Monday July 13
Seabird Camp 2020 kicked off today with a Town Orienteering Scavenger Hunt. Tonia and Ashley Kushin put together the activity and I set it up in the morning. There are 5 stations. At each station there is a clue about a nearby seabird. To complete the scavenger hunt students picked up data sheets from me at campus. The data sheet has a column for a photo sticker, the common name, and the scientific name of the seabird. The stations were marked by a stake in the ground. Stapled to the stake on one side was the clue about a seabird. Stapled to the back was a Ziploc of supplies: the photo sticker and the scientific name. Students had to stick the stickers in the right spots on their data sheets and come up with the common name. Once they finished all 5 stations, the returned their completed data sheet to me for a ticket entry into the prize drawing.
Students had a blast completing the hunt. Students who started out on foot came back for their bikes so they could get to all the station faster. They talked about how tired they were after their long trip. 4 students finished on their first day—some with their friends, and some with their families. 2 took two days to finish the scavenger hunt. They got help with the common names when they needed it. Some students stopped by to use Google or a bird book for reference. The most difficult bird for students to identify on their own was the Harlequin Duck. Everybody got help. If they didn’t look it up, they used a street shout out! Three kids told me they stopped someone on the road to get help identifying the common names of seabirds.
This activity was a great start to Seabird Camp. The stations were close enough to sites to see seabirds or their habitats, but a safe enough distance from the docks or cliffs. Students not only used their knowledge about maps and the town itself, but also got community members involved in conversations about local seabirds. We had great weather for it and everyone enjoyed being outside and on the hunt for the next clue.