Birdwatching with Kids: NJ Backyard Birds

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Birdwatching: New Jersey Backyard Birds (with Kids & for the Kid in all of Us)

One of the easiest ways to involve your children in nature is Backyard Bird watching.  Here you'll find tips for teaching them about birds, and resources for you and your family to learn more & to have a new source of entertainment (that sure beats t.v.)!

I've listed below the major backyard birds of Northern New Jersey.  This way, you'll have an easy-to-find source of info for you & your kids.

[This photo was taken by fizgig777 and posted here on GardenWeb.com.]

Feed the Birds

On Christmas Day -
And learn who is
a Cardinal, and who is
a Woodpecker.

Give the Gift of Knowledge,
Fun & Exploration!
(see below)

Bears & Birdfeeders 

Do you live in a woodsy area that has bears? If so, how do you manage your birdfeeding?

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Best Advice from Bird Watching Bliss 

Whatever advice you want about watching, feeding, or homes for birds, you'll be sure to find here.

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Kids love nature - how to teach kids everything with Bird Watching 

Kids, especially ages 5 to 8, love nature. They love seeing it, discovering it, analyzing it, pondering it, touching it, dissecting it, holding it, nurturing it, mimicking it, and engaging with it.

Backyard bird watching is a perfect way for kids to experience and interact with nature. Let them learn about their surroundings. Let them create things for the birds to use and eat. Let them track their discoveries. Let them write stories about their experiences. Let them read and listen to captivating antics and songs. Let them sit, enraptured in stillness and wonder, by the coming and goings of their new=found feathered friends.

If you haven't noticed already, you just covered reading, writing, math, social studies, science, art, music, and spirituality.

Need I say more?

2 Kid-Friendly Bird Books you'll want to have 

Don't waste your time or money with other books. Just get these. They work for kids and parents alike!

Birds of New Jersey Field Guide

Amazon Price: $10.04 (as of 12/16/2009) Buy Now

Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song

Amazon Price: $31.50 (as of 12/16/2009) Buy Now

Backyard Bird-feeders 

It's hard to see the birds in the backyard (even though they're there) if they can't stop by a rest a bit and snack!

CARDINAL (Northern Cardinal) 

Cardinals seem to show up more in the winter. And thank goodness they do! They add bright splashes of color to an otherwise monotonous gray landscape.

The dull gray Cardinals are the females or the youth.

Cardinals are skittish around our birdfeeder - and definitely prefer the big seeds, high quality stuff.

Takiela's Field Guide Basics (see book above) says:

Size: 8-9"
Nest: cup
Migration: no
Food: seeds, insects, fruit, will come to seed feedes
Notes: Male feeds female during courtship. Latin name means "important."

Cardinal on the bird feeder by Lee Coursey

Photographers Note: A cardinal on the bird feeder outside our house on Willow Lane.

curated content from Flickr

Tell us about your backyard birding experiences! 

(or if you just want to leave a note if you thought this lens was helpful or will help you backyard birdwatch with your kids!)

submit
  • Reply
    ElizabethJeanAllen ElizabethJeanAllen May 21, 2009 @ 5:44 pm
    Hi,
    My name is Elizabeth Jean Allen and I am the new group leader for the Nature and the Outdoors Group.
    Welcome.
    Lizzy
  • Reply
    CoolFoto CoolFoto Feb 28, 2009 @ 3:32 pm
    You are so good at bird identification please visit my What is the name of this bird? lens www.squidoo.com/identify-birds . Lensroll to that lens.
  • Reply
    naturegirl7 naturegirl7 Dec 13, 2008 @ 7:41 am
    Very nice lens and educational, too. It's never too early to introduce children to our beautiful native fauna and bird watching is a great place to start. Welcome to the Naturally Native Squids group (http://www.squidoo.com/groups/naturallynative ). Don't forget to add your lens link to the appropriate plexo and vote for it.
  • Reply
    Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Dec 9, 2008 @ 3:43 pm
    Thank you for joining www.squidoo.com/groups/woods. I enjoyed reading your lens. Thank you for opening my eyes to new information and ideas.
    Please feel free to add as many lenses as relate to the theme and then add them to a plexo. If you don't find a plexo that fits your lens just email me.

    Please feel free to grab any of these plexos to add them to your lenses.

    Don't forget to visit the other lenses in the group.

    You can add any of your lenses that are in the Isle of Squid to the last plexo. Please remember to visit the Isle of Squid lenses and review them.

    I believe that each of these connections will improve the ranks of all of our lenses.

    Evelyn
  • Reply
    Tiddledeewinks Tiddledeewinks Aug 21, 2008 @ 2:29 am
    We have woodpeckers, humming birds, goldfinch, chickadee, robins, cardinal, bats, mourning doves and more in our garden.
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How to Build a Simple Bird Feeder Video 

Simple demonstration - a good basic starter, and for some good reasons, too! See below for some tips!

Bleach Bottle Bird Feeder

Runtime: 67
11395 views
5 Comments:

curated content from YouTube

Tips for Making your Kid-friendly Backyard Bird Feeder 

  1. Notice I didn't show a peanut butter pine cone feeder video? Because peanut butter pinecones usually make it through a few rains, but then get pretty disgusting
  2. You could use a bleach bottle, but the clear 2 liter bottles or clear big juice bottles work better.
  3. I don't recommend making all 4 holes like in the video because too much rain gets in and makes the seeds soggy & then moldy; plus the wind will spill too much out.
  4. I recommend 1 hole on each side.
  5. I also recommend doing something to give the birds a perch to sit. Either tape-over the jagged plastic bottom edge of the hole. Or, cut 2 small slits or side holes next to the big opening, and run 2 dowels through the holes on opposite sides of the bottle, to get the birds a perch. We did this latter idea, and it worked very well. We used a CLEAR large apple/grape juice bottle and it lasted for a long time!
  6. These home-made feeders are easy for the kids to fill up with just a simple scooper or paper cup.
  7. I recommend hanging it where you can reach it easily so the kids (or you) can fill it up easily.
  8. If you have chipmunks, the kids will love watching the chipmunks sitting completely INSIDE the bird feeder!
  9. Of course, squirrels come with the territory. Not much you can do there. Some commercial feeders do better keeping their pesky noses out. But the kids really treasure the ones they made more - plus, the kids actually enjoy yelling at the squirrels to "get away" from the birds' food!
  10. But so do racoons & bears. So, we take our bird feeders in at night. We didn't used to do this until . . . 1 racoon came the 1st night, then 2 the 2nd night, . . ., until the 4th night when 4 racoons were lounging on our 10' high deck. Our daughter still talks about the racoons who ran off with every last bit of every bird feeder we had. We bring them in now.
  11. Definitely have the kids paint and decorate the bird feeder. Let them go wild! Get a bag of stuff from the discount store, those bags with shapes of foam, sequins, pom poms, sparkly things, etc. Have them use poster paint & glue the stuff & string onto the bird feeder. You'll be the hit of the neighborhood!

Garden Stepping Stone - Made by Your Child! 

Kids LOVE making things with their hands - and they LOVE seeing the things that they made placed around the home - especially in the garden!

Garden Stepping Stone Kit
Garden Stepping Stone Kit

A great project to do with the kids! This garden stepping stone kit allows kids to create fun and decorative art for the home or garden. This kit comes complete with mortar, glow stars, flat glass marbles, plastic crystals, glitter, craft gloves, template, mixing bag and instruction sheet. Complete stepping stone measures: 5.5L x 7.5W x 2.25H. $6.99

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by TheresaMarkham

Theresa A. Markham, Esq. loves living in scenic Northwest New Jersey with her husband, Chuck, and daughter Zoe, who are visited by her GWU-colleg...

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