Stan Tekiela - Whose House Is That?

Dedication

To Abby, with all my love.

Front Cover: (wasp nest) by Nancy Bauer/shutterstock.com; (monarch chrysalis) by Leena Robinson/shutterstock.com; (robin nest) by Devin Koob/shutterstock.com; (beaver lodge) by Stan Tekiela; (burrow and background) by Piotr Szpakowski/shutterstock.com; (prairie dog head) by Stan Tekiela

Back Cover: (bald eagle nest) by Stan Tekiela

All photos by Stan Tekiela except

Cover and book design by Jonathan Norberg

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Whose House Is That?

Copyright 2021 by Stan Tekiela

Published by Adventure Publications

An imprint of AdventureKEEN

310 Garfield Street South

Cambridge, Minnesota 55008

(800) 678-7006

www.adventurepublications.net

All rights reserved

Printed in China

ISBN 978-1-64755-074-5

Contents

This home is perched up in a tree, but its almost as large as your bedroom!

Its made of sticks and branches. Our national symbol lives there.

The Bald Eagle is the national symbol of the United States. The eagle uses its nest over and over for many years, adding new sticks to it each year. Some nests get so large that they can be ten feet tall and weigh a thousand pounds. That is about the same weight as a horse. An eagle nest is called an aerie (say it, air-ee).

Small and round, this home is constructed of mud and grass. It is the perfect size for one mommy and her eggs. You might even have one in your own yard.

The American Robin is a common bird found almost everywhere in North America, from your backyard to the tops of the highest mountains. Both parents build a nest for the eggs. This house takes just three to four days to complete. Mothers lay three to five bright blue eggs in the nest, and soon there are baby robins!

Larger than a football, this home hangs in a tree, or may even be under your deck or attached to your house. This home holds hundreds, maybe thousands, of individuals inside.

The Bald-faced Hornet doesnt have a bald face. It also actually isnt a hornet. Its a wasp with a white face. Its dark eyes make it look bald. It builds its home, called a nest, by mixing tiny pieces of chewed-up tree wood with its saliva (spit). Because the nest looks like its made of paper, these wasps are often mistakenly called Paper Wasps.

Something amazing happens inside this shiny, bright green house. One kind of critter goes in and a completely different one comes out. Its like magic.

When the Monarch caterpillar reaches full size, it does something amazing. Its back splits open and its outer skin falls off, leaving behind a hanging green bag, called a chrysalis (say it, criss-uh-lis). This chrysalis is kind of like a home. Inside the green bag, the caterpillar changes into the black-and-orange Monarch Butterfly .

This house can be as big as your familys car. It is made of large branches and tree trunks. This home is usually near water.

The American Beaver is an expert craftsman. It builds a large home, called a lodge, with sticks and branches. The lodge has an underwater entrance, but inside it is dry and warm. The entire family lives inside. They eat the soft and juicy bark from tree branches. When they are done eating all the bark, they use the leftovers to build their lodge and a dam.

This home is usually underground. The residents live there for up to six months without leaving. These homes are warm and dry compared to the winter weather outside.

The American Black Bear often makes its house under a fallen tree, or it will dig a hole in the ground. This kind of home is called a den. Bears only use their dens during winter. Mothers give birth to their babies while in the den. Some dens are small and cozy while others are large and comfortable.

This home is strung between tall grasses or twigs and tree branches. This net-like home is also very sticky.