Birdwatching can be a fun and educational activity for kids, giving them an opportunity to learn more about birds as well as the excitement of spotting them. So, we thought we would give you 7 ways to get kids into birdwatching:
- Read books about birds and birdwatching
- Play bird-themed games
- Go on a day out, see which birds you notice
- Set up a wildlife camera and watch the footage back
- Look for a less common bird
- See which birds are different in different places
- Take part in a big birdwatch
Read books about birds and birdwatching
Reading books about birds and birdwatching can be a great introduction to the topic and a great way of sparking kids’ interest. One such example is our printable picture book ‘Edmund and Joy and Bertie Birdwatcher’, which follows Edmund and Joy as they visit Joy’s cousin Bertie Birdwatcher and join him as he looks for a bird that was noticed by his neighbour.
Play bird-themed games
Playing bird-themed games is another way of encouraging an interest in birdwatching. It is also a good way of beginning to familiarise children with different kinds of birds. Our printable game ‘Bertie Birdwatcher Printable Matching Game’ features illustrations from the printable book, and includes illustrations of British garden birds.
Go on a day out, see which birds you notice
A simple way of starting to birdwatch with kids is to see which birds you notice on a day out to the countryside or the coast.
Set up a wildlife camera and watch the footage back
Setting up a wildlife camera in the garden can be a fun activity to do with kids and watching the footage back can show them how many birds there can be to spot – even if they don’t always spot them through the binoculars!
Look for a less common bird
Follow Bertie Birdwatcher’s lead and look for a rarer bird that is still possible to spot. Doing this can be a patience-testing activity for children but very exciting when the bird is seen. Remember not to make it all about seeing that bird though – it’s still a lot of fun to look!
See which birds are different in different places
When you travel to a different country or place, there are usually lots of different birds to see, which can be exciting and surprising for children (and for adults too!). A different variety of the same bird can look so different and can spark interesting conversations and observations about the differences and about which kinds of birds your children like best.
Take part in a big birdwatch
Taking part in a big birdwatch can be an opportunity to connect with fellow birdwatchers and to compare the different birds that everyone has spotted.
As children do more birdwatching, they can learn to identify different birds and you can ask them questions like, ‘What bird is that?’ and ‘What’s your favourite kind of bird?” Who knows? It might become a lifelong hobby!
Disclaimer: Many Joyful Things makes no representations or warranties of any kind in relation to the information in this post.
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