Bird-Watching Scavenger Hunt for Kids
Turn birding into a seek-and-find adventure the whole family can enjoy with a bird-watching scavenger hunt from Backpack Explorer: Bird Watch.
If you are looking for a quiet activity that connects your kids to nature, try bird-watching. It’s a wonderful way to spend time outdoors and to tune into your natural surroundings. Children can engage their observation skills and their senses as they listen for bird calls, find feathers, and search for flying, perching, and swimming birds.
You can make bird-watching even more fun by turning it into a scavenger hunt! Just download and print this bird scavenger hunt sheet from Backpack Explorer: Bird Watch, grab some binoculars, and head outside. Mark each item on the sheet as kids find it.
Here are some additional tips for helping new birders find feathered friends:
- Pick a spot to stand outdoors in your backyard or at a local park. Encourage your kids to watch patiently for a few minutes. Remind them that when they’re still, they’ll see more birds.
- Listen quietly for bird calls. Have the kids close their eyes and notice the sounds all around them. Can they hear songbirds singing, a woodpecker drumming, or a goose honking?
- When you see a bird, notice its behavior. Is the bird singing, flying, perching, walking, or wading? Is it nesting or feeding?
- Look at the bird’s size, shape, and color to help identify it. Try to find some common birds that are easy to recognize, such as a Black-capped Chickadee, an American Robin, or a Goldfinch.
- Encourage kids to follow flying birds with their eyes. They might see them fly to their nest or search for something to eat.
- Look around for signs of birds. Ask kids if they can spot a feather, a bird footprint, poop, or even owl pellets.
- Start a family bird-watch list. Keep track of what you see in a notebook and add to it throughout the years. You’ll treasure the memories of birding together.
Excerpted and adapted from Backpack Explorer: Bird Watch © Storey Publishing.
The third book in the Backpack Explorer series from the Editors of Storey Publishing invites budding naturalists to head outside for a walk—in the woods, a park, or right in their backyard—to spot feathered friends. Backpack Explorer: Bird Watch leads kids aged 4 and up through the basics of birding, from identifying common birds to learning about habitat and migration and listening for bird songs. The pages are packed with prompts and activities, including 12 interactive field guides (for common birds, nests, eggs, tracks, and more), sensory scavenger hunts, activities such as building a bird nest, matching games, and simple discovery zone pages about food chains and the life cycle of birds. Equipped with a real magnifying glass, stickers, and a birding log for recording sightings and encounters, this book is the perfect take-along for any nature adventure.
Now nature-curious kids can play and learn with the companion Backpack Explorer online game!
