Birding by Ear

July Environmental Education Topic:

Birding
by Ear


What did the Owl do when he lost his voice?

He didn't give a hoot!



Bird sounds are all around us. Some are short and sharp; others more intricate. We can identify birds by their vocalizations and encourage development of this listening skill with our youth. How many bird voices can you recognize? Crows, gulls, pigeons, robins, house sparrows? How about northern flickers, chickadees, and starlings? Birding by ear teaches a new level of awareness and brings attention to the lives around us at the park, on the street, and outside our Clubs.

Bird Information, photos, and songs can be found on http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1189

Activities

Who's Call?
Gather together some empty containers. Fill pairs of containers with the same substance. Beans for one pair, rocks in another, rice, bells, pasta shells. Kids will each get a container. Everyone shakes their container listening carefully to find their pair making a matching sound. Before this hold a discussion. Why do birds sing? Do different birds have different voices? What are some bird voices you have heard outside the Club? Background information on why and when birds sing can be found on http://gorp.away.com/gorp/publishers/lyonspress/bir_ear.htm


Sound Map
This activity can be done in a park or area away from lots of traffic noise. And the silence it encourages can be a relief in the middle of busy camp day. Ask the kids to quietly listen for a minute and count how many different sounds they can hear. What were they? Wind in trees, birds, water, crunching footsteps. Hold up a piece of paper and make an x to represent you. Draw in the sounds that you hear around you. The sounds can be squiggly or jagged lines, circles, or words describing the sound. You can add some visual landmarks as well. Explain that the kids will make a sound map by sitting alone and quietly listening. They will draw as many sounds as they can hear on their map.

Bird Song Bingo (contact Christine; cmorris@positiveplace.org to request materails)
Use a CD of bird songs and bird photo game cards to play Bird Song Bingo. First play each song on the CD and ask kids to guess the name of the bird. Show the picture of the bird from the game card. Play the CD again and have kids call out the name of the bird. Then pass out the game cards and bingo markers. Play tracks from the CD. Kids mark the photo on the card for the song that is played.




Black Capped Chickadee Singing



American Robin Calling