Have you heard that the closest living relative of the dinosaurs is a chicken? Today we’ll get up close and personal observing these modern Jurassic marvels-Birds! Birds are the only animal species that lives on land, in the water, and in the air; they populate all seven continents, and have incredible biodiversity.  Birds are also one of the most easily-observable wild animals living in our human spaces.  No matter where you live, you are sure to see birds all around!

Before we jump into our experiments, spend 5-15 minutes answering these questions in your field journal:

1. Describe the most common type of bird you see? (what color is it, what size is it, where do you see it: flying, in a tree, or somewhere else?
2. What, if anything, interests you about birds? Or what do you wonder about them? 
3. What would you look at on/about a bird in order to identify what kind of bird it is? 

1. Describe the most common type of bird you see? (what color is it, what size is it, where do you see it: flying, in a tree, or somewhere else?
2. What, if anything, interests you about birds? Or what do you wonder about them? 
3. What would you look at on/about a bird in order to identify what kind of bird it is? 

When you’ve finished watching the whole video, write down your hypothesis in your field journal about how the use of garbage as nesting material is affecting birds.  Is it positive, negative, or a mix? Explain your thoughts.  

This article, “Our Garbage, Their Homes,” says the following about human materials in birds nests.  Click on the audio file to listen along while you read.

“Some bird species are able to exchange natural materials for artificial ones usually found in urban areas (mainly, garbage)".
So, some birds are using litter instead of (or in conjunction with) natural materials to build their nests! Some examples include: 

• “mosses may be exchanged with cotton insulation or polyester; 
• some dry leaves may be exchanged with pieces of plastic bags, paper, or aluminum foil; 
• and sticks may be exchanged with electric cables, plastic or natural ropes, or plastic sticks. 
• Additionally, some other species of birds also add new and unusual materials to the nest, such as cigarettes butts or nails.”

Josué Corrales and Luis Sandoval, the scientists who researched this, recognize “the nest [is] built with two main objectives for birds (1) protection of the egg against potential danger and (2) temperature control that leads to adequate embryo development.”

Corrales and Sandoval also recognize that the way birds build their nests is a product of 100s and 1,000s of years of natural selection: the birds who build good nests protected their eggs from danger and controlled the temperature well enough so that the baby birds in the eggs could develop properly.  The birds who didn’t build good nests had their eggs stolen by predators or crushed, or the temperature just wasn’t consistent or warm enough for proper development of the growing baby bird in the egg.  That means the good-nest-building birds’ babies survived and probably also built good nests.  The bad-nest-building birds’ babies did not survive, so bad-nest-building birds eventually died out.  

Because this natural selection happens over long periods of time, the rapid introduction of litter as a nesting material could have major impacts on the two objectives of the nest (protection and temperature regulation), negatively or positively. 

“One negative effect of the use of garbage for nest building could be an increase in the nest temperature when birds use plastic bags pieces, a situation that could negatively affect an egg’s embryo development. Another negative effect may be an increase in nest predation if, by being more conspicuous, artificial materials make nests more easily detectable by visual predators. It is also possible to expect a decrease in chicks’ survival because plastic or nylon ropes may attach and tangle around chicks in the nest, causing mortality.” 

“Conversely, a positive effect of the use of garbage could be a disruption of the nest image, because the use of new material may camouflage or blur the typical image of a nest, causing a decrease in nest...predation by visual predators. Or, the use of some artificial materials may reduce the occurrence of parasites; for example, the nicotine present in cigarettes butts is known to work as a repellent against some [parasitic] insects.” 

Now that we’ve considered how birds use human materials in their nests and how it could affect them, write in your field journal around the picture you drew of your nest, what you think worked well in your design, and what you would change if you were to build your nest again.  Did you use any human materials in your nest? Why or why not? If you built a nest again, would you use any litter? Explain. 

Watch the next video about how to make a simple backyard bird feeder, then create your own!

Alternative bird-safe people foods, and written instructions

Go build your bird feeder!  Leave it up somewhere outside around your home, somewhere you can observe it through a window is best, and wait a few hours for birds to visit. 

While we wait for the birds to visit the feeder, draw a chart like the one below in your journal to record your observations of any birds visiting your feeder:

• What do you notice about them?
• Do they have small or large beaks?
• What colors do you notice?

Take note of at least three different birds

While we wait for birds to visit the feeder, we’ll continue moving through the lesson.  If you can, work in a space where you can see the bird feeder and periodically look to see if birds are visiting.  Anytime you do see a bird visiting, pause what you are currently working on to make observations in the chart we just drew. 

The next activity we’ll be working on is a bird beak experiment.  First, gather the following materials and follow the instructions below:
 - Any kitchen tongs 
 - Tweezers
 - A few grains of rice (or other very small item: beads, a broken up piece of spaghetti, rice krispies cereal....)
 - A mid-size fruit (apple or banana)
Using the tongs, try to pick up just 1 grain of rice out of a small pile of rice.  Did it work?  Try the tweezers next.  Then, try using each of the tools to pick up a piece of fruit.  Which worked better?  How do these tools relate to birds?  Make a hypothesis in your field journal. 

Next, we’ll be watching the video below and filling in the bird beak worksheet underneath it.

Hmm… Now that we understand a little more about how bird’s beaks have adapted to perform the function the birds need, see if we can hypothesize about the primary function of these bird’s beaks below! 

Bird Beaks Observation Worksheet
Write down your answers in your journal,  on a piece of paper, or print this worksheet to record your answers.

Once you finish making hypotheses on the worksheet above, watch the video below to see how close you were to the beak’s purpose: 

How did your hypotheses compare? Answer key to Bird Beaks observation.

Have you gotten to see some birds at your feeder yet?  It’s so exciting when it happens! :D 

If you’re having trouble seeing birds in your area, you can watch 15 minutes of this video and get a good variety of bird viewing in, and record observations in your field journal!

Curious about the birds you are seeing? Download the Audobon app, it’s free and super easy (& fun!) to use.  You input the observations you’ve made about your birds and it will populate possible matches! You can play recordings of the bird’s calls and they might even call back to you! 

Finally, the last adaptation of birds I want us to consider today is their coloring.  Watch the Birds of Paradise Courtship video below and take note of how wild bird’s coloring and plumage (feathers) can be! In your field journal, come up with 2 different hypotheses for why some birds have such extreme coloring while others don’t. 

To finish this birding lesson, watch the outro video and answer the reflection questions below:

Spend 5-15 minutes answering these questions in your field journal:

1. What is the coolest thing you noticed about a bird you observed today? 
2. List 5 different adaptations that birds have that allow them to survive in their environments.  
3. Finally, what is 1 idea you have for how we as a society can help birds?

Crazy for Birds? 
Explore the Audobon’s website for tons of bird-related information! 
Here’s an article all about bird beaks called Pecking Order