Bird Watching for Kids | Free Bird Watching Journal and Activities for all Ages
Bird Watching Activities for Kids
Calling all bird nerds! Here is a huge list of Backyard Bird feeders and bird watching activities for kids. A great way to get your kids to appreciate and conserve nature is to engage them in bird watching, have them build a bird feeder or other fun activities.
We have been bird watchers for as long as I can remember. We have several feeders in our yard and keep them full year-round. One event we always look forward to is the Backyard Bird Count in February. We take day trips to local areas such as Hawk Mountain and the Conowingo Dam to see the eagles when they are migrating. As young as 4, my younger son was able to identify a few species. So I thought, “Hey, why not? It’s time to find him some other activities to do to foster this interest!” He now has his own binoculars and almost every day he’ll watch the feeders for a few minutes (he’s 8 now) and tell me who is there having a snack.
Benefits of Bird Watching
- gives kids a greater appreciation for the environment
- gets you outdoors
- allows kids to enjoy the outdoors while you are still indoors
Birding for Kids
Birdwatching-Journal-Bingo_4Here are your free birding journals for kids. There are two to choose from.
bird-watching-journal-adayinourshoes-2bird-watching-journal
Backyard Bird Activities for Kids
creating-bird-friendly-habitatBird Food Recipes
bird-food-recipe-book-markswildlife-tree-homemade-ornaments-that-feed-birds
This bird feeder is super easy. Toilet paper roll, peanut butter or shortening, and birdseed.
Turn your backyard into a Certified Wildlife Habitat
This is actually pretty easy to do. Please don’t be discouraged if you live in an urban area. It doesn’t matter where you live. You just have to provide the 4 basics: food, water, cover and a place to raise young. Then submit your information to the National Wildlife Federation and get your yard certified.
Bird Watching Worksheets
Bird Identification Game: Requires preparation and set up, FYI.
fwbirdidgame- Birdsleuth Kits
- Mother Natured-bird activities
- From Enchanted Learning-bringing bird activities into the classroom.
Bird Activity Worksheets
WordSearch_PDFColoringBook
You can right-click, enlarge and print this bird nest worksheet.
This is pretty self-explanatory. I don’t have instructions because it was an unattached image on Pinterest.
You could change the colors on this to make all kinds of different birds.
Bird Counting Worksheet
February is the Backyard Bird Count from the National Audubon Society and they also have many ways to get kids involved and interested in birds. They also have an online identification guide for birds and some quizzes.
Backyard-Bird-counting-sheet-for-GBBCBird Songs Website
Can you identify birds by their song? Find out here. The GBBC is also where you can go with your kids to log how many birds you see during the count. Fantastic activity so that they see how we are all a part of the bigger picture–when they see other families from all over the nation doing the same thing!
When is the Backyard Bird Count?
Great Backyard Bird Count is always the second weekend of February.
BirdLog North America-It allows you to enter sightings into eBird from your phone. eBird is compatible with Backyard Bird Count. Although many field guide apps feature self-contained life lists, this app updates your eBird account, which is then accessible from any web browser. Your data also help build the overall eBird database used by scientists.
Bird Identification Apps
There are many out there, but Audubon, Peterson, and National Geographic are some of the biggest and most respected names out there in birding, so I am listing them. Plus, while I only have the first one, it is kid-friendly. Last year for Backyard Bird Count, there were some pretty expensive apps being offered for free. I will update this post if that happens again.
Audubon Birds Pro (821 species; 907 MB; $14.99; also available for Android)
Peterson Birds (820 species; 535 MB; $9.99; includes sounds from Macaulay Library)
Backyard Bird Websites for Kids
- Cornell is such a great resource for backyard birding. And they have a great kids’ section on their website.
- One family’s story on what they did when their child had a fear of birds. It might be a good read if your child has a sensory issue and doesn’t like birds. Not that you’d actually be handling any birds for these activities.