You are currently browsing the monthly archive for April 2007.
The Teton Science Schools Kelly Campus graduate students and faculty gave back to the Jackson Hole community by volunteering for Habitat for Humanity for a day during seminar week.
During April 3-6, second grade students from the local Jackson Elementary School visited, each class coming for one day. Students looked for wildlife, did some tracking, and kept their eyes out for animal signs along Ditch Creek. On Thursday, a couple of groups saw a moose near Ditch creek and were able to follow it’s tracks! After learning about the history of the Muries and what it means to be a naturalist, students explored the Murie Musem with some scavenger hunt questions. Before coming to this program, each student had researched an animal in detail, so this was an opportunity for them to look closer for animal signs outside and at specimens in the Murie Museum. By the end of the day, each student had completed a species account in their journals, which included sketching, coloring, and a writtendescription.
Traveling all the way from New York, Churchill High School visited the Teton Science Schools March 25-31. It was one of our smaller groups, with 12 boys. The first couple days started off with strengthening teambuilding activities and setting goals for the week as a group. In the field, students explored the four plant communities around campus, and spent an afternoon hiking to Taggart Lake to learn about the geology of the Tetons and fire ecology of that area. After spending time in the Murie Museum, students went to the Murie Center and had some time to be naturalists, either looking for wildlife and tracking along the Snake River, or hiking on the “around the world trail” for some journaling, reflection, and further discussion of the Muries. One group was fortunate enough to spend some time watching a porcupine next to the trail! An afternoon was also spent at the National Museum of Wildlife Art to do some sketching. Evening programs included astronomy, night hike, art, create your ideal community, and a discussion of clean energy and how to conserve it at home. The final day was an adventure hike up Blacktail Butte to celebrate the week. This group set out for an adventure this week, and that’s just what they got!
Title: Out From the Shadows of Time
Show Description: The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the best place to view the Gray Wolf in the wild, but it was not always that way. Hated and feared, the Gray Wolf was completely eradicated from the area until their re-introduction in 1995. Follow one wolf’s journey on a typical day in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Five graduate students recently spent their winter exploring innovative education in indepenedent schools, culminating in two weeks of teaching at Journeys School, Teton Science Schools PreK-12th grade independent school. During these weeks, innovative teaching was happing in and outside of the classroom. Read the rest of this entry »
This weeks birds, Pine Siskins (PISI) and Dark-eyed Juncos (DEJU), are both abundant on the Kelly Campus right now. Pine Siskins are abundant year round but Dark-eyed Juncos are short distance migrants that recently returned in force.
Pine Siskins are finches that nest in a cup/saucer on the outer limbs of pine trees. Their diet is dominated by seeds of deciduous and conifer trees. Siskins are very social year round frequently forming flocks of over a hundred birds during the fall, winter, and spring. Although most songbirds of their size are highly territorial during the breeding season, Pine Siskins are semi-colonial therefore there can be multiple nests in a single tree. Pine Siskins are frequently lumped into the birds described as LBJs (little brown jobs), a pejorative description of small birds that can be difficult for beginners to identify. They are streaked with brown over their whole body but during the breeding season they will have a few small patches of bright yellow on their wings and tail.
Dark-eyed Juncos were at one time split into five different species (Oregon Junco, Slate-colored Junco, White-winged Junco, Grey-headed Junco, and Pink-sided Junco) but are now considered one species with 5 distinctly different subspecies. The Pink-sided race is the most common species locally. Despite the great variation in plumage, Dark-eyed Juncos are rarely mistaken for other sparrows. The absolute best field mark are the white outer tail feathers that are conspicuous in flight and especially when slowing down to land. Additionally, Juncos will have a dark “hood” and a white belly. They are short distance migrants and they nest in open cup nests on the ground. Their diet consists of seeds during the non-breeding season but includes seeds and a number of arthropods during the breeding season; nestlings are fed a 100% arthropod diet.
Photo credits
http://pie.midco.net/dougback/miscphotos/Pine_siskin5.jpg
