Backyard Beasties Activities

Backyard Beasties

Bats, and frogs, and worms,
oh my! Snails, slugs,
and other backyard beasties!

Backyards are just teeming
with exciting beasties!

Here are fun activities to
observe and learn about the
different kinds of creatures
that share your yard. A great
way to measure the animal
biodiversity in your area.



What You Need:
A few simple tools will help you observe backyard beasties.

• Notebook or sketchpad and pencil to help you record and remember what you see
• Loupe or Magnifying Glass - these will help you get a more detailed look at the critters you find

Be a Bat Observer
Bats are the only mammals that can fly, and they eat a lot of insects! A single bat can eat about 600 insects per hour!

• Sit in your yard at dusk, and see if you can spot any bats fluttering by.
• What are the bats doing?
• Notice how the bats fly and how their flight is different than birds.
• Build a Bat House. A bat house can look similar to a bird house, and it is just as easy to build. Even if you don't live in an area where bats fly at night, a bat house is still fun to make. For detailed information on how to build a bat house, visit Bat Conservation online.

Seek Out Snails and Slugs

• Look under rocks and in moist areas of your backyard to find snails or slugs.
• Use a Loupe or Magnifying Glass to observe them up close. Look for their tentacles and their stalked eyeballs.
• Observe the "slime" they leave behind.
• Use a digital camera and take extreme close-ups of the snails and slugs. Create a digital photo album, or use the pictures to make a poster collage.

Wiggle with Worms
Earthworms are very important to maintaining soil fertility. Worms recycle nutrients from the surface of the soil, into the soil where plants grow.

• Use your hands to dig in the dirt for earthworms.
• Use a Loupe or Magnifying Glass to look at the worms up close.
• Draw sketches of the worms you find.
• Call worms up from the ground! Use two sticks, each about 1-1/2 feet long. Whittle a point at the end of one stick, then carve notches every couple of inches along the other stick (make sure to ask an adult for help). Push the pointed end of the first stick into a moist spot of your yard. Use the second stick to make noise by rubbing it against the stick in the ground - sort of like playing a cello. Rubbing the sticks creates vibrations underneath the ground. Do this for a few minutes. The vibrations in the soil make worms think it is raining and they'll come to the surface to get moist. If this technique doesn't attract any worms in one location, try another area in your yard.
• Learn how vermicomposting with worms works! Worm-a-Way Vermicomposting Kit and Guide is a great way to get started.

Watch for Frogs

• Make a list of the frogs and toads you find in your yard. Use a Frogs and Toads Field Guide to help identify the ones you find.
• Listen to the frogs in your yard. See if you can identify the frogs by their sounds.
• Become an offical Frog Watcher - join Frog Watch. Visit Frog Watch USA online for more information.

Pond Dipping

• Scoop up a jar of pond water and look at it with a Microscope or Magnifying Glass.
• Identify the microorganisms you see with the Guide to Microlife.