For the Birds: A Rabbit Trail
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Throughout the spring and summer, we caught the "birding bug." We hung a feeder and set out some simple birdbaths and even built a rudimentary nesting box. We rejoiced in the nest and the eggs, celebrated the birth of the babies, and mourned the terrible, violent death of the baby birds. As ugly as the twist of nature was, we were still pretty amazed by the birds in our backyard. I especially love the early morning, before the busyness of the day and the traffic in the kitchen frighten the birds away from the window feeder. This morning, as I sipped a very mellow cup of tea, I pondered the bird-coffee connection (for some reason this made me think of Dawn; I'm sure she'll appreciate it). We've certainly developed a bird-watching habit.
As the sunflowers grew, the goldfinches came to entertain and a red-winged blackbird and a cardinal were regulars at the feeder. More and more bird questions were generated while we watched from the sunroom windows. It is time to officially launch a rabbit trail into the world of birding.
My plan, rough as it is, is to study birds intensively for the next month or so (until the baby is born) and then to just maintain our watching and recording habits through the next year. Birding is a year 'round venture and so this is a year 'round rabbit trail, with some instensive time up front. We began our study at Wild Birds Unlimited, a great store and place of resource that is located within my five mile pregnant mom travel radius.
The very knowledgeable and helpful salesclerk got us all set up with an array of feeders and food to take us well into the fall. She assured us that it isn't too late to attract hummingbirds and she showed us how to attract even more goldfinches. We talked a bit about the demise of our nesting birds. We'll try again with those in the spring. We returned home to set up feeding stations around the backyard, all still within clear view of the sunrooms windows. And we were richly rewarded with goldfinches and hummingbirds within an hour of hanging the new feeders!
While the children spilled seed all over the backyard filled feeders, I busied myself sketching out content I want them to learn from this unit study. We know that if they understand the vocabulary of a topic, they know the topic. So, I began with a preliminary vocabulary list. I fully expect the list to grow as we read and watch our birds, but this is a beginning.
- birds of prey
- swimming birds
- diving birds
- game birds
- aquatic birds
- songbirds
- hummingbirds
- warm-blooded
- ornithology
- migrations
- resident birds
- homing instinct
- flight muscles
- keel
- humerus
- upstroke
- downstroke
- syrinx
- hatchling
- countour feather
- down feather
- semi-plume
- filoplume
- bristles
- preening
- plumage
- motling
- nesting
- scrape nest
- brood nest
- woven nest
- no nester
- cavity nester
- mound nest
- earth hole nest
- adherent nest
- platform nest
- mud daub nest
- hanging cup nest
- clutch
- mating/courtship
- brooding
- egg tooth
- fledgling
- camouflage
- field marks
We'll encounter much of this vocabulary in the books I've chosen for the "Bird Basket." For the younger children, Crinkleroot will be their guide and they will become well-acquainted with Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Birds.
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Jim Arnosky does a masterful job of introducing even young children to some pretty sophisticated bird concepts and vocabulary. It's well worth the search you may have to undertake to find a copy. Our other "spine" is a brand new book in the the Apologia series for elementary/middle school children. I'm not a huge fan of Apologia science in high school but I do like the series by Jeannie Fulbright. Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day is no exception.
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We'll just use the first section of the book (on birds) this fall and then perhaps hit insects intensely next spring and summer.All the bird info this mom needs to know can be found in Fulbright's book and at the Wild Birds Unlimited store. That's a good thing because I'm going to be doing some pretty intense nesting of my own while we undertake this study!
The bird book basket is at the ready. This is where the stories and the pictures will take us beyond our backyard and nurture intimacy and interest with all things avian.
About Birds: A Guide for Children
Soaring the Wind: The Bald Eagle
Wild Birds
The Bird Alphabet Book
The Bird House
The Birdwatchers
The Blackbird's Nest, Saint Kevin of Ireland
The Song of the Swallows
St. Francis and His Feathered Friends
Chapter Books
Reference
Birds, Nests, & Eggs (Take-Along Guide)
Peterson's First Guide to Birds of North America
I'm looking for a biography of John James Audobon for children. I know I read one with the big kids but I can't remember the title or find it here. Any suggestions?
