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For the Birds!

© Irene Taylor

I was looking out my kitchen window one morning this summer when I was privileged to be greeted by a rainbow of color! At my various feeders sat a bright yellow American Goldfinch, a Red-winged Blackbird, a Rose Breasted Grosbeak and a sapphire blue Indigo Bunting - a bird rarely seen at feeders!

The joy birdwatching can bring is great, the benefits to students even greater. Birdwatching is a wonderful way to weave some "everyday" science into your child's life. As you watch these amazing creatures, many opportunities will arise to talk about the special adaptations birds have, the changes in colors during the year, their seed preferences, and their breeding habits.

Geography can also play a part in bird watching. Where do certain birds like to live? Do they travel to other areas? Do they migrate? Using bird books and maps, you can easily have an impromptu geography lesson! Here are two great bird watching guides: Backyard Birds (Peterson Field Guides for Young Naturalists) and A Field Guide to the Birds: A Completely New Guide to All the Birds of Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides).

There are many great web sites to use when learning about backyard birds. For some general information, give these a try. Bird Source is a site with combined information from the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithlogy. Here you will find many useful links to projects, features and conservation sites. The Audubon Society page is another site to be sure to see.

You'll find some great links at Pete's Bird Page. This site has information about birdwatching basics, endangered birds, migration patterns, and some great bird links.

The National Birdfeeding Society is another great source on general information on birdwatching and feeding.

Once you find yourself "hooked" on birding, you may want to get involved in some bird watching projects. At the Birdhouse Network you can join in a continentwide monitoring program in which people place birdhouses, or nest boxes, in their yard or neighborhood and then monitor the birds that nest inside. Classroom Feeder Watch is a program for schools and has some great lesson planning ideas as well. Watchlist for Kids also has some interesting ways to get kids involved in this hobby.

Kids will also love Nick and Sam's Birdpage.

Do you love hummingbirds? Here are a great humming bird site:

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