Hang pieces of bright colored string (about 6 inches long) in the shrubs or trees near your house. Watch to see if any birds pick them up to use for nests. After a few weeks walk around and see if you can see your string in any nests. Click here for a progress sheet.

Scrap Wood. Place a piece of wood or scrap lumber in an out-of -the way place on your lawn. After one week carefully remove the wood and record what you find living there. Click here to record what you find.

Learn one bird song, of a bird in your area, each day for the next six days count the number of times the bird calls in five minutes in the morning at midday and the evening. When do you hear the most calls. Click here to record you findings.

Go out each evening and listen for frog calls. Typical early season callers are spring peeper, chorus frog, Wood frog and American toad. Record the abundance by how many you heard. Were there only a few, several with songs overlapping or a "chorus", where it is difficult to tell the beginning and end of individual calls. Keep track of the weather and temperature. Did you notice any difference on different nights.Click here for a log to record your findings.