Lesson objectives:
- Continue to expand knowledge about seasonal phenomena in nature based on the characteristics of invisible threads in the winter forest.
- Remind about the relationships between the components of inanimate nature and its living inhabitants
- Convince that the violation of natural connections leads to the destruction of nature.
- Develop a caring attitude towards nature.
Means of education:
Tables, paintings, photographs depicting winter landscapes: winter forest, spruce and all the animals that receive food and shelter from it; a set of cards with images of animals and birds that are connected with invisible threads to a spruce tree for the game - modeling invisible threads in a winter forest.
During the classes
1. Organizational moment. State the topic and purpose of the lesson.
January is the beginning of a new year.
We are going again to the forest animals.
Stories of the new dense forests
The best are waiting for us, can't wait.
2. Checking homework.
Game “Place the animals in houses.”
House 1 – animals that stock up for winter.
House 2 – animals that hibernate.
House 3 – animals that look for food in nature in winter.
Animals: squirrel, bear, elk, fox, wolf, wild boar, hare, hedgehog, badger, beaver, hamster.
Work in groups. Summarizing.
- Point out the tracks of forest animals. (cm. Annex 1)
3. Studying new material. Conversation.
– Are plants and animals related to each other? How?
Today we will look at this connection using the example of a spruce tree and animals. Spruce is one of the most interesting and beautiful trees in our forest.
– How is the life of animals connected with spruce?
Teacher's story: animals feed on spruce seeds, hide among its branches, under them; The crossbill builds a nest on a spruce tree in winter and feeds its chicks with spruce seeds; a hare can also hide under spruce branches, since they are usually located low, sometimes almost close to the ground.
There is also a connection between animals - the “friends” of spruce. When a crossbill picks a spruce cone, it eats only part of the seeds from it and then throws it to the ground. Cones thrown by crossbills are picked up in the snow by squirrels and woodpeckers, and this makes it easier for them to find food. But the cones dropped by crossbills are even more important for wood mice and voles, which cannot pick cones from the trees themselves. The above facts show the connections between animals.
The invisible threads of spruce are the benefits that animals and birds receive from it in wintering forests:
– spruce seeds serve as food for birds: woodpeckers, crossbills, kinglets;
– spruce protects hares from toothy predators;
– Spruce provides food for squirrels.
The invisible threads of nature must be studied and carefully protected.
Before the New Year holiday, people cut down thousands of Christmas trees. A person strives to decorate his home only for a few days.
– What does this entail? (Animals are deprived of food, habitat, and a place for a nest.)
– What way out can be found? (It is better to leave the spruce in the forest and decorate the house with an artificial spruce.)
4. Physical exercise.
The sun warms the earth weakly, (hands up and down)
The frost crackles at night (hands on waist, bends to the sides)
In the snow woman's yard (hands on waist, turn around)
Carrot nose turned white (squat)
Suddenly there was water in the river
motionless and firm (jumping in place)
The blizzard is angry, the snow is spinning (hands up and down, spinning)
Sweeps everything around with snow-white silver. ( hand movements)
5. Fixing the material.
Game “Who will say thank you to the winter tree?” Work in pairs. (see Appendix 2)
– What animals and birds does spruce provide shelter and food for?
– What will happen in the winter forest if for some reason the spruce trees die?
- How do her friends help her?
Sketch “Bureau of Forest Services”.
Cold February arrived in the forest. He swept snowdrifts onto the bushes and covered the trees with frost.
And although the sun is shining, it is not warming.
Soroka: - Everyone for himself again? Alone again? No, so that we can work together against a common misfortune! And that’s what everyone says about us, that we only peck and squabble in the forest. It's even a shame...
Hare: - The magpie is chirping correctly. There is safety in numbers. I propose to create a Bureau of Forest Services. I can help the partridges. Every day I tear the snow on the field down to the ground, let them peck the seeds and greens there after me - I don’t mind.
Crossbills: - We peel the cones on the Christmas trees, drop half of the cones whole, and thus help mice and voles, squirrels, woodpeckers and spruces to spread throughout the earth.
Magpie: - The hare is a digger, crossbills are throwers!
Beavers: – We piled so many aspen trees in the fall – there’s enough for everyone. Come to us, elk, roe deer, and hares to gnaw on the juicy aspen bark and branches!
Woodpeckers: – We offer our hollows for sleeping!
Wolf: - I want to serve as a watchman in the forest! Hares, moose and roe deer near the aspen trees, partridges in the greens, beavers in the huts. I'm an experienced watchman.
Magpie: - You are a robber from the forest road, not a watchman! We know you. I will guard everyone in the forest from you: as soon as I see you, I’ll raise a cry!
This is how animals in the forest help each other out.
Teacher: Guys, why didn’t the animals want the wolf to be a watchman?
– Tell us who helps whom in the forest?
Sketch “Apple Tree and Sparrow”.
Apple Tree: - Listen, Sparrow, haven’t you heard what they say about the brown hare: is it a beast of prey or not?
Sparrow: - Oh, Yablonka, you made me laugh, oh, you made me laugh! What kind of hare is a predator? With his rat teeth it’s only good enough to gnaw on the bark.
Apple tree: - Bark?! Oh, my heart felt: he will gnaw me from all sides, a ferocious predator! He will destroy you, villain!
Teacher: Is the apple tree right that the hare is a predator?
Sketch “Squirrel and Beaver” - Which animal says these words?
- What a bad place this is: no fir trees for you, no pine trees with sweet cones - just bitter aspen around!
- What a nice little place here: no pitchy pines, no prickly fir trees! Some sweet aspens.
Sketch “The Hare and the Vole”.
– Frost and blizzard, snow and cold. If you want to smell the green grass, nibble on the juicy leaves, wait until spring.
“You don’t have to wait for spring, the grass is under your feet!” Dig the snow down to the ground - there are green lingonberries and mantles and dandelions. And you'll sniff and eat.
6. Lesson summary.
– Who is friends with whom in the winter forest?
– What can’t be destroyed in the forest?
– What did you like most about the lesson?
7. Homework (optional).
- Read the text “Jay, Squirrel and Others” pp. 140–141, complete the tasks for the text.
- Write an essay on the topic “Who doesn’t sleep in the forest in winter.”
Lesson objectives:
Knowledge level:
1) Know winter subjects, winter months;
2) Know that spruce is a coniferous, evergreen plant.
3) Features, habitat of squirrel, wood mouse, hare, woodpecker, crossbill
4) About the New Year's holiday tradition and its consequences, which have a detrimental effect on the nature of the forest.
Skill level:
- be able to distinguish spruce from other trees and recognize it;
- think logically, analyze, draw conclusions.
Develop: The ability to find relationships in nature; ability (to speak) to answer questions.
Bring up:
through emotional perception, cultivate love and respect for the surrounding world and nature;
ability to listen to classmates.
Lesson equipment.
Poster “Spruce”.
Demonstration pictures: pine, birch, oak, aspen, spruce.
Demonstrative pictures: squirrel, wood mouse, crossbill, hare, woodpecker.
Handouts (on each desk): spruce seeds and pine needles on each desk (booklets).
Surprise moment of the lesson: Artificial spruce, pine cones.
During the classes
I Organizational moment (psychological attitude)
Are you in a good mood? Then, look at each other - smile. Share your good mood with each other.
Sit down.
II Introductory part. Listening to a poem.
The weather is freezing again;
But on the windows through the rays,
Frost is writing patterns again
Your silver brocade.
(A.M. Zhemchuzhnikov)
What time of year is the poem talking about?
Name the signs of winter. (cold, frosty, snow, blizzard, there are few birds, the days have become shorter and the nights are longer)
Name the winter months. (December January February)
What's your favorite winter holiday? (New Year)
What tree do we bring into the house on New Year's Eve and decorate it? (Spruce)
Where does spruce grow? (In the woods)
III Main part
Then I invite you on a fabulous journey into the forest. In order to learn more about this wonderful tree and who the spruce is “friends” with. And Kolobok will be our assistant on this journey (I show him).
Listen to the fabulous story that Kolobok told me.
Once upon a time, when our Ecokolobok was just Kolobok and lived with his grandparents, I heard a conversation between old people.
“It would be nice for us to put up a beautiful spruce tree at home for the New Year. But we have become quite old - it’s hard to walk into the forest in deep snow, and cutting down a tree is even more difficult.”
And I decided to give Kolobok a New Year’s gift to the old people. He rolled out the threshold of the house, took an ax and rolled into the forest. He rolls, but he thinks...
How will I find this tree in the forest? After all, I have never seen him...
Oh, have you guys seen this tree? Can you find out?
Game “Guess the Christmas Tree”
I show (on the board) pictures of trees (aspen, birch, pine, oak, spruce)
Well done guys, you helped Kolobok find the spruce!
(At the moment when we “approached” the spruce tree, I read the riddle)
What kind of girl is this?
Not a seamstress, not a craftswoman,
She doesn’t sew anything herself.
And in needles all year round.
(showing a picture)
Is this spruce? What do you know about this tree? (children's answers)
Well done!
Oh, I’ll just add that such a tree grows from a small seed (I show). And the height of this tree reaches 60-70 meters, and to grow to such a height you will need spruces 500-600 years(write on the board). Spruce is not only a beautiful tree, but also useful. People use it in industry (they make furniture, build houses). Spruce resin is used by chemists, and even pine needles are used in medicine (I open the “Spruce” poster on the board).
What a spruce! You guys learned all this from books and stories of adults, and Kolobok learned it from the stories of forest dwellers.
/Continuation of the tale/
He found a beautiful and fluffy spruce in the forest and just swung his ax. He hears someone speaking in a thin voice.
Don’t cut down the Kolobok spruce, otherwise my nest with its chicks will fall, the chicks will freeze, and without the spruce we will have nothing to eat. Who is this? - thought Kolobok.
Oh, you guys will find out if you guess the riddle:
Who's jumping and rustling there?
Will he gut all the cones?
With a clear, clear voice,
Cool! Cool! Cool! - sings with a whistle
(Crossbill)
What do you know about this bird? (children's answers)
Well done! Oh, the bun says: “Just think, some kind of bird!” And he swung the ax again. He hears the crossbill crying. Show how a crossbill can cry, what words could it say? (show, children say)
I live under a spruce horse.
Little fast one.
Peak! Peak! - I say
I carry seeds into the hole!
(mouse)
(show the picture and place it on the poster)
What do you know about the mouse? (children's answers)
And, Kolobok keeps repeating his thoughts: “Just think!” And he swung his ax again.
The crossbill (show how) is crying, the mouse is crying (show how)
What are they asking Kolobok for? (children's answers)
Oh, don’t chop the spruce, what will I eat? Who is this?
Who's wearing a bright red beret?
In a black satin jacket.
He doesn't look at me
Everything is knocking, knocking, knocking.
(woodpecker)
(show the picture and place it on the poster)
What can you tell us about this bird? (children's answers)
Ah, little bun know yours: - “Just think!” He swung his ax again. Here, the crossbill is crying (show), the mouse is crying (show), the woodpecker is crying (show). Oh, what are they asking Kolobok? (children's answers)
Oh, don’t chop down the fir tree, where will I hide from danger! Who is this? Guess the riddle:
Long ear
A ball of fluff,
Jumps deftly
Loves carrots.
(hare)
Right! What can you tell me about the hare? (children's answers)
Fizminutka
We are funny bunnies
We are girls and boys (standing jumping)We love jumping around spruce trees
Even though there are frosts and snowstorms (squat jumps)We can warm our paws too
And we will help each other (clap in pairs)Snow and cold are not scary
Winter and I are very friendly (claps for every word)We sat down quietly at our desks (sit down)
The hares hid under the spruce (cotton)
Kolobok thought for a moment, but the desire to please his grandparents was so great that he swung the ax again. Then everyone started crying, the crossbill, the mouse, the woodpecker, the hare, and another voice was heard.
Oh, I'll be left without a home, without food. Don’t chop down the spruce, we all ask you.
Who is this? Guess the riddle:
Who deftly jumps through the trees,
And flies up into the oak trees.
Who hides nuts in a hollow
Dries mushrooms for the winter.
(squirrel)
(show the picture and place it on the poster)
What do you know about protein? (children's answers)
At this point Kolobok was completely at a loss. I sat down and thought. Is it worth cutting down a spruce?
What do you guys think? (children's answers)
Who is spruce friends with? (crossbill, woodpecker, mouse, hare, squirrel)
Do you think spruce “friends” are related to each other? (children's answers)
/Addition to children's answers/
Conclusion - generalization
This means that not only the spruce is “friends” with the crossbill, woodpecker, squirrel, wood mouse, hare, but also the “friends” of the spruce are friendly with each other. The crossbill picks off a cone with its strong beak, eats only part of the seeds, it falls on the snow, and then the woodpecker, the hare, and the squirrels have food ready. And this is especially necessary for the wood mouse, since it cannot pick a cone from a tree. This makes it easier for them all to get food.
So it’s impossible to break this connection in nature? (children's answers)
What should Kolobok do? What would you guys do? But, we all want to have an elegant, beautiful spruce tree in our house for the New Year. (children's answers)
Lesson summary
Let's think about what words can be written on this poster that could stop a person from cutting down a Christmas tree and disrupting the relationships in nature? (hang the poster “Take care of nature” on the board). (children's answers)
After class we will hang this poster in the hallway for all the children to read and tell their parents! Fine?
Well done boys! Your reasoning is correct. So Kolobok understood this, and from then on he began to protect nature and tell everyone that everything that surrounds us must be protected. He even changed his name and became known as Ecokolobok, a friend of nature. Eco – he took it from the word ecology.
Does anyone know what this word means? (children's answers)
Ecology is a science that studies the relationships in nature with the aim of preserving the environment. (On the desk)
And, you and I are currently studying these relationships, and in the future we will protect nature.
Let's read the lines from the poem together...
Tree, grass, flower and tile
They don't always know how to defend themselves.
If they are destroyed,
We will be alone on the planet.
There's a knock on the door.
Surprise moment
The teacher brings in an artificial Christmas tree and a basket of pine cones. In the basket is a letter from friends of the forest.
We read the letter.
Children receive gifts.
The lesson is over
Everyone goes out into the corridor together and hangs up a poster “Take care of nature”, a painting “Spruce and her friends”
Dear Guys!
I listened to your reasoning today and was glad that I have assistants in protecting nature. And so that for the New Year you are not left without a beautiful Christmas tree, I am sending it to you as a gift. I brought the same one for my grandparents! Although it is not real, it is no worse, and even better. This Christmas tree will not lose its needles in a few days and there is no need to throw it away. You can simply disassemble it like a construction set and assemble it next year.
And the friends of the forest also give you a gift. These are pine cones.
Happy New Year!
Your friend Ecokolobok and forest friends
Educational material about the birds of our forests for primary schoolchildren
“Birds of our forests” - stories about the world around us (grades 1-4)
Noskova Natalya YurievnaPosition and place of work: primary school teacher MBOU – Verkh-Tulinskaya secondary school No. 14, Novosibirsk region
Description: I bring to your attention stories for children about forest birds. This material will help teachers and educators diversify their classes using stories. Children will be interested not only in the stories, but also in the illustrations with these birds. If the child knows about the bird, then listen to his story, and then supplement the child’s knowledge with the suggested stories. A reading child can read these stories to his classmates himself. For teachers, this is cumulative material on the world around us.
Purpose: material to help primary school teachers and educators.
Target: introducing children to the birds of our forests.
Tasks:- expand children’s knowledge about forest birds;
- promote the development of thinking, attentiveness, memory;
- cultivate interest and respect for nature.
Birds of the forests
CrossbillThe crossbill is a bird, slightly larger than a sparrow, its body length is up to 17 cm. Dense build. The name of this bird comes from the old Russian word “klestit”, which means “to squeeze, squeeze, squeeze” (the word “pincers” also comes from the word “klestit”. The beak of the crossbill is bent, its ends cross crosswise, overlap each other, it as if strongly compressed. Thanks to this beak, the crossbill very deftly bends back the scales on the cones and takes out tasty seeds. It’s funny to watch how the crossbill removes the cone: tenaciously grasping with its paws, it, like an acrobat, hangs upside down on the branch. Suspended from the branch, the crossbill bites the petiole cone and drags it onto the branch. Holding the cone tightly with its paws, the bird puts its crooked beak under the scale and spreads its jaws. The scale protrudes, and the crossbill uses its tongue to extract the seed by the “wing.” Seeds of coniferous plants form the basis of the crossbill’s diet.
Three species live in Russian forests: the spruce crossbill (eats spruce seeds), the pine crossbill (eats pine seeds), and the white-winged crossbill (eats larch seeds).
The color of males is bright red-cherry, while that of females is yellowish-gray. Crossbills live in flocks, often in taiga and mountain coniferous forests. With the arrival of warm weather, when the seeds fall out of the cones and food becomes scarce, flocks of crossbills wander through the forested areas of the country, very far from their nesting places. They live on coniferous trees in flocks, often hanging from cones, tearing them off and dropping them. During the flight they constantly call each other. The voice of the crossbill is a ringing “kle-kle”. The song is a chirp with a loud whistle.
Crossbills can hatch chicks at any time of the year, depending on the harvest of cones. In years with a good harvest of cones, crossbills nest from February. The nest is made in trees. On a tall fir tree, a pair of crossbills builds a warm nest, sheltered from the weather by thick spruce branches. At this time, the seeds of spruce and pine ripen, the cones open, filling the forest with seeds. Parent crossbills clean them, soak them in the crop and feed the chicks.
Raven is a large omnivorous bird. Body length 60-65 cm, weight up to 1.5 kg. The raven's color is black with blue, greenish, and violet tints. Legs and beak are black. Excellent vision. In search of prey, it can fly over a fairly large area. The sounds that crows make are sharp, loud cries of “kar-kar” or a restrained “kruk”.
This is a whistling raven.
Crows are prone to onomatopoeia and can learn to repeat a dog's bark and other sounds.
Crows live in forests, steppes, and mountains; they can live near rocks and coastal cliffs. They feed on small rodents, eggs, fish, but can also eat plant foods. The raven brings benefits by performing a sanitary role.
Crows mostly live in pairs. During the nesting season, the male and female jointly build a nest. It is placed in the dense crowns of tall trees. The inside is lined with wool and dry grass. The female incubates the eggs for 20 days. There are usually 3-7 eggs in a nest. At this time, the male guards the female and brings her food. After leaving the nest, the chicks stay with their parents for some time, and then gradually get used to living independently.
In the mythology of European peoples, the raven was considered a companion of wizards, a symbol of wisdom. It was believed that it was a prophetic bird that could predict the future.
Crows are the smartest birds, they can even get food using available “tools” and easily learn from each other. Crows are easily tamed, and birds that are captured in childhood quickly learn to imitate human speech.
The oriole is a small migratory songbird, a relative of the sparrow. The body length is about 25 cm. The color of the male’s plumage is golden-yellow. The wings and tail are black, and there is also a black stripe from the beak to the eye. There are yellow spots on the sides of the black tail, and the beak is red. The female is greenish in color, with a spotted pattern on the underside of the body.
Distributed in Europe and Asia in deciduous and mixed forests. It feeds on insects and their larvae, caterpillars, and berries.
The male and female build hanging nests together, placing them on thin branches of deciduous trees. The parents incubate the eggs in turns for about 15 days.
The chicks are fed and trained by both parents. During nesting, male orioles are pugnacious and quarrelsome, so these birds build nests at a considerable distance from each other.
The oriole’s song is long and complex, its beautiful whistle resembles the sound of a flute: “fu-tiu-liu,” and its loud cry is the meow of an angry cat. The oriole is a rather shy bird and does not adapt well to captivity.
The oriole destroys a huge number of pests of forests and gardens. At the end of August, orioles begin to fly to Africa for the winter and return only in the spring - in the second half of May.
In ancient times, there was a superstition that the oriole screams like a cat - unfortunately, so this bird was feared. But in fact, most often the oriole makes calls similar to “vzh-ya-ya-u” before the weather worsens.
The kingfisher is a small forest bird with dark spots. The throat and sides of the neck are white, the belly is reddish. The beak is long and straight, and the legs, wings and tail are relatively short.
The name of this bird appeared a long time ago, when it was believed that kingfisher chicks hatch in winter, far in the south. This opinion arose because kingfisher nests are very difficult to detect. The kingfisher is also popularly called “fisher”.
Kingfishers are distributed throughout the globe. They live along the banks of rivers and lakes; there are also forest and semi-desert species. They prefer places with some kind of vegetation - trees and shrubs.
They feed on small fish, tadpoles, and water insects. Sitting motionless on some branch, the kingfisher looks out for prey, dives after it, grabs it, emerges, takes off and eats it.
Kingfishers are able to brake sharply in the air when flying, hover over the water, and dive into the water for prey. They have very good eyesight: they easily and accurately determine the distance to their prey. In winter they like to swim in the snow. Kingfishers make a sharp, loud cry: “ti-i-i-p... ti-i-i-p.”
Kingfishers nest in separate pairs in coastal cliffs. For the nest, the male and female dig a hole, which begins with a tunnel and ends with a nesting chamber. There is no bedding in the nest. The female incubates the eggs for about 20 days. Both parents feed the hatched chicks; first they bring small fish, then the size of the fish increases. As soon as young kingfishers learn to fly, they immediately leave their parents.
Many peoples have legends and traditions about kingfishers. For example, it was believed that this bird got fire for people and scorched its abdomen, which is why it is bright red.
The owl is a nocturnal bird of prey. The body size of owls varies: from 40 to 180 cm, weighing from 50 g to 3.5 kg. The eyes are large and motionless, but the neck is very mobile; owls can turn their heads 270 degrees. The beak is strong, with a sharp curved hook at the end. The wings are wide, the claws are long and sharp. The tail is usually short. The color of the plumage is mainly gray and brown. Most often, females are larger than males. Owls fly silently.
During the day, owls usually lead a sedentary lifestyle, so many people believe that they do not see anything during the day and sleep. But that's not true. An owl sees the same both day and night, although it can barely distinguish color. Its vision has one more drawback - owls are farsighted. The owl sees almost nothing next to it. But her hearing is very subtle.
In spring and summer, owls often call at night. Their voices are monotonous, similar to abrupt (“uh-huh”) or drawn-out (“sleep-yu-yu-yu”) moans.
Owls are widespread, they are not found only in Antarctica. They can live in forests, gardens, and parks. Sometimes they settled in old manors, estates, castles, terrifying the inhabitants of these places with their screams. The diet of owls is varied, large owls hunt for rodents, small ones feed on insects, and some feed on fish.
Let's remember
- What did we call invisible threads? What groups have we divided them into?
- What invisible threads did we discover in the autumn forest?
Who is spruce friends with?
Let's go in search of invisible threads in the winter forest.
Here in front of us is a beautiful spruce. This is a straight, slender tree. It can be very high. And lives up to 500 years! The trunk is densely covered with branches with green needles. On many of them we will see cones, and we will find seeds in them.
For forest animals, spruce is a nurse and protector.
Squirrels, woodpeckers, and crossbills can deftly extract seeds from its cones. This is their main food in winter. And what they don’t eat, the wood mice will drop and pick up in the snow.
In dense spruce branches, squirrels and birds take refuge from their enemies. And crossbills here in winter also build nests and hatch chicks! They are not afraid of the cold if there is enough food.
Many spruce trees have branches that reach almost to the ground. Behind this green curtain, a hare can hide from the wind and predatory animals.
- Follow the diagram of the connection between the spruce and forest animals.
- Using your knowledge of the winter life of birds and animals, give other examples of invisible threads in the winter forest (8).
How animals help each other
Let's see how our old friend the jay is doing. She hid a lot of acorns in her pantries and now looks for them and eats them. But here’s the problem: the jay does not know how to get acorns from under deep snow. What should she do?
A squirrel comes to the rescue. For her, larder jays are a wonderful find. Having deftly dug out the deep snow, the squirrel eats part of the acorns. After her, the owner of the pantry flies to the dug up place and eats what is left.
But this is not all forest tricks.
Crossbills help the squirrel feed itself. It turns out that the crossbill eats only a small part of the seeds from the cone. Then he throws the cone, and the squirrel gets it.
But it’s not just squirrels that crossbills unwittingly help! The cones they throw away are often picked up by a woodpecker. And even more often they are found and eaten by voles and wood mice.
This is how closely the different animals in the winter forest are connected to each other!
Let's play!
- Come up with and act out scenes from the life of a winter forest with the children, playing the roles of various animals. You can use costumes and masks for the game.
Let's think!
- How would the life of the forest be disrupted if all the oaks suddenly disappeared? all pine and spruce? all the proteins? all the crossbills? all the jays?
- What connections did we study in class? Choose the correct answers: a) connections between inanimate and living nature; b) connections between plants and animals; c) connections between different animals; d) connections between nature and man.
Let's check ourselves
- Why did we call spruce the nurse and protector?
- Which animals depend on spruce for their lives?
- How are jays and squirrels related to each other in the winter forest?
- How does the crossbill help other forest animals feed themselves?
The nutritional value for animals is provided by spruce and pine seeds, hazel nuts, pine nuts, Manchurian and walnuts, and berries. The ways in which they are used by different animals and birds are not the same.
Under spruce trees you can often find squirrel-treated cones. Having picked a cone, the squirrel turns it around its axis, gnawing off the scales and selecting seeds from under them. The animal always begins to separate the scales from the thick end of the cone, from the petiole. This is understandable, because the bases of the scales at the apical part of the cone or near its middle are covered with free parts of other scales.
The squirrel-processed cone is a rough rod about 1-1.5 cm thick and with a certain number of unseparated scales on the top (Fig. 103, a, b). Being frightened by something, the squirrel throws a cone. In this case, unseparated scales remain on the larger or smaller end part, under which the seeds rest. You can approximately determine the place where the squirrel fed. If the scales are scattered under the spruce over a large area, then we can conclude that the animal was gnawing on a cone more or less high on the tree. If the scales are concentrated on the ground in one place close to each other, then you can be sure that that the squirrel processed the cone in this very place (sometimes on a stump or on the trunk of a fallen tree) Pine cones are also used by squirrels for food. After processing, a thin rod with several ungnawed scales on top remains from the pine cone (Fig. 104, a) Great similarity in the processing method the chipmunk has the same cones as the squirrel does. The difference is that the chipmunk bites off the scales not so close to the rod; the rods remaining after processing are thicker, with longer remnants of scales (Fig. 104, e)
A fir cone thrown by the wind or dropped by a crossbill is a good gift for mice and voles. These animals gnaw the scales not as close to the core of the cone as the squirrel does, so they leave it thicker. Sometimes the animal does not bother to turn over the cone or does not have enough to do this. forces, the scales are gnawed off only on one side (see Fig. 103, 0, g, 105, f-i)
Various species of woodpeckers are lovers of spruce and pine seeds.
Having picked a cone from a tree, the Great Spotted Woodpecker flies with it to its “forge,” which is a gap in a tree trunk or in a branch. Sometimes the woodpecker himself hollows out such a gap in a place that for some reason turns out to be convenient for this, sometimes he uses a gap formed for another reason. In the latter case, he corrects it, adapts it for his needs. The woodpecker squeezes a cone into the “forge” gap, with the top up, bends the scales with blows of its beak and takes out the seeds. The woodpecker throws out the thus processed cone after bringing a new one Under the tree , on which the woodpecker’s “forge” is located, there are usually many, hundreds and even thousands of spruce or pine cones scattered, often both. Cones processed by the woodpecker can be recognized by bent or protruding scales (see Fig. 103, d, 104, b )
Crossbills feed on spruce and pine seeds. The presence of such food allows crossbills to hatch chicks even in winter. A cone treated with crossbill is distinguished by the fact that it contains a lot of unbent scales and un-removed seeds. Green twigs remain around the cones picked by the crossbill, since the bird picks them inaccurately, not the way a woodpecker does.
The demand of animals and birds for pine nuts is great; large animals such as bears, wild boars, wapiti, and small animals such as mice, nutcrackers and grosbeaks feed on them. Boars and bears crush or bite the cones with their teeth, pick up the nuts, chew them along with the shell and swallow. Having had enough, the bear chews on individual nuts and tries not to swallow the shells. In late summer and early autumn, the squirrel picks unripe green cones. The nuts are not removed from them at this time (see Fig. 105, b). She then bites off the outer part of the nut shell and removes the kernels. Sometimes the squirrel throws or loses the cone at the first stage of processing, after gnawing off the scales. In this case, mice or voles can pick it up. They deepen the spaces between the nuts, and then gnaw holes in them through which they remove the kernel (see Fig. 105, a). Squirrels gnaw off the scales of mature cones and extract nuts (see Fig. 105, c). A squirrel cracks an individual pine nut picked up from the ground or extracted from a cone with its teeth and eats the kernel. The chipmunk does the same. Mice and voles gnaw a hole in the nut shell (Fig. 106, g).
| Fig 106 Nuts processed by different animals a-b-walnut a-pecked by a great spotted woodpecker, b-gnawed by a dormouse, c-e - Manchurian nut, c-gnawed by a wood mouse, d -gnawed by a chipmunk, e-cracked by a white-backed woodpecker, f- g - Korean cedar nut e - split by a chipmunk, g - gnawed by a wood mouse, h - hazel nut gnawed by a chipmunk, i-p - hazel nut, i, p - gnawed by a wood mouse, l-n - pecked by a woodpecker, k, o - gnawed by a squirrel, p - cherry seeds, split by a grosbeak (orig a, b - Moldova, g-z - Primorsky Territory, i-m - according to M a M Woyaatka, 1971, K - r - after Formozov>, 1952) | Fig 107 Acorns and nuts processed by various animals and birds a - acorns pecked by a Caucasian black-headed jay, b-c - Korean cedar nuts b - gnawed by red-backed voles, c - split by a chipmunk, d - wrapped hazel nuts, gnawed by a chipmunk, d - beech fruits gnawed by a dormouse, e - an acorn pecked by a Caucasian nuthatch, g - a “blacksmith” of a white-backed woodpecker with a Manchurian nut split by him (d, g - orig, Primorsky Territory, a, b, e, f - according to Formozov, 1952) |
Manchurian nuts, whose thick shell is exceptionally durable, are crushed by wild boars and bears with their teeth, and other animals gnaw through the shells. The chipmunk gnaws the shell at the junction of its two halves, the wood mouse - at the thinnest and weakest place. It is surprising that such a strong shell yields to the beak of a woodpecker, who places the nut in the crack of his “forge” in the same way as he does, for example, with a fir cone. Then it hits with its beak at the junction of the two halves of the shell and opens them or breaks off one of them (Fig. 106, c-d).
The walnut, which has an incomparably thinner and weaker shell than the Manchurian one, is pierced by the spotted woodpecker in a thin place. His work can be determined by the uneven, jagged edge of the hole made in the shell. Dormouse willingly eats not quite ripened walnuts covered with juicy green skin. In the shell, which is not yet sufficiently hardened, the dormouse gnaws a round hole through which it takes out the kernel. In animals that feed on walnuts, the crumbs of their palms are always brown from the coloring substance of the juice of the green peel of the nut. Mouse-like rodents leave a rounded hole in the walnut with more or less even edges (Fig. 107, a, b).
Woodpeckers crack or gouge a hole in the hazel nut shell with angular or jagged edges. The squirrel cracks the nut or gnaws its shell, mice gnaw an approximately round hole in the nut shell, voles also gnaw a hole, but most often not completely round, the dormouse makes a round hole in the shell (see Fig. 106, h, i, l, m, n, p).
Many mammals, from large ones such as bears, wild boars, deer, and ending with mouse-like rodents, feed on acorns on occasion. Birds of different sizes and different ecological and systematic groups also eat acorns. For example, acorns in certain seasons of the year make up a significant proportion of the diet of many gallinaceous birds, corvids, ducks, woodpeckers, and a number of small passerines. There are differences in the methods of obtaining and eating acorns by different animals (see Fig. 107, a, f). Unfortunately, these differences are largely unexplored and could be the subject of fascinating research for pathfinders. Mammals and birds readily eat sunflower seeds. Among mammals, these are many species of mouse-like rodents that occupy stations close to fields and vegetable gardens where sunflowers are sown. The list of birds consuming sunflower seeds is very large. In some cases, birds significantly reduce sunflower yields. In the Primorsky Territory, grosbeaks and Chinese greenfinches peck out ripening sunflower seeds in collective farmers' gardens. Housewives, protecting the harvest from bird attacks, wrap the “plates” of sunflowers with rags. The birds take countermeasures: they peck a hole in the rag, climb into the resulting “pocket” and eat the seeds there, leaving only the shells. At the same time, the birds, it would seem, cannot see what is happening outside, but it is not possible to take them by surprise; they remain vigilant and fly away if you approach them (Fig. 108, c).
The berries of bird cherry, rowan, and grapes are obtained and eaten differently by different birds, and these differences are not difficult to see. Grosbeaks only peck out the seeds from the berries of cherries and bird cherry, and throw the pulp. Under the Maak bird cherry tree in Primorye, you can sometimes see many blue spots on the ground. Here a large black-headed grosbeak fed, which removed the seeds from the bird cherry berries, split them, and took out the core. The discarded berry pulp, oozing juice, forms blue spots under the tree. Here you can also find inconspicuous seed shells. Grosbeaks also use cherry berries. Bullfinches extract tiny seeds from rowan berries and throw away the pulp. Other birds, on the contrary, value the pulp, but they are not able to split the bone and extract the nutritious core from it. Sparrows eat the sweet pulp of grapes and cherries, while larger birds, such as thrushes, swallow small grapes whole. Starlings, unlike bullfinches, swallow rowan berries whole. Waxwings do the same, etc. (cm 106, p; 108, a, b, d)
The soil stores large reserves of plant and animal food: roots, tubers, insect larvae, centipedes, earthworms, etc.
Of the large animals, the main consumer of underground food is the wild boar. Its large conical head and short neck are adapted for digging in the ground. Its developed subtle sense of smell allows it to sense places where roots, bulbs or invertebrates accumulate through a thick layer of soil. In one day, a wild boar can dig up to 8 m2 of soil surface. Wild boars search for soil animals, as well as edible underground parts of plants, both in summer and winter. They dig in soft, moist soil more readily than in dry and hard soil. It is sometimes easy to distinguish wild boars from those of other animals by their size: no other animal “plows” the soil over such large areas. Sometimes they are always accompanied by footprints on the soil or in the snow, which makes it possible to more confidently say which animal was grazing here. Wild boars often visit potato fields, corn plantations or other crops and cause damage to the crop, sometimes quite significant. But, loosening the soil, wild boars simultaneously bury plant seeds, acorns, cedar nuts, etc., which contributes to the regeneration of the forest. Some seeds and nuts swallowed by a wild boar remain intact and viable after passing through the animal's digestive tract. In this way, wild boars contribute to the spread of many plant species and, most importantly, valuable tree species. Rummaging in the soil, these animals find small vertebrates (mouse-like rodents, lizards, snakes, frogs) and eat them. They, of course, do not leave what is on the surface of the soil. In many cases, acorns or nuts, which are most often found on the surface of the soil, serve as the main food for wild boars
The badger is nocturnal. It is omnivorous; a large part of its food is occupied by terrestrial parts of plants and soil inhabitants - small vertebrates, insect larvae, worms, etc. The badger's night hunting areas are marked by digs of varying depths and widths.
As you can see, digging of soil by animals is most often associated with their omnivorous nature. Bears often dig in the soil. They look for insect larvae and also extract edible parts of plants (Fig. 111). The sizes of the bear's digs are different. In some cases, when getting the chipmunk's supplies, he digs large holes, turning out stones that weigh many pounds (Fig. 112). The bear digs up anthills.
A fox digs up snow in winter while hunting voles and mice. Along with footprints, digging helps to recognize the presence of this animal. Sometimes a fox digs in the summer in search of food, but they are not as noticeable as in the snow in winter.
The squirrel stores up nuts, acorns and other types of food, which it hides in secluded places or buries. In winter, it digs up snow in places where it buried food in summer and autumn. Such excavations are clearly visible against the white background of snow cover. This animal searches for and extracts from under the snow acorns, nuts, spruce and cedar cones that ended up on the ground naturally (not from those stored by it).
Deer dig up the snow in search of acorns, nuts, moss or dry leaves. Reindeer are known to obtain reindeer moss from under the snow, as well as other plants.
Waders - great snipe, snipe, woodcock and woodcock feed on soil invertebrates, reaching them with their long beaks, which these birds plunge into the soil up to their heads. Holes as thick as the beak remain in the soil. Which of the birds listed above belongs to this track can be determined approximately by its size. The widest holes belong to the woodcock, the narrowest to the woodcock. Woodcock is found in the forest, snipe - in grassy hummocky swamps, great snipe - in water meadows in river valleys, garden cock is distributed mainly in the northern part of the forest zone and in the forest-tundra, it nests in sphagnum bogs. Of course, these birds can be encountered and may leave their holes in areas that are not their primary habitat. The listed birds do not avoid plant foods, for example, the seeds of certain plants.
The gray crane and gray goose make holes in the mud with their beaks. They take out reed shoots. The hole made by the crane is directed from top to bottom, and the hole made by the goose, larger than that of the crane, is directed obliquely. The crane eats only the whitish tender parts of the shoots and throws away the denser tops, while the goose eats the entire shoots.
On a walk you can find pine cones eaten by four animals - and distinguish them like real trackers
This cone (see above) has the scales chewed off at the very base, leaving a thin rod. This is the job of a squirrel. She loves to feast on spruce seeds, and this is how she gets them out from under the scales. And this plump stub was left behind by the mouse:
She also likes to gut pine cones, but she bites off the scales in half, so she is left with such a “half-cone.”
But not only four-legged animals love spruce seeds. Look - this cone was also eaten, but not at all like that.
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Its scales are all in place, but they are tousled, bent, and there are no seeds left under them. That's who pecked her - a great spotted woodpecker.
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Of course, it’s not so convenient for him to get seeds out of a cone - he doesn’t have front paws, so he makes a forge for himself. The woodpecker chooses a convenient fork between the branches or a depression in the tree trunk, firmly hammers a cone into it, and then uses its beak and tongue to extract seeds from it. Sometimes you can find hundreds of cones under your favorite woodpecker tree. Have you ever seen such “placers” in a forest or park? Look carefully, you will probably see it, and if you try, you will notice the forge itself.
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And someone ate this cone too. Only very inattentively - a lot of seeds remain, and the scales are only slightly bent, and some are torn in the middle.
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This is the work of the crossbill. The crossbill is an amazing bird; in the old days it was even called “Christ’s bird.” Why? More on this in the next issue. (in the meantime, here’s a link to the most useful book for pathfinders - it contains bumps, tracks in the snow, and all sorts of chews)