By Roger Williams Park Zoo, Education Department

Like learning to count or recite the alphabet, learning animal sounds is a fundamental part of childhood.  We often ask our little ones, “What sound does a cow make?” and then giggle with glee when “mooo” comes out of the mouth of babes.

If we ask children, and even adults, “What sound does a frog make?” most of us would expect a response of “ribbit, ribbit.” But what if the person you asked responded with the “wrraaaah” of a Fowler’s Toad or the “PREEP-preep, PREEP-preep” of a Spring Peeper? Would you be able to identify that sound?

You would if you signed up to be a FrogWatch volunteer!

In its third year, FrogWatch is a national program where everyday citizens help monitor frog and toad populations in their area. The Roger Williams Park Zoo is currently offering a free training session to interested individuals and families. This 2-hour course will help you identify Rhode Island species by the sound of their breeding call.

By monitoring which calls you hear, scientists can paint a picture of the distribution and abundance of local species. Additionally, in the same way that the sound of two people in a cafe is very different from the sound of a cafeteria full of people, the volume of the frog and toad calls helps scientists to estimate population sizes.

Trained volunteers dedicate about 3 minutes once or twice a week to listening to the types and volume of calls at nearby ponds or lakes. Then they log their data online in the FrogWatch USA database. It’s a great way for families to do something together, get outside, learn about animals and help their local environment.

Why monitor populations of our local amphibians? Frogs and toads are what we call indicator species. More sensitive to water conditions than other animals, a decline in frog and toad populations may be a sign of habitat loss, pollution or disease that could eventually affect us all. Additionally, local amphibians help control insect populations (just think, more frogs = fewer mosquitoes) and serve as a food source for other animals.

Currently Rhode Island has a healthy frog and toad population. FrogWatch is here to help make sure it stays that way.  And remember, this is something that anyone can do. If you think you’re not “outdoorsy” enough to learn frog and toad calls, just think of how many animal sounds a one-year old can master. It’s child’s play!

To attend a training session and become a FrogWatch Volunteer, contact Gerry DiChiara at gdichiara@rwpzoo.org or 401-785-3510 x358.

Upcoming Training Date:
• April 17 from 10am-12pm

For more information about animals in their natural habitat, visit Roger William’s Park Zoo located at 1000 Elmwood Avenue. Providence, RI.

From the Audubon Society of Rhode Island

Did you know your maple syrup comes from a tree?  To be specific, it comes from a Sugar Maple tree.  Now is the time of year to check out how the sap from a tree is transformed into that sweet syrup you put on your pancakes.

When the nights are below freezing and the days are mild, usually by late February or early March, the sap begins to flow through the trees and it’s time to “sugar.”

The process involves “tapping” a tree, or drilling a small hole into the tree. If sugaring is being done the old-fashioned way with buckets, a metal spile is then tapped into the hole and the buckets are hung from it. The more modern method connects tubing to plastic spouts, which carries sap to a single, larger storage tank. If done correctly, tapping will not damage a healthy tree, which can provide up to ten gallons of sap per tap hole, every season, for over a century.

It takes about ten gallons of sap to produce one quart of maple syrup, but this is a fraction of a tree’s sap production. Maple syrup and maple sugar are made by concentrating (boiling down) the sweet sap – which has a natural sugar content.

It may surprise you to learn that maple sugaring was originally a Native American custom, later adopted by the colonists. How the Native Americans discovered maple sugar is not exactly known, but an Iroquois legend has it that someone tasted an icicle hanging from a broken maple branch, and the rest is history, as they say.

For the Native Americans that did sugaring, it was a festive event. As soon as the sap began to flow, families would gather at a “sugar bush,” or maple grove. A diagonal slash would be cut in the bark of the lower part of a tree trunk. A tube, usually a hollowed-out sumac stem, was inserted in the lower end of the cut. Sap flowing from the tree was collected in small wooden containers. The sap was then transferred into a much larger wooden or bark container, and white-hot rocks heated in an open fire were dropped in to boil off the water. The process was repeated, eventually producing a granulated sugar. Besides sugar maples, the native peoples sometimes tapped red maples, black or yellow birches, silver maples, wild cherries, or even box elders. Modern sugarhouses may also tap into other species such a Norway and red maples, each with their own distinct flavor.

Experience this sweet tradition for yourself…

On March 13, 2010, step back in time at the Audubon Parker Woodland Wildlife Refuge and experience the tradition of maple sugaring. Learn more about the history of this sweet syrup and how to sugar in your own backyard. Participants taste first hand this delectable treat as they sample pancakes, muffins and doughnuts – all with fresh maple syrup. Register early, as space is limited.  For more information and to register, call (401) 949-5454 x0.  This program is appropriate for children ages 6 and up.

Situated on a 28-acre wildlife refuge in Bristol, Rhode Island, Audubon’s Environmental Education Center is open year-round and provides walking trails, nature programs, and exhibits for the whole family to discover.  For more information and a complete calendar of events, visit www.asri.org or call (401) 245-7500.

Photo provided by Audubon’s Environmental Education Center

By Jeanine Silversmith

I’ve had enough. Between the sinus infections and fevers, the wind and the rain, the frigid temperatures, and the toddler who absolutely refuses to wear mittens yet screams, “Cold! Cold!” while pointing to his chubby, purple hands, I am pretty much done with winter.

For those of you who know me or have read my columns here at Kidoinfo, you might recall that I started RI Families in Nature because I truly believe that everything falls into place if we all just get outside and play a bit every day. So you might say it surprises me a bit to know how many days it is difficult for me to get outside with my kids – especially during the winter.

So when cabin fever really gets the best of me and my two little ones, I reach for the books, surf trusty sites, and find some new motivation. My latest vice: the wintertime wild animal safari. I found this idea along with a host of other gems in Nature Rocks Winter Wonderland Activity Guide.

Step 1: Sneak outside and hide a few of your children’s stuffed animals in your yard. You can also do this in a park; just have your kids hide their eyes while you do it. Place them in trees or shrubs, on top of logs or rocks. If you’re a bit of a neat freak and worried that the animals will get wet or dirty, simply use plastic animals. And if you’re a bit of a science geek like me, you’ll feel compelled to place them in species appropriate spots. Like a stuffed owl would go on a tree branch, whereas a stuffed mountain goat would go on a big rock. What, doesn’t everyone have a stuffed mountain goat?

Step 2: Announce to your kids that it’s time to go on a wild animal safari! Grab a pair of binoculars and a camera and you might just be out there longer than you thought you’d be. I first tried this activity on a particularly cold albeit sunny and dry day, so I had pretty low expectations of how long we’d be out there. Little did I know that my two little ones would decide to take turns hiding the stuffed animals and searching for them. Then, they decided we needed snack out there. And then we had to tell each and every neighbor what we were up to. So we wound up watching the sun set and going in after 75 minutes. At that point, of course, my toddler was shrieking about his mittenless hands. (Hey, I kept putting them on him. And he just kept taking them off.)

Step 3: Feed them a big, healthy dinner, put them to bed early, and revel in the fact that spring is just around the corner. No matter what that groundhog says.

Jeanine is a self-described tree hugging, science and math geek whose love of nature, coupled with her absolute certainty that people, especially children, are happier, healthier, and wiser when they regularly spend time in nature, led her to establish Rhode Island Families in Nature. She loves to run, garden, bake, hike, and go camping, especially when accompanied by her husband, Ian, her four-year-old daughter, Sierra, and her two-year-old son, Devin. They live in Wakefield.

By Kristen Swanberg, Senior Director of Conservation, Audubon Society of Rhode Island

Did you know that some animals live out the winter beneath the snow?  Scientists use the word subnivean to describe the world under the snow cover.  Snow acts as a thermal blanket, protecting animals like mice, voles, and shrews from the winter cold.  These animals build elaborate tunnels and nets under the snow.  The tunnels are like little roadways that they travel through protecting them from predators.  However, this frosty covering does not always hide them completely.  Owls, foxes, and coyotes can hear mice moving through the tunnels from above and often pounce through the snow catching an unsuspecting mouse.

Snow is very important to the survival of these small mammals.  This winter when there is a nice layer of snow on the ground, think about who may be living under it.  And in the spring as the snow starts to melt you many find many of these tunnels scattered through out a forest, field or even your own backyard.

Resources for more information:

Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart
Discover Nature in Winter by Elizabeth P. Lawlor

Situated on a 28-acre wildlife refuge in Bristol, Rhode Island, Audubon’s Environmental Education Center is open year-round and provides walking trails, nature programs, and exhibits for the whole family to discover.  For more information and a complete calendar of events, visit www.asri.org or call (401) 245-7500.

Artwork by Mary Lamb Greene. Provided by Audubon’s Environmental Education Center

Public schools are taking a break, and so is Kidoinfo. You’ll find there’s more than usual going on in Rhode Island this week! Way more than what’s listed here—consider yourself lucky if you’re staying close to home.

This list is the tip of the iceberg—check our events calendar for more.

Keep in mind: many venues will be more crowded than usual. It’s wise to call ahead to confirm ticket availability or to check for cancellations.

1. In our book, number one will always be RELAXING AT HOME, with no rushing for the bus, no misplaced homework pages, and plenty of time for pancakes and coloring.

2. PROVIDENCE CHILDREN’S FILM FESTIVAL. Long films, short films, animated ones and ones with real people. None made by Disney.

3. ICE SKATE in Providence or Newport or at your neighborhood’s smoothest frozen body of water.

4. NEWPORT WINTER FESTIVAL—going on all week, with special events for children February 14th & 15th.

5. MAKE VALENTINES check the events calendar for cookie decorating and card making options or get crafty at your kitchen table.

6. INVESTIGATE BITE WEEK at Mystic Aquarium. Chomp!

7. LIVE ENTERTAINMENT all week long at Buttonwood Park Zoo—including Toe Jam Puppet Band on Monday—and it’s all FREE with zoo admission.

8. THE AUDUBON SOCIETY has richly varied special events for young naturalists all week.

9. FLIP BOOKS, STUFFED CREATURES, ARCHITECTURE and more! Classes for kids at Warren Art Spot.

10. LIBRARY TIME. Visit your favorite branch or explore a new one. Free. Many libraries have special activities planned for vacation week.

What will you and your family choose? Share your favorite places to go, things to do, and ways to enjoy a week of wintry togetherness. We love your comments and depend on them for great ideas.

Audubon Society of Rhode Island
Deadline:  March 15, 2010

It’s a winning combination of green transportation and healthy exercise. But many children today don’t hop on a bike as often as past generations did. What’s keeping them off those two wheels?

The Audubon Society of Rhode Island announces its annual student essay contest for Earth Day 2010.  This year’s topic, titled “I Want to Bike and Walk but….” focuses on the health benefits and safety issues of bicycling and walking as well as the benefits to the environment from reduced use of gasoline.

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By Roger Williams Park Zoo, Education Department

February is a big month for groundhogs! Easily overlooked the rest of the year, all eyes turn to the groundhog (also known as the woodchuck or whistle pig) tomorrow on February 2. Legend has it that if the groundhog sees his shadow, then we are due another six weeks of winter weather. But, if the groundhog emerges from his burrow and doesn’t see his shadow, then spring is on its way!

This month, we’ll learn a little more about the life of a groundhog and find out if there is any truth to the Groundhog’s Day legend.

In the United States, groundhogs range from the Midwest to Northeast, including Rhode Island.  You can typically find their burrows in an open field or pasture, or a wooded area right next to open land. Burrows can be elaborate underground homes with multiple entrances, about 5 feet deep and spanning 25-30 feet in length.

Around late October, when the first frost hits, groundhogs begin to enter their burrows for hibernation. A groundhog is a true hibernator, falling into a deep sleep where its heart rate, body temperature and metabolism decrease significantly. Its body will slow down so much, that if you crawled into a burrow to wake a groundhog, it would take several hours for the animal to come out of its slumbering state!

But do they wake up in February? Not likely. Groundhogs don’t operate on our calendars – and have no idea that we even dedicate the second day in February to them. Instead, these animals have an internal annual clock that lets them know that winter is over and it’s time to wake up!

One of the big reasons groundhogs hibernate is because the plants they eat are not around in the winter. While they sleep in their dens, they live solely off of the fat stores that they accumulate in the fall. In Rhode Island, February is still very much the middle of winter and plants have not begun to re-grow. Groundhogs are much more likely to emerge when the ground has thawed in March or April, and plants are abundant again!

So why do we observe Groundhog’s Day in early February? It turns out that the celebration originated in Germany. Early February is halfway between the winter solstice and spring equinox. People would light candles around this time to try to predict the weather. If the weather was calm and the candle stayed lit, then winter was going to stay late. If the weather was rough and the candle blew out, then spring would come early. When German settlers came to America, they brought their weather-predicting tradition with them. Over time, the groundhog’s shadow replaced the lit candle.

So this February, do what the groundhogs do – sleep in!

ACTIVITY: Exploring Shadows

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By Roger Williams Park Zoo, Education Department

Wild animals are all around us – even in the most urban areas of Rhode Island. This may be hard to believe because we rarely see them, but it’s true! Even now, during the chill of winter, there are many animals that are active in the area. One such animal is the red fox.
Without ever seeing a red fox, we can find evidence that it is around and learn a little about its behaviors by looking for tracks. Just like we leave behind footprints when we walk in the wet sand on the beach, animals leave behind tracks when they walk, particularly in the mud or snow.

If you have ever seen dog tracks in the snow, you are well on your way to spotting the tracks of a red fox. Foxes are canines, just like the dogs we have as pets. The tracks of a fox look very similar to that of a small 10-15 pound dog.

A fox’s track will be about 1 ½ -2 inches long and consist of four toes and a foot pad. The claws should be visible, as well as the hair between the toes of the fox.
The best places to look for the tracks of a red fox are along the edges of forests and rivers where they frequently hunt for food. Unlike most canines, foxes hunt alone – so you will probably only see one set of prints at a time.

If you don’t find fox tracks right away, don’t get discouraged. Once you find your first set, you’ll be surprised how tracks pop up all around you. Additionally, there are lots of other local animals active in the winter – rabbits, coyotes, raccoons, squirrels and wild turkey, just to name a few. You can find out what animal left behind the prints in your area by researching tracks online or in guide books.

RECCOMMENDED BOOK:
Animal Tracks of New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont by Chris Stall

ACTIVITY: Study Tracks

Materials:
• baby powder
• shallow pan
• long, dark-colored sheet or piece of butcher paper

Scientists can study tracks to identify what animals are in the area. They can also study the tracks to determine if the animal was walking, running, jumping, etc. To try this for yourself! Lay a long, dark-colored sheet or piece of butcher paper across the floor.

At the head of the sheet, place a shallow pan with a layer of baby powder inside. Have children take of their shoes and socks. One at a time, dip both feet into the pan of baby powder. Have children walk, run, skip, jump, or hop down the sheet or butcher paper. Afterwards, analyze how the different movements resulted in different tracks. Could you figure out how someone was moving just by looking at the tracks they leave behind?

For more information about animals in their natural habitat, visit Roger William’s Park Zoo located at 1000 Elmwood Avenue. Providence, RI.

By Kristen Swanberg, Senior Director of Education

This winter create a backyard bistro for the birds!  Just by hanging a few feeders you can attract cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers and more. Watch your backyard transform into a wildlife sanctuary.

Bird feeding is fun – but it also helps our feathered friends survive harsh winter conditions when food may be hard to find or buried under the deep snow.

Make Your Own Feeder
Use your imagination and create bird feeders with just a few household items.  Here are two ideas to start with:

Milk Carton Bird Feeder
Materials:  scissors, milk or juice carton, string, birdseed, chopsticks (or 10”-12” twigs), hole-punch, nail.
- Wash the carton and let it dry completely.
- Using the hole-punch, create a hole in the top edge of the carton.  Then tie a string through this hole.
- With scissors, cut feeding holes two inches up from the bottom.  Make the feeding holes two to three inches in diameter.
-  Add perches by making a hole with the nail that chopsticks or twigs can fit through.
- Add the seed and hang it outside.

Pinecone Bird Feeder
Materials:  Pinecones, string, peanut butter, birdseed, spoon, pie plate, scissors.
- Tie a long string to the top of your pine cone.
- Use a spoon to spread peanut butter all over your pinecone.
- Sprinkle birdseed of your choice in shallow pan and roll the cone covered in peanut butter in the seed so that the seeds stick to the peanut butter.
- Head outside and tie your pinecone feeder to a tree branch.

See Elyse Major’s how-to instructions: Make a simple pine cone bird feeder

Feeding Tips:
There are many types of birdseed to choose from and you will find that each bird species has a preference to the type of seed they eat.  Black-oil sunflower seed is probably the most popular to attract cardinals, black-capped chickadees, white-breasted nuthatches, juncos and others.  Other seed options include millet, cracked corn, and safflower seed.  Try mixing different seeds together and see which mixture is preferred by the birds in your area.

Some birds like Juncos are “ground feeders” – so be sure to spread seed on the ground.
Once you put your feeder up make sure you keep it full all winter long as many birds will rely on it as a regular place to eat.  You also want to keep it clean.
Other ways to attract a variety of birds is to put up a suet feeder, platform or tube feeders, and a bowl of ice-free water.

Bird Watching Tips:
Birds come in all shapes, sizes and colors. They have different calls and can be picky about what they eat. A field guide and binoculars will help you identify them. Why not keep a list of the birds you see and count them at the end of the winter?
Here is a list of things to look for when identifying birds:
• Size – Ask yourself, is the bird bigger or smaller than a robin?
• Markings – Look at the coloration of the feathers, what is unique? Does the bird have markings like a cap, a scarf or bib, eye streaks?
• Beak – What shape is the beak? Is it short and wide to crack seeds, is it long and narrow to eat suet, is it sharply curved as if to eat meat?
• Bird Legs – Are they short and narrow, long with webbed feet, or long with strong talons?

Sources:
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/nature/winterbird.htm
Discover Nature in Winter by Elizabeth P. Lawlor

By Roger Williams Park Zoo, Education Department

There are lots of different names for the place we call home: house, cottage, abode, mansion, bungalow, ranch, etc. Just like people, animals have different types of homes and different names for their homes: den, burrow, cave, nest, etc.

Squirrels live in a home called a drey.

About the size of a basketball, a drey is a hollow nest made out of twigs and branches. It usually looks like a ball of leaves caught in-between the tree branches. Inside, a drey is often lined with moss, fur, grass or leaves to provide a soft padding for squirrels.

You can find dreys nestled securely between a tree branch and the tree trunk. They are often mid-way up the tree (too low and ground predators will be able to reach the drey; too high and strong winds may damage the home).

It is easier to spot squirrel dreys in the winter, when trees have dropped their leaves. Most likely, you will be able to see one if you look at the trees in your yard. If you are not sure if what you are looking at is a drey, spend a little time observing. Squirrels are active year-round, so you should be able to see them go in and out of the drey, even in the winter.

When they aren’t out looking for food, squirrels spend a lot of time sleeping in their dreys. The nest also serves as a place to hide from predators, and to wait out winter storms.

In late winter and early spring, mother squirrels will give birth inside their dreys. Newborn squirrels will spend the first 2 months of their lives inside this home. Once the babies are stronger, and temperatures have warmed, the young will leave the nest and someday build a drey of their own.

ACTIVITY

Wildlife biologists can estimate the size of a squirrel population by counting the number of dreys they see in a small area.
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