Bird Watching With Children

For young children bird watching can be a great an inexpensive hobby to start up. It requires very little in the way of money or supplies and it can be done anytime and at almost any place. There is always a tree with a bird in it nearby to be enjoyed. If your child is interested in learning to bird watch a trip to the local duck pond is a good place to start. The birds are often close, and quite tame, as well as being colorful and easy to see as they aren’t obstructed by trees or too high up to take a good look at. You can also feed the birds only cracked corn or small amounts of grain. Do not feed them bread or anything similar which encourages algae and bacteria to spawn in the water and can attract unwanted pests such as rats and gulls. However you should never disturb birds that are near or in their nest or make a point of scaring them in any way. For this reason when out bird watching it’s best to try to keep your groups small. Walk slowly and quietly and make a point of being respectful of the natural habitat your birds are in.

Whether at home or out bird spotting, you can encourage your children to keep a list of what sorts of birds they see. This is also a good idea to do with any feeders you may have hung up at home. Your children can look up what sorts of species they see near and around the house or feeder and thereby learn what kinds of birds are common to your area and during what times of the year. This can also help you teach your children about various migratory patterns and how they affect what sorts of birds will be seen at what times. You can look up birds in a field guide and read about whether or not they migrate and even find out what other countries they’re in when they aren’t hanging around your feeder.

This is also a great way to introduce your children into new information about different habitats. You can study the different habitats of birds as they migrate and  d they live and what they do when they aren’t near your feeder. You can teach children about what kinds of birds live in trees, water, marshes, swamps, mountains, and so on as well as the different attributes they have that go along with these habitats. Do they have uniquely shaped feet or beaks? Are their wings or bills different in any way? Why do they have these different attributes and what purposes do they serve?

You can also teach your children about different bird songs by listening to birds in your backyard, if you have lots of birds in your area. If you don't all you have to do is visit a nearby park where there are lots of trees and bushes or take a little trip up in the mountains or to a local lake or river to see some new species. As long as you’re patient the birds will show up. Its also a good idea to take a look at your local library to see if they have a cd of bird recordings available for your area that can help children learn to recognize and identify different species and the sounds they make. Some of these cd’s also come with a book that uses pneumonic devices to help children remember the unique calls of each bird - usually by creating a similar noise using words the child already knows. This can be especially helpful for children who wear glasses or are vision impaired as it can help them find and identify birds even if they can’t see them very well.

It’s also fun to get children involved in the actual processes that a bird will go through such as building a nest and taking care of the eggs. It can be a great way for children to learn how and why birds do the things they do and it’s best to start this process by simply observing what birds will do with their nest. It is however, very important that children are taught to never disturb the eggs or the nest and especially not to go near young baby birds as bird parents can frightened away which will cause the baby birds to starve. Children can keep a daily journal of the activities of various birds and their nest building techniques and at the same time they can construct a nest of their own too. It can be a lot of fun for children to gather sticks and grass and then glue a nest to a piece of cardboard and even use a few eggs from the store (after they’ve been boiled) to try out in their new nest. Children can also begin taking photographs of nest building techniques to learn the habits of the various birds they are watching just make sure not to use a flash as they’ll frighten the bird with it.

Bird houses are a great thing to have children learn about and they can be a lot of fun to build as well if you’re up to the job. You can buy designs and plans for them at most outdoor supply stores or gardening centers and they are relatively simply to build if you choose a plan that isn’t too complex. Wood is always the best choice for birdhouses - especially if it’s going to be a homemade birdhouse because of how durable it is, how easily it breathes, and the fact that it’s very durable. Red cedar is a good type of wood to use as well as pine and cypress. You also want to make sure that the inside hasn’t been treated with any stains or preservatives or other types of chemicals as these can all be harmful to the birds that stay in them. There also isn’t any need to paint most wood types but there are a few, such as pine and plywood, that will last a bit longer with a coat of water based exterior paint on them but most children will be enthusiastic about painting their birdhouse. You want to make sure that if you do decide to paint you choose colors that work for the types of birds you want to attract. Earth tones like tan, gray, and a dull brown or green are best for most nesting birds as they blend in well with other foliage, repel heat because of the lightness of the colors and they are less obvious to predators. Don’t paint inside the box or the entrance hole. You also want to be sure that the nails and screws you use to hold the box together haven’t been treated with any kind of chemical that will harm your birds but brass ones will last longer and resist rust as they age. Make sure that you don’t put any kind of a metal roof on your bird house or any other dangling or shiny objects as these are very attractive to predators. Metal poles however, are great for mounting bird houses on and can deter predators along with “cones” and other predator guards. It’s also helpful to avoid mounting bird houses on fences or trees that neighborhood cats or squirrels can get to easily and they should be kept away from feeders too.

Overall there are many different activities and aspects of bird watching that children can learn about and enjoy. Everything from migration to nesting to feeding to the unique looks and calls of certain birds and all of these things can be very exciting for young children to learn about and study. Keeping a diary and taking photographs or doing small sketches (for older children) can be a great way for children to keep track of what they’ve learned as they carry on their bird watching in different seasons and locations as well as help them retain the knowledge so that’s a great thing to try as well. Just remember to enjoy your bird watching and to encourage children to be patient and it should be a great experience for everyone involved.