Welly Wednesday- Meeting Ozzie the Owl.

This week in Early Years the children were introduced to Ozzie the Owl. Each week he will bring the children a new 'outdoor challenge' to complete. This week Ollie challenged the children to use their busy fingers to make bird feeders. Birds need a lot of energy to maintain their body temperature. During the spring and summer they can eat insects which provide fat and protein. The recent cold weather has made it hard for the birds to find food to survive and so by creating little bird feeders, the children can help the birds as well as have a chance to observe them more closely.

After making sure they were wrapped up snugly, the children went outside with Mrs Biddle and Ollie the Owl and began to make  a special mixture of lard, suet, vegetable fat and bird seed. Next they tied string to the large pine cones, so they hung upside down. Finally they pushed the fat mixture into the gaps of the cones and gave them a good roll in some more bird seed to make sure they were thoroughly covered.

The children took an observational walk around the school grounds to decide on the best place to hang the bird feeders. Some children hung them from trees and others from bushes. After tying them firmly to a variety of bird-friendly locations the children used their magnet eyes to see if they could spot any feathered friends.

This was a lovely activity which the children enjoyed very much. We are all keeping our eyes peeled to see if we have any hungry visitors to our school over the next week. Why don't you try making one at home?