Biology Newsletter #13

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 13: week commencing 6 July 2020

The final issue‌for now!

Never when I started this little project at the end of March did I think we would get past a few issues, let alone up to 13! The idea of the Biology Department Newsletter was born during lockdown as a way of giving the school community some ideas to keep them occupied when we were only allowed into our gardens. But it also served as a platform for spreading the passion that so many of us have for science and the natural world. I have been so pleased with how it has been embraced, and delighted with the number of people who have sent kind words or contributions. As such, we are looking to continue the newsletter when we come back in September, although maybe not on a weekly basis!

In the meantime, below are some ideas that you might like to try to keep yourself out and about during the holidays (obviously following current government advice).

Have a lovely summer and remember to keep observing the natural world around you.

Dr Randall

Hampstead Heath Natural History Museum at Tring London Wetland Centre Whipsnade Zoo Woburn Safari Park Oak Hill Wood

Rickmansworth Aquadrome Ashridge Estate RSPB Sandy, Bedfordshire Black Park, Bucks Highgate Wood Your own back garden!

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 13: week commencing 6 July 2020

Operation Nest Box UPDATE – Mr Hardman This week, we added the rubber hinge and painted the boxes with wood preservative (only on the outside!)

Next Monday (see next page), we will add a method to wire the nest box lids shut (predator proof)...and then I'll teach them how to identify 10 British birds visually and aurally, and then 46 boys will proudly carry their homemade nest boxes home. They will put them up according to my instructions and photograph them in situ. Finally they will run up to me excitedly April 2021 to tell me that there are Blue/Great Tits nesting.

The boys have absolutely LOVED making their boxes. I remember making a bird table when I was just a bit younger than Y6 lads are now...and it cemented my love of the natural world, watching wildlife interact with something that I had made.

My next projects: First a ‘Bee Hotel’ (one that will have acrylic sides so you can see what's happening inside). Then a really cool method of trapping newts humanely (without killing them!). I just need to make what I've seen on YouTube. My life's ambition is to set eyes on a live Great Crested Newt (and a Purple Emperor butterfly).

Just sayin'...if anyone can point me in the right direction?!

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 13: week commencing 6 July 2020

Nest box final stages – picture tutorial

Stage 1: Drilling the screw holes

Blake

Stage 3: Using rope to practise tying the overhand knot

Stage 2: Screwing in the screws using a Phillips screwdriver

Tom

Stage 4: Tying the overhand knot in wire.

The wire loop is placed over the head of the screw

Samit

Stage 5: Wiring the roof shut to prevent predators getting in

Anish

Well done to all the prep boys who made bird boxes with Mr Hardman. We hope you enjoyed the experience, learnt lots about construction and ornithology, and most importantly get to experience the joy of watching birds nesting next year. We look forward to welcoming you to the Senior School in September.

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 13: week commencing 6 July 2020

Homemade bird boxes and feeders Shiv Gohil in 7M has been busy upcycling and building in order to attract more birds to his garden. The top photo shows a bird feeder that he made out of a coconut shell and some wire, and then filled with seeds.

He then moved onto making a bird box, using Mr Hardman’s Horizons masterclass video to help him. Shiv didn’t have the required tools to add the hole needed for blue tits to use the box so instead has left the front open. He is going to move this box in to some shrubbery, close to the ground where it will hopefully be used by robins, wrens or blackbirds. Well done Shiv on your amazing efforts to attract wildlife into your garden!

Some of you may remember a couple of years ago when we had a camera set up in a bird box next to the DT building. We showed the live feed on the screen in the Biology department and watched as a family of blue tits went from eggs to fledglings leaving the nest.

Unfortunately that camera has gone but this photo shows a blue tit living in Miss Biggerstaff’s bird box. This is a screen shot taken from camera footage of the box.

I set up this birdbox (assisted by Mr Hardman) in late March of this year. Within a few days of setting it up outside, I already had a prospective blue tit family viewing inside. A few weeks later, I had a look through the small opening to see around 10 baby blue tits in the nest box. Viewing from afar meant I could see the parents flying in and out of the nest with bugs for the babies and carrying out debris to keep the nest clean. After 3 weeks, all the birds had fledged, most likely going to nest in surrounding woodland.

You can see their abandoned nest in the image below.

It was a really fun experience watching this blue tit family grow up, and I’d recommend this project to anyone with an interest in Biology. Sacha Holt, L6