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Week 10 · Seasons and Migration

Tuesday

Three answers to winter
// Reading the months as data
⏱ about 15 min

Tuesday: Three Answers to Winter

Rocket sketches a bird with a tiny suitcase. "Where does it go when the yard gets cold?" he asks.

Raven flips back through her field notebook. "In summer I logged birds every day. Now I see fewer."

Nova projects a cyan map above the table. A dotted line runs from the yard to a far-off place.

"Some animals travel," she says. "Some sleep. Some stay and change. Can you sort them?"

Move, rest or change

Winter brings cold and less food. Animals have three main ways to get through it.

Some animals move. Migration is a long trip that animals make at the same time each year.

Many birds fly to places with more food in fall. In spring they come back to raise young.

Some animals rest. They slow down and sleep through much of the cold season.

Their bodies use very little energy while they rest, so they need very little food.

Some animals stay and change. Many mammals grow a thicker coat of fur for winter.

Many animals store food in fall. Others eat a lot while food is easy to find.

Plants have an answer too. Many trees drop their leaves and rest until spring.

Answer to winterWhat it meansWho does it (in general)
moveTravel to a place with more food, then come backmany birds and some insects
restSlow down and sleep through the coldsome mammals, frogs, turtles and insects
stay and changeGrow a thicker coat, store food or eat different foodmany mammals and some birds
WHICH ANSWER IS IT?
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A bird flies far away each fall and comes back each spring. Which answer is that?
A frog slows down and sleeps in the mud through the cold months. Which answer is that?
A mammal grows a thicker coat and keeps eating all winter. Which answer is that?

Why migrate at all?

A long trip takes a lot of energy. So why do so many birds make it?

The answer is food. In winter, a cold habitat has few insects and few fresh plants.

A warmer place still has food. The trip is worth it if the bird can eat when it arrives.

In spring the cold habitat fills with food again. Insects return and plants grow.

So the birds come back. The habitat where they raise young is best in spring and summer.

This is one reason the field guide shows a "Seen most" column. Many animals are seen in some months and not others.

A MIGRATING BIRD'S YEAR
  • ?Fall: days get shorter and the bird flies to a warmer place.
  • ?Winter: the bird eats in the warmer place until spring.
  • ?Spring: the bird arrives and builds a nest.
  • ?Summer: the young hatch and grow while food is easy to find.
WHY THIS EXERCISEMigration follows the seasons: arrive, raise young, leave, and come back.
A long trip animals make at the same time each year is called ____.
Animals that rest through winter use very little ____.
StatementTrue or false?
Every animal leaves in winter.?
Many birds fly to places with more food in fall.?
Animals that rest through winter need a lot of food.?
Many mammals grow a thicker coat for winter.?
WHY THIS EXERCISESome animals move, some rest and some stay and change. Each way saves energy or finds food.
Name the main thing that birds go looking for when they migrate.
WHY THIS EXERCISEMigration is a trip to where the food is.
Draw three animals, one for each answer to winter: move, rest, stay and change.

Nice sorting! Tomorrow the field guide comes out, and we read its months as data.

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