Birding with Kids

Bird watching is a great way for kids to become aware of birds. Birds can be found anywhere, all year round. Just gather the basic gear—a field notebook, a field guide, and binoculars, if you have them—and go outside. Have kids observe and record what they see in several different habitats and make comparisons.

Fall is a great time for bird watching. Almost everything is on the move: songbirds, shorebirds, raptors, and even some waterfowl. Weekly migration forecasts are available from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s  BirdCast project to help you know what to look for and which days to go out.

Try these fun ideas from the KinderNature website to help your students explore the wonderful world of birds.

Birds and Worms
Using clothespins for beaks and have children pick-up worms (pieces of string, yarn or macaroni) with their beaks. Discuss how birds eat with their beaks and how worms are camouflaged.

Nest Building

Show examples of a variety of nests and materials that birds use. Using 2 fingers for beaks have the children build a nest with shredded paper, clay etc. Go on a tour of their nest homes and have each child show off their nest.

Dress like a Bird

Go over the characteristics of birds: wings, feathers, beaks, feet, eggs, and nests. Using bird costume, dress someone up as a bird.

Fly Away

Make a set of wings for each child by cutting a pair of wing shapes out of construction paper and taping them to his or her wrists. Let your “birds” experiment with their wings. Have them show you how they fly fast and slow, high and low. Ask them to swirl and twirl in the sky as they fly carefully around the room.

Bird Wings

Let your children create their own bird wings, using a paper towel tube. Draw a straight line from the top of the tube to the bottom. Cut along this line. Cut different colored crepe paper into strips and tape or staple along the cut line. Children can then slip the paper towel tube onto their arm and flap their wings.

Bird Zipline

Make cardboard cut-outs of common birds in flight (red-winged black bird, cardinal, blue jay, Canada goose, owl, robin, bluebird, chickadee, goldfinch and woodpecker). Glue a toilet paper tube or a 1” drinking straw to the back of each cut-out bird. Put a string through the tube or straw and allow the birds to zip along the string. Explain about bird migration. Take children on a hike through a backyard or a park. Place the zipline in a tree and have students follow along with binoculars and identify each as they zip past. Or have children lie on their backs with their binoculars while you send a cutout bird down the zipline.

Toilet Paper Tube Binoculars

Tape toilet paper tubes or paper towel tubes cut in half together. Have children decorate the binoculars. Punch one hole in the end of each tube. Tie string to tubes. This will be the strap of the binoculars so they can be worn around the neck. This can be a strangle hazard. Do not connect tubes or do not add strap to prevent this hazard.

Reading Connections

Allen, K. 2006. Why Do Birds Fly South in the Winter?: A Book About Migration. Capstone Press.

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.

Arnosky, J. 2002. Watching Water Birds. National Geographic Society Children's Books.

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.

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

Crossingham, J. 1997. What Is Migration. Crabtree Publishing Company.

Gans, R. 1996. How Do Birds Find their Way? (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2). Harper Trophy.

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

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

Lerner, C. 2001. On the Wing: American Birds in Migration. HarperCollins.

Pascoe, E., et al. 2000. How and Why Birds Use Their Bills (How and Why Series). Creative Teaching Press, 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.

Ray, M. 2004. Welcome Brown Bird. Harcourt Children’s Books.

Sayre, A. 1998. Home At Last – A Song of Migration. Henry Holt & Company.

Apps for Birding with Kids

Merlin

This app makes bird identification so simple it seems like magic. Because of the simple, user-friendly interface, birding becomes both easy and fun. To identify a bird, Merlin first asks five questions – when, where, size, color, and activity of the bird observed. Using eBird data, Merlin then gives the most common species around you who fit the criteria provided. It also provides 1,000+ photo resources, tips from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s expert birders, and bird sounds from the Cornell Lab’s Macaulay Library. Cost: Free for iOS and Android users.

BirdsEye Bird Finding Guide*

The app provides information and population statistics on 1,000+  birds across North America.  You can view seasonal populations, current lists of birds reported near your location, and notifications of when rare birds are observed in your area. Looking for an outdoor space to take kids birding? Open up the “Browse by Location tab in the app and you can view checklists that were recently submitted in nearby areas. These features will help you feel prepared as you head outside to discover birds with kids. Cost: Free for iOS and Android users.

Helpful Websites

All About Bird Song

Bird Song Hero

Birding with Binoculars: Step-By -Step Instructions on How To Use Binoculars

Birding with Kids: Choosing a Field Guide

Field Checklist of Iowa Birds
Iowa Young Birders

Tips for Bird ID

Come along with me…to the prairie!

September 13th-19^th is Iowa Prairie Heritage Week!

Iowa’s landscape was once covered by vast rolling hills of prairie.  An estimated 85% of the land was prairie grass and flowers when European settlers first arrived.  Since that time the Iowa landscape has changed drastically and today only 1/10 of 1% of our native prairie remains. 

The largest remaining prairie remnants in Iowa can be found in the Loess Hills of Western Iowa.  Other prairie remnants can be found in old graveyards, railroad right-of-ways, road ditches and scattered in small patches on state, county or private lands.

Prairies are a diverse pool of plants species, are habitat for many wildlife species and are a protective buffer for ground and surface water supplies.

Several events are planned across the state to celebrate our prairie heritage.  Visit the Iowa Prairie Network Calendar of Events to find an event in your area. Contact your local county conservation board to learn more about prairies in your community.

Teaching about Prairies

·         Ask children about prairies. Have they ever been to a prairie? What did it look like?

·         Look at pictures of prairie grasses, plants and wildlife.

·         Read books together about prairies.

·         Using pictures and/or furs, talk about animals that live on the prairie.

·         Try bringing in prairie plants for kids to look at, touch and explore.

·         If possible plan a trip to a local prairie so children can get a hands-on look at a prairie.

·         Contact your local county conservation board for resources, such as naturalist programs and supplies, they are always happy to help.

Prairie Crafts
Try these prairie themed crafts from the KinderNature website.

Compass Plants

Carefully glue the sunflower seeds onto the lid of a frozen juice can. Glue yellow tissue paper petals to the juice can lid forming the compass flower. Add leaves (made from green construction paper) to the stick with glue. Finally, glue the flower head to the stick. Parade around the room with your compass plants and talk about what a compass tells us and how the compass plant got its name.

Grass Weaving

Cut notches in the end of a piece of cardboard (cut to the desired size of weaving) approximately 1/4 inch apart and 1/4 inch deep. Carefully place the strings in the slits of the cardboard, knotting the ends. Keep the string taut by slightly bending the cardboard. Weave dried prairie grass or raffia in and out across the strings. Taping the end of the grass with a small piece of masking tape will help smaller children.

 

Reading Connections
Butterfield, M. 1999. Animals on Plains and Prairies. Raintree Publishers.
Fleming, D. 1991. In the Tall, Tall Grass. Henry Holt and Co.

Fowler, A. 2000. Lands of Grass. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Geisert, A. 1998. Prairie Town. Walter Lorraine Books.

Howard, F. 2006. Grasslands. ABDO Publishing Company.

Johnson, R.L., P.V. Saroff and G. Braasch. 2000. A Walk in the Prairie. Lerner Publishing Group.

Mader, J. 2004. Living on a Prairie. Scholastic Library Publishing.

McGehee, C. 2004. A Tallgrass Prairie Alphabet. University of Iowa Press.

Nichols, C. 2002. Grassy Lands. Benchmark Books.

Penny, M. 2003. Grasslands. Thameside Press.