Drawing of Community Garden by Angelica Clark, P6, Tayport Primary.

Tayport Community Garden by Angelica Clark, P6, Tayport Primary.

Tayport primary P6 have been carrying out a project looking at wildlife in Tayport using camera traps. The project was instigated by Scottish National Heritage who provide the camera trap and equipment and I am running it as a RSPB volunteer.

We have set up the camera in the children’s gardens and in the community garden and have found many different birds. Here is a list of birds filmed in the community garden so far: Geat tit, Blue tit, Greenfinch, Chaffinch (male and female), Blackbird (male and female), Starling, Robin, Dunnock, Wood pigeon, Collared dove.

Below Lucy, Aiden and Issy have written about their experiences visiting Tentsmuir to learn about sea eagles and using camera traps in Tayport gardens. Students are also working to produce a video based on the footage from camera traps which will be entered in a competition later this year. Can’t wait to see the results! In the meantime, here is some recent footage of Fife’s own eagles, captured on camera by the local RSPB.

Lucy

P6 went to the Tentsmuir Forest and we went with Raz and Elizabeth (from the RSPB). We were looking at and learning about the Sea Eagles. We got to see a claw from a buzzard and a claw from a sea eagle they were really different in size. We got to tell the difference between a buzzard and a sea eagle.

A few weeks later Elizabeth came to our class and showed us a camera trap and the camera. She showed us some of the videos that another school had done and told us that we were going to do the same sort of thing. It was a competition that included 12 schools. We got to have a chance to take the camera home and bring it back the next day. These were the people who took it: Sophie, Lucy, Angus, Daniel, Magnus and Aiden. Also we put the camera in Mr Martin’s garden.

We got a mouse, great tit, blackbird, collared dove, hedgehog, dog, sparrow, robin, wood pigeon, coal tit, dunnock, cat, hen and a blue tit. Not that long ago Elizabeth came back to the school and we started to plan the video.

Aiden

Aiden came to the Community Garden over the spring break to learn more about setting up camera traps.

Our class went to the forest to learn about sea eagles. We played some games and Elizabeth showed us the size of the sea eagle’s egg and size of the bird. We made a nest and it was so big a little robin came down and sat in it. Elizabeth showed us some bones of some of the birds.

When we went back to the school, a few days later Elizabeth came to the class and showed us a camera that we could take home. Lots of us have taken the camera home. I took it home but, unfortunately, got nothing. But other people have filmed lots of birds. We also have a camera at our local community garden and we got some more birds there. I have enjoyed watching other people’s videos and I can’t wait to watch the finished film!

Issy

Recently our class went to Tentsmuir. We met Elizabeth and Raz (who work with the RSPB). We were learning about the sea eagles and other birds. We had lots of fun there.

A couple of weeks later Elizabeth came back to our school and said we are able to take a filming camera to capture videos of wild life. We put one of the cameras in our community garden. We also got to take the camera home if we brought a note in. The following people got to take the camera home: Sophie, Lucy, Angus, Daniel, Magnus, Aiden and we put the camera in our science teacher Mr Martin’s garden.

They all took the camera back to school the next day and we would see if they had found anything, on the smart board. We looked at the videos. We had found a mouse, great tit, blackbird, collared dove, hedgehog, dog, sparrow, robin, wood pigeon, coal tit, dunnock, cat, hen and a blue tit and that was only in 7 peoples gardens! In the video our class will be drawing pictures of what we found.

Save