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Animals on the Luce
School Nature TrailThe students in Miss. DeYoung’s
4th grade class have been studying dwarf frogs and fiddler crabs.
In science each student picked an animal that lives on the nature trail and
wrote about its habitat, behavior and food habits. Some of the animals that
have been picked are invertebrates, vertebrates, mammals, birds, amphibians,
insects and reptiles. The students all worked very hard on the reports and
the project has been a success.
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click on the links below to learn more about the
animals around us |
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The bullfrog is greenish brown with small brown dots on its body. They
also have webbed feet. It has moist skin and is about 15 cm long. They are
the biggest frogs in North America.
You can find a bullfrog by edge of a pond or a lake. In the spring
during mating season you can hear the bullfrog’s call "jug o rum". An
interesting fact is a bullfrog’s tongue is so sticky it can catch any prey
it wants. Bullfrogs are cannibals that mean it even eats other bullfrogs!
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Cardinals are one of my favorite birds. That’s why I
would like to share how much I learned about them. The male cardinal is easy
to spot because it is hot red. The female is a yellowish red color and a lot
lighter than the male. The cardinal also has a black identifying mark on its
beak. The size is 7.75 inches. You can find this animal in high bushy places
like trees or bushes. Also you can find them in woods or in very dark
places. If you want to see this animal with your own eyes, go by the woods
or other high tree places and look for them. They’re so eye catching and
beautiful that you’ll never want to leave them again.
Learn more...
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The cicada can get up to three inches in
length. It has a long black body with orange veined wings. Cicadas have
large, bright red eyes and reddish brown legs. Their wingspan can get up to
four and a half inches long. You usually find cicadas high up in trees. They
mostly come above ground in he springtime and you can see them all through
the summer. It’s mating call rarely ever stops. Cicadas usually stay
underground for between thirteen and seventeen years.
Learn more...
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The skunk is black and white with black eyes and
tails up to 14 inches long. You would be able to find them near the water,
desert or in the woods. You can see skunks mostly at night but you
occasionally see them during the day too. If you encounter a skunk you
should walk away, if you don’t want to get sprayed. If you get to close than
the skunk will warn you by going on its hind legs. If you get even closer
than you would get sprayed. The skunk does not like to spray people whenever
they see you. They only have a little bit of spray so they only use it when
a real enemy comes along like a fox or a wolf, something that wants to kill
it or eat it. Learn more...
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The Garter Snake is a black snake with a pattern of yellow stripes. It
can measure up to two or three feet long. You can find this animal in a deep
hole, in a cave, stone walls, or under rocks (when hibernating). Sometimes
these snakes can wander into your basement in the summer or fall. The Garter
Snake is really attracted to warm objects in the winter when it hibernates.
They may or may not bite if handled by people. Even when snakes sleep their
eyes are always open so that is why they have no eyelids but they do have a
clear cap that covers each eye.
Learn more...
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The American Goldfinch is a small bird. It is usually
4 to 6 ½ inches. Their bodies are golden–yellow except the feathers on its
jet-black head. Its tail has white forked split feathers. The wings have
white bars on the edges. You can find the American Goldfinch in the treetops
of wooded areas. You can also find them at bird feeders filled with thistle.
To tell the males and females a part is easy. The males are brighter colors
and the females are duller colors. The American Goldfinch is also identified
as the wild canary. You can sometimes hear the goldfinch sing "po-ta-to-chip."
Learn more...
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You would find the gray squirrel there are trees. The gray squirrel is
also found in the same place every season. The gray squirrel is small. It is
17-20 inches long it has a gray body. It has sharp claws. You would mostly
see squirrels in trees. The gray squirrel also has a big bushy tail.
You could see a gray squirrel fighting in a tree with a woodpecker. The
gray squirrel usually wins.
Learn more...
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The Hairy Woodpecker’s size ranges from 16.5 to
20.7cm. Its wingspan is 10.2 cm on most of them. Hairy Woodpeckers are black
with white spots on their back and have white stripes on their head. Also
they have white on their stomach. The males come with a patch of red
feathers on the back of their head. You can also identify this woodpecker
because they make a loud sharp "peek". Hairy Woodpeckers are found all over
North America and migrate south in the winter. One interesting fact about
the Hairy is that it has thick hairs over its nostrils to prevent its nose
from getting clogged when pecking wood.
Learn more...
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The ladybug is an animal that is pretty easy to
find. Most ladybugs have spots but some don’t depending on the species. Some
ladybugs are red while others are black. Like the eastern ladybug is red but
it has black spots. The adult ladybug grows to be 2 centimeters long. The
ladybug can be found near aphids (very small bugs), but the larva (lady bug
eggs) can be found on trees or leaves.
Learn more...
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Milk snakes can grow up to be 52 in. but are usually 24-36 in. They have
a light gray /tan body with dark brown spots. You can find them in shade
such as fallen logs, cardboard boxes, or under a rock. They are found
anywhere east of the Rocky Mountains in the US. One interesting fact is that
they got their name because in an old folk tale these snakes sucked the milk
out of cows, until they were dry. But of course that is not true.
Learn more...
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The monarch is very beautiful,
it’s orange with black stripes and white spots. It is also 3. 7 inches long.
You can find this butterfly in lots of different places. Of course you can
find it everywhere in the U.S but if you are looking more specifically you
can find them in Canton in the late summer and early fall. Also you would
most likely find it in the afternoon, also you could see them around
milkweed and they sleep in bushes and trees. When they are caterpillars
their bodies are green and have a pattern of yellow black white. They also
have antennas on their head and bottom. Did you know that when they are
caterpillars their tail looks like head and when an enemy goes to bite them
they bite their tail instead of their head and they are still able to
survive. They also taste terrible.
Learn more...
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To identify the common newt look for scales. Its body is golden brown and
small. Theyare7-9 centimeters long and have a flattened tail. You can
usually at the bottoms of lakes or ponds. They also can be found in muddy
places. One cool thing about newts is, as they grow older they live only in
water.
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The Painted Turtle can grow to be about seven inches
long. At first when it is a baby it is no bigger than a nickel. Its colors
are mostly green, black, yellow and red. The identifying marks on a Painted
Turtle are square like shapes and stripes on the head. You can find a
Painted Turtle laying its eggs in a hole on a hill. If you want to look for
Painted Turtles you should look on lily pads and in ponds or muddy areas.
Learn more...
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The Praying Mantis can be found in Europe,
Canada, and America. (That means it can be found on the nature trail and in
Canton). If you go out to the Nature Trail in the winter though, a Praying
Mantis won’t be there because they die in the colder months. The
identification marks are the huge eyes that it has and the two antennas on
their head. The Praying Mantis rubs its feet together and it makes a
pleasant sound. Some people even get confused between the Praying Mantises
noise and the cricket’s noise! The Praying Mantis has six legs witch makes
it an insect. Two of the legs are also claws and they go together like the
Mantis is Praying, and that is what gives the Praying Mantis its’ name.
Learn more...
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A raccoon is a vertebra and belongs to the
mammal classification. Raccoons as you all know go through people’s trash
and eat it. A raccoon also eats fruits and nuts. The raccoon has a black
mask and black rings around its tail. You will be able to find raccoons at
night almost anywhere, but at daytime you can find them in the tops of
trees. Raccoons usually will run away if you get to close, but sometimes
when raccoons are eating they will just leave their food and bite your ankle
and run back to their food.
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Red-backed salamander is 5-14 cm long. It has a
black body with a red back. It has a long tail. You usually find these
salamander under rocks and rotten logs and by ponds and wetlands. You can
find salamanders all over the world except Antarctica.
Learn more...
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The red fox is 22-32 inches long from nose to
tail. Its coloring is a pale yellow red to an orange red. The mark on the
end of its tail determines which species it is. You can find this animal in
all of North America except in Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. They have
black paws that make it look like it has socks on.
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The Red-Tailed Hawk is very big its body is 22 to 31
inches long and its wingspan is 56 inches long, that is taller than me. You
can spot these hawks in tall trees and in the sky. Look for its red tail
brown and white body and its slightly tipped up wings. An interesting fact
is that a Red Tailed Hawk’s eyesight is 8 times better than humans.
Learn more...
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A Ruby throated humming bird is very smart, pretty and interesting. Look
for a rainbow colored bird. They have an iridescent green on their heads and
back. The female’s under part is white and the male’s is bright red.
Hummingbirds have a long pointy beak. The beat their wings very quickly and
you can look for them sucking nectar out of flowers. Look carefully they are
only 3 inches long.
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The tiger swallowed tail is very interesting.
It is 4 – 7.6 centimeters long. To find the tiger swallowed tail look for: a
yellow and black striped butterfly. It also has two little "tails" on the
bottom of each wing. That’s where they got the name swallowed tail. A tiger
swallowed tail is a kind of bird. They got the name "tiger" from the
tiger-like stripes they have. Another identifying mark that then tiger
swallowed tail has is on the black part of the wings there are little dots
that help to tell you if it’s a tiger swallowed tail. An interesting fact
that is that the tiger swallowed tail is a cousin to the moth.
Learn more...
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You can identify the snapping turtle by its brownish black shell and long
tail. It’s a medium sized turtle 4-8 inches long with a big head. You can
usually spot a snapping turtle near ponds and water with muddy bottoms.
Snapping turtles are often seen eating vegetation. An interesting fact about
these turtle is that its tail is about half the size of its shell.
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You can find a White Tailed Deer in all parts of U.S.A., including
Canton. People usually identify them by the white spot on their tail,
throat, eyes, bellies and nose. Males have antlers and females don’t. Males
usually shed their antlers on January and re-grow them in May. They usually
hide in big woods or bushes. A white tailed deer can run up to 30 M.P.H.
Human are a white tailed deer’s main enemy.
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