Enabling Environments: Birds - Watch the birdie
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
You don't need to know anything about birds to enjoy watching them.
If you'd like to encourage the children in your care to take more of an interest, but are unsure of where to start, then the RSPB website is a great first port of call.
Feeding birds is an ideal way to interest children in wildlife. This website should answer all your questions on how to feed your nursery's feathered visitors, from how to build or select a bird table and where to position it, to what food to provide and how to keep your feeding station hygienic and pest-free. There is also detailed advice on making and providing nest boxes.
It's a natural progression to go from watching a bird going about its business to asking what kind of bird it is. The site includes an online bird identifier that lists all UK birds. They can be searched by location, size, colour and more. Entries have colour photographs of the birds and an overview, including when and where to see them, what they eat and a recording of their song. There are also videos of different birds' behaviours.
Children can keep up with the comings and goings of birds at some of the RSPB UK reserves through webcams. On one they can check out the live coverage from a bird feeder at the Abernathy Reserve in Scotland, which attracts coal tits, plus occasional crested tits, great spotted woodpeckers and other wild Scottish woodland birds. It also gets visited by red squirrels.
The website has an area dedicated to 'Early birds' aimed at children under six years old. These pages of fascinating and fun resources include simple facts about five common garden birds that children can watch out for in the nursery grounds, at home or in the park. Downloadable activities include how to make binoculars, instructions for building homes for minibeasts and suggestions for bird-hide role play. There are even stories for wildlife-inspired storytimes.
There is also information on how to be part of the annual Big Schools' Bird Watch and record the bird activity around your nursery.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) website: www.rspb.org.uk
