EKOKIDS Scavenger Hunt

Mammals

What mammals frequent your neck of the woods? Or neighborhood? Or park? To find out, use the EKOKIDS Schoolyard Nature Guides: Mammals.

If you find one, put an X next to its name below:

• Northern raccoon
• Eastern gray squirrel
• Eastern fox squirrel
• Striped skunk
• Eastern mole
• Eastern cottontail
• White-tailed deer
• Red fox
• Deer mouse
• House mouse
• Southern flying squirrel

Use EKOKIDS Schoolyard Nature Guides: Mammals to learn more about wildlife by answering the questions below. How many can you get right?

1. Northern raccoons make many sounds. About how many can they make? A.10 B.25 C.40
2. What is the name of the eastern gray squirrel's leafy nest?
3. True or False: An eastern fox squirrel will make a nest in a hole made by a woodpecker.
4. What do striped skunks do with their feet as a warning sign before spraying?
5. Name the animal family to which the red fox belongs.
6. How long does a deer mouse usually live in the wild?
7. The back legs of a house mouse are very strong. How many inches high can they jump into the air?
8. True or False: Southern flying squirrels can fly.
9. Why do eastern moles dig tunnels?
10. What materials are used by an eastern cottontail to make her nest?
11. True or False: White-tailed deer grow new antlers every year.

Answers: 1. C. 40; 2. drey; 3. True; 4. stamp; 5. Canid or dog family; 6. About 1 year; 7. 18; 8. False (they glide); 9. To search for food; 10. Dried grass and belly fur; 11. True

Trees

What trees are growing in your neighborhood? To find out, use EKOKIDS Schoolyard Nature Guides: Trees.

If you find one, put an X next to its name below:

• Loblolly pine
• Bald cypress
• Eastern red cedar
• Red maple
• Yellow poplar
• Sycamore
• Pin oak
• Gingko
• Eastern redbud
• Southern catalpa
• Southern magnolia

Use EKOKIDS Schoolyard Nature Guides: Trees to learn more about trees and wildlife by answering the questions below. How many can you get right?

1. How many feet can a loblolly pine grow in 1 year?
2. The bald cypress loses its needles in winter. What is the term that describes this trait?
3. What did Native Americans use from the eastern red cedar to make medicine?
4. What is the name for the winged seeds of a red maple?
5. True or False: The ginkgo tree was brought to the U.S. from China.
6. American settlers made a tea from eastern redbud bark to treat what sickness?
7. What popular fishing bait lives in the soil at the base of southern catalpa trees?
8. What is the state tree of Mississippi?
9. Yellow poplar wood is thought to be resistant to what pest insect?
10. True or False: The sycamore tree grows only in rich, bottomland soils near water.
11. Name one type of wildlife that eats pin oak acorns.

Answers: 1. 3; 2. deciduous; 3. wood, bark, leaves, and berries; 4. Samara; 5. True; 6. diphtheria or whooping cough; 7. catalpa worms; 8. Southern magnolia; 9. Termites; 10. False; 11. Deer, blue jays, squirrels, woodpeckers, or ducks.

Invertebrates

I spy with my little eye . . . something spineless. An invertebrate! Find out about your invertebrate neighbors by using the EKOKIDS Schoolyard Nature Guides: Invertebrates.

If you find one, mark an X next to its name below:

• Carolina wolf spider
• Southern black widow
• Brown recluse
• Eastern harvestman
• Yellow garden spider
• Southern devil scorpion
• North American millipede
• American dog tick
• Louisiana red crayfish
• Brown garden snail
• Chigger

Use EKOKIDS Schoolyard Nature Guides: Invertebrates to learn more about wildlife by answering the questions below. How many can you get right?

1. Carolina wolf spiders protect their eggs and babies. What is the name for baby spiders?
2. What color are southern black widows after they hatch? A. Black B. Red C. White
3. What are brown recluses also called (because of the shape of the dark mark on them)?
4. True or False: An eastern harvestman can detach a leg that will twitch and distract predators.
5. Why does a yellow garden spider shake its web?
6. True or False: The sting of a southern devil scorpion is not painful.
7. How many pairs of legs do North American millipedes have? A.20 B.50 C.1,000
8. True or False: American dog ticks are members of the same group of animals as spiders (Arachnids).
9. The Louisiana red crayfish is farmed so people can use it for what?
10. True or False: The brown garden snail does not have eyes.
11. True or False: Chiggers burrow into skin.

Answers: 1. Spiderlings; 2. C; 3. fiddleback or brown fiddler; 4. True; 5. To scare away predators; 6. False; 7. B; 8. True; 9. food; 10. True; 11. False

Reptiles & Amphibians

What scaled or slimy friends can you find near you? To find out, use EKOKIDS Schoolyard Nature Guides: Reptiles & Amphibians.

If you find one, put an X next to its name below:

• Eastern box turtle
• Gray rat snake
• Eastern garter snake
• Broad-headed skink
• Gray treefrog
• Spotted salamander
• Southern leopard frog
• Five-lined skink
• American toad
• Carolina anole
• Green treefrog

Use EKOKIDS Schoolyard Nature Guides: Reptiles & Amphibians to learn more about wildlife by answering the questions below. How many can you get right?

1. How many years can the eastern box turtle live? A. 50 B. 75 C. 100
2. True or False: The gray rat snake cannot climb trees.
3. What feature of the eastern garter snake inspired its name?
4. Broad-headed skinks are most commonly found in what kinds of habitat?
5. What can five-lined skinks do to escape potential predators?
6. True or False: American toads can cause warts on people.
7. True or False: Carolina anoles can change color between green and brown.
8. Is a green treefrog a reptile or an amphibian?
9. In what habitat do gray treefrogs breed?
10. What can spotted salamanders do when one of their body parts has been severely damaged?
11. Southern leopard frogs live in shallow water where they feed on what?

Answers: 1. C; 2. False; 3. stripes; 4. Forests or woodlands; 5. detach or disconnect; 6. False; 7. True; 8. Amphibian; 9. Ponds and quiet waters; 10. regenerate or regrow; 11. insects

Birds

What birds do you have in your backyard? Make your own discoveries using the EKOKIDS Schoolyard Nature Guides: Birds.

If you find one, put an X next to its name below:

• Northern cardinal
• House finch
• Blue jay
• Tufted titmouse
• House sparrow
• Mourning dove
• Eurasian collared dove
• Northern mockingbird
• Red-headed woodpecker
• Carolina chickadee
• American robin

Use EKOKIDS Schoolyard Nature Guides: Birds to learn more about wildlife by answering the questions below. How many can you get right?

1. True or False: The northern cardinal mates for life.
2. In the 1940s, house finches were marketed as what kind of birds?
3. What type of bird is in the same bird family as blue jays?
4. What does the tufted titmouse like to collect for its nesting material?
5. Is the house sparrow a native species in the U.S.? (Was it always found living here?)
6. What bird is named for its sad-sounding call?
7. In what U.S. state did the Eurasian collared dove first appear?
8. What does the Latin name Mimus polyglottos mean in English?
9. A Carolina chickadee can lower its body temperature to survive cold weather. What word describes this?
10. True or False: Red-headed woodpeckers can catch flying insects in midair.
11. What color is the egg of the American robin?

Answers: 1. True; 2. Hollywood finches; 3. crows; 4. dog hair, snake skin, soft materials; 5. No; 6. Mourning dove; 7. Florida; 8. many-tongued mimic; 9. torpor; 10. True; 11. blue or robin’s egg blue

Publication 3455-A-E (POD-06-23)

By Leslie M. Burger, PhD, Assistant Extension Professor, and Alexander J. Binney, former Extension Program Assistant, Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture.