Your source for tips & tricks for exploring nature with kids
Dear Reader,
 |
| "The crane is wildness incarnate." Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac |
These beautiful creatures are seen as symbols of wisdom in China, good fortune and happy marriage in Japan and longevity in both. The Greek god Apollo was said to use the form of a crane when he visited the mortal world, and in Europe, cranes were associated with vigilance and loyalty.
These classic beauties make their home and travel through our region. So what are you waiting for? Come, learn, and marvel at Wisconsin's cranes in this issue of Nature Net News!
Enjoy!
Kathe, Sarah & Brenna
The Folks at Nature Net
Did you know.....
Sandhill crane chicks usually hatch in early May.
In order to stop the extinction of whooping cranes, people dress up as whooping cranes and teach orphaned chicks how to fend for themselves.
There are 15 species of cranes around the world, but there is no evidence of cranes ever existing in South America.
The oldest crane in captivity lived to be 83 years old!
Learn more crane facts here and here!
What To Do This Month:
Sandhill crane chicks usually hatch in early May.
In order to stop the extinction of whooping cranes, people dress up as whooping cranes and teach orphaned chicks how to fend for themselves.
There are 15 species of cranes around the world, but there is no evidence of cranes ever existing in South America.
The oldest crane in captivity lived to be 83 years old!
Learn more crane facts here and here!
What To Do This Month:
Visit the International Crane Foundation!
See the crane family at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center!
Make paper cranes using instructions from the International Crane Foundation (ICF).
Attend the Family Nature Club Kickoff Potluck this weekend! Connect with your family and the great outdoors at Nature Net’s Madison Family Nature Club Free Kickoff Event this Saturday, May 7, from 4-6:30pm at the Glenwood Children's Park (602 Glenwood Street, Madison, 53711). RSVP today!
Tricks of the Trail for Parents:
See the crane family at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center!
Make paper cranes using instructions from the International Crane Foundation (ICF).
Attend the Family Nature Club Kickoff Potluck this weekend! Connect with your family and the great outdoors at Nature Net’s Madison Family Nature Club Free Kickoff Event this Saturday, May 7, from 4-6:30pm at the Glenwood Children's Park (602 Glenwood Street, Madison, 53711). RSVP today!
Tricks of the Trail for Parents:
Crane Boogie
Cranes are known for their unique dances, which they use for courtship, social skills, exercise, and just plain fun. Their dances are filled with jumps, leaps, head spins, wing flaps and twirls. Read this ICF crane behavior guide, view some crane photos, and head outside and make up your own family crane dances!
Instant Outdoor Expert:
Cranes are known for their unique dances, which they use for courtship, social skills, exercise, and just plain fun. Their dances are filled with jumps, leaps, head spins, wing flaps and twirls. Read this ICF crane behavior guide, view some crane photos, and head outside and make up your own family crane dances!
Instant Outdoor Expert:
Crane Utensils
Cranes have wickedly sharp-looking beaks. This is because cranes are omnivorous. Their diet consists of plant seeds and tubers combined with critters that skitter and squirm out of grasp, including fish, snakes, amphibians, and insects. The crane uses its long neck to quickly thrust its beak and capture critters - sometimes spearing dinner on their beak. Sandhill cranes also use their beaks to probe the ground for small insects and grubs.
Cranes have wickedly sharp-looking beaks. This is because cranes are omnivorous. Their diet consists of plant seeds and tubers combined with critters that skitter and squirm out of grasp, including fish, snakes, amphibians, and insects. The crane uses its long neck to quickly thrust its beak and capture critters - sometimes spearing dinner on their beak. Sandhill cranes also use their beaks to probe the ground for small insects and grubs.
Featured Nature Net Site
The International Crane Foundation The International Crane Foundation (ICF) commits to a future where all crane species are secure - a future where people cooperate to protect and restore wild populations and their ecosystems. These efforts sustain the places where cranes live, to the benefit of countless other species.
ICF differs from most nature centers and conservation facilities in that its activities single out a very specific subject - cranes - rather than treating the natural history and general ecology of a region. But the focus on cranes is not limiting; instead it provides ICF an opportunity to address a series of issues not tied to a particular place: endangered species management, wetland ecology, habitat restoration, and the critical need for international cooperation.
Visit ICF between 9am-5pm every day between April 15 - October 31 . Visit indoor and outdoor exhibits, view different crane species from around the world, learn about conservation efforts and explore the grounds. Check out this interactive map before you go!
Visit ICF between 9am-5pm every day between April 15 - October 31 . Visit indoor and outdoor exhibits, view different crane species from around the world, learn about conservation efforts and explore the grounds. Check out this interactive map before you go!
Learn About Other Nature Net Sites
Nature Craft
Crane Mobile
What you need: folded paper cranes of various colors and sizes (instructions here), thin string, approx 7 ft. of colored yarn, large needle, 2 dowels/sticks/pencils, beads (optional). See illustrated instructions here!
1. Tie yarn around one of the dowels and form a cross with the other.
2. Wrap string around the sticks going clockwise, looping the string twice around every stick. When you have made a sturdy cross, tie off yarn and trim extra.
3. Thread needle with thin string.
4. String your cranes by sticking the needle through the puffy part of their bodies. You can thread several on top of each other or just string them singularly. You can also tie beads at the end or between your cranes. See here for bead techniques.
5. Tie strung cranes to hang from your dowel cross. Double- or triple-knot them.
6. Double-knot 1 ft. of string on one side of the horizontal part of the cross. Then double knot the end on the other side of the cross so that you have a loop.
7. Trim off any extra string or yarn and hang your crane mobile!
1. Tie yarn around one of the dowels and form a cross with the other.
2. Wrap string around the sticks going clockwise, looping the string twice around every stick. When you have made a sturdy cross, tie off yarn and trim extra.
3. Thread needle with thin string.
4. String your cranes by sticking the needle through the puffy part of their bodies. You can thread several on top of each other or just string them singularly. You can also tie beads at the end or between your cranes. See here for bead techniques.
5. Tie strung cranes to hang from your dowel cross. Double- or triple-knot them.
6. Double-knot 1 ft. of string on one side of the horizontal part of the cross. Then double knot the end on the other side of the cross so that you have a loop.
7. Trim off any extra string or yarn and hang your crane mobile!
Nature Craft Archives
Suggested Reading:
"The Crane Wife" by Odds Bodkin (all ages)
"The Paper Crane" by Molly Bang (4-6)
"Counting Cranes" by Mary Beth Owens (4-6)
"Saving the Whooping Crane" by Susan E. Goodman (4-8)
"Eno"Enora and the Black Crane" by Arone Raymond Meeks (4-8)
"Lord of the Cranes" by Kristen Chen (4-8)
"Song for the Whooping Crane" by Eileen Spinelli (4-8)
"Grandfather's Dream" by Holly Keller (4-8)
"The Princess Who Danced with Cranes" by Annette LeBox (4-10)
"Brolga, the Dancing Girl" by Ainslie Roberts (6+)
"The Crane Maiden" by Miyoko Matsutani (6-10)
"The Crane Girl" by Charles and Veronika Martenova (6-10)
"Sandhill Cranes" by Lynn M. Stone (6-10)
"The Crane's Gift" by Coralyn Bradshaw (7-14)
"Arap Sang and the Cranes" by Humphry Harman (8-12)
"The Whooping Crane" by Bonnie Graves (9-12)
"Crane Crossing" by Mark Dubowski (9-12)
"Whooping Crane" by Rod Theodorou (9-12)
"Cranes and Storks" by Steven Otfinoski (9-12)
"Jane on a Crane" by Jane Dava (9-12)
Find family events on the Nature Net Calendar of Events
Follow Nature Net's blog and find us on Facebook - give us your feedback!
Browse past Nature Net News
No comments:
Post a Comment