Without any real encouragement both of my children have become increasingly interested in the natural world. They are forever asking questions, enjoy curating nature (it’s a little project we’re doing), and have even joined a Citizen Science project.
Fuelled by our Citizen Science project (The Bathing Birds initiative), the kids have become more and more curious about the types of birds in our local environment. They are learning all of their names and are starting to be able to distinguish between native and introduced species. I find their interest fascinating.
I have been wondering more and more how I can support this new interest and weave an activity into our daily life to strengthen their learning without them even knowing. I think I will introduce a new “Spot that bird” family game along the lines of Punch Buggy once they can identify most of the birds in our area.
Equipment wise there isn’t that much we need. We can enjoy birdwatching all year round and I think the kids will find it fun to use their iPads to take images of the birds they see. They can use our Sketch App to draw them if they wish, but I think a project book would be great too so we can collect feathers and nesting material examples (don’t worry, we won’t disturb any actual nests). Our yard is also very attractive to a range of bird species thanks to our planting of natives and a gorgeous bird bath.
Bird watching is certain to become an activity we do everyday! If you’re already enjoying this activity, how do you document the birds you see?
