Wrapping up 2015 Bird Sleuth program at Grayson County High School

We had two working classes: Becky Absher’s ecology and Deb Greif’s/Kathy Davis' math analysis. Working with both classes from March through April, Blue Ridge Discovery Center focused on acquainting the students with local birds, their habitats and behavior. Starting in early March, we divided up our instruction time between in-class studies and outdoor walks behind the school. Through Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology curriculum, called Bird Sleuth, we watched a series of videos dedicated to the skills of bird id and natural history. Outside, along Stinky Creek, we set up a few bird feeders to draw in common feeder birds, giving us the opportunity to put our new-found skills to test.

When the weather turned to warmer days, we initiated a series of field trips to offer the kids a chance to observe birds in different habitats while giving them ideas for developing their hypotheses, a crucial component of this program. We began at the Grayson County Recreation Park, moving on to the Matthews State Forest and Don Philen’s farm in Baywood. Our last field trips were held at the Cox’s Chapel Low Water Bridge.

As questions morphed into hypotheses, the students created a series of observable phenomena as presented:

• There are more small birds than large birds (small and large defined by the study groups)

• There are more birds found in a coniferous forest than a hardwood forest

• The dimorphism displayed by birds of the same species is mostly explained by sex

On May 21, Greif and Kathy Davis held a presentation ceremony for their class, (while Absher’s class had previously conducted an internal review). What follows is a series of photos from the ceremony, in celebration of the student’s hard work. BRDC is appropriately grateful for the chance to work inside the public schools with such support at Absher, Greif and Davis have offered. We are also grateful to the kids who, regardless of their inherent interest in birds, go away with an experience that they will never forget.

And to top off the ceremony, as she did last year, Deb Greif made a bird cake!

Mid April (2015) BRDC Program Notes

In spite of our fickle weather, which is certainly typical, we have managed to increase outdoor activities married to our principles and mission. As well, we continue through Bird Sleuth, to provide teachers with curricula (and moral) support.

Starting on April 2nd, Grayson County High School’s ‘’Team Birds’’ made another visit to Matthews State Forest with the one and only requirement to search out by sight and sound any and all birds and record their findings. We had Chassney Hodge, our intern from Galax, Sarah Osborne and her intern-in-training son, Jack, and Carol Broderson as guides…along with me, Scott. The day was productive with a belted kingfisher, blue-gray gnatcatcher, yellow-rumped warbler (often referred to as ‘butter-butt’), and a wild turkey rounding off new discoveries. Keeping this team on track is challenging, but clearly they all enjoy time outdoors and many are becoming birders in spite of themselves.

William Roberts and I were invited to give a presentation on all things birdy for the Baywood Cub Scouts on the 9th. Meeting in the gym with 14 kids, along with their parents and siblings, was a noisy affair, but we managed to share with them bird feathers, skulls, feet and lore. We began with comparing screech and great-horned owl parts, and then the wild turkey. Most of these kids knew the turkey, of course, but when we brought out the great blue heron parts, confusion and competition…along with great questions and guesses…challenged the acoustical limits.

Then we moved out to a quieter hallway for a reading from William, based on a Pacific Northwest Indian creation myth, about how light, warmth and the all-important sun were given to people. The raven, a classical trickster figure in Native American stories, played a major role. Given that we had a little more time, I pulled out some bird flash cards to see exactly how much these youngsters knew about birds, and both William and I were amazed by their collective response.

One of my favorite kid groups comes from our local home educators, whose moms show at least as much interest as their children. Brenda Bonk (president of BRDC) joined me as a guide on a cool rainy day at the Matthews State Forest for a morning of birding and an afternoon of insect identification. In spite of the iffy weather, and having our study area situated on Judge Matthews’ old farmhouse porch, we were able to dodge intermittent rains with great productive success. These kids are patient and overwhelmingly excited about natural history. Many of them are already anglers and hunters, with a keen sense of outdoor experience. Sometimes I am happy to learn from them, as it should be.

At this time of year, early spring, and given that the Judge was crazy about apple trees in all of their varied glory, we had a blooming event that brought out a plethora of pollinators, mostly native along with the imported European honey bee. I have begun an insect collection/preservation bio survey component that requires the ‘killing jar’. So far, no one seems to object, but I need to say that we are careful with all insects, most are catch and release episodes, and those that do die are dispatched humanely. BRDC believes that this collection will serve not only as an important educational tool, but also as an archive of here and now, an important historical record. It appears that bees and ants are the first insects ready to go to work during the first hints of warmth.

Finally, on the 16th, Sarah Osborne, Chassney Hodge and I regrouped indoors (because birds and people are not as outdoor active on cold rainy days), we continued with the follow-through next step of Cornell’s Bird Sleuth program based on data analysis. This is a required component of our effort, and though the students would prefer to both escape the paper work and the classroom, giving them a sense of the importance of translating their outdoor experience to another level of value, completes both the school’s prerogative as well as BRDC’s commitment to a rounded out educational experience.

Scott Jackson-Ricketts, Program Director, BRDC

Bird Sleuth: Chapter 2

After weeks of often interrupted effort, snow, sleet and hail held off for Bird Sleuth's grand finale on Friday, March 21st.  Bird Sleuth, an educational tool box designed by Cornell's Lab of Ornithology is a project managed under Avain Adventures, a BRDC program.  Eight study groups from two Grayson County High School classrooms offered their presentations to each other, their teachers, and a delegation of school dignitaries.  Ms. Greif made the celebratory cake seen above.  And below, we observe the students working on their presentations.

The work process combined indoor research and outdoor observation and experimentation.  Each group followed through on their question and hypothesis, and after collecting enough data to either support or negate their educated guess, they then began work on their final product...the presentation. Among the study topics were comparisons of bird eyes to human eyes (most avian bird vision is superior to human), choices birds made on food offerings (difficult to assess due to the aforementioned weather interruptions and mammal disturbances to the feeders), what causes lie behind same sex behavior in birds (found to be mostly normal), and do birds have bellybuttons (only in the egg sac).  What always needs to be understood under the scientific method is:  all results are of value, regardless of whether the hypothesis is proven or not.  The absence of data is data.  There are no 'right' answers.

All but one presentation was delivered through PowerPoint.  The group above chose to create a poster with hand drawn pictures of the focus birds.  Michael is the artist, seen at the left.

In the educational tradition of BRDC, journaling and sketching as documentation tools were encouraged...as was spending as much time outdoors as possible.  The group below is studying a song sparrow and its flight style (as compared to the black vulture).  Both species were commonly seen on or above the school campus, and provided strong comparisons between a bird with small wings and one with large wings.

 So, on Friday, it all came together.  Shannon Holdaway (school board member), Stephen Cornett (

Director of Instruction and Assessment), Brandi M.Ray (principal of GCHS) and Kevin Chalfant (Grayson County School Superintendent) made up our delegation of dignitaries, and we were all pleased that they had and made the time to be there!  Mr. Cornett converses with Allen (student) below.

Again, we wish first to thank the teachers who were willing to share their classrooms with us...Deborah Greif, Becky Absher and Kathy Davis, along with back-up from Sheila Jones.  From BRDC, besides myself, we had support through our volunteer in Carol Broderson and guide Sarah Osborne.  A huge gratitude goes to the Jack Matthews Foundation for their trust in BRDC through generous funding.  And finally, THANKS, KIDS!  You were great.

Scott Jackson-Ricketts

Executive Director

Blue Ridge Discovery Center

Bird Sleuth, chapter one

Bird Sleuth is a program designed by Cornell's Lab of Ornithology (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=1478).  Blue Ridge Discovery Center decided to offer a first run of this investigative and hands-on citizen science project to two classes at Grayson County High School.  Through the able assistance of Rebecca Absher, Deborah Greif and Kathy Davis, we launched Bird Sleuth on the 13th of January.  As all teachers in the Blue Ridge understand, weather events conflict with continuity and focus, but we have persevered to the best of our abilities. 

Bird Sleuth is based on birds, naturally, and begins by giving the students some investigative tools, including a basic understanding of how data is collected and documented.  For our work at GCHS, we studied narratives of real scientists, what excited them, and how they went about their work.  Inside of these first steps, we learned about creating a hypothesis based upon targeted curiosity, various forms of graphs and other data assimilation devices, and how to walk through the mounting accumulation of evidence.

Then the students must devise their own questions, hypotheses and methods of investigation.  Documentation and end-products will eventually be shared with the community as well as the Lab of Ornithology.

An important aspect of any BRDC sponsored program is to spend as much time outdoors as possible.  Our other philosophical advocacy is to give kids/students/audience a stake in the learning process. To that end, Bird Sleuth seemed a perfect fit.  Scientific investigations require a combination of skills, including components of observation, experiment, and research. Depending on what each group of kids decides, their investigation might weigh heavily on one or two aspects, but rarely on all three.

Each class divided itself into these smaller groups, in order to remain both intimate and manageable.  As classes, we explored the school campus with an eye to the habitats that might be more productive bird-wise, while scoping out relatively good places to hang bird feeders for closer examination of what species were readily available for closer study. 

Behind the school, a small branch runs the entire length, and along the edges on one side are scrubby vines, small bushes and trees, thickets of brambles such as blackberry, and on the other side, a decent wood lot rises up the hill.  We labeled the branch 'Stinky Creek' for good reason, and that is where the avian action was happening and where we placed our first and most productive feeder.  Nearby we hung another feeder behind the nurses' station in a more open area.  Since initially choosing these feeder spots we have added some behind the ball stadium and further up the hill in a more defined wooded area.  It was gratifying to witness how quickly the feeders were discovered.  Keeping them full of seed has become another good reason for a walk outside, and while we walk along the trails, parking lots and ball field, we always keep an eye to the skies for soaring birds. 

At this time, all of our groups have decided upon an hypothesis and will soon begin their chosen investigations.  Stay tuned for chapter two.  And lest we forget, this is supposed to be fun!

We wish to thank our volunteers and guides Carol Broderson, Sarah Osborne and Sheila Jones...and a special thanks goes to our sponsors through the Jack M. Matthews Foundation.