Why do birds look fat when it’s cold?

It’s Winter time here in the UK and the temperature outside has been close to freezing for several days. We’ve had a flurry of snow, a little ice and plenty of frosty mornings. Sometimes, the water in the bird bath is frozen, so I melt it with warm water from the tap and leave out some bread and fruit for the birds to eat if they visit our garden.

My 7-year-old has noticed the birds plumping themselves up as they sit in the bushes and hop around the bird-table. “Why do they make themselves look fat?” she wondered. Let’s find out…!

How do worms poo?

Have you ever noticed, when it’s a rainy day that lots of worms come out to play? My girls have and they like to rescue the worms that get stuck in puddles, moving them to safety in grass verges by the sides of the road. Seeing the worms wriggling about, they often ask questions about how worms live. So let’s find out more about these weird and wonderful creatures…

Why did my hot water bottle go cold?

The weather has turned colder here and we have started giving the children hot water bottles to keep them warm in bed at night. For my 3-year-old, this is a new thing – she was pleased to have a snuggly warm toy to cuddle up to all through the night. But the next morning, when she woke up, she cried because her hot water bottle had gone cold!

So, why does a hot water bottle go cold overnight? Where does all the heat go?