An Update on the Eagle Cam and a Freebie

Eagle Cam Update

{If you have not tuned in yet, it is not too late. There are stunning photos on the site and even videos of the past 4+ weeks that have been captured through the Eagle Cam.}

Click here for the link to the Berry College Eagle Cam.

Also, the baby bald eagle made its debut on the Weather Channel on March 19th. Click here to see it.

The little eaglet (B3, they call it) is getting bigger by the day! His little feet and talons are growing quite quickly. Also, it is fascinating to see it raise up his wings as if he is trying to get comfortable or stretch them a bit. He is now 4 weeks old. The other egg ended up not being viable and the father buried it in the nest. It was interesting to see the eaglet during its 3rd week, because he grew too big to sleep under the mom or dad as far as we could tell.

An interesting fact about the Eagle Cam is that it switches to infrared technology at night time. It is helpful to be able to see the eagle family in the dark with no light source. When I turn on the eagle cam in the morning at school, the infrared is still on and switches over at about 7:30 EST or so. It is very cool for our technology buffs as well!

If you missed my first post about these eagles that have enriched our classroom as well as many others, please click here.

The writing response journal that I put together has been a big hit with my students and amongst the students in other classes. One teacher said that her kids were so excited about making the booklets that one boy even commented that "this is the best activity we have done all year!" Funny! Actually that teacher has lots of great activities that she does with her students. I think the drawing and writing aspect of observing these eagles via a live feed camera is what has mesmerized the students.

If you are interested in taking a look at this booklet, please click here to see the download. Below are a few pages that are included in this booklet.

 Color version

Black and white version ~ the students may color.

The students will illustrate each page and write about each aspect of the eagle family. 

This is a perfect introduction to life cycles in the spring. 

And now for the FREEBIE...

This organizer coincides with this booklet and your classes' research. It is actually part of the Keeping an Eagle Eye on the Eagle Cam download. 

I have included a version of the organizer for younger students in the freebie that is not in the booklet resource. 

Have a great day!

Carrie

The Eagle Cam ~ Our Window to Their World

The Eagle Cam at Berry College in Georgia is “all the buzz” down here in the south. Therefore I put together some pages for a book of observations and information about our newfound eagle friends. We are tempted to watch them around.the.clock!


Some of my students BEGGED me to pull it up on the Smartboard since they would often catch a glimpse of the eagles and eaglet in the room across the hall. This was actually a day or two after the first egg hatched. We have been watching them during our morning work, snack, and even during indoor recess on rainy days. Every once in a while the teacher from across the hall will run over to share her excitement about them as well.

This student cover page comes in black and white as well.

The books can actually be made as half-size books or full-page.
The pages are folded with the blank sides facing inward
so that the folds are on the edges for stability.  

These steps are really 4, 5, and 6. The last photo shows the stages altogether.

Please pretend like this is rotated correctly. 

My students are madly in love with the eagles! I looked for a resource on TPT for recording observations and I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, so I made a file to match my ideas. (Maybe I am not a very good searcher.) Below is a picture of the resulting resource.

If you would like to look into the resource further, then please click here to view the pack.

{Note: I have also included different cover pages and links for

                   other eagle cams in different locations.}

This is a good way for the students to record their observations as well as facts that they have researched. We will do research on eagles using the following organizer that is also included in the pack.

It actually matches PebbleGo perfectly if you have access to that FABULOUS resource.

If you have not tuned in yet, here is the link.

www.berry.edu/eaglecam/

Once you tune in, you will likely fall in love as well.

There was also a live chat with Dr. Renee Carleton on March 5^th. The entire recording is linked on the March 6^th entry.

Our observations so far

We have learned that the eagle couple returned to Berry College in the fall of 2013. They made a nest and laid two eggs in January. One hatched on Saturday, February 22, 2014. He is the cutest little eaglet! The mom and dad take turns protecting their new little one by sitting on it along with the other egg at the same time. There are details about these particular eagles on the site in the section to the left of the live video stream. Also, there are some informative posts under the Eagle Cam section from those who are "in the know."

It has been neat to watch how the mom and dad care for their offspring. After the dad brings in prey for his family, it is fun to watch the mom or the dad biting off bits to feed the eaglet. One time we observed as the dad returned from his hunt with a fish that was still moving. Also, the mom sits on the eaglet and other egg for a while and later the dad comes in to take a turn. The baby eaglet is so cute how it bobs his head around like a human baby would. Also, the next week we saw the eaglet flapping its wings around a couple of times. Apparently the eaglet will not leave the nest until it is 12 weeks old. Hopefully we will get to see it before the last day of school!

I will post pictures of the students’ handiwork soon.

Have an awesome week! Tune in to the Eagle Cam if you can. 

~ Carrie