The

Published by the Peter Underwood Centre March 30, 2020

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BE CREATIVE: Every board game needs a theme. It could be a space theme, like the game above; or your favourite sport, book or movie. IT’S GAME TIME PLAYING board games is fun and great And while a lot of people like playing There are also games like Monopoly, Start with a theme; any theme you like. exercise for your brain. video games, board games have where luck and strategy have a role to For example, the person who designed Board games originated thousands of increased in popularity in recent years. play. the board game pictured above has used years ago in ancient civilisations. There are many varieties. Have you ever made your own board a space theme. Artefacts from important historical sites Some games like Chess are decided by game? Think about games you have played reveal evidence of board games that player skill, while others like Snakes and It is a lot easier to do than you might before, and what you might need? were played as far back as 3500BC. Ladders depend entirely on luck. think. Continued page 2 “Education perhaps more than anything else is a passport to a better life.” - Peter Underwood AC March 30, 2020 The Wonder Weekly P2

STEM fun Anyone for a spot and advice for senior of birdwatching? students THE Enterprise + STEM WOULD you like to be a citizen website has a number of scientist? Masked lapwings, commonly known resources targeted at Year 7- BirdLife Tasmania would like to as plovers, nest on the ground and 10 students. recruit you to keep an eye on are known to swoop on intruders to Created as part of a the birds in your backyard. defend their young, so it is best to collaboration by the University Birdwatching is a favourite stay out of their territory. of Tasmania, Griffith pastime of millions of people University and Swinburne around the world. University the site also In Tasmania we are lucky features profiles of five enough to have lots of birdlife women who launched an around us. entrepreneurial venture using their STEM skills. Tasmania has 12 endemic species. A video detailing each of their stories offers advice for They are: the Tasmanian native students considering STEM hen, the green rosella, the careers. dusky robin, the Tasmanian thornbill, the scrubtit, the The website address is: Tasmanian scrubwren, the www.enterpriseandstem.online/ , the yellow- Five entrepreneurship throated , the black- activities can be found here: headed honeyeater, the strong- billed honeyeater, the black https:// currawong and the forty-spotted www.enterpriseandstem.onlin pardalote. NATIVES: A house sparrow, inset above, a masked lapwing, main picture, e/enterprise-stem-activity- and a rare forty-spotted pardalote, right. sheets-for-your-classroom Endemic means restricted to a certain place, so these birds are Your challenge is to take notice If you do, BirdLife Tasmania You might like to present your found nowhere else on earth. of the birds in your backyard, would like you to contribute your findings in a creative way, or if and record your observations in findings to their state database. you have a camera, take a photo Tasmania also has many native a simple table. of the in your garden. birds that are found elsewhere, Email: [email protected] as well as introduced birds, and The table should comprise the Postal Address: Some of you will have more luck BirdLife Tasmania are date, location, species (type of BirdLife Tasmania than others (e.g. Westerway is interested in all of them. bird), number and behaviours GPO Box 68 considered a hotspot for you observe. Hobart, TAS, 7001 birdwatching). The most spotted bird in Tasmania in the BirdLife If birdwatching becomes a To assist you BirdLife Tasmania Children’s University Tasmania Australia 2019 Aussie Backyard passion you could keep records have supplied us with the Birds members can earn hours in their Bird Count was the house over months, and track seasonal in Backyards poster on page 3-4 passports for their birdwatching sparrow. changes in your backyard. of The Wonder Weekly. activities. Game time for those who Crossword No.2 - Birds accept the challenge From Page 1 For example, in a space game For an additional you could land on a square challenge, try Your challenge is to use items where an alien is waiting to producing your own you have around the house to send you back three spaces. crossword. design and construct your If you need dice for your game, game. you might be able to borrow A piece of paper - the larger the some from another game you better - and some textas (or have at home, or you could pencils) are a good start. come up with an alternative. You will need to find or If you have access to online, construct some game pieces. the National Museum of You could maybe draw a Australia has lots of tips to character on a post-it note and assist you to make your own stand it up with a bulldog clip. board game. Every board game needs a set Follow the link below to find out of rules of course - challenges more: Solution next week. and rewards for landing on https://www.nma.gov.au/learn/ certain squares. diy/board_games Across 12. The world's largest bird 1. Baby duck Down Crossword No.1 solution (check your answers) 4. Bird used by people to carry messages 2. The world’s most common species of bird Across 9. TMAG 3. Arthur 7. Tasmania's unofficial bird emblem - the 3. Birds are the only that have ... 1. Gum 10. Tasman 4. Launceston yellow ... 5. Flightless bird from New Zealand 4. lutruwita 11. Derwent 5. Tiger 10. The Wedge-tailed... 6. Swift parrots are mainly this colour 6. Warner Down 8. Paine 11. Large seabird 8. Birds lay ... 7. Freycinet 2. Matthew Black Currawong Forest Raven Length: 48 cm Length: 52 cm

Yellow Wattlebird Sulphur-crested Yellow-throated Length: 43 cm Cockatoo Honeyeater Length: 50 cm Length: 21 cm

Eastern Rosella Galah Length: 30 cm Length: 35 cm

Rainbow Lorikeet (Introduced from mainland Aust.) Length: 30 cm Grey Butcherbird Length: 27 cm

Green Rosella Little Laughing Kookaburra Length: Wattlebird (Introduced from 32 cm Length: 28 cm mainland Aust.) Length: 42 cm

New Holland Honeyeater Length: 15 cm Common Blackbird (Introduced) Length: 27 cm

Welcome Swallow House Sparrow Length: 15 cm Eastern Spinebill (Introduced) Length: 16 cm Length: 15 cm

Grey Fantail Length: 15 cm

Silvereye Length: 11 cm

Brown Common Starling Superb Fairy-wren Thornbill (Introduced) (Male and Female) Length: 10 cm Length: 21 cm Length: 14 cm Length: 26 cm

Australian Magpie Length: 40 cm Masked Lapwing Spotted Dove Length: 36 cm (Introduced) Length: 30 cm

For inquiries about birds and domestic gardens, contact: BIRDS IN BACKYARDS www.birdsinbackyards.net BIRDLIFE AUSTRALIA www.birdlife.org.au AUSTRALIA Printed on recycled paper How to bring back the little ones... Providing water: Birds need fresh water, but they are vulnerable when they Australia-wide, populations of many of our woodland bird are drinking or bathing and need to feel safe. species are decreasing. Once common birds such as thornbills, We should: fairy-wrens, silvereyes and small are becoming • place birdbaths beyond the reach of cats, and in rare or, in some places, are no longer seen at all. There are dappled shade. many reasons for this, the biggest being the loss of places for them to live (habitat). • grow plants close to birdbaths so birds can perch and observe the area first. The decreases are widespread: from peri-urban and urban ar- • replace the water and clean the water container eas; from big cities to rural townships. All of us can contribute regularly. towards saving our woodland birds irrespective of where we • ask a neighbour to add water when we’re away, live or how big our gardens are. so the birds don’t lose their water supply. Provision of supplementary food: Small changes for a big difference... lt is much healthier for birds to obtain natural food from our Garden design and structure: gardens than to be fed directly by people. However, many people enjoy the contact they have with birds. If you want to Simple open gardens provide little shelter or food for birds. provide extra food for birds in your garden, make sure that We need to plant: • the feeding area is kept really clean. • dense shrubs close together so they form protective • you don’t feed meat-eating birds - encourage the thickets. small birds that are declining, not their predators. • shrubs that provide a range of foods: nectar, seeds, • only provide good quality natural foods, e.g. finch fruit and habitat for insects. seed rather than bread. • local plants that provide what the birds in our local areas need. Be a responsible pet owner: • below trees, creating a dense protective understory. Keep your cat or dog inside or within an outside enclosure. • less grass for mowing, but rather use native grasses This is safer for the cat as well as other wildlife. that can seed and only need cutting occasionally. • De-sexing prevents unwanted kittens or pups. • Deter other cats from entering your yard by We should: spraying them with water. To find out more about the birds in your area, creating • avoid using chemical sprays or applying chemical gardens and habitat for birds at home, in school fertilizers. grounds or any open spaces, or undertaking bird • use lawn clippings and leaf litter on garden beds surveys in your own garden or local area, see the as mulch. Birds in Backyards website www.birdsinbackyards.net

Photo credits: Hayley Alexander (Male Superb Fairy-wren), Richard Barton (Common Blackbird), William Betts (Yellow Wattlebird), Doug Castle (Eastern Rosel- la, Silvereye, Female Superb Fairy-wren), Anthea Fleming (Spotted Dove), Stephen Garth (Galah), Bill Harding (Brown Thornbill, Eastern Spinebill), Gary King (Masked Lapwing), Anna Lanigan (Sulphur-crested Cockatoo), Wilson Lennard (), Roy Peachey (Common Starling), George Pergaminelis (Male House Sparrow), Glenn Pure (Australian Magpie), Bronwyn Scanlon (Welcome Swallow), David Seymour (Green Rosella), Carol Trevanion (New Holland Hon- eyeater), Sonja Ross (Noisy Miner), Shane Walker (Grey Fantail, Laughing Kookaburra), Ian Wilson (Forest Raven, Grey Butcherbird, Female House Sparrow, Yellow-throated Honeyeater, Little Wattlebird), Diana Womersley (Black Currawong)