The Belted Kingfisher Visits Hess Park

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The Belted Kingfisher Visits Hess Park

• Student Sample
• For 7th Grade Science

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Dear Students
I want you to pick an organism from the
Shrub-Steppe Ecosystem that lives or uses Hess
Park. Then, I want you to collect data about
that organism and present it in a PowerPoint
presentation. Be sure to include the organisms
description, habitat, niche and some interesting
facts about it. I have gone ahead and tried out
the assignment myself. You will be using another
organism. Be creative!! Include graphics and
pictures!! Have fun!! Keep going for a better
idea of what to do. Happy data
collecting! Mrs. Murray
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What Do I Look Like?

• What do I sound like?

http//encarta.msn.com/
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What Is a Definition of Habitat?

• The area or type of environment in which an
  organism or biological population normally lives
  or occurs. The place where a thing is most
  likely to be found.

• Habitare is a Latin word that means it
  dwells.

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What Is My Habitat?

• The Belted Kingfisher is a water bird, often
  times spending hours sitting on a branch
  alongside a body of water watching for a small
  fish that might swim near the surface. They
  burrow in the steep walls of river-banks or
  sandbanks to dig a tunnel from 1.2 to 4.6 meters
  long with a larger hollow at the end where the
  bird builds a nest of fish bones and scales.

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What Is My Niche?

• A niche is the relationship of an organism or
  population to the environment it occupies. A
  niche is like the organisms job.
• The Belted Kingfishers niche could be to keep
  the small fish population in balance and to
  aerate the banks of a water area. It would also
  be to re-use some of the fish bones and scales.
• Read more about the Belted Kingfisher to see what
  else could be its niche.

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What Are More Interesting Facts About The Belted
Kingfisher?

• Kingfishers dont just eat fish!! They eat
  crayfishes, frogs, tadpoles, salamanders and
  insects.
• The male and female kingfisher takes turns
  sitting on the eggs.
• Kingfishers are related to the Kookaburra,
  commonly found in Australia. You remember the
  song! Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree.
  Merry, merry king of the fish is he! Laugh,
  Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must
  be!

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More Interesting Facts

• Kingfishers usually seizes their food but
  sometimes they will spear it.
• Kingfishers are often spotted hovering over a
  body of water looking for food.
• Both the male and female Kingfisher actively
  defend their territory.
• The female Belted Kingfisher, with its lower,
  brick-red breast-band, is more colorfully adorned
  than the male.

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What Evidence Is There That Belted Kingfishers
Inhabit Hess Park?
I was leading some students around the pond area
of Hess Park December of 2000, and I pulled out
of my pocket a really, neat painting of a Belted
Kingfisher. Just like magic, within about 10-15
seconds, a Kingfisher flew over the pond!! I
had seen the bird before when I was out there
with some adults, but I thought we were too noisy
to see and hear one with a class of 7th graders!!
Boy, was I wrong!! I was so glad I was wrong!!
It was really a great moment! Nature is full of
surprises, thank goodness!
Mrs. Murray
The Dalles Middle School
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What Is Your Next Step?
Go to the organism list for Hess Park and see
what your choices are. Pick one that no one else
in the class has chosen yet. Find out all the
data you can and then follow the directions for
creating a PowerPoint Presentation. Experiment
with different techniques!! Be sure to save to
your disc. Save your work OFTEN!! Be sure to
consult the Scoring Guide frequently so you can
earn the best grade possible! Happy
Researching and Creating!!
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http//bio.lmu.edu/socal_nat_hist/birds/photos/kin
g_bf.jpg
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Work Citedgive Credit Where Credit Is Due!!
http//encarta.msn.com
Eric G. Bolen, "Kingfisher," Discovery Channel
School, original content provided by World Book
Online, http//www.discoveryschool.com/homeworkhel
p/worldbook/atozscience/k/300920.html, Today's
date here.
http//www.ibirding.com/resources/snapshots/belted
kingfisher.htm
http//www.redpath-museum.mcgill.ca/Qbp/birds/ Spe
cpages/beltedkingfisher.htm
Morris, William, The American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language, published by
American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc. and
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1970