Who are these guys? They live rent free under out dock. Hundreds and hundreds of them. When Handbook of Nature Study asked me for a Fish Post for July, this little fellah was what I wanted to focus on. But I couldn’t find one. Couldn’t get my boys to catch me one.

     Well – I called in some help.  Of the cutest kind.

(Fish use these for protection.)

I love the quote in the Handbook of Nature Study-  “…never refuses to bite nor indeed to be caught with the worst of anglers.” Isaak Walton

We read the lesson introduction on page 148 – The Bullhead.  I will say, I’ve had to do quite a bit of research to try to figure out what this fish even is. We’re going to settle on Catfish Family – not a mudfish – yes to a different type of bullhead.

When reading the introduction I saw three things that I didn’t know and asked the boys and looked them up:

Gills on the bottom instead of the sides, no scales, and is a type of catfish.  I asked the boys about it – and they said – yes, to all three.

We read through the lesson questions on page 37.

I learned that they make nests under logs. I guess never thought about where fish babies are born. Several spots called them nests. I asked the boys all of the questions and they gave me really solid answers based on their observations the last few summers.

I also learned that they carry their young in their mouths when they go out to find feed. They are good at spitting out the feed and not their little fry.  Amazing.

There is a lovely story about bullheads in the lesson. The line refers to them as created for “the sport of small boys” by Charles Frederick Holder. I have to completely agree.

Join us over at the Handbook of Nature Blog –
and take a peek at some Fish Nature Studies this month.