A home for their hearts Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 My dc have been enjoying watching all the birds return to our backyard after a very long winter. I thought it would be fun to do a study on birds. I would love to include, of course, identification and the calls. What ekse sould we include? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 You might find some ideas on the Great Backyard Bird Count site. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology guide is a great resource and has helped me identify quite a few birds. I also like the Green Hour suggested nature activities and Nature Rocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 We've started feeding birds, and my dc have learned a lot about their behaviour by watching the birds interact, etc. If you can find some good sources on bird behaviour, ecology, etc, that could be a fun study. If your dc are into genetics, you may want to look at how gender determination differs in birds from mammals http://www.brighthub.com/science/genetics/articles/39969.aspx When I was in university, we thought that male birds were XX and female XY, but since then they have renamed those genes them as you can see in that linked article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I think the thing that helps most is to put a bird feeder where you can easily see it from where you spend most of the time inside. Different birds come to the feeder at different times of the day. If you can casually glance out, you are more likely to see more birds. It also helps to have a source of water in the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 We have very much enjoyed the Burgess Bird Book for Children, available here: http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=burgess&book=bird&story=_contents or from librivox.org (also, the videos to go along with it here: http://classicalcharlotte.net/burgess-bird-book-video-companion/. We also have this CD, which is fun: http://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Bird-Songs-Peterson/dp/0618225943/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302399614&sr=8-1 And I got this packet from CurrClick.com -- a lot of info, good bang for the buck, IMO: http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=23381&it=1 And this was a cute game: http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=36294&it=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I'm SO excited to get this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00024M5WA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&m=AIRPVU63F40UN I've ordered several of the song cards, even one for FROGS!!! We always wonder what bird we're hearing. I can't WAIT to get this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Project Feeder Watch from Cornell has a lovely and free downloadble curriculum for homeschoolers. Get yourself some good local bird guides, a decent pair of binoculars and have fun with it! Just don't forget to clean your bird bath and feeders... I love our bird feeders and the kids and I have learned quite a bit over the years just observing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 We just saw this with the frog cards at a reptile show, and I really want to get one! We also just received our urban bird packet from Cornell. We are excited to participate. The feeder one looks great too. I'm SO excited to get this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00024M5WA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&m=AIRPVU63F40UN I've ordered several of the song cards, even one for FROGS!!! We always wonder what bird we're hearing. I can't WAIT to get this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeidiKC Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I'm SO excited to get this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00024M5WA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&m=AIRPVU63F40UN I've ordered several of the song cards, even one for FROGS!!! We always wonder what bird we're hearing. I can't WAIT to get this! We have this and my son LOVES it and can identify several bird calls now. There is a note in the instructions saying don't play it outside (which I would not have known!) because it is upsetting to the birds when they can't identify the source of the bird call and may abandon their nests since they feel threatened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 If you end up getting the Burgess Bird Book for Children, feel free to check out this resource, Burgess Bird Book Companion, I made last spring. The Classical Charlotte site (mentioned above) is a friend of mine that is on these boards, she made a list of videos as well. We love birds and watching our feeders! My entire family notices immediately when we get a new type of bird, either by seeing or even hearing it. I also love having iBird Pro and Audubon birds on my iPhone/iPad. They both are great apps to help identify and learn more about birds. You can hear the different bird calls. With prudence, you can even use it to attract birds to you using the bird call. It's come in super handy in identifying birds whenever we travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I'm SO excited to get this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00024M5WA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&m=AIRPVU63F40UN I've ordered several of the song cards, even one for FROGS!!! We always wonder what bird we're hearing. I can't WAIT to get this! Wow, we hadn't heard of this. We bought a CD with birdsongs and mnemonics, but we haven't actually listened to it yet. The kids are learning the sounds of the birds that come to the feeders, but want to learn other bird songs. What's interesting is how my dc now hate brown headed cowbirds, who hog one of the feeders and who lay their eggs in other birds' nests (and remove the other birds' eggs). My ds also was not happy when he learned that blue jays eat eggs & young of other birds, but has overcome that enough to like to watch them again. He also has a love/hate relationship with hawks; he likes the ones that eat rodents and my dc hope that the red tailed hawks we see will eat the squirrels that brazenly eat our birds' seeds. We've named one of the squirrels Cluny the Scourge as in the character from Redwall, so we've even pulled literature into it a bit;). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 The Cornell people are doing an urban bird count. I just received the poster for it this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I'm SO excited to get this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00024M5WA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&m=AIRPVU63F40UN I've ordered several of the song cards, even one for FROGS!!! We always wonder what bird we're hearing. I can't WAIT to get this! Our local museum has these and they are fun. Wish they were a little less pricey. To the OP, do see David Attenborough's Life of Birds. Very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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