Bird‐watching Level 1 Teacher’s Notes Pre‐visit preparation None required Equipment Provided per class: - ‘nest’ with 3 toy singing birds Provided per child: - binoculars - clipboard and pencil - coloured pencils Print out Copy of Birdwatching 1 Handout per student Time 30 minutes Suggested class level 3 rd class – 6 th class Location at Griston #6 or if this area is busy start at #5 If it rains Use birdhide at #6 for whole activity. Safety & Conservation If snacking in bird‐hide make sure hands are clean and that no litter is left. Curriculum - Content Science: Living Things ‐ 1.2 Plant & Animal life • Observe, identify & investigate animals in local habitat • recognise the diversity of animals in local environment - Skills Use of binoculars ‐ lenses and focusing Observation ‐ including listening & recording - Linkage Art : observing closely and drawing the birds that you see, awareness of colour - Follow‐up Make a birdfeeder – http://www.primaryscience.ie/media/pdfs/col/sci_at_home_bird_feeder.pdf and observe birds using the school grounds as habitat.
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Bird watching Level · 3. Gather the children close and show them the ‘Griston pets’, three toy birds in their nest. - Point out the different markings on different parts of the
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Bird‐watching Level 1 Teacher’s Notes
Pre‐visit preparation None required
Equipment Provided per class:
- ‘nest’ with 3 toy singing birds
Provided per child: - binoculars - clipboard and pencil - coloured pencils
Print out Copy of Birdwatching 1 Handout per student
Time 30 minutes
Suggested class level 3rd class – 6th class
Location at Griston #6 or if this area is busy start at #5
If it rains Use birdhide at #6 for whole activity.
Safety & Conservation
If snacking in bird‐hide make sure hands are clean and that no litter is left.
Curriculum - Content Science: Living Things ‐ 1.2 Plant & Animal life
• Observe, identify & investigate animals in local habitat • recognise the diversity of animals in local environment
- Skills Use of binoculars ‐ lenses and focusing
Observation ‐ including listening & recording
- Linkage Art : observing closely and drawing the birds that you see, awareness of colour
- Follow‐up Make a birdfeeder – http://www.primaryscience.ie/media/pdfs/col/sci_at_home_bird_feeder.pdfand observe birds using the school grounds as habitat.
Background Notes for Teachers Birdwatchers or ornithologists (scientists specialised in the study of birds) use listening as much as binoculars to recognise which birds are around. This activity begins by eavesdropping on the aural world of birds and then moves onto birdwatching using binoculars. Observation skills are taught which can then serve as a foundation for more advanced investigative work in the future. The toy birds provided allow you to point out and talk through the main features that should be noted for identification e.g. colour of head, eye, beak etc. When the children listen to each bird’s song they are likely to recognise the blackbird and song thrush but not the Reed Bunting. The first two birds are relatively common, occurring where‐ever there are a few trees and bushes e.g. in gardens that have some wildlife value. The Reed Bunting however is a habitat specialist, needing reeds and insects found in fens and other wetland areas to survive. You could point out that hearing the Reed Bunting song is a good indicator that you are in world‐class habitat that is very important for wildlife. All three birds are resident at Griston. The birds most likely to be observed from the hide, at the feeders, are Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits and Chaffinches. All birds can be readily identified using the information board in the birdhide. Griston is also very important for migrant birds, in summer and winter. These visitors can be heard and viewed at the site and the information panels will help you identify them.
Bird‐watching Level 1 Teacher’s Notes
Lesson Plan 15 min
Step 1, 2, 3 & 4
1. Go to a quiet area to listen to birds: at #6, sitting along the boardwalk facing the picture of Blue Tit; or if this area is busy go #5 near pond.
2. In a hushed voice, ask the children to listen quietly. Suggest that they close their eyes to focus all concentration on hearing. When all are quiet and a few birds have been heard, ask: - Where can you hear bird singing? – ask the children to points in the
direction that they can hear birds, they can use both hands. - Are they the same kind of birds? Emphasise that Griston has been attracting birds for thousands of years (remember it was already a fen 4000 years ago). It is one of the best sites in the area for birds, providing habitat to residents and migrants. Check understanding of terms, ‘resident’ and ‘migrant’.
3. Gather the children close and show them the ‘Griston pets’, three toy birds
in their nest. - Point out the different markings on different parts of the body used to
recognise each species e.g. head, throat, breast, wings, tail, beak, feet. - Note that each species has its own song. Listen in the following order
(push down on their backs) and ask the children which are familiar: Blackbird, Song thrush, Reed Bunting. Point out that the Reed Bunting is a rare bird and that if its song is heard then the habitat must be a good quality one (it is an ‘indicator species’).
4. Discuss how the chances of seeing real birds can be improved (being quiet, hiding, not moving, listening, looking carefully and using binoculars).
o 5. Distribute binoculars and demonstrate15 min
Steps 5‐10
- Which way round they go - Strap around wrist so if binoculars fall glass lenses do not break
- To move the two tubes closer and further apart to get a comfortable distance apart that matches how far apart their eyes are. 6. Teach how to focus binoculars
on a picture of bird (displayed on site). Allow time for practise.
- Look first with ‘naked eye’ and then keeping their eyes on the picture of a bird, bring the binoculars up to eyes. - Turn the focusing wheel on top of binoculars. If the image becomes blurred they should turn the wheel back in the opposite direction. - Guide the class around the bird picture, asking for whispered answers re. the colour of o Head, beak, chin o Back, Wings, tail o Feet and legs
Bird‐watching Level 1
In the birdhide
Teacher’s Notes
7. Guide the children into the bird‐hide at #6, emphasising quiet, no sudden movement and to hide rather than hang out of the windows!
8. Birdwatching: give the children time to spot a bird. This is a good time to
have a little treat or drink though take care not to litter.
Prompts to encourage patient observation might include - Are there any shy birds in the bushes waiting to come closer? - an you hear any birds? C
9. Distribute the bird‐watching handouts and clipboards (colouring pencils are
in holders within the birdhide). Ask the children to choose one bird that they can see and record on their handout - Appearance of bird i.e. colours of its head, body etc. (use colouring
pencils) - Note the bird’s behaviour e.g. singing, feeding on seed, feeding on
peanuts, hiding, bringing nesting material, feeding young. - The bird’s name, identified from the information panel in the hide - hether the bird is resident at Griston or a migrant. W
10. Ask the children to share their observations. Each child could name the bird they ob state one thing that they noticed about it e.g. colours, served andbehaviour, song.
Bird‐watching Level 1 Teacher’s Notes
Location: #6, the Birdhide (and optionally also #5, the pond)
Step 1&2 Children listen quihear the bird song comin
Step 3 & 4
tion skills.
etly and point to where they g from.
Pass around the “Griston Pets”, noting their markings and song. Discuss observa
Steps 5 & 6 Distribute binoculars and practice focusing them. Move quietly into the birdhide and patiently