How to Create and Share Canva Templates
In the winter of 2021-22 my kids and I conducted a winter bird survey at our house. Because my kids were little and because I thought it would be fun, I made a little observation journal that we put on our refrigerator. Last winter we did it again and I shared our observation template with a […]
Bird Migration Map
We’re starting to hear and see more birds returning to the feeders around our yard. It’s one of the welcome signs that spring is on its way even in the face of waking up to freezing rain this morning. It will be at least another six weeks until we start to see all of the […]
The Birds Are Returning – A Short Lesson on Migration
When I took my dogs out this morning I heard some birds chirping that I hadn’t heard in a few months. That’s a sure sign that spring can’t be too far away. The sounds of the birds this morning reminded me of a TED-Ed lesson about bird migration. Bird Migration, A Perilous Journey teaches viewers […]
How Birds Stay Warm in Winter – And How to Help Them
For the last few days it has been exceptionally cold here in Maine. Birds and squirrels keep showing up at our bird feeders despite the cold or perhaps because of the cold. While looking at the birds at our feeders yesterday my youngest daughter asked how the birds stay warm enough to not freeze their […]
A Virtual Owl Pellet Dissection Activity
For the last couple of weeks my oldest daughter has been eagerly anticipating the opportunity to dissect owl pellets at school. She was supposed to do that today. But we have a snow day today. None-the-less, her excitement this week has reminded me of a couple of helpful owl-themed resources from my archive. An old SciShow […]
Fun Facts About Turkeys – And a Digital Turkey Project
We frequently have wild turkeys come through our backyard. And almost as frequently one of my dogs will chase them until they fly off. I was recently telling a friend about this pattern and he said, “I didn’t know that turkeys can fly.” That’s actually a pretty common response if you don’t live where wild […]
The Differences Between Crows and Ravens
Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven gets read a lot in schools at this time of year. Why you should read Poe’s work is explained in one of the Halloween-themed TED-Ed lessons that I shared a few days ago. What’s not explained in those lessons is the difference between a raven and a crow. To answer […]
Flap to the Future to Learn About Dinosaurs and Birds
As I mentioned yesterday, my daughters are currently obsessed with Elinor Wonders Why and the question in its theme song, “why do birds sing and how do they fly?” Answering the question about how birds fly led me to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and its online game called Flap to the Future. Flap to […]
Why Do Birds Sing?
My daughters have recently become obsessed with Elinor Wonders Why on PBS Kids. The theme song for the show includes the line, “Elinor wonders why, why do birds sing and how do they fly?” That line has been stuck in my head and playing on repeat for the last few days. So in a quest […]
DIY Maps of Bird Migration Patterns
Over the last handful of years I’ve become more and more fascinated with birds. I think that’s due in part to my daughters’ enjoyment of watching the many interesting birds that come to the feeders around our house. We’ve even taken to naming some of the birds that visit the feeders. For example, Hans is […]
How to Modify & Share Canva Templates
On Sunday I published a blog post about the winter bird survey we’re doing at my house. In that blog post I included a link to the observation journal template that I created by modifying a design I found in Canva. That blog post prompted one reader to ask me how I shared the template. As […]
We’re Counting Birds! – A Lesson in Citizen Science and Canva Template Creation
Here in Maine the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is conducting a survey of birds in our state. This is known as a bird atlas. This includes counting birds all across the state in all seasons. There’s an opportunity for citizens to participate. Since we put out bird feeders at our house year-round, we’re […]
Birdcams for Spring Observations
We have robins and finches nesting in the hanging plants on our porch and in the eave of our garage. This morning when I let our dogs out at 4:45 all of the birds were still in their nests with their little heads poking up to see what all of the commotion was about. Yes, […]
Four Short Lessons About the Arrival of Spring
The snow is melting, the sun is shining a bit longer, and we’re starting to see and hear more birds around our house. Those are all sure signs that spring is on the horizon here in Maine. On that note, here are some short lessons about the arrival of spring. Why do birds sing? And […]
The Wall of Birds – Hear the Calls of Birds and See Their Ranges
We’re starting to see some birds returning to feeders around our house. Before too long we’ll be waking up to the sounds of bird calls. Seeing the birds return reminded me of a great resource from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. That resource is the Wall of Birds. The Wall of Birds is a neat site […]
Try Your Hand at Bird Identification With the Audubon Bird App
We have a bunch of bird feeders hanging outside of house. My daughters love seeing the various birds that visit our feeders. I particularly enjoy seeing orioles come to one of our feeders. My daughters (2 and 3 years old) are curious about the names of many of the birds that come to the feeders. […]
Short Lessons for the Arrival of Spring
The first chickadees and ducks of the spring have started to arrive in my neighborhood. Aside from the calendar, hearing the birds reminds us all that spring is almost here. If you’re tired of winter and looking for some spring-themed lesson ideas, take a look at the following resources. Last year The New York Times published an animated […]
Take a Look at This Year’s Explore.org Wildlife Cams
Explore.org offers a fantastic collection of live nature webcam feeds. In the gallery of live webcams you will find video feeds featuring owls in their nests, ospreys in their nests, and bald eagles in nests, and video feeds featuring puffins. Spring is almost here in the northern hemisphere and the bird videos feeds are the best […]
How Birds Learn to Sing
Spring isn’t too far away and soon we’ll start to see and hear the songs of more birds around my home here in Maine. If you also live in a cold, northern climate the sounds of the birds is a welcome sign of spring. Why do birds sing? And how do they learn the songs […]
Project Feeder Watch – Contribute to Tracking Bird Migrations
Project Feeder Watch is a public project administered by the Cornell Ornithology Lab and Bird Studies Canada. Project Feeder Watch collects data from backyard bird observers across the United States and Canada. Data is collected from November through April. The data collected is used for a variety of purposes including providing the public with information about the birds that […]
National Audubon Society Offers Great Educational Resources
The mission of the National Audubon Society is to, “Protect birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas, using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation.” Their beautiful website is full of resources that could be used in a variety of subjects and with students of all ages. Here are some of […]
Live Video of Owls, Ospreys, and More
Explore.org offers the largest collection of live nature webcams on the web. In the gallery of live webcams you will find video feeds featuring owls in their nests, ospreys in their nests, and bald eagles in nests, and video feeds featuring puffins. As it is spring in the northern hemisphere, the bird videos feeds are […]
One More Halloween-themed Lesson – 4 Fun Facts About Ravens
A couple of weeks ago I shared four Halloween-themed video lessons from SciShow Kids. This morning I discovered another SciShow Kids video that falls into the same category. In 4 Things You Didn’t Know About Ravens students can learn that crows and ravens are not the same bird and how to tell the difference. The […]
Wall of Birds – Hear the Calls of Birds and See Their Ranges
Wall of Birds is a new site published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The Wall of Birds features a mural of 243 hand-painted birds. The mural’s backdrop is a map of the world. You can zoom and pan across the mural to see all of the birds. Clicking on a bird will open a […]