It’s in Your Nature: 2019 year-end exam
It’s been 52 columns since your last final, so let’s try again. Start with identifying these photos and then move on to the questions. It’s a good chance to review and to see if I was able to teach a few things, too. You’ll find the answers at the bottom of the article and of course you “could” sneak a peek.
But give it a try and take Barry’s second final exam. Give it your best “shot.”
Grading Scale: 18-20 correct, you’re a nature geek like me. 15-17 correct, you’re no longer a “city slicker.” 12-14 correct, not bad, there’s still hope. 10-11 correct, Maybe you just started reading my columns. Fewer than 10, stay away from the TV a bit.
Last week’s trivia answer: Black spruce trees are native to our area.
True and false section
11. ____ Porcupines cannot throw their quills.
12. ____ Broad-winged hawks’ peak migration through our area is mid-September.
13. ____ Black bears in our region give birth to their cubs in January.
14. ____ Mountain laurels are usually smaller than rhododendrons and also bloom before them.
Multiple choice
15. A maple tree produces a “whirlybird type” fruit called a(n) _____. A. cone, B. achene, C. samara, D. pistil, E. none of these.
16. A male and female cardinal’s color difference is _____. A. countershading, B. sexual dimorphism, C. sexual dichromatism, D. albinism.
17. Crows and _____ are both types of corvids. A. blue jays, B. mallard ducks, C. mockingbirds, D. black vultures, E. wild turkeys.
18. Woolly adelgids are insects seriously affecting ______. A. your woolen underwear, B. white ash trees, C. hemlock trees, D. white oak trees, E. black walnut trees.
19. The best month to observe the most species of ducks locally is _____. A. January, B. March, C. July, D. September.
20. Which of these is not a type of rodent? A. cottontail rabbit, B. woodchuck, C. porcupine, D. meadow vole.
Contact Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com.
Final exam 2019 answers
1. Yellow garden spider
2. Black-crowned night heron
3. Mountain laurel flowers
4. Red squirrel
5. Merlin
6. Female scarlet tanager
7. Ring-necked ducks
8. Poison Ivy
9. Cedar waxwing
10. Northern flicker
11. True
12. True
13. True
14. True
15. C. samara
16. C. sexual dichromatism
17. A. blue jays
18. C. hemlock trees
19. B. March
20. A. cottontail rabbit