Bird of the Week

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/ / CC BY 2.0

I was walking along the river when I caught sight of this bird of the week, the Great Blue Heron. This large, grayish-blue wading bird is widespread in the United States. This is not the first time I have seen one along the Kanawha River. They eat fish primarily but may also dine on invertebrates, reptiles, smaller birds, and small mammals. The Great Blue Heron uses its long beak as a spear to catch its prey.

Game Design Project Pick of the Week

I am going to start doing Project Picks of the Week so you, the students, can see how proud I am and how proud you should be of the work being done in his class.

The project I want to spotlight for my students this week belongs to Jon. His Water Models project showed great artwork, excellent information, and a sense of humor in the presentation. Good Job, Jon!

Mammal of the Week

My mammal this week (or month as the case may be) is the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel. This endangered species is one of the few species of gliding squirrels in the United States. They use thin membranes stretched between their fore and hind limbs to aid in jumping and gliding from tree to tree.

End of the First Nine Weeks

Biology students the end of the first nine weeks has come and gone. Some of us have not excelled to the best of our ability. Let's use this as a jumping on point and get into gear as we head towards the end of the first semester.

Student Bloggers

Just thought I should give props where props are due, to some of my student bloggers. First I want to applaud Alexandra Cruikshank for being one of the first t start leaving comments on other students' blogs. Secondly, I want to say thanks to Kelley for writing some really good blogs that put out equally good and insightful information and insights. Miranda, thanks for showing how easy it is to put links on your blog. And I also want to thank Daisye for blogging not only about class but on a very personal level. Great job guys!!!

Bird of the Week

The bird I have chosen for this week is one we see almost every day if we look up along the highway. Its the turkey vulture. Vultures are often seen as vile and disgusting but in truth, they are remarkable. Turkey vultures can smell a carcass from miles away. They actually have on of the largest olfactory lobes in the animal kingdom. And, they are large. If, like me, you have ever had one swoop low as it passed over you, you "feel" this bird passing over you.

Mammal of the Week

The mammal I chose this week is not native to West Virginia. I was, however, inspired by a picture sent to me through email. For this week I chose the moose. The moose is the largest member of the deer family. Moose live in the northern and western mountain ranges of the United States as well as Canada. Their antlers are palmate, which make them very different from the branch-like antlers or other members of the deer family.

Below are the two email pictures I received that inspired its selection. And, yes, it is a normal size, single lane dirt road.

Mammal of the Week

I thought I would devote some webspace to one of the mammals we have all been seeing splattered on the road this fall, the Eastern Gray Squirrel. I just wanted everyone to get a chance to see one that is still relatively three-dimensional. Eastern gray squirrels are native to most of the east coast. They can live anywhere from 12 years in the wild to upwards of 20 in captivity. They communicate between each other using vocal sounds, postures, and flicks of their bushy tails.

Students Blogging for Bellringers

Global biology students should begin blogging in place of journaling this week. Please be sure to discuss what you have been learning in the previous lessons.

Mr. D.

Welcome to Global Biology!

Hello Students!

Now that we are starting our second digital project and getting our blogs going, I wanted to welcome you to my Global Biology Blog. Please make sure to add it and your classmates blogs t your blogroll. You can add a blog roll by clicking Customize and choosing Add a Gadget. The gadget you want to add is the blog list. You can then enter the address for this and all the other blogs so that you ca follow and comment on your fellow students thoughts, successes, and struggls in this class.

You guys have really done great work on the first project, your safety posters. We need to make sure we get each and every one of them up on your wiki so everyone can see them.

Thanks for being part of this class,
Mr. D.

Bird of the Week

This week, I have chosen the Eastern Screech Owl. This small owl can be found throughout the east coast of the U.S. and Canada. Pairs mate for life, though the male may actually mate with a second female and double the clutch size in the nest. They eat small rodents, songbirds, crayfish, insects, and reptiles. This species is not endangered but can sometimes be displaced from its nests by the ever-annoying starling.
photo courtesy auburnxc on flickr

Mammal of the Week

I decided to choose an animal that is commonly seen by the roadside in WV, the groundhog. Groundhogs (aka woodchucks) are one of several species of marmots that stuff themselves over the spring, summer, and fall then hibernate during the winter. This has also helped bring them into our pantheon of holiday characters as heralds of winter's end. The most famous of these is Punxsutawney Phil.

Bird of the Week

For the first bird in August, I chose the peregrine falcon. These birds are a great comeback story. They were nearly wiped out due to pesticides and due to programs similar to Peregrine Falcon Program at the New River Gorge they have greatly stabilized in numbers. They fly at upwards of 35 mph but can reach speeds of up to 69 mph in a dive on prey.

Mammal of the Week

This week's choice for mammal of the week is the North American river otter. This playful and energetic species was reintroduced into West Virginia in the 1990s. Reports indicate that the populations are on the increase in WV so be watchful anywhere there is easy access to water and plenty of available food sources. They are extremely curious and playful, even comedic at times.

Bird of the Week

My pic for bird of this week is the red-winged blackbird. Seen throughout our country, you can find this bird in marshes and marshy areas near the edges of bodies of water. The contrast of the red and yellow patches against its black feathers is very striking when seen in the wild.

Mammal of the Week

Welcome to another new feature, Mammal of the Week. This week it is the coyote. A solitary predator, the coyote has filtered into our state. It is an opportunistic feeder, meaning it will kill small rodents, reptiles, and birds if it can but it will also go through the trash you set out. Also, be wary of your smaller pets if coyotes are known to be in your area, they are not overly aggressive, but to them, your small pet may look a lot like their next meal. They have been known to interbreed with dogs, resulting in what is known as "coy-dogs."

Bird of the Week

Welcome to a feature I am adding to my blog, my pick for bird of the week. This week it is one of my favorite birds, the northern mockingbird. These birds can be very entertaining with their elaborate singing, the white wingbars you see in flight, and their tendency to drive off ANY other bird near their nest (including dive bombing pigeons.)

Our Legacy...

After watching all the news coverage regarding the death of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, I started wondering again what would be my legacy to the world. As a teacher, I hope it is an ongoing impact to successive generations. As a zoologist, I hope to leave the world a little better through our understanding of the other incredible creatures we should see as neighbors. As a student of ecology, I hope it is a view that we need to tune up the biologic engine we call Earth.

What will be your legacy? I challenge you to find a way to make your legacy not only something you leave to the world, but for it as well.

Why this blog?

At the beginning of my third year with the Globaloria program, I decided to start a fresh blog to go with a fresh approach. In the past two years, I have worked with HSTA students afterschool through Globaloria in healthy game design. This year, I will be incorporating the Globaloria project-based learning approach to two of my Biology class, one regular and one advanced. I am really looking forward to it this year and can't wait to see how well the students do in a project-based biology course.