By Gita M. Smith

Photo: Goldfinches at a Handmade Feeder -- by Gita M. Smith

Have you ever been hunting in a deer stand and heard birds calling out a warning? Or have you ever heard them calling their mates to announce that they have found food? Birds have calls for different occasions. You may hear the assembly call (parents calling the young ones to come to them) or the stay-away call that male birds make to warn other males off their territory.

If you start listening to the birds in your own back yard, you will soon hear the different songs and calls they make. In summer, the birds are raising their young, and they are looking for food close to their nests. By keeping some feeders full of seeds, you’ll be sure to attract lots of birds to your back yard.

To tempt goldfinches to visit you and stay, you can fill a mesh bag or a stocking with thistle (or nyger) seeds. The brightest yellow finches are the older males. The least showy ones are the females and the new babies. They have dull feathers so that predators won’t see them when they are in the nest. As the young male finches start to grow up, their feathers get gradually brighter.

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By Gita M. Smith

Have you ever gone camping and had so much stuff that it felt like you never left the city? Or have you been out in the woods and realized you forgot something really important – like toilet paper or a flashlight?

Most kids go camping with their parents or someone older who is in charge … but just for a minute, let’s pretend that kids ruled the world and it was up to YOU to find shelter, safety, and have enough food and water in the great outdoors. Would you know what to do?

Test your know-how and see.

TRUE OR FALSE:

1. As long as water is running over rocks and it is cold, it is safe to drink.

2. Mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide we breathe out.

3. Bears will not come to your campsite if you have a campfire burning.

4. Mushrooms that you find in the bark of trees are safe to eat -- it’s the ones growing in meadows that are poisonous.

5. Never dive into any water because you cannot see rocks under the surface.

6. Lightning comes before thunder because light travels faster than sound.

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By Tom Watson

Photo: A standard compass dial face has a magnetic red needle and North Arrow outline, compass dial with degree markings and directional arrowhead in black.

People often say you should carry a compass when you go into the woods so you won’t get lost. How does that work? If possible, hold a compass in your hand while you read this.

The Earth is like a huge magnet spinning in space. There is an imaginary magnetic rod through its center — from the North Pole to the South Pole.

A magnetized piece of metal — like the light, free-swinging needle on a compass — is attracted to the North Pole of the Earth.

Compasses have a circle-shaped face to imitate the shape of the earth. From any point on earth you can turn in a full circle and look in all directions — North, West, South and East.

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