According to Terrie Murray, a nature writer, bird watching is one of the best ways to learn about birds. With a few simple materials, you can watch birds in a local park or your backyard. Purchase or check out a book from the library about birds. Many children and adult bird watching guides provide excellent pictures and maps to help identify birds. Get a pair of beginner binoculars: a 7 x 35 power with protected lenses. If you are bird watching in the backyard, put up a bird feeder to attract the birds. To welcome the largest number of feathered friends, research the species in your region and the type of bird food that they eat.
The National Audobon Society uses natural materials to create a model bird nest. Start with a walk outside to collect nest making supplies including dried grass, twigs and leaves. Dig up clumps of soil and put them in a plastic baggie. Using a small bowl or strawberry basket, assemble the nests. Add water to the soil to make mud. Mix together the grasses, twigs, leaves and mud. Line the bowl or basket with this mixture. Have your child find something soft for the eggs to lie on, such as bits of yarn or moss. Model eggs from clay and place them in the bottom of the nest.
Although every bird has similar characteristics, birds come in many different sizes. A wingspan is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. To model the amazing differences in bird's wingspans, create this sidewalk chalk project. An eagle's wing span is 7 feet. Use a tape measure and measure 7 feet on the ground. Mark the measurement with chalk. Measure your child's arm span. Mark the measurement in a different color of chalk. A cardinal's wingspan is 12 inches long. Mark this measurement in a third color of chalk. Compare the chalk markings. Discuss the differences between the lengths of the markings and how each wing span helps a bird survive.
To study birds up close, add a bird feeder to a nearby tree or porch. A feeder can be purchased at any hardware or bird specialty shop. You can also make a feeder by recycling common household packaging. The National Bird Feeding Society suggests creating a feeder from an empty milk or juice carton. Wash and dry an empty carton. Draw a square on each side of the carton and cut out, creating four openings. Below each square cut-out, make a small hole. Push a small round dowel or stick through the hole, about 6 inches long on each side. Fill the bottom of the carton with bird seed. Punch two holes at the top of the carton and attach a piece of string for hanging. Tie your feeder outside and watch for birds.
Every bird has a distinct bird call or song that identifies it in the wild. Learning different bird sounds can help children identify birds when bird watching and teach them more about the characteristics of birds. According to the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, to learn new bird sounds listen closely to song recordings of birds around you. Focus on the details of the sound, pointing out different rhythms, pitches, tones and repetitions. Try to connect the bird sound to a set of words to help you remember it. Then, go outside and listen closely for bird songs. Identify the sound and then compare it to the recording to check if you were right.
Birds love to eat and many enjoy treats that are in your pantry. One food that attracts goldfinches, cardinals and chickadees, just to name a few, is peanut butter. Mixing it into a scrumptious suet guarantees an audience of birds, as well as a study about what birds eat. Viette's Nursery combines 1 cup peanut butter, 4 cups cornmeal, 1 cup thick shortening and 1 cup white flour. Place the sticky substance into a suet holder or bundle in mesh bags. Hang in a tree for the birds to gobble up.