What kind of birds are in your backyard?

What kind of birds are in your backyard?

In Honor of the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, get kids interested in nature. Help them turn your backyard into a bird haven!

Let your child help set up a bird feeder in the backyard. Placing one up by a window where it can be observed is best.

Put a birdseed mix, or just sunflower seeds into the feeder. Then wait a couple of days for the birds to discover their feast!

It won’t take long for the birds to start coming to your feeder on a regular basis.

Get a bird book and a log notebook and start identifying the birds. Write down how many different birds you see!

This is just the beginning! Before long, you will want a bird bath, and bird houses in your yard! Don’t forget to plant some native plants for the birds as well.

This is a great way to get children interested in the natural world around them. It will help them understand that their actions do make a difference!

Here is a link for great ideas to make easy homemade bird feeders with your children. Homemade Bird Feeders

Make your own birds!

birds complete.jpg

Materials:

          Construction paper and scissors

          Glue stick

          Marker

Procedure:

• Choose what color to make your bird.
• Cut out body parts. Insert pictures
• Cut two circles 9cm in size for the body.
• Cut one circle 4cm in size for the head.
• Cut out a rectangle 3x6 cm for the tail.
• Cut two small triangles for the beak, and two small circles for the eyes.

Hold the two circles for the body of the bird together. Fold them about a third of the way down to form the wings. 

bird body.jpg

bird body parts blue.jpg

Hold the two circles together and cut into the folded wing to form the feathers.

bird wings.jpg

Take one circle and fold the cut wing in the opposite direction to form the wing for the other side of the body.

Use a pencil to help curl the wing feathers up.

Make the head of the bird with the small circle. Glue the beak on to both sides and add the eyes.

Make the tail by cutting into the rectangle to make feathers. Separate the feathers on the tail by folding them to either side and then curl like the wings.

bird tail.jpg

Glue the finished head and tail in between the two larger circles. Only glue about halfway down the circle. (be careful not to put the head out to far, this will upset the balance of the finished bird.

birds complete.jpg

Open out the bottom edge of the circle and form rockers.