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Boing!

No!

Boing! Boing!...

Not that type of spring

By Susan Pheasey

Well if it’s not that type of spring, what other type of spring

could it be?Spring is one of the four seasons

Can you name the other three seasons?

•Summer•Autumn•Winter

Well done!

What do you already know about Spring?

• Plants grow new buds and shoots

• Birds make nests and lay eggs• Animals come out of

hibernation• Insects come out of their

shelter• Lots of baby animals are born• The air and land gets warmer

Lets find out more...

Let’s look at some new buds and shoots that grow in spring

New buds begin to grow on trees. The buds in this photo will grow into leaves.

New shoots grow up from the ground. These shoots have grown from bulbs that were planted last year.

These buds will open up into beautiful flowers.

You could grow grass seeds and observe them growing

This grass is about one week old.

This is what it looks like just a few days later.

Look at the way the shoots grow up toward the light and the roots grow down toward the water.

In spring birds build nests

Birds gather material to build a nest. This Jackdaw has found some straw.

Birds also like to put something soft in their nest. the Long Tailed Tit has a feather and the Blue Tit has found some cat fur.

Photographs by Jeremy Early

The Treecreeper is carrying a small piece of wood for its nest.

Long Tailed Tit

Blue Tit

Jackdaw

Treecreeper

When the nests are built the birds lay eggs

Once the nest is built the female lays eggs and keeps them warm until the chicks are ready to hatch.

Can you see the egg beginning to crack as the chick pushes its way out?

The newborn chicks huddle together to keep warm while their parents look for food. Look how fluffy they are.

Owl eggs

Baby owls (owlets) Bird nest with eggs

To listen to the sounds of birds visit BBC Radio Four (once on the website click on the mp3 download buttons to hear the birdsongs)

In spring animals come out of hibernation

Do you know which animals hibernate?Hedgehogs make a nest out of dry leaves and grass. It takes several nights to build. It has to be waterproof and weatherproof, so that the temperature inside stays the same, even when it is very cold outside. They usually build their nest under brambles.

Hibernation is different from sleep. When a hedgehog hibernates, its body temperature drops and its heart beat slows down from around 190 beats per minute to just 20. Its breathing almost stops altogether. It takes just one breath every few minutes.

As the weather gets warmer the hedgehog will come out of hibernation so look out for hedgehogs in the garden.

A Hedgehog

To find out more about hedgehogs and how to help protect them visit Hedgehog Street

Did you know a hedgehog needs at least twelve gardens to themselves before they will move in?

Did you think of any other animals that hibernate?

A Dormouse

In autumn the dormouse begins preparing for its winter hibernation by fattening up to almost twice its size on nuts and berries.

When the temperature falls below 15 degrees Celsius the dormouse begins to slow down. It finds a secure, dry place to build a nest.

During hibernation its heart beat and breathing slows right down. Its body temperature drops to only a few degrees above freezing.

In spring when the weather begins to get warmer the dormouse comes out of hibernation.

Bats also hibernate

These bats are hibernating

A bat's heartbeat drops from 400 beats per minute to around 20 beats per minute during hibernation.

Two useful websites: A Year in the Life of a BatBBC website with bat video

As soon as the weather gets warmer the bats come out of hibernation. So if you see a bat in March then you know you have spotted one of the signs of Spring.

Did you also know frogs hibernate?

The website Garden Safari has lots of information about frogs. There is a lot to read on there so you might want to take your time. If you click on the photos you can enlarge them. There is also a sound button so you can hear the frogs croaking.You may also want to check out FROG for even more interesting facts.

Frogs bury themselves in mud at the bottom of the pond or in burrows. They also come out of hibernation when the weather gets warmer.

Insects begin to appear

Many insects shelter in a warm place over the winter. They shelter in the soil, under logs, under rocks, in fallen leaves, near windowsills or in attics. They come out when the weather gets warmer in spring.

Spring is a time when lots of baby animals are born

A baby rabbit is called a kitten?

A baby sheep is called a lamb

A baby chicken is called a chick

Photograph courtesy of http://sustainablegrub.wordpress.com

Can you remember the names of these baby animals?

In spring the air and land becomes warmer

Do you know why the air and land becomes warmer in spring?It has something to do with the seasonsDo you know why we have different seasons?

Lets find out more...

The Sun and the Earth

Have you ever noticed that the sun does not stay in the same place?

You may have noticed that in the morning the sun is in the East. At dinner time the sun is in the South, and in the evening the sun is in the West.

But did you know the sun never moves?

So if the sun does not move, why does it look like it is moving?

Let’s find out more...

The north pole is pointing toward the top of this picture and the south pole is pointing toward the bottom. But the earth is not really like this because it actually tilts to the side.

Let’s have a look ...

This is a photograph of how the earth really looks. Can you see how it is tilted?

Let’s have a look at why this makes us have spring, summer, autumn and winter seasons...

Earth in winter

During the winter the sunlight can’t reach the north pole because the earth is tilted. This means that the north pole gets no sunlight and is dark all winter.

Northern countries have short days and long nights during the winter months.

Countries in the south have their summer because they are facing towards the sun.

Sun

Earth in spring

Sun

As the earth moves around the sun, the sunlight begins to reach further north. The days get longer and the nights get shorter.

Northern countries get warmer. Plants grow new shoots and buds, animals come out of hibernation and baby animals are born.

In the south the weather begins to get colder.

It is spring in the north but autumn in the south.

Earth in summer

As the earth continues its journey around the sun, the sunlight shines more in the north. This is because the north is tilted towards the sun.

Days in the northern countries are now at their longest and the nights are at their shortest.

Some northern countries never go dark in the summer. Maybe you could find out which countries these are.

The south now has its winter.

Sun

Earth in autumn

Sun

As the earth continues around the sun the sunlight can no longer reach as far north. In northern countries the days begin to get shorter again and the nights begin to get longer.

It is autumn in the north but spring in the south.

Let’s have a look at the earth’s full orbit of the sun

Winter

Spring

Autumn

Summer

There is a good animated version of the earth’s orbit at BBC Learning Zone

Here are some facts

• It looks like the sun is moving but the earth orbits the sun.

• It takes 365 and ¼ days for the Earth to orbit the sun. We call one of these orbits a year.

• The sun can only reach certain parts of the earth because the earth is tilted. So different parts of the earth are hotter and different times of the year.

• New leaves, buds and flowers appear on the trees

• Birds make nests and lay eggs• Animals come out of hibernation• Insects come out of their shelters• Baby animals are born• The land, air and water gets warmer

because the earth orbits the sun

Lets remind ourselves of what we have learned about spring

Now you can go and look for some signs of spring!