Kingfishers Lesson Plans

1. Salmon Life Cycles
...es eggs; crushing eggs by driving or walking through the redd; vulnerability to oil, gas spills, or other stream pollution; eggs are consumed by birds, insects, and other fish. Alevin: Similar dangers and predators to the egg stage. Fry: Eaten by many animals including pike, sheefish, other salmon, kingfishers, mergansers, and terns. Smolt: Eaten by ocean fish, seals and sea lions when they reach the sea; they can become trapped behind beaver dams or flood debris during migration. Adults: Eaten by humans, whales, sharks, sea lions; vulnerable to oil spills and other ocean pollution. Spawners: Eaten by hum...

2. Swimming Upstream « Terrain for Schools Curriculum Guide, Winter/Fall 2001 « Ecology Center
...many predators. At which stage(s) in their lifecycle are they vulnerable to the following predators? (Stages: A. eggs B. immature fish in streams C. adult at sea D. adult returning to spawn E. death/decomposition) a. Orca d. Seals g. River otters j. Great blue heron b. Trout e. Bears h. Plankton k. Kingfishers c. Insect larvae f. Mergansers (ducks) i. Humans l. Sea gulls 3. Scientists have found larger salmon populations in streams that have beaver dams and fallen trees. If beavers are hunted or logs are removed, salmon populations plummet. Explain why. Answers below. + + Activity B: Human Threats + + spa...

3. Brown Pelicans
...where brown pelicans or other shore bird of your choice may be found. (Brown pelicans live along the coasts of North and South America.) SCIENCE Take the students on a field trip where they can observe more shore birds. For example: white or brown pelicans, black skimmers, laughing gulls, seagulls, kingfishers, white ibis, or great egrets. An excellent location to find white or brown pelicans is behind the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi. Have the students record interesting characteristics of the brown pelicans. For example, they can hold a gallon of water in their bills. Students can write the ch...