Birding Projects for Children

By Norma Boeckler

Here are some Creation and bird projects for children to enjoy:

1. Gather dryer lint and animal fur and hang in a ball from a bush or a tree. The birds will use it as liner and binder for their nests. Dads know the value of knowing where that ball of twine is, so create this early and renew it in spring where it will get very popular.
   
2. Create inexpensive feeders. Birds and squirrels like to eat from trays, but they do not like soggy food any more than children like soggy cereal. A plastic silverware tray has holes in it already for drainage and can be used for seed, fruit, bread crumbs, and popcorn.
   
3. Popcorn balls hung from a tree or bush will be as tempting for birds and squirrels as they are for humans. Eat one, make one, eat one, make one. Peanut butter on popcorn is attractive for people, birds, and squirrels.
   
4. A picture identification book or chart is handy near the bird feeder. Some people even keep lists of all the bird species they have seen. Knowing the basic ones (cardinals, nuthatches, chickadees) will lead to spotting more unusual ones, like the pileated woodpecker, crossbills, and cedar waxwings.
   
5. Knowing about trees and bushes will go along well with bird-watching. Birds love berries of all types and often favor berries we would never eat. Watching a mountain ash or a hawthorn will provide many chances to see birds feeding or resting during a migration.
   
6. Water is the most neglected item on a birders list of chores. It may not be convenient to warm the water, although solar heaters can be found. Keeping the water fresh is very good for all the animals, even if it freezes from time to time. In the winter, the birds need to bathe as much as we do.
   
7. Keep a log of nature observations and date them. The ideal notebook has pages that cannot be removed. This maintains the integrity of the log. It may be good for earning badges in Boy Scouts, just before WELS excommunicates the child. Just kidding. They only do that for reading Ichabod.
   
8. There are lots of wonderful animal stories written for children and adults. Some are based on nature. Others are more fanciful. Reading them is great fun for all ages:
   1. The Wind in the Willows.
   2. Freddy the Pig.
   3. Charlotte's Web.
   4. Black Beauty.
   5. Lassie Come Home.
   6. Arnie, the Darling Starling
   7. And many more.
   

   I learned more about gardening and Creation in the children's section than I did in the adult's section.
   

The nuthatch is often called the upside-down bird.
He is created to look for larvae in trees
all winter long.