Free Bird Watching Resources
A great way to stay in and enjoy nature is by bird watching! It is a year-round activity, bird watching can be done all over the world even in your own backyard. People of all ages and “skill” levels can learn and enjoy learning about birds and bird watching.
Winter is especially a great time to learn about migratory birds since they may be in your area for only a short time. It just so happens that the Great Backyard Bird Count happens each year in February! What a great way to learn about birds or get started in bird watching.
Bird Watching Supplies
What will you need? The cost of equipment can often be a concern when seeking to start a new hobby. Do not be afraid of bird watching since very little equipment is needed. You will need binoculars, bird guides, and a comfy place to watch birds. If you need to attract birds to your backyard then birdseed, peanut butter, suet cakes, meal warms, and a water source should be included in the list of supplies.
Child sized binoculars come in many shapes and sizes which you can read about the ones we own here- Binoculars: Which Ones are For You?
Bird Watching Resources
All About Birds Online Bird Guide
Association of Field Ornithologists encourages students at all levels to become involved with the AFO and ornithology.
The American Birding Association represents the North American birding community and supports birders through publications, conferences, workshops, tours, partnerships, and networks.
Bird Cams free ways to watch birds from the comfort of your home or school.
Birding in Ohio tons of free resources
A Robin Cares For Her Baby Birds from HoneysLife
Bird Sleuth K-12 creates innovative resources that build science skills while inspiring young people to connect to local habitats, explore biodiversity, and engage in citizen science projects. WARNING: there are Evolutionary videos and curriculum found here.
Bird-Watching Project Planner great pdf to print and use to plan or track what you have learned while exploring birds and bird watching.
Careers in Birds– There are numerous ways to incorporate birds into a career. For students with a passion for birds and strong skills in another area, the doors open to a slough of careers that utilize bird expertise.
Celebrate Urban Birds is a year-round project developed and launched by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Its primary purpose is to reach diverse urban audiences who do not already participate in science or scientific investigation
Common Birds of Ohio Field Guide from Ohio DNR
CREATING A HEALTHY YARD– great article about preparing your yard to provide a year around place for birds.
Courses for the Public -eCornell offers a variety of free bird resources and videos.
Feathered Friends– a curriculum with nine monthly activities covering a new topic about birds each month. We also offered free webinars for educators to help them improve their personal knowledge about feeding birds and how to incorporate feeding birds into their education program. FEATHERED FRIENDS LINKS AND RESOURCES
The Homeschooler’s Guide to Project FeederWatch is a FREE eight-page document that contains ideas for families participating in Project FeederWatch.
FIRST-TIME BIRDING: How to take someone on their first bird walk
Live FalconCams-Ohio’s live, Web-based video streams of active peregrine falcon nests located on the 41st floor ledge of the Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus, the bell tower of the Bowling Green Courthouse in Bowling Green, on the Chase Bank tower in Canton, and the University of Toledo Bell Tower
Identifying Birds in Your Area from Celebrate Urban Birds
NETWORKING WITH OTHER YOUNG BIRDERS– look for a Young Birders Club near you for ages 12-18. Offering camps, workshops, and events.
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory pays close attention to impacts on birds and their habitats and gathers crucial data specific to local bird populations. We also actively provide opportunities for people to be directly involved in the nature and science of the San Francisco Bay Area.
YardMap is a citizen science project designed to cultivate a richer understanding of bird habitat, for both professional scientists and people concerned with their local environments.
YBN Photos– This group is for young birders to share photos of interesting sightings with eBird’s Young Birders Network.
All About Birds :Your online guide to birds and bird watching
Birds: April Unit Study Reading List
Bird Unit Study Pinterest Board from Deb Chitwood
Never knew much about bird watching. You make it sound very interesting. I’m going to see if my son is interested in this. Thanks!
What a great resource!! We are wanting to so some bird watching since we just moved here to Juneau. This will help. Now if would just stop raining!
These resources are so interesting! I’ll be keeping a lookout. Thanks for linking to the In and Out of the Kitchen Link Party. Hope to see you soon.
I chose this post as one of my favorites from the Hearts for Home Blog Hop and I featured it on my post today. I also pinned this to our Pinterest board. Feel free to stop by and grab an “I Was Featured” button: http://learningtable.blogspot.com/2014/02/hearts-for-home-blog-hop-53.html
What a great list of resources! My MIL and BIL are both avid bird watchers, so bird watching is kind of a big thing around here 🙂 I am planning a bird study with my children this spring to watch the birds when they start coming back our way. I’ve pinned your post to help with our study 🙂 Thank you!
Missy,
I would definitely use your “avid” birdwatchers as a resource. What fun to study birds. I am hoping to add more items to our backyard so birds feel more welcome.
This is a GREAT list of resources. Thanks for putting this together! This is something I can use for years to come. Me and my kiddos will learn a lot from this. Thanks!