Quest for Birds by Junior Troop 1920 LbNA #39017 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Apr 16, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Lincoln |
| County: | Middlesex |
| State: | Massachusetts |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Planted by: | Drumlin Farm  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | J.E.S.S. |
| Last found: | Nov 3, 2009 |
| Status: | FFFaaar |
| Last edited: | Apr 16, 2008 |
Location: Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary, Lincoln, MA (781)259-2200
This letterbox is only accessible while Drumlin Farm is open:
November through February: Tuesday-Sunday and Monday holidays, 9 am to 4 pm
March through October: Tuesday-Sunday and Monday holidays, 9 am to 5 pm.
NOTE: The trail to this letterbox is not plowed in winter. Snowshoes are required to reach the box in heavy snow conditions.
Admission to the farm is as follows:
$6 for nonmember adults
$4 for nonmember children
Mass Audubon Members - free
Stop by our admissions window to borrow a quest pack (includes the clues in a booklet with a compass). Or print the clues and bring your own compass.
*********************
A Quest for Birds at Drumlin Farm
Designed and Built by Junior Troop 1920
as part of their Bronze Award Activities – June 2007
1. Walk down the big hill to begin your quest at the “Crossroads”. Set your compass heading to 130 degrees and proceed. Arrive at Bird Hill and take a walk through the exhibits. Can you find the red-tailed hawk?
The red-tailed hawk scatters from North America, Alaska, northern Canada and in the mountains of Panama. Red-tailed hawks do not migrate if there is enough food where they are. The red-tailed hawk’s weight is about 2-4 lbs. and their wingspan is about 48 inches. The hawk is a carnivore. Their beaks are hooked and strong, and their claws are sharp, curved and long. They catch their prey with their talons and if the bird can’t swallow it whole, the bird rips it into pieces with its beak.
2. At the end of Bird Hill reset your compass to 200 degrees. Begin walking to reach Drumlin Underground. Bear right and circle back to the Crossroads. At the crossroads sign, set your compass to 225 degrees. Soon you will arrive at Boyce Field where produce is grown for Drumlin’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program, Farmer’s Markets and more!
Orioles … birds or baseball? This bird with a sweet song often associated with the bright orange feathers has more to it than pretty colors. The word “oriole” comes from either the Latin word aureolus meaning “golden” or from oriolus, which imitates their beautiful song. Mass Audubon is currently conducting an Oriole Project to find out more about where these birds are found in our state. If you see one anywhere in Massachusetts, report the time and place of sighting at: www.massaudubon.org/oriole
3. Bear right and skirt along the edge of the fields. Continue along the edge of the field on the road until you arrive at a group of trees and large rock pile. See the many bird boxes? These are for bluebirds, tree swallows, and birds who nest in tree cavities. The boxes are numbered so that Drumlin Farm volunteers can monitor bird-nesting behavior throughout the year.
The gorgeous bluebird flies around with its beautiful feathers. There are many variations and shades of the blue on the bluebird’s feathers. They eat insects: grasshoppers, beetles, flies, and lots of caterpillars. They live in open forests, edges of forests, natural grasslands, pastures, orchards, parks…and sometimes you may even spot one outside of your very own house! The nests are made out of grass, and the females do most of the building.
4. At the rock pile, reset your compass for 280 degrees. Pass the compost pile on your left. Head straight to the forest edge. At the edge of the field, continue about 18 paces on the path that goes into the wooded area. (A pace is two adult steps.) Look for a smaller trail that heads off at about 20 degrees into a forest.
Follow this trail through an old fence until it ends at a “T” intersection with another trail. Reset your compass for 330 degrees and continue. Follow this trail until you emerge from the woods at the highest point in the Sanctuary -- the top of the Drumlin. Many birds nest on the Drumlin and in the fields near the Drumlin.
What should you do when you find a cute, helpless, baby bird lying on the road or in your backyard? What is the smart thing to do for the bird? The best thing for the bird is to LEAVE IT ALONE. Mother birds leave their babies at times during the day to gather food. Birds that are just learning to fly may fall out of the nest and need some time to work their way back. If you observe the bird carefully for a while, you may see the parents come to tend to it. DO NOT attempt to feed an injured bird or bring it inside. The fatality of birds taken inside by untrained people is very, very high. And those that do survive are often unable to care for themselves in the wild.
5. Find the large rock on the top of the Drumlin. Look due north, and walk to the trail sign. Look toward 310 degrees to find a large pine tree. Follow the trail to the pine tree and look for the rock pile at its base. Under the rocks you will find the Birds on the Drumlin letterbox. Congratulations! You have completed the quest. Be sure to close the box tightly and replace it carefully after you have stamped in.
6. To return to the visitor center, first return to the big rock. Explore for another large rock that is co-located with a tree. Head east at about 95 degrees. Find the path that goes downhill into the woods and over a red bridge. In no time you’ll be back.
This letterbox is only accessible while Drumlin Farm is open:
November through February: Tuesday-Sunday and Monday holidays, 9 am to 4 pm
March through October: Tuesday-Sunday and Monday holidays, 9 am to 5 pm.
NOTE: The trail to this letterbox is not plowed in winter. Snowshoes are required to reach the box in heavy snow conditions.
Admission to the farm is as follows:
$6 for nonmember adults
$4 for nonmember children
Mass Audubon Members - free
Stop by our admissions window to borrow a quest pack (includes the clues in a booklet with a compass). Or print the clues and bring your own compass.
*********************
A Quest for Birds at Drumlin Farm
Designed and Built by Junior Troop 1920
as part of their Bronze Award Activities – June 2007
1. Walk down the big hill to begin your quest at the “Crossroads”. Set your compass heading to 130 degrees and proceed. Arrive at Bird Hill and take a walk through the exhibits. Can you find the red-tailed hawk?
The red-tailed hawk scatters from North America, Alaska, northern Canada and in the mountains of Panama. Red-tailed hawks do not migrate if there is enough food where they are. The red-tailed hawk’s weight is about 2-4 lbs. and their wingspan is about 48 inches. The hawk is a carnivore. Their beaks are hooked and strong, and their claws are sharp, curved and long. They catch their prey with their talons and if the bird can’t swallow it whole, the bird rips it into pieces with its beak.
2. At the end of Bird Hill reset your compass to 200 degrees. Begin walking to reach Drumlin Underground. Bear right and circle back to the Crossroads. At the crossroads sign, set your compass to 225 degrees. Soon you will arrive at Boyce Field where produce is grown for Drumlin’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program, Farmer’s Markets and more!
Orioles … birds or baseball? This bird with a sweet song often associated with the bright orange feathers has more to it than pretty colors. The word “oriole” comes from either the Latin word aureolus meaning “golden” or from oriolus, which imitates their beautiful song. Mass Audubon is currently conducting an Oriole Project to find out more about where these birds are found in our state. If you see one anywhere in Massachusetts, report the time and place of sighting at: www.massaudubon.org/oriole
3. Bear right and skirt along the edge of the fields. Continue along the edge of the field on the road until you arrive at a group of trees and large rock pile. See the many bird boxes? These are for bluebirds, tree swallows, and birds who nest in tree cavities. The boxes are numbered so that Drumlin Farm volunteers can monitor bird-nesting behavior throughout the year.
The gorgeous bluebird flies around with its beautiful feathers. There are many variations and shades of the blue on the bluebird’s feathers. They eat insects: grasshoppers, beetles, flies, and lots of caterpillars. They live in open forests, edges of forests, natural grasslands, pastures, orchards, parks…and sometimes you may even spot one outside of your very own house! The nests are made out of grass, and the females do most of the building.
4. At the rock pile, reset your compass for 280 degrees. Pass the compost pile on your left. Head straight to the forest edge. At the edge of the field, continue about 18 paces on the path that goes into the wooded area. (A pace is two adult steps.) Look for a smaller trail that heads off at about 20 degrees into a forest.
Follow this trail through an old fence until it ends at a “T” intersection with another trail. Reset your compass for 330 degrees and continue. Follow this trail until you emerge from the woods at the highest point in the Sanctuary -- the top of the Drumlin. Many birds nest on the Drumlin and in the fields near the Drumlin.
What should you do when you find a cute, helpless, baby bird lying on the road or in your backyard? What is the smart thing to do for the bird? The best thing for the bird is to LEAVE IT ALONE. Mother birds leave their babies at times during the day to gather food. Birds that are just learning to fly may fall out of the nest and need some time to work their way back. If you observe the bird carefully for a while, you may see the parents come to tend to it. DO NOT attempt to feed an injured bird or bring it inside. The fatality of birds taken inside by untrained people is very, very high. And those that do survive are often unable to care for themselves in the wild.
5. Find the large rock on the top of the Drumlin. Look due north, and walk to the trail sign. Look toward 310 degrees to find a large pine tree. Follow the trail to the pine tree and look for the rock pile at its base. Under the rocks you will find the Birds on the Drumlin letterbox. Congratulations! You have completed the quest. Be sure to close the box tightly and replace it carefully after you have stamped in.
6. To return to the visitor center, first return to the big rock. Explore for another large rock that is co-located with a tree. Head east at about 95 degrees. Find the path that goes downhill into the woods and over a red bridge. In no time you’ll be back.