You Don’t Learn Everything from a Book

Guest Writer:  Beth Littlejohn

Many of you know that I teach school.  This year, for the first time in a number of years, I have a homeroom.  This segment of the day lasts for 30 minutes.  Students dribble in, sometimes singly, sometimes in groups.  I am a teacher who likes things orderly first thing in the morning.  I am planning the events of the day and I believe that students are pondering their day as well.  So what do and how do I provide enriching content that contributes to their being good citizens of this nation and the world?  I struggled with homeroom time until my sister suggested a website to show my students.

A Down-covered B3

Late in February I finally visited the Berry College Eagle Cam.  This camera is focused on an bald eagles’ nest in Rome, Georgia, on the campus of Berry College.  My students were, and still are, hooked! On the days when I would be absorbed in getting things ready my students would ask, “Aren’t we watching the eagle this morning?” When asked what I would say if I was questioned about the validity of showing the growing symbol of our nation I said that you can’t learn everything from a book.

When we started checking in on B3, she was a tiny chick.  We have watched her being fed by her parents and grow into a juvenile.  We are currently waiting on B3 to fledge – take her first flight. I have cautioned my students that according to some eagle facts I have read, 40% of first flights are not successful and the young eagle is lost. We are concerned, but hopefully expectant.

The Berry authorities believe the B3 is female as she is larger than her father. Male eagles are smaller than the females. B3 had a sibling, but the egg was not viable and was buried in the nest. This is the second year in which the Berry eagles have used this nest. I have read that this mating pair will stay together for life, as long as 35 years, and that they will return to the same nest over and over.

If you have an interest in wildlife and especially our national bird, check out the Berry Eagle Cam. If you don’t see B3 in the nest view, try the approach view. Currently she is branching (sitting on a limb away from the nest) and flexing her wings.

We have also been following the eagles on the web cam in Decorah, Iowa. There are 3 chicks in this nest. They are smaller than B3, but cute and growing.

Helping young people build a love of nature and our country is a part of my style of country living.

B3 and mother