its food (5).
Pileated
 Is the largest woodpecker about the size of
a crow. They are the most difficult to find as
it tends to stay out of sight but it whacks
away with such force that from a distance it
often sounds as though a man were chop-
ping in the woods. When a pileated wood-
pecker goes to work it certainly makes chips
fly and rip off heavy strips of bark that no
other member of the family can. The traces
of the pileated woodpecker are unmistak-
able as they excavated huge rectangular
hollows that look like topless boxes (5+6).
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
 Gets its name from its habit of drinking the
sap that oozes from the regular rows of
holes that it drills in the bark of trees. The
birds wipe up or suck the oozing sap with
their brush-like tongues. It also eats the
insects that come to drink the sap. Unfortu-
nately sapsucker holes damage trees and
sometimes provide points of entry for fun-
gus and other tree diseases. Unlike other
woodpeckers this one migrates south in
winter (5).
** The above birds can be found at Bradford Woods
all year round. However, whether they are the same
birds or not is unknown. Some species may migrate
south in winter, and be replaced by birds of the
same species from more northern parts of the States
and Canada. All these birds are found in greater
numbers in spring. (Kari Price - Naturalist)**
Background

18. 298
Raptors
There are three characteristics of raptors that
make them different from other birds (4):
 They have talons to stab and catch their
prey.
 They have excellent binocular vision, which
allows them to see much better than hu-
mans.
 They have strong hooked beaks for plucking
feathers and tearing flesh.
Owls Common to Bradford Woods
Barred Owl
 A very common species. It's call sounds
like who- cooks-for-you, who-cooks-for-you-
al (6).
Great Horned Owl
 It is the largest of the tufted owls. Is a very
adaptable bird living in a variety of habitats
and eats many different kinds of prey. They
have talons as long as 3 inches or longer
(f).
Screech
 A small owl only standing about 8 inches
high. A good night hike trick is to mimic this
owl's call. It often replies back within 5 min-
utes and has even been known to fly over-
head, while mimicking it's call.
Red-tailed Hawk
 Hawks see greater distances than humans,
but their visual acuity (the ability to see
clearly) is eight times that of human’s (e).
 Some hawks can attain speeds of over 150
miles per hour when diving for their food (e).
 The red-tailed hawk mostly eats mice and
other rodents, and rarely eats poultry (6).
 Farmers have often mistaken them in the
past for other hawks that eat hens and
chicken and have shot them down (6)
Conservation - state and federal laws protect all
hawks. It is illegal to capture or kill a hawk, or
to possess a hawk, alive or dead, without
proper permits from local state governments as
well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (e).
Bald Eagle
 The bald eagle was chosen as our national
symbol in 1782 and stands for justice,
strength and fairness.
 It is the only eagle unique to North America.
 It is not actually “bald”, but was named by
colonists who used the Old English word
“balde”, which means, “white”.
 Before 1800, there were approximately ¼
million bald eagles in the lower 48 states.
 Between 1917 and 1940, approximately
100,000 bald eagles were shot in Alaska
alone.
 Shooting, possessing without a permit and
selling bald eagles became illegal in 1940,
but shooting remains one of the leading
causes of eagle mortality.
 In 1970, there were only 3,000 bald eagles
and 400 breeding pairs. Today, there are
over 5,000 bald eagles and 1,400 breeding
pairs.
 Adult bald eagles have a wingspan of 6 to
7.5 feet and are 3 to 3.5 feet tall.
 The female bald eagle is larger than the
male.
 An eagle’s beak is almost as long as its
head, is steam-lined, and has a hook on the
end. These adaptations help it to fly fast,
and to tear open its prey.
 The flight muscles of a bald eagle account
for half of its body weight.
 An eagle, like all birds, has hollow bones.
The skeleton of an adult bald eagle weighs
about a half a pound.
 The eyes of an eagle are very similar in
structure to a human’s, but they have a
higher concentration of cones and lower
concentration of rods, therefore giving them
8 times better resolving power (ability to fo-
cus), but bad night vision. They can see a
12-inch fish a mile away.
 The feet of eagles have sharp claws called
talons that are up to an inch long and
curved, which allow them to catch their fish.
They also have bumps on their toes to help
them hang onto slippery fish.
 An adult eagle has about 7,000 feathers,
which collectively weigh less than 21
ounces. (30 feathers weigh less than a
penny). They are made of keratin, which is
the same thing our fingernails are made of.
 Pound for pound, an eagle’s wing is
stronger than the wing of a jet plane.
 90% of a bald eagle’s diet is fish, but they
will also eat ducks, wading birds, turtles,
rodents, snakes and dead animals. The
sometimes steal the prey of other animals.
 They mate for life.
Background

19. 299
 Bald eagles usually nest in tall (50-150 ft.),
large trees located near water and will re-
turn to the same nest year after year. Every
year, more twigs and branches are added.
One nest that was used for 34 years
weighed an estimated 2 tons!!
 Young eagles stay in the nest for 10 to 11
weeks and begin to venture out in mid to
late summer. By the end of the summer (4
months old), they are on their own.
 Bald eagles to not have a white head or
white tail until they are at least 4 years old.
Turkey Vulture
 Turkey vultures can soar in circles over the
same area for an hour without flapping
their wings. They are the champion non-
stop gliders of the feathered world (6).
 Turkey vultures have the reputation of being
the "feathered street cleaner", as they are
scavengers, eating any carrion and other
refuse (6).
 Sometimes if turkey vultures feast too
strenuously they cannot lift themselves off
the ground when they try to take off. In this
case they readily disgorge some of the ban-
quet, so they can take off (6). Amazing
Fact - Turkey vultures practice UROHIDRO-
SIS. This means that they deliberately void
their own excretory waste on their legs,
cooling their appendages as the water por-
tion of the waste material evaporates (4).
 You can tell a turkey vulture from another
bird of prey when it is in flight as it's wings
are held upwards in a shallow V shape (5).
Grade 3
English/Language Arts
3.1.2 Read words with several syllables.
3.2.1 Use titles, tables of contents, chapter head-
ings, a glossary, or an index to locate informa-
tion in text.
3.2.2 Ask questions and support answers by con-
necting prior knowledge with literal information
from the text.
3.4.1 Find ideas for writing stories and descriptions
in conversations with others; in books, maga-
zines, or school textbooks; or on the Internet.
3.5.4 Use varied word choices to make writing inter-
esting.
3.7.2 Connect and relate experiences and ideas to
those of a speaker.
3.7.3 Answer questions completely and appropri-
ately.
3.7.15 Follow three- and four-step oral directions.
Science
3.1.3 Keep and report records of investigations and
observations using tools, such as journals,
charts, graphs, and computers.
3.1.5 Demonstrate the ability to work cooperatively
while respecting the ideas of others and com-
municating one’s own conclusions about find-
ings.
3.2.3 Keep a notebook that describes observations
and is understandable weeks or months later.
3.2.4 Appropriately use simple tools, such as
clamps, rulers, scissors, hand lenses, and
other technology, such as calculators and
computers, to help solve problems.
3.2.6 Make sketches and write descriptions to aid in
explaining procedures or ideas.
3.2.7 Ask “How do you know?” in appropriate situa-
tions and attempt reasonable answers when
others ask the same question.
3.4.1 Demonstrate that a great variety of living
things can be sorted into groups in many ways
using various features, such as how they look,
where they live, and how they act, to decide
which things belong to which group.
Grade 4
English/Language Arts
4.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing. Find ideas for writing
in conversations with others and in books,
magazines, newspapers, school textbooks, or
on the Internet. Keep a list or notebook of
ideas.
4.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing inter-
esting.
4.4.6 Locate information in reference texts by using
organizational features, such as prefaces and
appendixes.
4.7.1 Ask thoughtful questions and respond orally to
Background/Standards

20. 300
relevant questions with appropriate elaboration.
4.7.2 Summarize major ideas and supporting evi-
dence presented in spoken presentations.
4.7.15 Connect and relate experiences and ideas to
those of a speaker.
4.7.8 Use details, examples, anecdotes (stories of a
specific event), or experiences to explain or
clarify information.
Science
4.1.5 Demonstrate how measuring instruments, such
as microscopes, telescopes, and cameras, can
be used to gather accurate information for mak-
ing scientific comparisons of objects and
events. Note that measuring instruments, such
as rulers, can also be used for designing and
constructing things that will work properly.
4.2.5 Write descriptions of investigations, using ob-
servations and other evidence as support for
explanations.
4.2.6 Support statements with facts found in print
and electronic media, identify the sources used,
and expect others to do the same.
4.2.7 Identify better reasons for believing something
than “Everybody knows that ...” or “I just know,”
and discount such reasons when given by oth-
ers.
4.4.3 Observe and describe that organisms interact
with one another in various ways, such as pro-
viding food, pollination, and seed dispersal.
4.4.4 Observe and describe that some source of en-
ergy is needed for all organisms to stay alive
and grow.
Grade 5
English/Language Arts
5.2.1 Use the features of informational texts, such as
formats, graphics, diagrams, illustrations,
charts, maps, and organization, to find informa-
tion and support understanding.
5.2.4 Draw inferences, conclusions, or generaliza-
tions about text and support them with textual
evidence and prior knowledge.
5.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or note-
book of ideas, and use graphic organizers to
plan writing.
5.4.5 Use note-taking skills when completing re-
search for writing.
5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing inter-
esting.
5.6.6 Use correct capitalization
5.7.1 Ask questions that seek information not already
discussed.
5.7.2 Interpret a speaker’s verbal and nonverbal
messages, purposes, and perspectives.
5.7.3 Make inferences or draw conclusions based on
an oral report.
Science
5.1.4 Give examples of technology, such as tele-
scopes, microscopes, and cameras, that en-
able scientists and others to observe things
that are too small or too far away to be seen
without them and to study the motion of ob-
jects that are moving very rapidly or are hardly
moving.
5.2.4 Keep a notebook to record observations and
be able to distinguish inferences from actual
observations.
5.4.7 Explain that living things, such as plants and
animals, differ in their characteristics, and that
sometimes these differences can give mem-
bers of these groups (plants and animals) an
advantage in surviving and reproducing.
Grade 6
English/Language Arts
6.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or note-
book of ideas, and use graphic organizers to
plan writing.
6.4.5 Use note-taking skills when completing re-
search for writing.
6.5.6 Use varied word choices to make writing inter-
esting.
6.6.4 Use correct capitalization.
6.7.3 Restate and carry out multiple-step oral in-
structions and directions.
6.7.15 Ask questions that seek information not al-
ready discussed.
Science
6.2.3 Select tools, such as cameras and tape re-
corders, for capturing information.
6.2.7 Locate information in reference books, back
issues of newspapers and magazines, CD-
ROMs, and computer databases.
6.4.3 Describe some of the great variety of body
plans and internal structures animals and
plants have that contribute to their being able
to make or find food and reproduce.
6.4.8 Explain that in all environments, such as fresh-
water, marine, forest, desert, grassland,
mountain, and others, organisms with similar
needs may compete with one another for re-
sources, including food, space, water, air, and
shelter. Note that in any environment, the
growth and survival of organisms depend on
the physical conditions.
6.4.9 Recognize and explain that two types of or-
ganisms may interact in a competitive or coop-
erative relationship, such as producer/
consumer, predator/prey, or parasite/host.
Standards

21. 301
Objectives:
 Form a hypothesis based on
resources and research as to
how different aquatic species
survive.
 Assess the possible human im-
pacts on habitats, with specific
emphasis on the bald eagle.
 Explore aquatic area and
niches.
 Examine characteristics and
adaptations of aquatic life speci-
mens
 Take a focal point (the Ameri-
can Bald Eagle) and identify the
importance of water quality to its
survival.
Equipment:
 How Many Eagles food
cards
 Webbing
 Waterlogged cards
 Water chart
 Macroinvertebrate cards
 Aquatic life tubs
 DO Kit
 Magnifying glasses
 Journal
 Pencils
 ID charts
 Field guides
 Strainers
 pH Kit
 Spinners
 Thermometer
 Rope
 Measuring stick
 Floatable item
Note to Teacher:
This lesson emphases on bald
eagles aquatic needs and adap-
tations. Students will view many
new creatures in an aquatic envi-
ronment.
Concepts:
 Humans impact their environment
 Aquatic organisms and terrestrial organisms have similar needs.
 Aquatic ecosystems contain a wide variety of plant and animal species dependent on each other for survival.
 Aquatic organisms have certain adaptations and characteristics that allow them to be identified and classified.
Activities in Lesson:
 How Many Eagles Can Live on this Lake?
(30 min)
 Waterlogged (20 min)
 Adventures of a Drop (30 min)
 Benthic Bedlam (25 min)
 Water Exploration (1 hr 55 min)
 Conclusions (10 min)
 Water Poems (10 min)
Time: 4 Hours
Adaptation- any beneficial al-
teration in an organism result-
ing from natural selection by
which the organism survives
and multiplies in its environ-
ment.
Aquatic- living or growing in wa-
ter.
Carrying Capacity-The maxi-
mum number of individuals that
a given environment can sup-
port without detrimental effects
Fauna-the animals characteris-
tic of a region, period, or special
environment
Flora-list of the plants of an
area or period
Food Web- a series of organ-
isms interrelated in their feeding
habits, the smallest being fed
upon by a larger one, which in
turn feeds yet a larger one.
Macroinvertebrate- an animal
without a backbone that is large
enough to be observed with the
naked eye.
Habitat- natural environment of
an organism.
Limiting Factors-Environmental
factor that limits the growth or
activities of an organism or that
restricts the size of a population
or its geographical range.
Niche- the position and function
of a particular species or popu-
lation in an ecological commu-
nity.
Nymph- the young of an insect
that undergoes incomplete
metamorphosis.
Predator-An organism that lives
by hunting other organisms
Population Density-the amount
of a specific species in a given
area.
Prey- An animal hunted or
caught for food.
Scat-Excrement, especially of
an animal.
Terrestrial- growing or living on
land.
Water Quality- the chemical,
physical, and biological charac-
teristics of water with respect to
its suitability for a particular
use.
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22. 302
How Many Eagles Can Live on this
Lake? (30 min)
Materials: food cards
1. Use colored construction paper and the ta-
ble below to make a set of 2” x 2” food cards.
The color of the card determines the type of
food it represents:
yellow – fish
orange – waterfowl
red – mammals
green – reptiles
black – carrion
The number on each card represents the num-
ber of ounces of food. For example, a card with
the label W-3 represents 3 oz of waterfowl.
2. The following estimates of total ounces of
food for one average size eagle in one week (7
days) are used for this activity:
fish 86 ounces (90%)
waterfowl 3 ounces (3%)
mammals 3 ounces (3%)
reptiles 3 ounces (3%)
carrion 1 ounce (1%)
96 ounces (100%)
Note: These figures represent a typical eagle’s
food. The components of an actual eagle’s diet
will vary between areas, seasons, and years.
If you follow the table when making the food
cards, there should be less than 96 ounces of
food per student, so that there is not actually
enough food in the area for all the “eagles” to
survive.
3. If you want, you can also include “water” as
a habitat component by making additional
squares from blue paper. To calculate how
many water cards to make, multiply the number
of students by 1.25 (round to the nearest whole
number). For example, for a group of 20 stu-
dents you would make 20 x 1.25 = 25 water
cards.
4. Choose a large open area (e.g. 50’ x 50’)
and scatter the colored pieces of paper in a
central location. Do not tell the students what
the colors, initials, and numbers on the pieces
of paper represent. Tell them only that the
pieces of paper represent various kinds of ea-
gle food.
5. Pass out an envelope to each student and
have them write their name on the outside.
6. Give the students the following instructions:
“You are now all Bald Eagles. All Bald Eagles
are not alike, just as you and I are not exactly
alike. Among you is a young male eagle that
has been shot and injured his wing. (Assign one
student as the injured eagle. He must hunt by
hopping on one leg.) Another eagle is a young
female that has become blinded during a fight
trying to protect her nest. (Assign one student
as the blinded eagle. She must hunt blind-
folded.) The last “special” eagles are a mother
eagle and father eagle with two eaglets. Since
both the male and female help to feed their
young, the students assigned as this “couple”
must hunt linked together, and each of these
“eagles” must gather twice as much food as the
other eagles in order to provide for their off-
spring. (Assign one student as the mother eagle
and one as the father eagle).
7. Tell each student to find their own space
within the given area and place their envelope
in that location – this will represent their nest.
Once the students have all found a “nest site”
they should remain there until a signal is given
to begin hunting.’
8. Remind students that they should walk, not
run, when hunting for their food.
9. Once the okay is given, students may begin
hunting. When students find a colored square,
they should pick it up (only one at a time) and
return it to their nest site (in their envelope) be-
fore picking up another colored square.
10. When all the colored squares have been
picked up, the hunting is over. Have students
pick up their nest site envelopes and gather in a
circle.
11. Explain what the colors and numbers rep-
resent. Each color is a kind of food and the
numbers represent ounces of food eaten. Ask
each student to add up the total number of
ounces of food he or she collected – whether it
is fish, waterfowl, mammals, reptiles, or carrion.
Each student should then write the total weight
on the outside of his or her envelope.
2. Tell the students their hunting period repre-
sented one week (7 days) and that each eagle
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23. 303
needs 96 ounces of food per week to survive.
Ask the students: Which eagles survived? Is
there enough food to feed all the eagles? Did
the blind eagle survive? Did the injured eagle
survive? Did the mother eagle survive? What
strategies did the eagles that survived use?
What strategies did the “special” eagles use?
Were the strategies successful?
13. If you included water squares, each student
should have picked up at least one square rep-
resenting a water source, or he or she does not
survive. Water can be a limiting factor and is an
essential component of habitat.
14. Ask the students which type of food they
collected the most of. Lead a discussion around
what the typical diet of an eagle is (90% fish…).
Explain the importance of fish to the Bald Eagle
(also pointing out that they will eat other things
as well, especially in bad times). To illustrate
this importance, ask the “eagles” who did not
survive to raise their hands, then ask them to
keep their hands raised if they did not collect a
fish card.
15. This activity will illustrate the importance of
fish to a Bald Eagle’s diet and therefore the im-
portance of healthy water. It will also illustrate
the fact that a given area (e.g. the Bradford
Woods lake) may only be able to support a few
eagles.
16. Additional rounds may be played with the
introduction of new events. For example, pollu-
tion has effected the fish population in the area
– use fewer food cards representing fish OR the
lake has just been stocked with fish – use addi-
tional food cards representing fish. It is a good
idea to introduce events that represent both the
positive and negative ways humans can impact
the environment. Follow-up each round with a
discussion on how the event affected the sur-
vival rate of the eagles in the area
Waterlogged (20 min)
(adapted from Project Wet)
Materials: waterlogged cards, 20 ft. rope, water
chart
1. Begin by asking the students:
How important it is to have good, healthy
water?
Where is water found on the earth?
(oceans, rivers, lakes, ground water, gla-
ciers & polar ice caps, inland seas and salt
lakes, atmosphere)
How much of this water do animals and hu-
mans have to drink?
2. This activity will demonstrate the amount of
water available for humans and other animals
on the planet. Divide students into two groups.
Lay down a rope or make a line in the dirt that
is 20 feet long for each group. Explain to the
students that the rope represents all of the wa-
ter in the world; one end of the rope represents
0% percent, and the other end represents
100%.
3. Pass out a set of cards to each group of stu-
dents. Each set of cards consists of seven dif-
ferent areas where water is found on earth.
Each group should try to determine the percent-
age of water each type represents. Remind
them that the total must equal 100%. Have
them lay down the area of water on the line
they believe represents the correct percentage
they have determined for that area of water.
For example, if they guess that oceans make
up 75% of all the water, they would go to the
place that represents approximately 75% of the
line and place the ocean card on the ground.
Variation: You can choose to hand out the percent-
age cards before you hand out the areas where wa-
ter is found cards if you want your students to work
with percentages and decimals or you can pass out
the measurement cards if you want your students to
practice measuring
Adventures of a Drop (30 min)
(adapted from Project Wet)
Materials: journal page 12, blocks
1. Questions to Ask:
 How much water is on the earth?
(370,000,000,000,000,000,000 gallons: 370
zillion)
 The Earth has a limited amount of water,
which is continuously moving throughout the
water cycle. The amount of water we have
does not change.
 The water we’re drinking right now (take a
sip) could be the same water George Wash-
ington took a bath in, or that a dinosaur
drank.
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24. 304
 Where water is found on the earth. (Soils,
plants, oceans, rivers, lakes, ground water,
glaciers, clouds)
2. Have the nine ‘Adventures of a Drop” blocks
spread around your area in a circle, leaving at
least ten feet in between the stations. Explain
to the students that we are going to become
water molecules, and find out how they move
around the earth.
3. Use journal page 12, Adventures of a Drop
for this activity. Have the students pick a point
that they want to start in the water cycle.
(animals, oceans, rivers, lakes, ground water,
soil, plants, glaciers, clouds) Record that on line
one, in the bottom left rectangle. Next have
them predict where their water molecule will
move from there, until nine predictions are
made. Remind them that the water cycle may
take a long time to complete, and you may
‘stay’ at one place for a while.
4. For instance oceans make up 75% of the
earth surface and a water molecule may remain
in the ocean a significant amount of time. Also
remind the students that molecules cannot
move in certain directions. Ask the students if a
molecule can go directly from the soil into the
ocean.
5. Once everyone has written down their pre-
dicted nine steps, have them spread out to their
chosen starting points. One at a time students
can roll to see where their water molecule will
travel to next. If the block reads, ‘lake’ then re-
cord that on the next line in the rectangle on the
right, and move to that station. If the block
reads ‘stay’ record it, then go to the back of the
line at the same station and continue the jour-
ney. Continue until everyone has made nine
rolls. (This does not mean you will move to nine
spaces.)
Was anyone successful on all of nine pre-
dictions? (8? 7?)
What made it difficult to move from station
to station? (A lot of water on earth, chance
of water molecule being evaporated out of
317 million cubic miles of salt water in the
ocean is small.
Those of you on ocean, where did you
move?
Could a molecule go directly from soil to the
ocean?
Did anyone return to the same station?
If you did it again would you make the same
predictions? How would you change them?
6. Focus on the idea that the water cycle fol-
lows a path, but is not a circle.
Discuss how we should appreciate the limited
water supply, and that we all use the same wa-
ter supply.
7. Talk about how pollution travels in the water.
(picking up contaminants in the soil, which are
left behind as evaporation occurs)
Benthic Bedlam (25min)
(adapted from Project Wet)
Materials: macroinvertebrate cards
1. Begin by asking the students:
What is living in the water?
What do critters living in water need to sur-
vive?
What makes for a healthy water ecosystem?
What happens if these conditions are not
met?
What clues could you look for to determine
the health of a water ecosystem?
Are there signs of human practices nearby?
Introduce the concept of environmental stress-
ors (agricultural runoff, sedimentation, etc.) and
ask the students:
How might an environmental stressors af-
fect these organisms?
Will all organisms be affected in the same
way?
2. Introduce what macroinvertebrates are and
show several pictures. Tell the students that
one way to monitor the quality of water is to
sample the population of macro invertebrates.
Explain that they are going to do an activity that
simulates the changes in water quality once en-
vironmental stressors are introduced.
3. Define boundaries of the game then choose
a student to be an environmental stressor. Di-
vide the rest of the class into 7 groups. Each
group represents one type of macroinvertebrate
species. Each species has a specific tolerance
level: intolerant, facultative, and tolerant. Intol-
erant means the species cannot tolerate pollu-
tion; facultative means the species can tolerate
some types of pollution; and tolerant means the
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25. 305
species can tolerate pollution well. Next, dis-
tribute identification labels to all group mem-
bers. You can have the students put the labels
in their pockets, or attach them with a clothes-
pin to their backs. Inform the students that cer-
tain macro invertebrates have hindrances to
cross the field. These symbolize sensitive or-
ganisms’ intolerances to pollutants.
4. To begin the game, the macroinvertebrates
will line up at one end of the playing field. The
stressor will be midfield. When a round starts,
macroinvertebrates move toward the opposite
end of the field and the stressor tries to tag
them. To survive the macroinvertebrate must
reach the opposite end of the field without being
tagged by the stressor. The stressor can tag
any macroinvertebrate, but will find it easier to
catch those with hindered movements. Once
tagged by the stressor, those macroinverte-
brates must go to the side and trade in their
identification labels to portray the more tolerant
species (I.e. rat-tailed maggot, midge larva).
Tagged players who are already in a tolerant
species group do not trade in their labels. The
round will end when all of the macroinverte-
brates have either been tagged or have
reached the opposite end of the playing field.
Record the number of members in each spe-
cies for each round played.
5. Play two or three more rounds with all tagged
players rejoining the macroinvertebrates who
successfully survived the previous round. Be-
cause some players will have traded in their
identification labels, there will be a larger num-
ber of tolerant species in each successive
round.
6. Once a few rounds have been played, ask
the students how the environmental stressor is
affecting the health of the stream environment.
What could we do to get rid of the stressor?
(clean up the stream) Play a few more rounds
this time hindering the stressor in some way, or
getting rid of the stressor completely. Discuss
the health of the stream now compared with the
beginning of the game.
7. Discuss the outcome with the students. Em-
phasize the changes in the distribution of or-
ganisms among the groups, and have students
compare population sizes of groups at the be-
ginning and end of the game. Discuss reasons
for the changes. Compare the stream environ-
ment at the beginning of the game to the envi-
ronment at the end of the game. Review that
some organisms are more tolerant to pollution
than others. Discuss what can be done to re-
duce environmental stressors, and how that will
affect the health of the stream.
Water Exploration (1 hr 55 min)
This portion of the day will have several activi-
ties for the students to participate in to discover
how you can find out the health of a stream and
how a stream’s health relates to wildlife, includ-
ing birds and our Eagles. The activities will al-
low the students to use physical, chemical and
biological tests in order to collect data, create a
hypothesis and arrive at a conclusion.
Note: They will be discovering some of the
complexity and wonder that exists in and
around a freshwater environment. This portion
of the data collection requires students to get
into the stream. Students are required to wear
close-toed shoes in the water. Instructors must
use extreme caution when deciding which sec-
tion of water to study.
Remember that currents may be difficult and/or
dangerous, murky water can conceal potential
hazards like submerged log jams or deep pools,
cold water can quickly have detrimental effects
to the comfort and health of students, and sub-
strates can often be slippery, muddy, or un-
steady.
Remind students to proceed slowly and care-
fully into the stream, using their feet to feel
ahead of them and ‘test’ each step before put-
ting their full weight down. Instructors should
demonstrate proper stream safety and
‘etiquette’ for the students.
Getting Started ( 10 min)
Materials: journal page 13-14, thermometer
1. You’ll need to explain what a riparian zone is
before you begin this journal page.
2. Take the air temperature as well as the water
temperature and have students record general
observations about the riparian area and the
stream.
3. Introduce the term hypothesis and then have
students in small groups or individually make a
hypothesis about the general stream health.
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Chemical Study (20 min)
Materials: journal page 15, DO kits, pH kits
1. Chemical testing can be introduced as a way
to find things out about the water that we can’t
detect with our own senses. Students are often
excited by the idea of using or testing
‘chemicals’ and are eager to partake in the
process. The chemical tests your trail group will
be collecting will be Dissolved Oxygen levels
(DO) and the water’s pH levels.
Explain the concepts of DO and pH before be-
ginning this section. Having students complete
journal page 25 before they begin to do their
testing will engage critical thinking skills. Jour-
nal page 26 will help them with the testing pro-
cedures for DO and pH.
Ask Students
 What do you think our results will be?
 What factors will have an effect on our re-
sults?
 Of what importance will our findings be?
At Bradford Woods we use Lamotte Do2 testing
kits
a. Fill the small vial to overflowing with sam-
ple water.
b. Add two dissolved oxygen tablets and cap
(water will overflow vial). Make sure no
air bubbles are present in the sample.
c. Mix until tablets are dissolved.
d. Wait five minutes for full color develop-
ment.
e. Compare the color of the sample to the
DO color chart.
f. Record the result as parts per million Dis-
solved Oxygen.
**Note: Indiana Water Quality Standards state that
concentration should average at least 5 ppm.**
At Bradford Woods we use Lamotte pH testing
kits
a. Fill the test tube to the 10mL line.
b. Add one pH tablet and cap.
c. Mix until the tablet is dissolve.
d. Compare the color of the sample to the pH
color chart.
e. Record the result as pH.
**Note: Indiana Water Quality Standards state that
values should fall between 6.0 and 9.0.**
How Healthy is Our Stream? (40 min)
Materials: journal page 16
1. Explain that biologists often measure the
health of an ecosystem by its species richness
or diversity. In order to get an idea of how likely
it is for many different species to live in a
stream based on the riparian and aquatic habi-
tats themselves, we use a rating system called
an ‘index’. Direct the students to the How
Healthy is our Stream? in their journals on page
16. Show how in the index different qualities of
the stream are given points and these points
are added up to a total score for the stream.
Explain briefly what each category is evaluat-
ing. This is a good time to talk about turbidity
and how it can help us determine stream
health/
Critter Search or Biotic Index (45 min)
Materials: journal page 20-23
Note: While showing students the equipment they
will be using, discuss techniques that will minimize
the impact on the creatures that they find. Before
they have their equipment, explain what their
boundaries are, including whether or not entering
the water during this portion of the study is allowed.
1. Direct students to the Critter Search journal
page 20 Encourage them to find one or two
creatures to focus on—describing them in writ-
ing or with sketches. Explain how we can use
organisms as an index of pollution and have
them check off which critters they find and cal-
culate the Pollution Tolerance Index Rating.
2. Hand out the buckets and strainers to stu-
dents. Make hand lenses and identification ma-
terials available in a central location. When the
students in each group have the necessary
equipment, they may begin their search in the
designated area. Students should collect sam-
ples of as many different organisms as possi-
ble, trying to identify each.
3. When their sampling and exploration is com-
plete, collect the equipment and start discuss-
ing the findings. If appropriate, try to create a
master Pollution Tolerance Index sheet to turn
into Riverwatch. Ask the students:
 What critters did you find? Where did you
find the most?
 How does the stream rate on the Pollution
Tolerance Index?
 What does that tell us about the water qual-
ity of this stream?
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These are example methods that will aid your
trail group in finding macro invertebrates.
Sampling Methods:
 Leaf Pack—look for brown and decompos-
ing leaves; place your net or strainer down-
stream from the leaf pack (holding the han-
dle perpendicular to the water) and shake
the leaves, quickly scooping up the net
 Tree Roots, Submerged Logs, and De-
bris Snags—start downstream of the area
and move upstream; gently disturb the sur-
face with the net, a stick, a foot, etc. while
holding the net downstream so the dis-
lodged material flows into it
 Sediments—best used in areas of mostly
sand and/or mud; the person holding the net
stands downstream of the sampling area
with the net resting on the bottom; another
person begins upstream, kicking and dis-
turbing sediments to a depth of two inches
as they approach the netter; the netter
sweeps the net upwards and holds the
opening an inch or two above the surface,
washing sediment out of the net.
 What are we trying to find out?
 Why is it important to study water quality?
 Why do we study water quality over a long
period of time?
 Why do we study water quality of streams
and watersheds throughout the state?
 What methods do we use to examine water
quality? Why do we use each of these
methods (physical, chemical, biological)?
 Why do we use several different methods to
study the stream?
 What did we expect to find about the health
of this stream?
 Did our results match our expectations?
 What do our results tell us? How healthy is
this stream?
 What factors may have contributed to our
results?
 What are some things we can do that could
improve the water quality of this stream?
Conclusions (10 min)
Materials: journal pages 24
1. When all the groups have completed their
presentations, turn to page 24 of the Journals.
You can either have the students go off on their
own and answer the questions or have a brain
storming session with the whole group. If you
are running out of time concentrate on the sec-
ond question –How does the water quality im-
pact the bald eagle- and help the students sum
up the different connections that they can come
to from their results
Water Poems (10 min)
Materials: journal page 25
1. Ask the students to turn to page 25 in their
journals and tell them that it is time to reflect on
their experience investigating the aquatic habi-
tat and its creatures and what they discovered
about them. They are going to have the chance
to put their thoughts about this place and the
creatures into writing.
They are going to write a poem about water or
this aquatic ecosystem and what it means to
them. It can be about how water relates to
them, what healthy water means to them, or
what the water might mean to the creatures that
live in or around the water.
The students may write a free form poem, a
rhyming poem, or they may use one of the
poem structures (haiku or diamante) outlined
below:
Haiku: A Japanese poem consisting of 3 lines
of five, seven, and five syllables each.
Rhyming is not necessary. For example:
The fish swam by me
Nothing left in the shimmer
My heart beats faster
Diamante: A poem shaped in the form of a dia-
mond. It follows a pattern of the parts of
speech. For example
Noun
adjective, adjective
participle, participle, participle
noun, noun, noun, noun
participle, participle, participle
adjective, adjective
Noun
Lake
clear, large
glistening, waving, moving
animals, humans, eagles trees
growing, living, cleansing
universal, connected
Life
If there is time, have volunteers share their po-
ems with the rest of the group.
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Evaluation
 Students can form a hypothesis based on how
different aquatic species survive.
 Students can assess the possible human im-
pacts on habitats, with specific emphasis on
the bald eagle.
 Students explored aquatic areas and niches.
 Students can state characteristics and adap-
tations of aquatic life specimens.
 Students can list the importance of water
quality to the survival of the American Bald
Eagle.
Keep in Mind
Modeling how to properly use the aquatic
equipment and how to explore in an aquatic
environment are often necessary before stu-
dents will begin to explore on their own.
Notes
Eagle Aquatic