Lesson 1: Welcome to Habitats for Backyard Birds!
Lesson One provides an overview and introduction to the course. Students will learn why it is important to provide backyard bird habitat, why certain species are declining in numbers and how individuals can help to reverse this decline. If interested, students will also learn how to become citizen research scientists!
Course Overview and Introduction
Welcome to Habitats for Backyard Birds!
Lesson One will provide you with basic information about the personal benefits of attracting birds to your backyard and also why it is so important to increase habitat for native birds.
Lesson Two will provide you with new skills and information about creating food, shelter and water for birds. You will learn how to add these features to your own backyard to attract the kinds of birds you would like to see and hear!
Lesson Three will give you the opportunity to apply what you have learned about backyard bird habitats. You will assess your backyard for existing bird habitat and then create a plan to add food, shelter and water to your backyard to attract more and/or different kinds of birds.
Lesson Four will follow-up on the previous three lessons by providing information about maintaining your new habitat, helping to reverse the decline of native birds and enjoying a lifelong hobby.
The required textbook selected for this course is The Audubon Backyard BirdWatcher. This text is published by the National Audubon Society and is really two books in one: The Birdfeeder Handbook and The Bird Garden. This is a book that you will want to keep as a reference for a long time. It has over 1,000 color photographs, species profiles, a 59- page detailed bird behavior guide, a regional guide to plants and birds and more.
There are amazing facts included in our textbook. For example, I learned on page 77 that a hummingbird nest is a tiny cup of soft plant material bound with cobwebs and camouflaged with bits of lichen and insect cocoons.
There are five recommended web sites linked to this course. You can click on these sites directly within the Bibliography section at the end of Lesson One.
Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology (the scientific study of birds) has a great web site that provides information about identifying, attracting, studying and protecting our backyard bird species. Research projects and opportunities for citizen participation are described. The web site is at http://birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAbo...
The National Audubon Society, the nation's leading advocate for backyard birds and other wildlife species, has a web site that provides bird facts, a web page for kids, and conservation actions individuals can take at home and in their communities. The web site is at http://www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/.
At the Smithsonian's National Zoo, researchers provide leadership in conservation science. They connect people with wildlife, including backyard birds, by sharing research discoveries and building partnerships around the world. Their web site, at http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/backya... has practical information that will help you attract a variety of bird species to your backyard.
The web site of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service, has great how-to fact sheets on projects to attract backyard birds. Their web site is at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/backyar...
The United States Geologic Survey (USGS) has a fun page at http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/tools... that shows how to transform cardboard milk cartons into a birdfeeder or birdbath. Additional birding information, including plans for building birdhouses and birdfeeders, is available by viewing other pages at the site.
