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Learning About Birds: Eagles and Other Raptors

Raptors include all the birds of prey that are active primarily during the day, like eagles, hawks, vultures, and falcons. Their diets include small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. "Raptor" means "to grasp or seize" in Latin and refers to how they use their sharp talons to grab and capture prey.
Activities and resources for learning about eagles and other raptors


One of the most well know groups of raptors are the eagles. There are over 60 recognized species of eagle worldwide and they can be found in a wide variety of habitats. Eagles range in size from the South Nicobar serpent eagle which weighs less than a pound and stands about 16 inches tall, to the Phillipine eagle, which can be up to 3ft 5 inches in length and up to 17 pounds!

 How The Bald Eagle Became a National Symbol:
After the declaration of independence was signed in 1776, the Continental Congress assigned the task of designing an official seal for the United States to Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams, however, they were unable to come up with a design that won Congress' approval. Two later committees were also unable to provide a design that pleased congress.

 Finally in 1782, Charles Thomas, the secretary of Congress, combined what he deemed to be the best elements from each committee's proposal. It was approved by congress on June 20th 1782, giving us the bald eagle we still use today.
Videos And Other Online Resources:
-Big Bear Bald Eagle Cam this one is a live feed from a camera over the nest of a breeding pair of bald eagles at Big Bear Lake in southern California, and it is amazing!
-Bald Eagle from All Things Animal
-20 Largest Birds of Prey
-All About Bald Eagles For Kids from FreeSchool
-How the Bald Eagle Became the Official Bird of the United States
-Eagle Hatching
-Bald Eagle from National Geographic Kids

 Eagle Craft:
My kids had a good time making these little handprint eagles, and they turned out pretty cute too! 

 For this craft you will need:
-a sheet of white paper
-a sheet of brown construction paper
-scissors
-paste
-a brown marker

 Start by tracing your child's foot onto one side of the white paper and have them cut it out.

Color it brown, leaving the toes white (the toes will be your tail feathers).

Next trace both your child's hands onto the brown paper and have them cut them out. Glue them to the sides for wings.

 Next draw and cut a head for your eagle out of white paper, and glue it onto the heel of the foot.

Cut out a yellow beak and feet and glue them in place. Add an eye with 
your marker or glue on a craft eye.

And that's it!





If you enjoyed this post be sure to check out the other posts in my Learning About Birds series.

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Comments

  1. KrisFebruary 11, 2020 at 12:53 PM

    Good information for moms to help instruct their students.


    ReplyDelete
  2. Kristen of A Mom's Quest to TeachFebruary 12, 2020 at 9:28 AM

    Very cute! We just saw a Red Tailed Hawk and Turkey Vulture at a rescue farm this past weekend. I love getting to see birds like that up close. Sad that they are are injured past being able to survive in the wild though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brandy NicoleFebruary 14, 2020 at 11:23 AM

      Thanks! We see both red tailed hawks and turkey vultures pretty often around here. They are some impressive birds.

      Delete

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