B'ham Natural History Club- September 2015

The first Friday of September found us at Jemison Park in Mountain Brook. We spent some time reading about the history of the park and trail, and then we set off with eyes wide open.

We seemed to see spiders (and their spectacular webs) everywhere. We spent some time noticing the differences in webs and types of spiders, and had plenty of conversation about our favorite spiders at our homes.

The last part of our adventure was spent wading around in Shades Creek next to the trail.

We even found a crayfish/crawdad!

Two weeks later, we went to Georgetown Lake Park in Hoover.  This is a park that I went to often about 10-12 years ago. My boys always enjoyed the wildlife, and I remember that there were Mallards, some white ducks, and Canada geese. At first I was confused by the ducks I saw, but as the parents and I began to talk, we came upon a possible explanation. We think that the ducks have bred and created a mixed breed! Take a look and see what you think.

I started a conversation about the differences between ducks and between ducks and geese, hoping that the geese would drop by...and they did, to the delight of all the kids. Much squealing was heard, when, an hour into our time at the pond, about 6 geese flew in. That is when the conversation really took off..."their necks are so much longer"..."their feet are further back on the geese", and on and on.

Birmingham Natural History Club

Well....long time no write- ha ha!

I decided to give this blog a re-birth instead of just starting a new one.

Last year, I started organizing nature outings for a combo group of students (and siblings) from Crestwood Day School ( a local Charlotte Mason school ) and homeschoolers.

Last year, we did a once a month excursion to our local gardens, The Birmingham Botanical Gardens. I plan on posting pics here of last year's visits.

This year, we decided to increase to twice a month. We will be going on the first and third Fridays of each month.
-The first Friday of the month will be to a "seasonal spot"; by that, I mean that I have chosen three places that we will visit 3-4 times a year, once during each season. I hope to help kids see the differences between seasons. The three places we will visit are the Kicklighters land, the Jemison park/trail, and The Self's blueberry farm.
-The third Friday of the month, we will visit a variety of great outdoor spots around the Birmingham area.

I will be posting pictures from the 2 excursions during September in a separate post.

If you are following this blog to keep up with Birmingham Natural History Club, please check back often to see updates of trips we have taken, and to see what we have planned for each month. I will post the plan and directions for each month on the 1st of that month.

Anyone is welcome!!