A Season for Birds
My entire family loves watching birds year round, but there is something special about watching them gather around the feeder as the weather gets colder. We always enjoy the resident cardinals, chickadees and goldfinches and eagerly look for the return of juncos and white-throated sparrows from Canada. Watching birds is a great family activity that gives a lifetime of enjoyment. My parents introduced me to “birding” when I was young and I have never forgotten my early days of bird watching.
A fun way to introduce your family to the joy of bird watching is to visit a bird viewing area at one of Kansas City’s great nature centers. Check out the “Exploring Nature in Kansas City” article for a list of nature centers with bird viewing areas.
Even more rewarding is creating your own family bird viewing area. It can be as simple as a tube feeder with sunflower seeds or as complex as multiple styles of feeders offering seeds, suet, fruits, peanuts and mealworms.
Kids can make a basic bird feeder from a plastic bottle or container, like a tennis ball tube. You’ll need a knife or scissors, a dowel rod or stick and wire or string for hanging. At the top, punch a hole through the bottle, and string the wire through for a hanger. At the bottom, cut a small “x” on either side and push the rod through to make a perch. Cut a larger “v” shaped flap about an inch or two above the perch. When the feeder is filled, bend in the flap so the birds can reach the food. Do this just before hanging to prevent spillage.
While there is an astounding variety of wild bird food available for your feeder, cheap usually isn’t better. Black oil sunflower seed is an excellent choice because it is preferred by a wide variety of birds. Avoid seed mixes with milo and whole corn, as these are rejected by our native birds. Stores that regularly sell wild bird supplies carry good seed mixes and can give advice and help with questions and bird identification.
An easy-to-use field guide and a pair of binoculars are indispensable in identifying birds. Cornell University (www.Birds.Cornell.edu) and the Missouri Department of Conservation offer free pamphlets and posters for bird identification. There are a number of good books on bird identification and every “birder” has a favorite. The important thing is that you have a guide that is easy for you to use. When choosing a field guide, make sure that the Kansas City area is included in the eastern birding region.
For a great learning project, record the birds that visit your feeder. Try to discover when certain birds show up, which birds travel in groups and which ones come individually. What is the greatest number of birds that come at one time, or the greatest number of species? Who knows what things you might discover about birds!
Heather Shields, a lifetime Kansas City native, is a naturalist and a biology teacher at Ruskin High School.