Iowa Birds

Iowa is home to an impressive number of bird species - from seasonal migrants to species that make Iowa their home year round. Bird watching is a wonderful hobby enjoyed by many Iowans young and old! Birds are interesting and abundant making them wonderful wildlife to observe and study with children.

But what makes a bird a bird? An animal is classified as birds if it has: feathers, wings, a beak with no teeth, it lays hard-shelled eggs, and has lightweight (often hollow) bones.  Birds’ feathers make them instantly recognizable as “birds” to even the youngest of bird watchers and are also the feature that makes each species so identifiable.

Creature Feature – Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)

Yellow warblers are common throughout Iowa during the summer. Although there are more than 50 species of warblers in North America, yellow warblers are easily identifiable by their uniform bright yellow bodies and unmarked heads with black eyes. Males are distinguished from females by the reddish streaks on their chest and bellies.

Yellow warblers are small, averaging 4 ½ inches in length. Yellow warblers have a distinctive song that sounds like they are saying “sweet sweet I’m so sweet”. They are one of the most commonly heard warblers in Iowa during spring and summer.

Yellow warblers arrive in Iowa in early to mid-May. They can be found in shrubby thickets and woods, particularly along waterways and near wetlands. Yellow warblers are neotropical migrants, meaning they spend their winters in the tropics of Central and South America and their summers in the temperate regions of North America. They start their southward winter journey as early as July.

Yellow warblers eat mostly insects and spiders.

Yellow warblers build their small, cup-like nests in low shrubby trees. The female lays 3-5 grayish to bluish white eggs with brown markings. She will incubate the eggs for 10-13 days. The male will bring her food while she incubates the eggs. When the young hatch both the male and female will feed the young. The young will be ready to leave the nest at 8-10 days old. The parents continue to feed them for up to 3 weeks after they leave the nest.

Bird Watching with Children

Birds are everywhere! Their abundance is part of what makes them so fun to observe! Birds are found in every habitat in Iowa so even if your school is in an urban area you should be able to observe birds in your schoolyard (think robins, crows, etc…). Take children on a walk around your schoolyard or local park to observe birds. Ask them if they have ever seen birds at school before? In their own yards? Somewhere else? What was the birds doing? Why do they think it was doing that?

Tips for Bird Watching with Young Children

• Keep it short – young children have short attention spans, keep the walk short or go on several shorter bird watching trips
• Take it slow – let the children be the lead, walk slow, look & listen
• Bring a field guide – children will enjoy looking through the book, and you can look up any birds you see (even if you already know what it is)
• Look for bird evidence – droppings, tracks, old nests, etc…
• Bring binoculars – bring a pair of real binoculars to share, and make toilet paper roll “binoculars” before your walk http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/toystomake/a/blbinocr.htm
• Bring paper and pencil – takes notes on observations, questions, etc…
• Reflection time after your walk – encourage children to share their observations and experiences from their walk

Build a Bird Nest

Ask children if they have ever seen a bird nest? What did it look like? Look at pictures of bird nests together. Discuss bird nests. What do birds make their nests out of? Why do they think? What do birds use their nests for?

Take the children to an outdoor area that has access to nest building material (or have materials with you that you have previously gathered), such as small twigs/sticks, string, small feathers, grass (both dried and green), etc…

Have each child build their own nest using the materials available or ones they can gather outside (as always keep safety in mind – check the area beforehand to check for broken glass or other hazards).  Have each child share their nest when they are done.

Book List

Arnosky, J. 1997. Bird Watcher. Random House Children's Books.

Arnosky, J. 1993. Crinkleroot's 25 Birds Every Child Should Know. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Arnosky, J. 1992. Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Birds. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Bailey, D. 1992. Birds: How to Watch and Understand the Fascinating World of Birds. DK Publishing, Inc.

Boring, M. and L. Garrow. 1998. Bird, Nests, and Eggs. National Book Network.

Bushnell, J. 1996. Sky Dancer. HarperCollins Publishers.

Collard, S.B. 2002. Beaks! Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc.

Garelick, M. 1995. What Makes a Bird a Bird? Mondo Publishing.

Herkert, B. 2001. Birds in Your Backyard. Dawn Publications.

Latimer, J. et al. 1999. Backyard Birds (Peterson Field Guides for Young Naturalists). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Oppenheim, J.F. and B. Reid. 1987. Have You Seen Birds?. Scholastic, Inc.

Rabe, T. and A. Ruiz. 1998. Fine Feathered Friends: All About Birds (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library). Random House Children's Books.

Rockwell, A.F. 1992. Our Yard Is Full of Birds. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Sill, C.P. 1997. About Birds: A Guide for Children. Peachtree Publishers.

Weidensaul, S. and T. Taylor. 1998. Birds (Audubon Society First Field Guide Series). Scholastic, Inc.

Zim, H.S. 1989. Birds. St. Martin's Press.

Links

IDNR: Education – Classroom Resources (go to the Document Library at the bottom of the page for fact sheets and activity sheets!)

http://www.iowadnr.gov/Education/ForTeachers/ClassroomResources.aspx

All About Birds: Yellow Warbler

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow_Warbler/id

Build Your Own Bird Nest

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/cin/Build_Nest_Activity.asp