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The Flickr site is brought to you courtesy of Seney Natural History Association.

Seney NWR has several resources teachers or home school parents are welcome to use during visits or checkout for use in the classroom. To reserve or check out items please contact Sara Hollerich at (906) 586-9851 x 10 or email Sara_Hollerich@fws.gov.

Items available for use at the Refuge.

• Binoculars
• Field Guides
• Insect Nets and Insect Containers
• Dip Nets and Pans for Pond Studies
• Magnifying Glasses
• Pencils
• Clipboards
• Snowshoes
• Carpet Squares

Refuge Trunks

Five trunks are available to teachers and home school parents. Trunks may be reserved and checked out for two weeks at a time. Below you will find a detailed description of the trunks available for checkout.

Raptor Trunk | Migratory Bird Trunk | Loon Trunk | Wolf Trunk | Wetland Trunk

Raptor Trunk

The Raptor Trunk is jam packed full of information about raptors. While not all raptors are included in the trunk, you will find hands on activities, props, games, mounts and activities to use in a classroom setting.   Use owl pellets to discuss food webs, compare and contrast hawk and owl wings to find the secrets of silent flight, or find out how you "measure up" to an Osprey or Eagle.

Trunk Topics

• What is a raptor?
• Owls
• Eagles
• Osprey
• Migration

Reveal Natures Raptors Binder

• Focus on Owl Adaptations
• Raptors – Diurnal and Nocturnal Birds of Prey
• Guide to Identification of Midwest Raptors
• Northern Saw-whet Owl and Other Northern Forest Owls of Michigan – Species Specific Owl Descriptions
  • Owl Adaptations
  • Owl Pellets
  • Owl Reproduction
  • Nest Box Plans for Northern Saw-whet Owls
  • A Teacher’s Guide to Barn Owls and Their Pellets
  • The study of raptors with Owl Pellets
  • Owl Pellet Kit – Teachers Guide
  • Owl Pellet Exploration (Owl Pellet Worksheet)
• Owl, Hawk, and Falcon Information from John Eastman’s Bird Books
  
  • Eastern-Screech Owl
    
  • Great Horned Owl
    
  • Snowy Owl
    
  • Short-Eared Owl
    
  • Sharp-Shinned Hawk
    
  • Red-Tailed Hawk
    
  • Turkey Vulture
    
  • Osprey
    
  • Bald Eagle
    
  • Northern Harrier
    
  • American Kestrel
    
  • Peregrine Falcon
    
• Information on Michigan Eagles
  
  • Gliding Posture in Golden and Bald Eagles
    
  • Eagle Exercises (Finger Puppet and Compose a Poem)
    
• What is a Bird of Prey?
  
• Connect the Dots
  
• Crosswords
  
• Eagle Cards
  
• Bald Eagle Behavior – Activities in Field Observation
  
• Food Mobile
  
• Rules of the Skies
  
• Fun quiz about birds of prey
  
• Birds of Prey Basics
  
• Hawk and Owl Specimen Worksheet
  
• Fact Sheet: Table of Contents
  
• Fact Sheets
  
• Hand-Drawn Michigan Map
  
• Hawks – What they Look like in the Air
  
• A Field Guide for Hawks seen in the Northeast
  
• What is a Raptor?
  
  • Bale Eagle
    
  • Peregrine Falcon
    
  • Northern Spotted Owl
    
  • Red-Tailed Hawk
    
  • American Robin
    
• Postcards with photos of twelve raptors
  
• Birds of Prey Test
  
• Paper Airplane Designs
  
• Try it yourself! Activities… Understand the way Eagles wings work
  
• You are What you Eat
  
• How you Measure
  
• Dilemmas: What would you do?
  
• Nest Box Plans for America Kestrel, Eastern Screech Owl, and Northern Saw-whet Owl
  
• Refuges, Flyways and Migratory Waterfowl
  
• Migration of Birds of Prey
  
• The Bald Eagle – Our National Emblem
  
• Michigan Ospreys
  
• Peregrine Falcon
  
• Save a Snag for Wildlife
  
• The Raptor Center Fast Facts – What can I do about hawks preying on songbirds at my feeder?
  
• Get the Lead Out!
  
• Migration of Birds
  
  • Waterfowl Flyways of North America.
    
  • How fast birds migrated.
    
  • Where birds migrate.
    
  • Why birds migrate.

Included in the trunk

Books

• Peterson Field Guide to Hawks
• Two - National Geographic Field Guides
• Four - Owls for Kids
• Four - Eagles for Kids
• Wise as an Owl
• Hunters of the Sky
• Birds of Prey Coloring Book
• Owls on Silent Wings
• A Home for Pearl
• Zoo Book: Eagles
• Zoo Book: Birds of Prey
• Welcome to the world of Eagles
• Seney NWR – It’s Story
• Owls of North America
• Hawks from Every Angle
• Egg to Bird
• Owls
• Reveal Natures Raptors

Props

• Owl Pellet Display Case
  
• Silhouettes – Accipiter, Falcon, Harrier, Eagle, Vulture, Buteo
  
• Tennis Balls
  
• Raptor Kite
• Bird Bands
  

Games

• Dilemmas: What would you do?
  

Owl Pellets

• Owl Pellets
  
• Forceps
  
• Magnifying Lens
• Vole Stick Sheet
• Bone Sorting Cards
• Owl Pellet ID Sheets
  

Feathers/Skulls

• Barred Owl Wing
  
• Two Hawk Wings
  
• One Hawk Tail
  
• Macaw Feather
  
• Bald Eagle Skull
  
• Red-tailed Hawk Skull
  
• Great Horned Owl Skull
• Barred Owl Skull
  
• Raptor Egg Replicas
  

Posters

• Barn Owl
• Screech Owl
• Great Gray Owl
• Vole Anatomy
• Bone Sorting Chart
• Raptors
• Owl Pellet Bone Chart ID
  

Mounts

• Red-tailed Hawk
• Sharp-shinned Hawk

“How you Measure Up” – Cut-outs

• Osprey
• Eagle
  

Videos

• A Home for Pearl
• Barn Owls and Their Pellets
• Owls - Nighttime keeps of the Northern Forest

CD-ROM

• Thayer Birding Software: Hawks, Eagles, and Owls

Migratory Bird Trunk

The Migratory Bird trunk is a useful tool when education your students about migration.  Hundreds of birds migrate from the South to the North and visa versa.  As the birds migrate, they stop at various wetlands and forests in search of food as their fuel.  They are one of nature’s amazing wonders.

Education Trunk Objectives

• Migration
  
• Bird Topography and Identification
  
• Importance of Migratory Birds
  
• Habitat Loss
  
• Habitat Protection

Migratory Bird Education Guide Binder

Art and Lore

• A Bluebird Mobile
• Art Education
• Mother Goose Rhymes
• Origami Bird
• Peter and the Wolf
• Sounds of Nature
• The Ugly Ducking
• Wild Geese

Conservation

• Conservation Issue Collision Course
• Conservation Issue Loss of Riparian Habitat
• Conservation

Migration

• Chip the Champ
• Mapping Raptor Migration
• Migrating with the Birds
• Migration Headache
• Migration Information
• Migration Mapping
• Neotropical Migration Facts
• The Crane Game

Dangers

• Bird Safety
• Cowbird Capers
• Cowbird
• Dangers of Plate Glass
• Earth Friendly Recipes
• Get the Lead Out
• Hide and Seek
• Lets Get the Lead Out Brochure
• My Changing Neighborhood
• Safe Windows
• The Master Moocher

General Information

• Did You Know?
• Education Projects for Birds
• Migratory Bird Management
• Ruby Throated Hummingbird
• Shorebird Super Hero Puzzler
• Songbirds a Colorful Chorus
• What Exactly is IMBD

Habitats and Nests

• A Habitat for Birds
• Balancing Act
• Egg on Me
• Gallery of Homes
• Give Habitats a Hand
• Habitat Essential Elements
• Whose Nest Is It?

Identification

• Adopt a Bird
• Bird ID 101
• Bird Identification Grades 3-8
• Bird Topography Ages 4 – 8
• Bird Topography
• Clock Chorus
• Migration Identification

Included in the trunk

Books

• Songbird Blues
• Flying Wild
• National Wildlife Refuges
• A Guide to Bird Education Resources
• Feathered Travelers
• Mist-netting with the Public
• Peterson First Guides – Birds
• Stokes Field guide to the Birds – Eastern Region
• National Geographic – A Field Guide to the Birds of North America
• Peterson Field Guides – Eastern Birds
• National Audubon Society – Field Guide to North American Birds
• Sharing the Wonder of Birds with Kids
• Kirtland’s Warbler Calendars
• Hummingbirds
• Seney Its Story
• A Nest Full of Eggs
• Birds – Education Games and Activities for Kids of All Ages.
• The Eco-OK Coffee Activist’s Kit

Games

• Bird Bingo
• Cowbird Capers

Skulls, etc.

• Hummingbird
• American Robin
• Basic Feather Types

Tapes

• Songbird Symphony

CD-ROMs

• Black Bears and Songbirds
• From Wild
• Migratory Bird Teachers Guide

CD

• Guide to Bird Sounds

Puppets

• Nest with Mama and Baby Birds
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• Scarlet Tanager
• American Redstart (male)
• American Redstart (female)
• Brown Bird

DVDs

• Winged Migration
• Hooked on Hummingbirds

Video

• Birdquest

Other

• Fabric Board and cutouts
• Bird Topography Cutouts and Kit
• 2 plastic eggs
• Songbird Clock

Loon Trunk

The Loon Trunk is action packed with hands-on activities.  There are several methods of teaching students about loons and we are attempting to incorporate as many methods as possible.  Please enjoy investigating the activates that are applicable for the grade level you desire to educate.

Trunk Objectives

Educate students about loons by using ten major topics:

• Nesting and Breeding
  
• Raising Young
  
• Gender
  
• Food habits
  
• Migration Habitat
  
• Loon vs. Goose
  
• Purpose of Eye Color
  
• Loon Protection
  
• Loon Body Parts
• Species
  

Loon Binder

• Loon Pre-test
  
• Loon Post-test
  
• Loon Pre/Post –Test Answer Key
  
• Loon Facts – General Background
  
• Loon Adaptations
  
• “One in a Thousand” Game
  
• Become a “Loon Ranger”
  
• Loon Ranger Pledge
  
• Food Web Chain
  
• Loon Song
  
• Loon Station Activity
  
• Common Loon Behaviors
  
• Loons and Life
  
• Video Presentation
  • Loons as Inspiration
  • Loon Biology
  • Loons and People
  • Loons and Lakes
  • Loons on the Map
  • Loons and Communicators
  • The Loon in Winter
  • Loons and Legends
  • Loons and Laws
  • Loons as Art
• References
• Station Photographs
  
• Build a Loon Craft Project
  
• Loon “Fun Sheets”
  
• Loons in the Mist” Article
  
• Get the Lead Out

Included in the trunk

Costume

• Two White Sweatshirts
• Black Cape
• Bill
• Black Hood
• Two Flippers
• Red Goggles

Props

• Goose Skull
• Loon Bone
• Loon Foot
• Goose Bone
• Loon Mount

Poster

• Loon with Chick on its Back
• Up Close Loon

Books

• Loon Legends
• Loon Magic
• The Late Loon
• Seney NWR - Its Story
• The Loon
• Four - Loon Magic for Kids
• Love of Loons
• Two - The Common Loons
• The Call of the Loon
• Loons: Diving Birds of the North

Video

• Wild Voices, Quiet Waters
• Loons
• Loons as Inspiration

Tapes

• Voices of the Loon
• Dan Gibson's Solitudes
• Jazz Loon

CD

• Fascinating Loons CD

Game

• Loon Game

Wolf Trunk

The Wolf Trunk is packed with information and activities.  This trunk has been an ongoing collection of information and suggested activities for years and we hope to keep adding to it.  Educate your students about wolves by using five major topics.

• Compare a wolf to a coyote
  
• Wolf biology
  
• Wolf skin and skulls
  
• Wolf communication
  
• Wolf postures and behaviors

Wolf Education Guide

• It’s a Wolf's Life
  
• Of Wolves and Biopolitics
  
• School Time
  
• Stalking Wolves Activity
  
• Wolf Pre-Post Test
  
• Wolf Recovery in Michigan
  
• Newspaper and Magazine Articles
  • Battles with Wolves
  • How Will the Wolf Survive
  • The Big Not So Bad Wolves of Yellowstone
  • Timber Wolf Alliance
  • Waiting for Wolves to Howl in Yellowstone
• Social Structure of Wolves
• Game Wolves and Territories
• Group Grok
• Pack it Up
• Sniff Out Your Pack
• Social Organization of the Wolf Pack
• Wolf Territories
• Tracking Wolves
• Background on Radio Tracking
• Keeping Track of Wolves
• Making Plaster Casts of Tracks
• Mapping and Territories Activities
• Studying Wolves Studying Animals
• Tracking Using Scats
• Tracking Wolves From Animal Signs
• Wolf Communication
• Body Postures
• Communication – Wolf Vocalization
• Facial Expressions
• Find Your Own Pack
• How Do Wolves Say Hello
• Sense of Smell
• What Did you Say
• What's in a Face
• Wolf Behavior
• Wolf Body Postures
• Wolf Communication
• Wolf Vocalizations
• Wolf General Information
• Are Wolves Dangerous to Humans
• How Can I Help The Wolf
• Living With Wolves
• The Evolution of the Wolf
• Wolf Facts
• Wolf Lore and Art
• Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf
• Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf Activity
• Draw a Wolf
• Make Your Own timber Wolf
• Origami Wolf Pack
• Poetry Writing
• Speaking of Wolves
• The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids
• The Wolf in your Mind
• Wolf Lore
• Wolves in Art
• Wolf Physical Traits
• Calling of Canids
• Key to Canids
• Pet Observation Activity
• Physical Traits of Wolf Hair
• Skulls Skeleton and Teeth
• The Nose Knows

Included in the trunk

Skins

• Wolf
• Red Fox
• Coyote

Skulls

• Coyote
• Wolf

Tracks and Scat

• Wolf Replitrack
• Coyote Replitrack
• Wolf Repliscat
• Coyote Repliscat
• Wolf Plaster Tracks

Game

• Sniff Out Your Pack
• The Food Web Game

Books

• Call of the Wolf with CD
• The Way of the Wolf
• Looking at the Wolf
• Zoo Book: Wolves
• Wolves Action Pack
• The Life Cycle of a Wolf
• Wolves Face-to-face
• The Eyes of Gray Wolf
• Welcome to the World of Wolves
• Three - Wolves for Kids
• Seney NWR - Its Story
• Discovering Wolves
• Once a Wolf

Posters

• Wolf
• Coyote
• Red Fox
• Wolf Week

Pictures

• Food Web Pictures
  
• Red Fox

CD

• Wolf Education Guide
  

Tape

• Wolf Talk

Handouts

• Tracks

Wetland Trunk

This trunk is currently checked out but will be inventoried and listed as soon as possible.

Snowshoes available for checkout. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Raptor trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Posters in the Raptor Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Posters in the Raptor Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Items in the Raptor Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Items in the Raptor Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Books and other items in the Raptor Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Felt board in the Migratory Bird Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Bird topography activity in the Migratory Bird Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Books and other items in the Migratory Bird Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Loon Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Common Loon costume in the Loon Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Common Loon posters in the Loon Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Common Loon books and items in the Loon Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Wolf Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Red Fox, Gray Wolf, and Coyote pelts and other items in the Wolf Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

"Sniff out your Pack" game and items fount in the Wolf Trunk. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.

Wolf books and items. Credit: Sara Hollerich, USFWS.