Photo contest!

[KTH]

OK, I'll get this contest started. The theme of education seems tough for me but will try this photo of a House Finch father feeding his fledgling. A lesson in what's good to eat.

[aveschapinas]

OK, I'll get this contest started. The theme of education seems tough for me but will try this photo of a House Finch father feeding his fledgling. A lesson in what's good to eat.

I was starting to worry that I had made the topic too hard. Should I expand it a bit? (I would give you the opportunity to switch to a different photo in that case.)

Edited to add: The question about expanding it is for everyone, not just KTH!

[Hooded Robin]

Ignore.

[Marilynne]

This is how we eat duckweed

DSC_1623_001.JPG

[aveschapinas]

Thanks for the great entries! Please feel free to post a photo of a species or situation that you can associate with education, even if the actual education isn't represented in the photo. A brief explanation or a longer story is welcome too. And I promise an easier topic next month!

(Those who have already submitted a photo may change it if they want to.)

[aveschapinas]

Here's a Blue-and-white Mockingbird that taught me that size is very hard to judge in the field. I was still very much a beginning birder. I saw it through my binoculars and I was scouring my field guide looking for jays. Eventually he came close enough to see clearly without binocs and I realized he was smaller than I thought. Within a few minutes I had my ID!

FB_IMG_1788638951464.jpg

[Hooded Robin]

Around 2020 when the Great Lakes were at or near record highs I had the opportunity to observe at close quarters the family life of Pied-billed Grebes.
The adults would defend the nest aggressively against all intruders - with Swans they would submerge and give them a nip from below.
When the chicks were in the nest the diet was almost exclusively crawfish, changing to mostly fish provided by the adults when they left the nest.
The juveniles were very quick at becoming self sufficient and very confident. I watched one toying with a Snapping Turtle for some time - swimming close to, around and under but always just out of reach.

Pied-billed Grebe chick crawfish HVT-7230378.jpg

[aveschapinas]

Don't forget to post your photos! Photo submissions end on Sunday, then there will be a week for voting.

[Lonestranger]

Okay class, settle down. Today's lesson is about education. Education is what happens when teaching and learning successfully blend together. One trick used in education is using props or photos to help get students interested in learning. In a class full of birders, a photo of birds might hold the class's attention better than a photo of a racecar. However, if you're trying to make sure that the class clown in the back row is paying attention, you may need additional props and photos to keep them interested in the lesson as well. We'll just be using one photo today, but the lessons that could be taught from that one photo are numerous.

DL6A4593 by Glen Mercer, on Flickr

The picture above is of a backyard feeding station, and when presented to the class, the students may be curious enough to ask questions about their initial observations. One student might be new to birding and ask when the baby bird is going to get its red feathers on its head, where the difference in species size and the difference in markings between the sexes can be explained. A different student might ask which feeder holds the most sunflower seed, where math, although complex at times, could be used to teach how volume is calculated. Another student might be curious about the third bird in the photo, which might cause the rest of the class to revisit the photo and scrutinize it more closely, possibly leading to all three birds eventually being IDed correctly.

Some observant students might already see the real lesson being taught here today, although I suspect that some other students are probably still thinking about the racecars I mentioned earlier. The lesson that is obvious to the one giving the lesson might not be obvious to the rest of the class until they've been given a reason to think about it; then, it becomes so obvious that it borders on ridiculous. I'll give the class one last chance to look at the photo before I point out the obvious for those that can't see what's not there. Go ahead, take your time, I'll wait.

Okay, today's photo was used to educate the class on something they already know. I snuck in a few details while leaving lots of room for the students to explore answers to their own questions, but we didn't talk about what wasn't there, which is the real lesson. If you see what's not there, you're going to realize that you're not going to get birds feeding at a suet feeder if there's no suet in the suet cage. Consider yourself educated, class dismissed!.

[Charlie Spencer]

In a class full of birders, a photo of birds might hold the class's attention better than a photo of a racecar. However, if you're trying to make sure that the class clown in the back row is paying attention, you may need additional props and photos to keep them interested in the lesson as well.

Well, I tried to rise to the bait but apparently we're not allowed to link to OneDrive.

[Lonestranger]

In a class full of birders, a photo of birds might hold the class's attention better than a photo of a racecar. However, if you're trying to make sure that the class clown in the back row is paying attention, you may need additional props and photos to keep them interested in the lesson as well.

Well, I tried to rise to the bait but apparently we're not allowed to link to OneDrive.

[Lonestranger]

Well, I tried to rise to the bait but apparently we're not allowed to link to OneDrive.

That's disappointing, I half expected a photo of a Gull at a race track with a lesson about the difference in speed between the bird and the cars.

[Charlie Spencer]

Aveschapinas, these photos aren't entered for contest judging.

That's disappointing, I half expected a photo of a Gull at a race track with a lesson about the difference in speed between the bird and the cars.

We'll go with this Northern Mockingbird at Darlington Raceway, perched on a temporary light in the parking lot, with the track lights in the background.



The track property is split by a narrow 'black water' swamp running between the south parking lot and the track itself. I'd always arrive early and bird that swamp from the access roads running across it. I have checklists from at least four race tracks. Remember, kids, you can bird ANYWHERE, even within a few hundred feet of cars screaming at 180 mph.

[Lonestranger]

Remember, kids, you can bird ANYWHERE, ....

Now that's a lesson worth teaching/learning.

[aveschapinas]

Remember, kids, you can bird ANYWHERE[/b]

One of my most memorable birding trips was when a friend took me to the city dump. I got several lifers!

[aveschapinas]

Last chance! Post your education photos today to join in the fun.