This week, Spring has finally sprung!

Hello my friends!

It's official: Spring is finally here! and even though we've been seeing Spring flowers and migrating Spring birds for a while now, we've only just entered the Spring equinox. The Spring equinox is when the days start to get longer and warmer because of the angle of the earth's tilt toward the sun. Check out the video bellow for more information!

 There are a lot of amazing things to see in spring, animals come out of hibernation, spring bulbs start popping up, migrating birds return and almost all birds begin to make their nests and lay their eggs.

This week we're giving the birds a helping hand collecting  nest materials! You can find all the things you need for this activity outside, so lets get started!


You will need:

• Moss 
• Sticks of different sizes
• Dried Grass
• Optional: Pet hair, if you have a particularly hairy pet

Step 1

The first Step is to gather nest materials. You could get these from your back garden or you could go on a walk to collect them. I used moss, sticks, dried grass and dried plants. 

Step 2

Place the materials in a location you can observe - but not too close! or you'll scare away the birds. If you have a bird feeder, placing your nest materials near to the feeder can help birds to spot them.

Step 3

Sit back and relax.
It might take a little while for birds to find the nesting resources and you might not see them take them but you will be able to tell when some goes missing so keep and eye out! Binoculars can be helpful for watching the nesting resources but you don't need them. The most important thing is to keep your distance so that the birds will feel safe.

Bonus!

Some birds are gardeners... sort of. Some birds can recognise different plants and add plants to their nests which smell strongly to help keep their nests bug free. You can try adding herbs to your nest materials like dried lavender or thyme and see if the birds take them!

Birds nest in all sorts of places, like this pair of jackdaws in my garden nesting in an old chimney pot!

If you enjoyed this tutorial, check out the blog for more! Have you got any birds nesting in your garden? Send me pictures on Facebook or Twitter! 

Have a great week!

-Sarah 💚😃🐦

This week we're talking about Spring flowers

This Week We're Talking About Spring Flowers

The first thing I think of when I think of spring is all of the beautiful flowers! But don't worry, if beautiful flowers aren't for you there are also some fun experiments to try!

All of these flowers spend all winter deep inside the soil as Bulbs. Bulbs are plant food stores, the plant stores energy in the form of starch inside bulbs to allow it to survive winter when there is not much sunlight to make food. In the spring, bulbs first start to grow roots and then shoots which will eventually grow into a full flower!

These are some of my favorite spring flowers that you can look out for the next time you go for a walk. You'll probably recognise the first flower, they're daffodils. The bright yellow flowers of daffodils are great for attracting insect pollinators. Next, we have crocuses, these grow in large clumps of white and purple flowers close to the ground, my favorite spring flower is the Snake's Head Fritillary. The Snake's Head Fritillary is called this because it's scaly pattern and droopy flowers make it look like the head of a snake!   Finally, bluebells. Bluebells often grow in large groups in woodlands to see them you could even go to a beautiful bluebell wood like the one pictured below, to find a bluebell wood near you click here.

 

Dissecting Daffodils

You can cut open a flower to see all of its internal structures. Daffodils work well but you could also use tulips or lilies. I placed the stem of my flower in some clean water with a little blue food colouring the night before my experiment - wait and see what happened!

You will need:

• Safety scissors
• A chopping board or mat
• A flower
• A guide to the parts of a flower, you can find a printable one here or a photo guide here

Step 1

First, lay your flower onto the mat with the flower facing to one side. Carefully snip through the flower, try to cut it in half.

Step 2

Next, lay your two halves out on the mat and take a look inside. You could use a magnifying glass for an even closer look! Try to name the structures you see. 

Parts of a flower

The anthers are where pollen is stored, bees rub against these while feeding on nectar from the flower and get covered in pollen! The bee than takes this pollen to the next flower it visits - this is called pollination. The ovules at the bottom of the flower are what will become the daffodil's seeds, to make these into seeds, the dafodil also needs pollen from another plant which is brought to them by the bees!

Bonus!

Because I soaked my flower in blue coloured water the night before if I cut open the stem I can see little blue lines. These are xylem. Xylem carry water all the way from the bottom of the plant to the top - plants need to drink too!

Thank you for reading my blog! As always I would love to see any picture of the experiments you try at home, or any cool nature finds you have! You can send them to me on Facebook or Twitter and while you're there check out our exciting new prize giveaway!
I'll be back next week with more experiment ideas and nature crafts, until then my friends, have a great Spring!

Sarah 💚😀💚

This Week we're talking Cuckoo Spit!

This week we're talking about cuckoo spit! 

Have you seen this mysterious, foamy substance in your garden or outside in the springtime? Ever wondered what it is?
You might have heard it called 'Cuckoo Spit' but don't worry! It's not really spit and it doesn't have anything to do with cuckoos.
Cuckoo spit is made by this little guy, he's a froghopper (Sometimes called leafhoppers). Leafhoppers make cuckoo spit to protect themselves from predators and the weather while they transform from nymphs (babies) into adults. Think of how a caterpillar changes into a butterfly, this is similar, it's called Metamorphosis. 
A baby leafhopper, finds himself a nice leaf and then blows these bubbles out of his bum, like this ->
It's pretty impressive. This foamy, bubbly substance will keep the nymph safe an moist until he changes into an adult with a hard outer casing called an exoskeleton. Froghoppers belong to a group called Hemiptera also known as the 'True Bugs', there are many different types of froghoppers and they come in all sorts of beautiful colours and shapes.
Check out the tutorial below and find out how to make your very own cuckoo spit and leafhopper!

Making Cuckoo Spit!

You will need:

• 1/2 a cup of clear school glue 
• 1/2 a cup of liquid starch (or add water to powdered starch!)
• 1/2 a cup of water
• A measuring cup
• A bowl and a spoon

Step 1

Use your measuring cup to add 1/2 a cup of glue to 1/2 a cup of water in a bowl. Mix this really well to make sure they are fully combined!

Step 2

Mix in 1/2 a cup of liquid starch, your slime will start to form instantly!  Mix well with a spoon.

Step 3

Switch to mixing with your hands, to make this look more like cuckoo spit we want LOTS OF BUBBLES so try folding the slime to trap lots of air inside. 

This air will escape when you stop playing with your slime, but you can add more bubbles by using the same folding trick. 

Awesome! You've made some beautiful cuckoo spit! Next, let's make a little froghopper to live inside!

You will need:

• Different colours of playdough
• A leaf
• Craft Feathers/ sequins/ glitter/ pipe cleaners - Whatever you like!
• The Cuckoo spit we just made

Step 1

Use whatever colour playdough you like to make the basic shape of your leafhopper. Start with a round head and then flatten the body, this is really important, leafhoppers have a flat body to make them Aerodynamic this means that their bodies move through the air easily and help them jump really far!

Step 2

Use any decorations you like to make your leafhopper really stand out! Don't forget the big eyes -  Leafhoppers need great eyesight to help them land safely when doing a big jump.I was inspired by some pictures I found online, leafhoppers really do come in so many different colours and shapes! 

Step 3

Place your leafhopper on his leaf and place your homemade cuckoo spit on top. Snug as a bug in a rug slime!

Thank you for giving this experiment a go! Let me know how it went and send me your pictures on Facebook and Twitter!

Until next week my friends! - Sarah 💚😊💚