Winter Birdwatching for Beginners

It’s cold outside! It can be difficult to foster a love of nature when the mercury dips. Encourage your children to become junior scientists by helping them to become winter birdwatchers. They will develop their scientific reasoning skills and develop an interest in the great outdoors while staying snug and warm- indoors.

Winter is an ideal time to begin birdwatching; the birds are more visible and less timid as they search for food. Whether you live in a rural area or in the heart of the city, you can attract visitors to your window, use birdwatching as an opportunity for learning, and cultivate an affinity for nature in your children.

Begin by Setting up an Observation Station

An ideal observation station will be located near a window for easy viewing. Be sure that there are no lurking places in the immediate vicinity where cats can hide. It should include these basic elements:

• Feeder- Birdfeeders can be as basic as a shallow bowl, or even seed scattered on the ground. There are hundreds of different birdfeeders available for purchase, or you can get crafty and make your own.
• Birdbath- Unfrozen water can be hard to come by during winter months. Fill a dish or tray with water, add a few rocks for stability and traction, and be sure to clean and refill often.
• Seed- Sunflower seed appeals to a large variety of birds.  It is fairly inexpensive and can be readily found in grocery and pet stores.
• Journal- Keep a notebook inside and near the window to take note of bird species, numbers, and observations. Keep a pen nearby, too!
• Bird Identification Guide and Binoculars- Optional, but will enhance the birdwatching experience.

Record Your Observations

Sharpen your children’s powers of observation by helping them define what they see.

• What color is this bird?
• Is it big?
• Small?
• Does it have any distinctive markings or features?
• What does its call sound like?
• What is its flight pattern?
• Does it fly in a straight line or does it swoop and dive?
• Is it timid or bold?
• Will it come to the feeder if other birds are present?
• Can we identify this bird?

Encourage Analytical Thinking

Ask questions that require your children to interpret their data, make connections, and draw conclusions.

• What are the most common birds that we have seen?
• What is the most we have observed at one time?
• What times of day are busiest at the feeder?
• Does the weather affect feeding and bathing habits?
• Do different types of birds have different habits and personalities?

Submit Your Data

You can share the information you have amassed, and validate the learning experience at the same time. Your children will be proud to know that they have made a useful contribution to science, and done their part to help experts understand and protect their new feathered friends.

There are several bird projects that benefit from community participation:

• Celebrate Urban Birds is a kid-friendly project that requires only ten minutes of your time. Register and receive a free kit which includes a bird identification guide, sticker, sunflower seeds and more!
• Project FeederWatch helps to provide information on bird population and distribution for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
• The Great Backyard Bird Count runs for one weekend of the year and gives insight into the population numbers in real-time, as well as imparting a direct year-to-year comparison.

This year’s Great Backyard Bird Count is from February 13-16, 2009.

Birdwatching can be rewarding in so many ways! Scatter some seeds and begin today.

Robin Elton is a stay-at-home mom to three. She can be found writing about green living, practical parenting, and the pursuit of happiness at simple.green.organic.happy.

photo: Titmouse at Feeder, copyright Robin Elton

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