Cam in the Classroom Mrs. Gingerich s First Class Grace Christian School South Market Street, Staunton, VA

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1 Cam in the Classroom Mrs. Gingerich s First Class Grace Christian School South Market Street, Staunton, VA Hi! Our class is excited to talk with you today. Wednesday, May 6, 2015 Hello Mrs. Gingerich's Class! I'm excited to talk to you! Have you been watching our Critter Cams? Comment From Lydia, PA ʕ ᴥ ʔ Hello Mrs. Gingerich's Class! Yes, we love seeing all of the animals. We don't see the bear cubs. They must be sleeping. Should we go to the black vulture instead? You can or you can watch Maggie our education Peregrine Falcon! She just celebrated her first hatch-day! Right now you can see her people watching. She is a very curious falcon. Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Gingerich s First Grade Class Page 1

2 Happy 1st Hatch-Day Maggie! We celebrated with cake and Maggie even got presents! What kind of cake does a falcon eat? Well the Wildlife Center of Virginia staff had cake and Maggie got some delicious mice and a couple of toys. Here is a video of the celebration. It's a little long, but you can always come back to it later. Comment From Lydia, PA ʕ ᴥ ʔ Maggie go treats in her binkie kong gift! You can even see her unwrapping her present! Falcons have really long toes with sharp talons. Those talons help them eat their prey! How much does a falcon eat each day? That depends on the type of falcon! Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Gingerich s First Grade Class Page 2

3 At the Wildlife Center we have two education falcons! Maggie... Maggie the Peregrine Falcon and we have Edie the American Kestrel! Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Gingerich s First Grade Class Page 3

4 Maggie gets 80 grams of mice or chicks each day and Edie, who is much smaller, gets 30 grams of mice Edie is beautiful! Will we get to see Edie when we visit next week? Definitely! Edie is one of my favorites! Chapin and Edie Comment From Lydia, PA ʕ ᴥ ʔ Edie is such a little drama queen...love her too She does have lots of personality! Edie is especially cool because Kestrels are the smallest species of falcon in the United States! Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Gingerich s First Grade Class Page 4

5 They are small but mighty! They have a special sharp hooked beak to help them kill and eat their prey. Edie's tomial tooth The red arrow is pointing to what is called the tomial tooth and that helps her cut her food like a fork and knife! What are Edie and Maggie's favorite foods? They love mice and chicks! Maggie gets especially excited when it is time to eat! How much can Maggie carry in her talons at one time? Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Gingerich s First Grade Class Page 5

6 Oooh! That is a good question! I'm not entirely sure, but Peregrine Falcons are known to hunt ducks. Let me see if I can find you a number really quickly! I can't find an exact number, but a mallard duck can weigh up to three pounds A Peregrine Falcons often go after pigeons and doves for their food too. How many miles can Maggie fly before resting? They can fly for a long time. They will often migrate down to South American during the fall. And on average will fly at miles per hour. When they are chasing prey they can go up to 70 miles per hour. And when they do a stoop dive to ambush their prey, they can reach more than 200 miles per hour!!!! Where do Peregrine Falcons live in the world? The word Peregrine comes from the Latin word wanderer. These birds are found all over the world except Antarctica and a few oceanic islands. Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Gingerich s First Grade Class Page 6

7 They are quite the wanderers aren't they? How big are Maggie's talons? Her longest toe (middle toe) is two inches long! Let me see if I have a picture for you! Falcon feet! How much does Maggie weigh and old is she? Maggie weighs 800 grams (1.7 pounds) and she just turned one this past Friday! May 1 was her first hatch-day! She will soon be getting her adult feathers! Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Gingerich s First Grade Class Page 7

8 Just look how much she has changed! Her feet are changing color! And when she is done molting (losing her old feathers and growing in new ones) she will look like this... Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Gingerich s First Grade Class Page 8

9 Chayton the Peregrine Falcon (2012) Chayton sadly passed away in How long is Maggie's beak? Hmmm! It does change. Their beaks continue to grow like our hair and fingernails. But Miss Amanda and I think her beak is about inches. It's hard to tell since her beak is curved. Wow! This has been so much fun! We have many more questions but we have to go home soon. Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Gingerich s First Grade Class Page 9

10 Well we can always schedule more Cam in the Classroom sessions and we are so looking forward to your visit! We can't wait until next week when we can come to the Wildlife Center and see more animals. We'll bring our questions too! Thank you! Excellent and it was my pleasure! Comment From MAK, PA Tough questions! Thanks for wanting to learn. Those were some excellent questions! Comment From katiesmom Edie loves when people come to vist with her. Comment From CarolinaGirl ʕ ᴥ ʔ Edie likes company! Comment From CarolinaGirl ʕ ᴥ ʔ Great questions class. Hope you have a great visit next week! Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Gingerich s First Grade Class Page 10