Weekend Patrol Box #21

A blast of Autumn just rolled through our area.


Hickory and walnut trees have turned and are dropping leaves at the slightest suggestion.


Scouts are thinking about camping, backpacking and hiking (especially units that don't meet over the summer).


The Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal Historic Trail patch above is a great way to work on a project as a unit. Just for hiking, backpacking, or canoeing once, you earn the basic patch.  Completing the mileage requirements for each segment qualifies you to wear it around the base patch.  Each segment represents the portion of the C&O Canal that passes through each of the 5 BSA councils along the way.


Do you have a program like this in your area?  Please share in the comments below so we can all learn about new adventures.


Here are some great ideas to mull over this weekend, maybe with a little warm cider...

1. Troop 505 of Mechanicsville VA biked the C&O--August 2009 Boy's Life and video.
2. The National Audubon Society has great material, and plenty for Cub Scouts looking for fantastic fall fun.
3. Speaking of birds:  Merit Badge of the Week is Bird Study from Scoutsigns. #3 is a great bird house kit for $1.88--check it out.
4. Last word on birds--Great new resource (not free) reviewed at The Scoutmaster Blog: iBird Explorer Good blog, too.
5. Contest on Twitter: Win a signed 759 Boy Scouts of Harlem movie poster by sharing this message from @insanescouter The movie trailer is inspiring!
6. Looks like Scoutstuff.org is cleaning house!  Several craft kits with big discounts! 
7. Robert Birkby--the ultimate "behind the scenes" influence in Scouting--courtesy of Omaha.com (via @classb and @insanescouter)
8. OK, only a few more months until the new height and weight guidelines go into effect--are you doing anything about it?  Promoting it to your Scouts and Scouters?  Take the challenge!  Lead by example.  01 JAN will be here before you know it. (Also #2 if you really need a simple start.)
9. Cub Scout Buckets--The Trainer's Corner blog.  Great idea--helps prevent the weekly "I forgot" chorus!  I know some Boy Scouts that need them, too...
10. Simple Family:  How to Steal from Your Kids

That wraps up another Patrol Box.  If you have any comments or want to share things you think will be of interest, leave a comment or post to @scoutsigns on Twitter.  

Merit Badge of the Week: Bird Study

We are fortunate to have an Audubon club in a nearby town.

Each November, they have a multi-day event for the general public that includes hikes, vendors, several talks, and a great session with live birds (last year's was about raptors).  They also offer a separate class (all day) for Boy Scouts to cover their Bird Study merit badge.  This includes building a great birdhouse that anyone would be proud to display.

A second session is held a couple of weeks later to handle the field work required for the badge.

I suspect there are areas of the country that are easier and harder to earn this merit badge.

Like Basketry, this merit badge requires patience.  Good tracking skills help, too, something Baden Powell would have encouraged.

Resources

1. Always start with the Introduction to Merit Badges for the steps to a successful merit badge. Use the Bird Study worksheet provided at Usscouts.org.
2. Find a local chapter of the National Audubon Society.  [It would be easy to take all the points for this merit badge just from their resources online!]
3. Scoutstuff.org has 5 birdhouse kits for your Scouts (or you!) to work on, including a nice little log cabin style for $1.88.
4. 10 Tips for New Bird Watchers--where else, but birding.com.
5. Kudos to Gary Wilson, Bird Study Merit Badge Counselor in NJ:  Bird Study Merit Badge Online
6. Christmas Bird Study reports--folks, there is a LOT of material here.  100 years of Christmas Bird Counts are in a database for you to poke through.
7. Online bird guide from enature.com--many of the entries have recordings of the birds.
8. An amazing website:  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
9. Bird house plans for free.
10. Bird guides on Amazon--use the list to find the book you want in your local library.

Related merit badges:  Fish and Wildlife Management, Insect Study, Mammal Study, Nature, Reptile and Amphibian Study

One in six Americans is involved in birds--whether active bird watchers or just keeping feed out for them in the backyard.  Do you?  Leave a comment below with your bird study stories or resources!