Rappin for Raptors Festival - September 25

-
Lots of wonderful photos of the festival. Keep scrolling down to read about this fabulous event!




Rappin for Raptors Festival at the Boston Nature Center - Krill


Today, Captain John Boats was one of the exhibitors at the Rappin for Raptors festival held at the Boston Nature Center in Mattapan, MA. This annual festival is sponsored by the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Even though the festival name highlights raptors, there were lots of other topics and activities focusing on other local animals, including reptiles, insects, whales and sharks. And there was a fabulous steel band by local kids in the area. They sounded fabulous!


Krill set up an educational display along with free educational literature and a number of hands-on activities. With the help of Mary Nash and Shaya French , both volunteers from the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance, Captain John's tables was one of the busies in the festival.


There were lots of neat whale and shark artifacts on display for kids and adults to look at and learn about. A few of the items on display included baleen from a humpback whale, teeth from a sperm whale and a Mako shark jaw. The hit of the show were the shark jaws as kids couldn't believe how many extra teeth were hidden inside the jaw.


Captain John provided 3 hands-on activities for kids of all ages. For the youngest children, a shark tooth dig was provided. Here children could dig through a large tray full of sand, shells, sea glass in order to find fossil shark teeth. We would like to thank Frank Roberts for the shark teeth donation. This donation allowed each child to walk away with one shark tooth and a few shells.


A second activity was the blubber glove. Here kids learn about the benefits of whale blubber and how it insulates these large mammals in a very cold environment. Children are asked to put their hand in cold, icy water using a sealed glove. First they use a glove that has vegetable shortening inside. The vegetable shortening is used to simulate whale blubbler. Then they are asked to use a glove without any shortening inside. The kids are amazed to see how blubber really makes a difference in helping keep you warm from the icy waters.


A third learning activity involved a filtering activity where children use whale model on brushes and simulate the feeding movements of whales in our waters. First they filter in a tray that represents a "clean" ocean where on plankton (aka parsley) is floating in it. Then they try to filter their food (aka parsely) through a "dirty" ocean, an ocean full of marine debris like balloons, plastics and abandoned or lost fishing nets. These children learn that it is not easy, if not impossible, to not get marine debris in your mouth when feeding.


Just looking at the pictures that I took, it is clear that everyone had a fabulous time. Our hats are off to the staff and volunteers of the Boston Nature Center for putting on such a wonderful festival. And we thank them for inviting Captain John Whale Watching and Fishing Tours along with the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance to be part of this wonderful event.

See you next fall!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Electric Torpedo Ray of New England

-
Image
The Shocking Ray of New England Blog by  Coleman Earner - December 21, 2020 Dead Torpedo Ray in Brewster, MA Torpedo Rays are a genus of rays that are part of the Order  Torpediniformes (electric rays). In reference to local sightings, the most commonly seen torpedo ray in the Cape Cod region is the Atlantic Torpedo ( Torpedo nobiliana ). They are cartilaginous fish (most similar to the structure of sharks and skates) with a flat and rounded disc-like structure. As suggested by their order, torpedo rays are most commonly known for their ability to discharge electricity of up to 220 volts from both pectoral fins (pectoral fins are flat and expanded and fused to the head area) as a self defense mechanism or as a means of capturing prey. Their feeding strategy consists of burying themselves under the sand and waiting for unsuspecting prey to wander by.  Dead Torpedo Ray on a Cape Cod Beach. Torpedo Rays feed mainly on benthic/pelagic fish such as flounders, damselfish, and other small fis
Read more

Ocean sunfish stranding at Linnell Landing - October 9, 2010

-
Image
This afternoon, Chris called about an ocean sunfish that stranded dead at the end of Linnell Landing in Brewster, MA. Krill Carson along with two NECWA interns, Nick Schomburg and Caitlyn Dionne, headed down or met at Linnell Landing in the late afternoon. When they arrived on the shores of Cape Cod Bay, a crowd was gathering around the ocean sunfish carcass that was just off the beach parking lot. This sunfish was almost 6 feet in length and some of the beachgoers indicated that it had come up on the beach around 2 pm that day. At first, it was difficult to look at the deep propellor scars that cut through the dorsal (top) surface of the sunfish and extended into its left flank. But sunset was quickly approaching so this team focused at the task at hand, that was collecting body measurements as well as tissues from this carcass. Nick and Krill conducted a Level A exam on the carcass and Caitlyn took pictures as well as recorded data. Krill was able to determine that this animal was
Read more

September 21, 2013 - Successful Beach Cleanup at Scusset Beach State Reservation

-
Image
NECWA staff members Leah, Jane, Mary and Tammy. Squid egg cases.  Beach Cleanup at Scusset Beach We had a very successful beach cleanup this morning down at Scusset Beach State Reservation. Over 20 people joined us to help pick up the beach trash along the shores of Scusset Beach, a beautiful sandy beach at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal. Joining us for this events were students from Bourne High School and Mass Maritime Academy as well as member of the general public. Kids young and old helped NECWA staff and interns pick up and record the type of marine debris that washed up on the beach.  Mass Maritime making a difference.  Mass Maritime students helping out.  This beach cleanup is part of a larger effort through COASTSWEEP, the Massachusetts-wide coastal cleanup that occurs during September and October. And our beach cleanup at Scusset Beach is in conjunction with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Captain John Boats and Plymouth Whale W
Read more