Bird Watching for Kids

I was at a birding festival a few weeks ago and talked to a Grandmother who lamented that her grandchildren just weren’t interested in bird watching.  I have grandchildren and found them to be very involved in feeding the birds and very excited when a bird stops by the bird feeder for breakfast or maybe just a sunflower seed for a snack.

I have been thinking about why my grandkids are interested in bird watching and would like to offer the following suggestions to parents and grandparents.  These suggestions are for young children.  In another blog I will talk about older children.

First, you need to get them involved.  Pointing though a window and saying “Look at the pretty bird” just does not do it.  Often times the child does not know where you are pointing.  My grandson (2 1/2 years old) helps fill one of the bird feeders. When we hear the birds singing before we have filled the bird feeders, I tell him it is the bird’s way of saying “please”.  When we have finished filling the bird feeders and hear the birds singing, I tell him that it is their way of saying “thank you”.   I don’t make an issue that he helps every day and I never interrupt a good game of stacking the blocks to do this.  I try to pick a time that he is looking for something to do.  And yes, some times the birds get fed more often than they need to, but who cares as long as the child is interested in bird watching and what is happening in nature right then?

We have bird feeders that are at his level.  All bird watchers have experienced “warbler neck”, that stiff feeling that you get from looking up all day at tree top birds.  For a child a bird feeder at your level will give them “warbler neck”.   We have several platform bird feeders that are at his height.  These are the bird feeders that he notices.  The platform bird feeders are outside a sliding glass door at our house, and outside a low picture window at Great Grandma’s house.  The movement of the birds catches his eye and when he knows that he filled that feeder, he is excited.  It means that we have finger prints on the glass, but really, is that something that we should worry about?

I need to remember that my grandson will not be excited about the first Green-tailed Towhee each fall, but is excited about the House Finches every time he sees them, after all red is his favorite color.  He has helped his little sisters stand up to look out the windows more than once and explained to them that “That’s my bird!”

I try to remember that if he has spotted a particularly colorful bird, like Blue Jays in South Dakota or a Cardinal in Arizona I need to stop what I am doing for just a few seconds and share in his excitement.

I also need to remember that his attention span is still very limited and he will be off to his next project before I am ready to move on.

I think you get the idea by now.  Make bird watching fun.  Don’t make it a chore.  Get down on your knees and see their world.  You will learn that the world through their eyes is a very different place than the world though our eyes.  Enjoy their wonderment.  As every Grandma knows, childhood does not last long enough.

After 30 years as a professional ornithologist, Nancy Hays like to help people find the perfect bird feeder for their backyard.  Visit her at tomsbirdfeeders.com to see how she can enhance your backyard bird feeding experience.

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