Useful Learning Links

USEFUL LEARNING LINKS

The links below can be helpful additions to your child's learning. The BBC Bitesize programmes and the Oak National Academy initiative have lots of useful activities.

Don't forget there are links to additional websites and resources on the Vauxhall Learning Page as well.

E-LEARNING

BBC Bitesize - Free work guides, interactive resources and games covering the entire curriculum
Oak National Academy - a new collection of high-quality and online resources, backed by the Government, created by teachers
Khan Academy: Free lessons interactive resources and tutorials covering Maths, Science and Computing
Smarthistory: Source of history content for Khan Academy
English Heritage - Story of England
Code Break - Coding games

VIRTUAL TOURS / ONLINE EXHIBITS

Pitt Rivers Musem, University of Oxford: Virtual Tour
The Vatican: 360-degree Museum Tours
The Louvre, Paris: Virtual Tour
Westminster Abbey, London: Virtual Tour

FREE RESOURCES

Scholastic - Top 50 places to find free teaching resources
Dadsworksheets: Free printable maths worksheets

Arts & Crafts

Google Arts & Culture: Tours of 500 of the world’s most famous museums
Speed Art Museum: At-home art-making videos
Metropolitan Museum of Art: MetKids
National Museum of Australia: “Fun at Home” DIY activities
Stay home easy arts & crafts activities:

Virtual Birdwatching - See what the birds are doing right now!

See what birds are doing right now! Click on the links, scroll down and click play. There’s a ‘quick hop’ list of all the webcams at the bottom of this page

Live feed of Peregrine Falcon nest in central Leamington

Leamington Spa Town Hall is home to a pair of peregrine falcons who use a nest box provided in partnership with Warwick District Council. These webcams are live 24/7 during the breeding season enabling you to see all the activity from laying to fledging.

https://www.warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/peregrine

Dorset wildlife: Barn Owl

Our barn owl webcam is back for 2020. This pair have been together for a few months, preening and nesting together over the winter, we now have our fingers crossed for more owlets this year.

https://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlifewebcam

Brownsea Island Lagoon

The lagoon has several uses, ranging from a ‘drive-through’ style feeding area for species such as Curlew Sandpiper, Wood and Green Sandpiper, Little Stint and Little Ringed Plover, also as a high-tide roosting zone when most of the harbour is under water.

The lagoon boasts internationally important numbers of Black-tailed Godwit, Shelduck and Oystercatcher and nationally important numbers of Avocet, Redshank and Dunlin. Spoonbill is another lagoon favourite. In spring and summer the lagoon becomes a busy and bustling breeding site for Poole Harbour’s important Common and Sandwich Tern colony. The tern islands provide a fascinating insight into the breeding and courtship behaviour of these summer visitors, as well as close up views of the adults feeding their chicks.

Holton Lee Feeder

There’s no better introduction to watching birds than seeing what comes and goes in a park or nature reserve’s feeding station. The hustle and bustle of a set of feeders and a busy bird table brings delight and joy on any day. Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Blue, Coal and Great Tit, Goldfinch and Starling all frequently fly in. Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Long-tailed Tit visit less so and there have been a few rare appearances of Blackcap and Goldcrest.

https://www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/holton-lee-webcam/

Poole Harbour Osprey Nest

During the winter of 2019-2020 we hosted a fundraiser for an Osprey nest live-stream camera to be installed for the Osprey season in 2020. At this exciting time in the project, when we are on the cusp of potential breeding on the South Coast for the first time in almost 200 years, we want to be able to document the return of these amazing birds, and share this experience with the public through a webcam.

https://www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/osprey/osprey-webcams/

Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve, Cumbria

Isn’t it brilliant being able to see right into the nest and watch the daily life of this special Osprey family? The Ospreys that favour Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve as their breeding ground migrate to their wintering grounds in autumn, most likely West Africa or continental Europe. The male, identified by his 'White YW' leg ring, hatched at Bassenthwaite in 2008. The female, identified by her 'Blue 35' leg ring, hatched at Kielder in 2010.

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/osprey-cam

Kittiwake Cam, Newcastle-Gateshead

Newcastle-Gateshead Quayside is home to the world’s largest colony of approximately 800 pairs of breeding Kittiwakes. During late February through to August, these fantastic birds spend autumn and winter out at sea, returning to nest on the ledges of buildings and bridges along the River Tyne. Enjoy a close-up view of the birds as they reunite with their partner, build their nest, lay eggs and rear their chicks. Since the 1960s, these oceanic gulls have been using buildings and other structures along the quayside as a breeding site. The colony demonstrates how humans and wildlife can co-exist in urban areas.

https://durhamwt.com/kittiwake-cam/

Kittiwakes on The Tyne Leaflet: https://durhamwt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/wildlife_kittiwakes_on_the_tyne.pdf

Osprey Nest, Rutland

Rutland Osprey nest at Manton Bay where Maya and her partner have been nesting since 2015. Depending on the time of year, you might see them mating, sitting on their eggs, catching fish, delivering fish to each other or protecting the nest from gulls, Cormorants and even other Ospreys!

https://www.lrwt.org.uk/wildlife/rutland-ospreys

Dyfi Osprey Project, east-central Wales, bordering England

The Ospreys that have chosen to make their home, catch their fish and spend their time on the banks of the River Dyfi are special to all of us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH7wpvs7OG4

100 Osprey Facts: http://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/ospreys/100-osprey-fact

Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve, a loch (a lake or sea inlet) near Dunkeld in Perth and Kinross, Scotland

The Osprey is a large fish-eating bird of prey. The full wingspan of an adult Osprey is around five feet. Females are around 20% (1/5) bigger than males. Ospreys can travel up to 5,000 miles on their migrations. How they navigate and how young birds make the journey on their own is still a mystery. Most often, Ospreys return to the same partner and same nest year after year. Usually, two or three eggs are laid individually, one to three days apart. Osprey eggs are incubated for around five to six weeks or an average of 37 days before they hatch a day or two apart. The chicks are covered in down when they hatch but begin to grow new feathers within days. They rely on their parents for food, growing very fast and becoming about 75% (3/4) the size of an adult bird within a month!

https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/watch-wildlife-online/loch-of-the-lowes-webcam/

Puffins on Burhou Island, off Alderney, Channel Islands

Despite being only half a mile long and one fifth of a mile wide, uninhabited Burhou Island is a bird sanctuary, home to 11 species of breeding birds including Puffins. A ‘Wetland of Worldwide Importance’ with a ‘Puffin Friendly Zone’. Each spring, around 100 pairs of Atlantic Puffins reunite in their original burrows after nine months at sea. They live for up to 20 years and mate with the same partner for life. The couple will have met and courted at sea, are fiercely loyal to each other and to their burrow. At around 26cm in height they are small and stocky. In spring their bodies darken and brighten to a costume of striking black and white. Their brightly coloured, triangular beaks begin to glow with stripes of red, yellow and black. They will raise a single puffling until it fledges.

Webcams:

‘Puffin Friendly Zone’ Poster: http://www.teachingthroughnature.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-PFZposterA4-Final-JPG.jpg

Peregrine Falcons at Nottingham Trent University

Peregrine Falcons are the fastest creatures on the planet, reaching speeds of up to 200 miles per hour when 'stooping' - diving down on their prey from a great height. Prey is usually taken mid-air and consists mostly of birds like feral pigeons and collared doves. The Peregrine is our biggest falcon; it is dark, slate-grey above and white below with black bars across its chest and belly. It has a white throat and cheeks and a strong, black moustache and mask. Peregrine falcons usually lay 3-4 eggs each year in spring, around the end of March. Eggs hatch some 30 days later in early May. Over the following six weeks the chicks grow rapidly and fly from the nest in late June or early July. The young birds can then be seen in the skies, learning to fly and hunt for food.

https://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/peregrine-cam

Langford Lakes Nature Reserve, Steeple Langford in the Wylye Valley between Salisbury and Warminster

The four lakes provide a vital stopping-off point and resident habitat for about 150 different bird species. These include Kingfisher, Water Rail, Gadwall, Osprey and wildfowl. In spring, watch for Great-crested Grebes shaking their heads in courtship. Reed Warbler, Waders and Terns drop in on their summer migration. As winter advances, Shoveler and Wigeon join the other ducks present all year round and occasionally, the endangered and secretive Bittern pays a visit.

https://www.flickr.com/groups/wiltshirewildlifetrust/pool/

Leaflet: https://www.wiltshirewildlife.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=b41c1b99-a868-4127-a998-6f812ab2fd5e

Barn Owls, Essex Wildlife Trust, Colchester

Every summer, Barn Owls raise their young in this nest box. Blue House Farm Nature Reserve on the north bank of the River Crouch Estuary in North Fambridge is perfect for the owls. A good supply of Voles and other prey in the fields of the coastal grazing marsh, provides their food which they hunt. Last year three chicks fledged (were able to fly); the year before two and we've even had two broods (families). Most years, two or three pairs of Barn Owls nest on the reserve, a favoured breeding site for many years.

https://www.essexwt.org.uk/protecting-wildlife/wildlife-webcams/barn-owl-webcam

Swallows at Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve, overlooking the Colne Estuary

Swallows are acrobatic, much-loved birds that are spring/summer visitors to the UK after wintering in Africa. The Barn Swallow arrives in April and leaves in October. It builds mud and straw nests on ledges, often in farm buildings and outhouses, or under the eaves of houses. Swallows are widespread and common birds of farmland and open pasture near water. They are agile fliers, feeding on flying insects while on the wing (in mid-air). Before they migrate back to their wintering grounds in Africa, they can be seen gathering to roost in wetlands, particularly reed beds. The swallow is glossy, dark blue-black above and white below with a dark red forehead and throat and a black band across its chest. It has a very long, forked tail and in small numbers, is often spotted perching on wires. From the UK they migrate to South Africa, undertaking a perilous journey during which they are vulnerable to starvation and stormy weather.

https://www.essexwt.org.uk/swallow-webcam

Bat roost at Hanningfield Reservoir, near Billericay

Every spring, pregnant female bats come to the roost to give birth and rear their young. The bats leave in the autumn to go to their hibernation roost elsewhere. This roost at Hanningfield Reservoir is entirely made up of Soprano Pipistrelle bats; tiny creatures that are about the size of an adult human thumb.

https://www.essexwt.org.uk/protecting-wildlife/wildlife-webcams/bat-webcam

Brockholes Nature Reserve, on the River Ribble, Samlesbury, near Preston, Lancashire

From Cormorants to Kingfishers, Robins to Lapwings, the birds around this reserve are vast in numbers and species. You might hear the rustlings of Redwing or Fieldfare nibbling the berries; part of these birds’ reward for flying from Scandinavia. Bitterns spend almost all their time hidden away in reed beds where they feed on eels and other fish. They have wonderfully camouflaged plumage, helping them to blend-in to the reeds and they can stand motionless for long periods to avoid detection. You may also see a Buzzard hopping from tree to tree or bush to bush, a Greater Spotted Woodpecker, along with a variety of tits, Waders and Starlings, performing in the sky. Murmurations are huge groups of Starlings that twist, turn, swoop and swirl across the sky in beautiful, shape-shifting clouds. Just before dusk, small groups of Starlings from the same area come together above a communal roosting site. The group grows ever larger, flying in unison in an aerial dance that casts gorgeous shapes against the waning daylight.