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Course Description: The world of birds is diverse, colorful and interesting. The purpose of this class is to share that excitement through classroom and field experience. The student’s primary goal is the completion of a quality field journal, developed and based on individual field experiences, and information from that journal will be used to develop the end of quarter Exhibition. Not a bird-watching course, this class is an actual field biology course used to teach and understand the varied life histories of the hundreds of species of birds found in our region. In addition, the skills learned in this class transfer to the study of other kingdoms in the world of biology. An Exhibition presentation is required to complete the course. Important note: Students should keep a light raincoat, a light pair of gloves, and mud shoes (or waterproof) at school this quarter; though we will stick to trails, we will be outdoors, and not just on sunny days. Essential Question: How are the individual life histories of North American bird species similar, and in what ways do individual species differ from each other? Focus questions this class will consider: • How are birds related to other animals? What do all birds have in common? • How are birds classified? What is the purpose of taxonomic classification? • What are the different parts of a bird? What are field markings? How can we identify different species in the field? • What different ways and why do birds specialize/adapt? What is a habitat niche? • What is a life cycle? What is the life cycle of an individual species? How do we witness it in the field? • What birds are found where and when in Northern Virginia? • What is the purpose of a field journal? What is required in a field journal? • What are the difficulties of data collection? • What is a flyway? Where are the flyways? • Why do some birds migrate and others don’t? What influences migration? • How does the environment play a role in the success or failure of an individual species? How do humans play a role? Focus Skill: Persisting in achieving quality. Grading and Description of Course Activities: 15% Classroom activities will include structured Internet searches followed by discussion and presentation of information and materials found, multimedia classroom lectures, and field journal work. Students will be graded on their focus and participation and on quizzes based on classroom material. 20% Field Work will include species location, identification and life cycle studies, along with habitat identification, plant identification and field journal entries. Patience, quiet and focus are required in the collection of data, and students will be graded accordingly. Although some binoculars are provided by the school, students are encouraged to bring their own; 7X35 and 8X40 are optimal. 15% Homework will include the learning of taxonomic relationships, the learning of various parts of the bird, researching various life histories information, describing habitat relationships, and studying and reading field guides. Students will be graded on their homework completion, the meeting of due dates and on the quality of their work. 25% The Field Journal is the result of the work completed in the above course activities, with the overall grade based on thoroughness and quality. It will be graded periodically. The Life History Components of the Field Journal • Name (common and scientific) • Taxonomic information • Written description of size, plumages, status, habitat, behavior • Free-hand illustrations • Range Maps • Diet • Breeding, courtship, and nesting information • Specialization behaviors • Communication sounds: verbal description and a CD 25% The Exhibition will seek to explain to the audience the various ways that individual bird species that pass through Virginia specialize to survive and what habitats they rely on. Students should describe, compare and contrast life histories of various species. In addition, students need to describe and explain the habitat status for each species and whether the bird’s census is increasing or decreasing. Students should present no more than four species from at least three different taxonomic orders and provide complete life histories for each. In addition, each student should provide at least one example of a Year-long resident Winter resident Summer (breeding) resident Spring and Fall Migrant Imporant: Grading of the Exhibition will be divided into two parts: Process: 10% (Benchmarks and rehearsal) Presentation: 15%