It weighs no more than a penny, yet it can fly up to 600 miles non-stop. What is it?
Answer: A tiny ruby-throated hummingbird that you may find in your backyard — especially if you have red flowers or you put out a red bird feeder.
This bit of information is just one of the facts children learned during the Plainsboro Public Library’s recent summer session, “What’s that in My Backyard?” The next three-day session, led by professor and scientist Frances Reichl, will take place Monday to Wednesday, July 29 to 31, at 10:15 a.m.
For the past 10 years Reichl, a retired professor of biochemistry at Pittsburgh University Medical School and a Princeton resident, has been teaching children — and adults — about the unexpected animal life they can find all around them. “I have found that even biology majors know very little about any animal other than their specialty,” says Reichl. “If children learn to be aware of the natural environment when they are young, they will be more likely to protect it when they are older; and these days it is important to get everyone to protect the environment.”
“Everyone’s backyard is teeming with life,” says Reichl. At a recent library session attended by both parents and children, she showed large slides of wild turkeys gathering in her own backyard, where she feeds them. She also demonstrated the “gobble” she uses to call them. “They used to be in desperate shape,” says Reichl. “People were shooting them, but now they are protected, and there are many more.”
During the next session, in addition to discussing the habits of wild turkeys and hummingbirds — including how many eggs each species lays and what kinds of nests they build — Reichl will talk about the white-tailed deer, raccoons, and foxes that can be seen on summer evenings in Plainsboro backyards. She will also introduce a mystery animal that few people have ever seen.
What’s That in My Backyard, Plainsboro Public Library, 9 Van Doren Street. Monday to Wednesday, July 29 to 31, 10:15 a.m. Register. Free. 609-275-2897. www.lmxac.org/plainsboro.
