Children love animals, especially soft furry ones. But they also like to watch birds. If they can learn about birds in their own backyard, you may find you have a budding bird watcher in the family. Who knows, you may have embarked on a new hobby that you and your whole family can enjoy!

Do what you can to bring various native birds to your yard. Provide the things they need to survive – such as food, water, shelter, a nest site, and natural habitat – and you may notice more and more birds flying around your home. In fact, a bird-friendly yard is important when the prospect of losing natural habitat is so often a concern.

There are a number of ways you can encourage your children to learn about the birds in your own backyard, but first you have to get the birds there. One of the easiest ways to draw birds to your home is to set up bird feeders near the windows of your home. This will draw birds to your yard and your child can watch the birds from the comfort of your home, which is particularly helpful on cold or rainy days.

Birds are omnivores; they eat both plant and animal matter to stay alive. In the spring and summer they prefer to eat worms, insects, and spiders. As cooler weather enters your area, they need fruit and seeds to eat during their fall migration or during colder winter months. Try to landscape your yard so that it provides the foods birds need.

Water is also important for birds. Not only do they need to drink water, many also enjoy bathing in it. Providing a safe, shallow water source may attract birds that may not normally come to visit feeders. Place birdbaths in full sunlight and partially shaded areas of your yard. This will provide warm water in cooler weather as well as cooler water when temperatures soar.

Buy a good quality book that has pictures or illustrations of the birds in your region. This will allow your child to look up and learn about the birds that come to your backyard. They’ll have a picture to verify what type of bird it is, learn what their habitat and range are, and what both sexes look like.

Encourage your child to keep a log of what birds visit their yard. This can be simple like a three-ring binder with paper and list of birds they see. Or it can be more elaborate like an artist’s notebook, where they can draw a picture of the bird and journal about its visit.

Even though the Great Backyard Bird Count is over for the year (it normally runs during the month of February), you can encourage your child to join a local bird-watching club or one of the online organizations for bird watchers. You can find out more about the Great Backyard Bird Count or other bird-watching organizations by helping to search for information online.

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