Saturday, February 18, 2012

Amazing Things You Find in Nature

Over the past few months, I have taken a lot of pictures of interesting things that I found in my backyard. I saw animals and a cool math leaf. I bet you are wondering what a math leaf is. It is a leaf that has a pattern on it that has something to do with math. I will show you a picture of it soon.

Usually, a covey (k∂v • ee) of quails comes to our backyard. The biggest amount of quails I have ever seen was 34 quails!

Here are all of the quails in the backyard.

Here is a male quail (hey, a rhyme :-)). 

Here is a female quail. 

We also see other animals such as deer.

Here are two deer grazing (eating grass).

Here is one deer eating grass and one aware of my camera's sound. That's a smart deer.

Now both of the deer are aware of my camera's sound, and they are running away.

Now the two deer are running away really fast because they think the little click that my camera makes is an enemy coming to get them.


 Here is the math leaf!

The math leaf looks like a fraction! The numerator and denominator are not numbers though. They are colors! The fraction is red greens (that sounds really weird)! 

Here is the other side of the math leaf. That fraction is green yellows. 

What interesting animals do you have in your backyard?


 Have you ever found a covey of quails?


Have you ever investigated plants to see if their were any cool leaves on them? 

30 comments:

  1. The interesting animal I have in my backyard is an owl and rabbits.I have never seen covey quails before.I have not investigated leaves before.

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    1. Dear Amelia,

      Great comment!

      I know you have a tree in your backyard that grows plums. How often do you pick them, and what color are the leaves?

      Sincerely,
      Royce

      Delete
  2. Hey Royce,
    That was really cool! The math leaf was was great - it really did have math, a fraction. The deer were amazing. You're really lucky to have deer in your own backyard - all I have is miniature wire-haired dachshunds. There are some birds and cats too, but guess who chases them off? My dogs. Keep up the good work.

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    1. Dear Jack,

      Thank you for commenting on my blog! Your comment is amazing!

      When you, Amelia, and anyone else, come for the big Fourth of July party, we will try to scout out some animals to make a blog post about. My teacher, Mrs. Yollis, says that it would be great to include other kids in a blog post, so I will!

      Sincerely,
      Royce

      Delete
  3. Dear Royce,

    I love nature, so I was thrilled to see this post! Like you, I enjoy looking around and finding interesting colors and shapes. Your math leaf was very cool. Did all the leaves from that tree turn red?

    Yes, I have seen a covey of quail. However, I've only seen one once in my entire life! Mr. Yollis and I were upstairs, and we heard this strange sound, like a monkey or something. We rushed to the window and realized it was a covey of California quail! Mr. Yollis grabbed his camera, and I made a post about it. Notice, the male is standing on top of our fountain as a lookout.

    http://yollisclassblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/who-wants-to-see-california-quail.html

    As you know, I saw a group of deer on Friday. It was very unusual for me to see them in my neighborhood. I notice you have some open space behind your house, so it is no wonder you see so many wild animals.

    http://yollis365project.blogspot.com/2012/02/48-oh-deer.html

    Are there hiking trails behind your house? Do you ever see any other kinds of wildlife?

    Your proud teacher,
    Mrs. Y♥llis

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    Replies
    1. Dear Mrs. Yollis,

      No, not all the leaves from the bush turned red because I do not have that many deciduous bushes near my house.

      When I watch the quails eating, there are always a few quail on the lookout.
      Usually, there are two mail quails and one female quail.

      There is an old hiking trail behind my house in the small plain area where the deer were.

      Yes, I do see other wildlife! I am going to do a post about it. My post was getting too long, so I decided to make two posts about wildlife. All the wildlife in the next post has something in common though-another reason why I made two posts.

      Sincerely,
      Royce

      Delete
  4. Dear Royce,

    It seems the more natural world is very close to your house. I have to walk about a kilometre (two thirds of a mile) before the world opens up. My town has three national parks and a nature reserve around it.

    What interesting animals do you have in your backyard?

    In my yard and town, we have a large number of visitors...
    Birds - a number of parrots, native pigeons, ravens, magpies, kookaburras, bowerbirds, and introduced species
    Reptiles - We have skinks, geckos and blue-tongued lizards
    Amphibians - I have found a frog in my yard but they mostly stay in the creek nearby
    Mammals - I've seen kangaroos, wallabies and echidnas in parks in town and across the road. Out in the open I’ve seen wombats and possums.

    Only on Friday I went on a walk and came across two of our more deadly residents in the local nature reserve, two red-bellied black snakes. Other poisonous snakes I've seen include brown snakes and tiger snakes. I prefer the black snake. They’re shy and try to get away but browns and tigers can be aggressive if you get too close.

    Here is a link to a post I made for someone asking about birds,,,

    http://rossmannell.primaryblogger.co.uk/2012/02/12/australian-birds-mostly-close-to-home/

    Have I ever seen a covey of quails?

    Around here I have surprised quails on my walks. We can find brown quails around here.

    Have you ever investigated plants to see if there were any cool leaves on them?

    Apart from animals and scenery, one of my favourite subjects for photography is plants.

    I prepared a blog post so you can more easily see some photos of pants in my area…

    http://rossmannell.primaryblogger.co.uk/2012/02/19/some-plant-photos-taken-in-my-area/

    I hope you keep enjoying nature and sharing these great posts.

    @RossMannell
    Teacher, NSW, Australia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Ross Mannel,

      Amazing, long comment!

      I was reading your comment and I saw PARROTS! We never get wild PARROTS! You are really lucky!

      There are a lot of snakes in my backyard during the summer (your winter). I have seen a garter snake, three rattle snakes, and a weird brown colored snake that was bright orange-red colored on the bottom.

      Sincerely,
      Royce

      Delete
  5. Dear Royce,

    I really enjoyed this post because of the topic and all of the fantastic photos you included.

    Here in Connecticut we have some of the same animals, but also quite a few different ones. I have never seen a covey of quails because quails are not very common here. We don't actually have "quails" in the northeast, but sometimes a northern bobwhite will come up to New England. Northern bobwhites are in the quail family.

    I do see LOTS of deer however. There are deer all over New England because their natural predators, wolves, have been gone from this area for a long time. They are beautiful and graceful animals and I am always excited when I see them.

    When I was young I grew up on a river in Rhode Island and saw a lot of different animals in that "backyard". I saw beavers, otters, geese, ducks, muskrats, and dozens of migratory birds. It was a great place to grow up!

    I often check out the different leaves on trees as that is one of the main ways to identify different tree species. One of my favorite types of leaves around here is from the sassafras tree. It is a small tree, and the leaves are smooth and soft and can have one lobe, two lobes, or none.

    Here is a link to a picture: http://www2.sluh.org/bioweb/nh/leaves/sassafras.jpg

    Sassafras roots are what the first root beer was made from. The leaves are edible and are a nice treat to nibble on when I'm out hiking. (Of course, I don't eat anything from nature unless I'm 100% sure it is safe, and I'm not going to harm the plant.)

    Keep up the great blogging!

    From,
    Mr. Salsich

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Mr. Salsich and his class,

      Thanks for leaving a comment!

      We mostly have evergreens and oak trees where I live. I also have a pine tree in my backyard followed by some bushes with red, poisonous berries and rosemary bushes. My mom sometimes uses the rosemary for our dinner. She knows it is perfectly safe.

      I also get humming birds, an owl at night, and crows. I have seen three lizards in my backyard before. One on the rocks of my outside fireplace, one in the back of a little garden near my window, and one inside my back porch. They were dark brown, green, and light brown.

      Sincerely,
      Royce

      Delete
  6. Dear Royce-
    What a wonderful and informative post! As you know my very favorite hobby is to study animals and plants in the great outdoors. Fortunately, this winter has been very mild in New Jersey so I can stay outside for a long time. I have never seen a covey of quails in my neighborhood. I loved looking at your pictures of the male and female. Of course, the male in most bird species is more colorful than the female. I am particularly fond of birds and enjoy bird watching. Our backyard home has a pair of cardinals(red birds) that spend all year with us. We have many tall oak trees and lots of squirrels living in and about our yard. One day, I came home and saw a strange friendship developing. The male and female cardinal were busy walking on the side of my house where the ground is sloped under an oak tree. There, not 6 inches from them, was a squirrel digging for acorns. I couldn't help thinking how these very different outdoor friends felt safe together. All of sudden another small bird, a chickadee, landed and everyone scattered.

    Like you, I enjoy just being part of this beautiful outdoor world. As you know, we have lots of other animals that live in and around my backyard.. We have lots of nocturnal animals like skunks and raccoons. We also have lots of deer and black bear too! You would think we live in the wilderness instead of the shopping capital called Paramus! I have also seen wild turkeys which are about 35 pounds in size. They look like small Ostriches. The Lenni Lenape Indians name Paramus. Paramus means Wild Turkey.

    Thank you for this wonderful post. I have really enjoyed it! By the way, I didn't know about the math leaves. I've never seen such an interesting leaf. We only have evergreens with leaves now. In the spring I will look around for some really strange leaves. If I find any, I will surely let you know. Love,
    Your Proud Nana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Nana,

      You are getting to be one of the best commenters that I know! That is a really long comment! Amazing!

      My favorite nature story that you told me has to be ether the centipede on the wall or the squirrel rips up the newspaper part 2. Is Kaitlyn still scared of the centipede story?

      Now that you have become such a great commenter, I will give you some very important information:

      You can send me some interesting pictures in an e-mail. I bet they will be a post really soon! Please do not send me a lot of posts at one time though. Please only send like one every two months.

      Sincerely,
      Royce

      Delete
  7. Dear Royce,
    We enjoyed seeing all the beautiful pictures you took of the wildlife from your backyard. We have enjoyed that same view many times when we have come to visit you in California.

    In our backyard in New York we have many grey squirrels that live in nests in our trees, however one is a unique large black squirrel that we see every Spring. In addition to the many typical birds we see in our yard, we also see colorful cardinals and bluejays.

    We know you have seen coyotes on the hills behind your fence, do you think you would ever be able to take a picture of one of them?

    Thank you for explaining what a math leaf is, how interesting.

    See you in April.
    Love,
    Grandma and Grandpa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

      You can send me a few pictures, and I could make them into a post.

      Keep up the amazing commenting!

      YES! I have seen coyotes! I am even going to do a post about them! I also have a post about a Coopers Hawk and a Wood Pecker that Aunt Joann and Uncle Charlie sent to me. I guess they already know that you can send posts to me.

      Sincerely,
      Royce

      Delete
  8. Hi Royce,
    Congratulations on your blog. I am very impressed. We don't spot many animals in our backyard, but we do know that they visit us. Last fall we could often smell the scent of a skunk, as if one had recently passed through our yard. Luckily winter came and the skunk scent left! We also have some claw marks and bites on our garbage cans in our yard. We are not sure if they were made by a raccoon, skunk, or possum.

    My favorite wildlife to spot in nature is a blue heron. I have seen them in nearby parks and in rural areas. They are beautiful and graceful.

    I'm going to keep my eyes out for math leaves in the spring. I love the concept!

    Take care,
    Jen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Jen,

      Thanks for the comment!

      I have heard a few stories that a raccoon got into my grandma's and grandpa's garbage cans! We never find anything in our garbage cans because there are not too many skunks, possums, and raccoons in California.

      Sincerely,
      Royce

      Delete
  9. Hello Royce!
    You have an amazing blog! I have had so much fun reading your posts and seeing all of your neat gadgets. My name is Heather Weaver and I am in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 Class at the University of South Alabama.


    Here is a link to my blog should you want to visit to see what we are doing in our classroom: www.weaverheatheredm310.blogspot.com


    The pictures you shared of the quail are so neat! I have to admit I have never seen a covey of quail. I also did not know how to identify the male from the female, but now I do thanks to your pictures. The deer are beautiful as well. I have only seen deer that close on a visit to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. We were driving through and looked to our right and there was a family of deer. You are so lucky to have them right there in your backyard.


    I live in the south and we have a lot of squirrels in our backyard! They seem to be everywhere. There are a lot of different birds that inhabit our trees. My favorite bird that comes around a lot in the spring is the hummingbird. I just think they are beautiful. Sometimes, we see our neighbor's geese taking a walk early in the morning. You have inspired me with your pictures! The next time I see the geese, a beautiful bird, or maybe an unusual animal I will take a picture and share it on my blog.


    I have seen leaves like that before but never thought to associate them with math. I can't wait to share that with my son who is in fourth grade. I think he will really like that idea.


    Keep taking pictures and sharing them with us.


    Thanks,
    Heather Weaver

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    Replies
    1. Dear Heather Weaver,

      Thanks for the comment!

      The deer are not always in our backyard; I live on a mountain, so the deer live somewhere on that mountain.

      The quail are almost never there! I was really lucky to snap a picture of them. They only come on the weekends.

      Sincerely,
      Royce

      Delete
  10. Dear Royce,
    Congratulations on earning your own blog. We enjoyed seeing your videos and pictures. You are very creative.

    It was nice to hear about all your interests and hobbies. Uncle Charlie enjoys bird watching, fishing and watching sports on TV. I enjoy spending time with Marcus and Madison. I also scrapbook and do many crafts. Uncle Charlie and I both like to travel, read and ballroom dance.

    When we stayed at your house, we did enjoy all the wildlife sightings in your backyard. Recently we had a hawk in our backyard. Uncle Charlie took some pictures and I will email them to you. We have never seen a covey of quails.

    This was our first time blogging. Thank you for sharing your blog with us.

    Love,
    Aunt Joann and Uncle Charlie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Uncle Charlie and Aunt Joann,

      Thank you for sending me the pictures. I am going to make them into a post! The pictures are really amazing!

      Great comment!

      We have never seen a bird dive for a different bird before! That woodpecker was lucky that Uncle Charlie scared the Cooper Hawk away!

      Sincerely,
      Royce

      Delete
  11. Hi Royce! I am a student at the University Of South Alabama and I enjoyed reading your post. I am in awe that you are only a 3rd grader; your writing skills are remarkable.

    Animals that I see in my back yard are deer, pigs, and sometimes wild turkeys. I love nature and mostly everything that comes along with it. The joke you added about male rhyming with quail made me laugh, I love jokes.

    I am glad to see young children still interested in things other than technology, although it is much needed nowadays. Keep up the good work Royce, you are truly an inspiration for me to continue at gaining my degree in teaching.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Katrina Williams,

      Great comment!

      I have never seen a wild turkey or a pig in my backyard.

      Please look for my next post.

      Sincerely,

      Royce

      Delete
  12. Totally excellent. It's like the Animal Planet on TV. Very educational. Great pics. Do you ever feed the deer or other animals?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Papa,

      I do not feed the animals because they are wild. They will become not afraid of humans, and they will get hurt.

      Love,

      Royce

      Delete
  13. Hello Royce! I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I will be summarizing your post on my EDM 310 class blog.
    I enjoyed seeing pictures of animals other than cats and dogs I have as pets. I am from the city so I never see animals. I will occasionally see a ground squirrel when I go visit my grandparents' house. I bet you enjoy being able to learn about those different creatures as they appear in your back yard.
    That leaf is pretty cool. I've never heard of a fraction leaf before so you have taught me something new! I hope I will be able to use things like that in my future classroom to get my students excited about learning in an outside environment.
    Check out My Blog and comment anytime! Keep working hard and enjoy school!
    Sincerely,
    Carly Willoughby

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Carly Willoughby,

      Wonderful comment! We see squirrels too.

      I will go to your blog and post a comment. Please check back because I will create a new post today.

      Sincerely,

      Royce

      Delete
  14. Hey Taylor My name is Corey Waldon,
    I like your blog post and the fact that you like to take pictures. Because I live in the city I can't share any pictures of animals in my backyard. The only time I get to see a deer is when I am traveling back to my home town from school.I think your picture of the math leaf is real cool. Hope to see more great pictures from you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Corey,

      My name is Royce- we don't have a Taylor in our class. I feel bad for you that you can't take pictures of animals in your backyard. However, you are lucky that you live in a city because you get to see great sites.

      Sincerely,

      Royce

      Delete
    2. It's like watching Animal Planet. I wonder what would happen if a coyote and bobcat were there at the same time. Would they fight? If they did, who would win? As long as you're not outside with them, does it matter?

      Delete
  15. Dear Royce,

    Wow, what breathtaking photos! I have seen many animals in my backyard as well. I am not so sure if they are predators or not, but they are interesting animals. For example, I see many lizards and many birds. Once I saw a dog just wandering around by itself when we were going hiking. My dad once said that where the hiking trail is there are many coyotes, but I wasn't that startled. He also said that coyotes are afraid of people so that helped be not as afraid too.

    I also have seen many birds. Once there was a blue jay in my backyard. I also have a buck and grayish bird in a nest in front of the door. My whole family is scared to go out of the house because of it. So I have get the packages and mail, and I have to go outside and take the trash out.

    Sincerely,
    Acaciaಢ

    ReplyDelete

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