Birds redone 2018...This is a Blue Jay. Blue Jays eat nuts, seeds, insects, and small animals. Not all Blue Jays migrate. The male and female Blue Jay look alike. Blue Jays are noisy

By Kinderkay

LET’S MAKE A FIELD GUIDE

BACKYARD BIRDS

Activities for “Backyard Birds”

: As with all units, it is fun and educational to begin with reading picture books about birds. There are many fiction and non-fiction books available that are a wonderful way to get children thinking about the similarities

and differences of birds that are found in their backyards. After a discussion about birds, go on a bird walk around the school

grounds. Give the children a set of “binoculars” to use as you look for birds.

To create binoculars, wrap black paper around 2 toilet tissue rolls and secure with tape. Hot glue the tubes together along one long edge. Using a paper punch, punch two holes on the opposite sides of the tubes. Thread a

piece of yarn through the holes and tie to secure. Make sure that the yarn is long enough to go over the heads of your students.

©Kinderkay2011

Each child brings a notebook, a sharpened pencil, and their binoculars with them as they begin their walk. Hint: Small spiral notebooks work great for

this because children can secure their pencil inside the spiral rings while not using it. You also can tie yarn onto the spiral rings of the notebook for

children to wear around their necks with their binoculars. Review what you saw on your walk and share your drawings. Look at the pictures of birds in your books and brainstorm the different foods that they eat. Discuss their beaks and how this is the tool that birds use to

gather their food. Bird Drawing

I have given you a few sketches for ideas, but with the basic “How to Draw a Bird” directions, you and your students should be able to come up with

several more birds that I have not included! Extended Activities

Match real pictures of bird to their names. Students write about what they learned on the paper included at the end of

this packet. Here is a great website to visit to learn more about birds. If you type in the name of a bird, it will take you to a page that gives information as well as

the song of each bird. https://www.allaboutbirds.org © Kinderkay

General Drawing Directions Show students real pictures of birds and discuss their physical characteristics. Look for shapes in the pictures such as “I see a circle head. I see straight legs. I see an oval body. I see a triangle beak.” To draw a crest on a bird, tell students to use a mountain stroke making a “crown” on their bird’s head. The hummingbird’s

wings are a curved “V” shape with wavy lines on the bottom. Students draw additional details with pencil and use crayons to color. Look at beaks, stripes, colors, and feet. Use the colored

pictures I have added as a guide for colors.

I use my Promethean board to draw along with the children but large chart paper attached to an easel can also be used. As I draw each shape, I say its name. We decide whether the shape is to be

big, small, skinny or fat. I remind students that we try to start all our drawing at the top. The booklet is designed in such a way that

you can print as many pages as you wish for the field guides. Students write the name of the bird on the lines OR write a

sentence on the blank page.

© Kinderkay

Another idea is to have your students research a bird after they have created their field guide. In my school, we have the joy of pairing older students with younger students. I

ask my kindergarten students to pick out a bird that interests them. I read several books about birds from different habitats i.e. backyard, ocean, wetlands, pond,

arctic, mountains, desert. Students choose a bird and do a research report about it. Older students can help with the research as well as helping younger students fill out the

information on the report sheet. Younger students draw a picture of their bird as well as other details included on the

report. A poster can be added to the report.

On the following page, you will find a bird report template.

© Kinderkay

CircleOvalMountainCurved“V”

SmileRainbowWavyStraightLine

Basic Drawing Shapes to create the Birds

© Kinderkay

1 2 3 4

5 6

How to Draw a Basic Bird

© Kinderkay

1 2 3 4

5 6 7

How to Draw a Bird with a Crest

© Kinderkay

1 2 3 4

5

How to Draw a Hummingbird

© Kinderkay

Ask students these questions: Which beak works like a straw? Which beak works like tweezers? Which beak works like a pair of pliers? Which beak works like scissors? Why do eagles eat small animals? Why do hummingbirds sip nectar? Why do cardinals eat sunflower seeds? Why do robins eat worms? Can you tell by looking at each beak why birds eat the food that they do?

An Eagle’s beak works like scissors. It eats animals. A Hummingbird’s beak works like a straw. It sips nectar.

A Cardinal’s beak works like pliers. It eats nuts and berries. A Robin’s beak works like tweezers so that it can reach into the

ground to eat insects and worms.

Break students into small groups and tell them that they are going to pretend to be a bird. The tools (pliers, straw, tweezers, and scissors) are to be their beak. Using only their “beak”, they decide which food can be “eaten” easily with each tool. At the conclusion of the activity, gather children together and discuss their discoveries. Share the photos of the birds and their beaks.

Bird Beak Activity

© Kinderkay 2011

Food Tool Beak

Animals

Seeds

Nectar

Worms

My name is ________________________ Beaks Are Like Tools

© Kinderkay 2011

Beaks Tools

Cut and glue the beak and the tools next to the picture of the food that they eat!

Straw

Pliers

Tweezers

Scissors

Hummingbird

Cardinal

Eagle

Robin

© Kinderkay 2011

An eagle’s beak is like scissors. It uses its beak to eat small animals and fish.

© Kinderkay 2011

A hummingbird’s beak is like a straw. It uses its beak to drink nectar.

© Kinderkay 2011

A cardinal’s beak is like a pair of pliers. It uses its beak to crack nuts, seeds, and

berries.

© Kinderkay 2011

A robin’s beak is like tweezers. It uses its beak to find worms and insects in the ground.

© Kinderkay 2011

Use the bird drawings on the following pages as examples for

how to color the birds.

19

Robin Oriole House Finch

Sparrow Chickadee Goldfinch© Kinderkay

20

Bluebird Dove Woodpecker

Cardinal Blue Jay Hummingbird© Kinderkay

By Kinderkay

BACKYARD BIRDS

There are many kinds of birds in the world. They live in all types of habitats. Backyard birds live near people

and can often be found visiting feeders.

Birds are alike in some ways. All birds have feathers. All birds are warm-blooded. All birds are oviparous which means that they lay eggs. All birds take care of their

babies. All birds have wings, but not all birds fly.

A person who studies birds is called a ornithologist. An ornithologist will often carry a field guide and a

notebook when studying birds. Lots of people who are NOT ornithologists enjoy watching birds, too!

It is fun to learn about different birds. In this book, we will be learning about common birds that we can often see in our backyards. Look outside… If you are very

quiet and patient, you are sure to see one of the birds in this book outside your window!

This is a Cardinal. Cardinals eat seeds and fruit. The male cardinal is a bright

red. The female cardinal is a dull

brown with tinges of red. Cardinals do not migrate. Many states have the cardinal as

their state bird.

MaleFemale

This is a Blue Jay. Blue Jays eat nuts, seeds, insects, and

small animals. Not all Blue Jays migrate.

The male and female Blue Jay

look alike. Blue Jays are noisy

birds that can sometimes mimic the call of a red-

tailed hawk.

This is an American Robin.

Robins eat worms, bugs, and fruit.

The male and female robin look the same.

You can hear the sound of the robin early in the

morning. Not all robins migrate. If

there is food in the winter for the robin, it

will stay.

This is a Ruby Throated Hummingbird. They drink

nectar from flowers and tree sap. The male

and female look different. Ruby Throated hummingbirds migrate

to warmer places in the winter. They are tiny birds that move their wings quickly. Ruby

Throated Hummingbirds are the only

hummingbirds that live east of the Mississippi

River.

Male

Female

This is a Rufous Hummingbird. They drink nectar from

flowers and tree sap. The male and female look different. Rufous hummingbirds migrate to warmer places in the winter. They are tiny birds that move their wings quickly.

Their habitat is west of the Mississippi River.

Male

Female

This is a Song Sparrow. Song Sparrows eat insects and seeds.

There are many kinds of Song Sparrows in

the United States. The male and female Song Sparrow look alike. Some Song

Sparrows migrate and some do not.

This is a Mourning Dove. Mourning Doves eat seeds

that they find on the ground. Their song sounds like they are crying which

is why they are called “mourning” doves. Male and female Mourning

Doves look alike except that the male has a little more pink on its chest. Some Mourning Doves migrate to warmer

places in the winter. Some Mourning Doves do not

migrate.

This is a Downy Woodpecker. Downy

Woodpeckers eat insects and suet.

Downy Woodpeckers do not sing. Instead, they use

their beaks to drum branches and other

wooden structures. It is the smallest woodpecker

in North America. The male Downy Woodpecker has a small patch of red on the back of its head.

Some Downy Woodpeckers migrate to

warmer places in the winter.

Male

Female

This is a Black Capped Chickadee. They eat

seeds, nuts, and insects. They can often be found at a backyard feeder.

Both the male and female Black Capped Chickadees have black feathers on the top of their head making them look like

they are wearing a cap. Black Capped Chickadees usually do not migrate.

This is a Baltimore Oriole. Orioles eat fruit, nectar, and

insects. They prefer darkly colored fruit. Male and females

Baltimore Orioles do not look alike. The male does not get its pretty orange color until it is

two years old. Baltimore Orioles

migrate to warmer places in the winter.

Male

Female

This is an American Goldfinch. A Goldfinch eats seeds. The male and female American Goldfinch do not look

alike. The male Goldfinch loses its

bright yellow feathers twice a year. Some

Goldfinch will migrate to warmer areas during the winter.

Male

Female

This is a House Finch. House Finches eat

seeds. The male and female House Finch look different. The

male House Finch has bright red feathers on

its head that are formed by the food that it eats. The red

color is brightest during mating season. A House Finch does not

migrate.

MaleFemale

This is a Dark-eyed Junco. It is sometimes

called a “snowbird” because it migrates to the United States in the

winter and returns north in the summer.

They eat seeds that fall to the ground from a feeder. The male and

female Dark-eyed Juncoes look alike.

This is a Common Grackle. Grackles eat insects, seeds, nuts,

and worms. They also eat corn and can be

found eating garbage. Grackles are often seen as a pest to

farms and backyard feeders. Grackles

migrate to warmer places during the

winter.

You will find examples of hand-drawn birds on the following

pages.

Student Examples

Robin Grackle House Finch

Goldfinch Cardinal Blue Jay

© Kinderkay

Hummingbird Sparrow

Woodpecker

Dove

© Kinderkay

By _______________

My Field Guide

Of Backyard Birds!

© Kinderkay

This is a This is a

This is an This is an

On the following pages, you will find full-sized pages.

My Field Guide

Of Backyard Birds!

By _______________________© Kinderkay

My name is _______________________

© Kinderkay 2011

Another option: Print the cover and as many pages on the inside as you wish. On their nature walk,

children draw and write about what they see. They can add birds, trees, rocks, insects,

animals, leaves… whatever you what them to do!

On my Bird Walk, I saw…

By _______________

On my Bird Walk, I saw…

By _______________

American Robin

House

Finch

©Kinderkay2011

Mourning

Dove

Cardinal

©Kinderkay2011

Blue

Jay

Song Sparrow

©Kinderkay2011

Downy

Woodpecker

Grackle

©Kinderkay2011

Ruby Throated

Hummingbird

©Kinderkay2011

Rufous Hummingbird

Chickadee

Oriole

©Kinderkay2011

Goldfinch

©Kinderkay2011

Dark-eyed Junco

Copyright © 2011/Revised 2014/2018 Cynthia K. Feeney (Kinderkay) All rights reserved by author.

Electronic distribution limited to single classroom use only.

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