Bird Song Survey


It is time once again for the annual Christmas Bird Count! This year marks the 111th National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count which thousands of Americans participate in annually. Young and old, students and teachers, parents and grandparents participate every year as citizen scientists to do their part to gather important information for bird conservation. Use Project WILD’s “Bird Song Survey” to explore the importance of inventorying wildlife populations!

Christmas Bird Count http://birds.audubon.org/christmas-bird-count

And don’t forget about the upcoming Great Backyard Bird Count in February! http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

Young Child Extension

Young children can help count birds too! Take kids on a walk around the school yard or observe birds through the windows of the classroom. Keep a chart to track the number of birds sighted. Put a bird feeder up outside the classroom window to attract birds for children to watch. Or help the children make pinecone bird feeders to hang up themselves. Use Growing Up WILD’s “Bird Beak Buffet” to learn more about our feathered friends!

Book List

Grades PreK-2
Arnosky, J. 1997. Bird Watcher. Random House Children's Books.
Arnosky, J. 1993. Crinkleroot's 25 Birds Every Child Should Know. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Arnosky, J. 1992. Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Birds. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Bailey, D. 1992. Birds: How to Watch and Understand the Fascinating World of Birds. DK Publishing, Inc.
Boring, M. and L. Garrow. 1998. Bird, Nests, and Eggs. National Book Network.
Collard, S.B. 2002. Beaks! Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc.
Garelick, M. 1995. What Makes a Bird a Bird? Mondo Publishing.
Herkert, B. 2001. Birds in Your Backyard. Dawn Publications.
Johnson, A. 2005. Iowa Birds. Lone Pine Publishing.
Kavanagh, J. 2001. Iowa Birds. Waterford Press Ltd.
Latimer, J. et al. 1999. Backyard Birds (Peterson Field Guides for Young Naturalists). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Oppenheim, J.F. and B. Reid. 1987. Have You Seen Birds?. Scholastic, Inc.
Rabe, T. and A. Ruiz. 1998. Fine Feathered Friends: All About Birds (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library). Random House Children's Books.
Rockwell, A.F. 1992. Our Yard Is Full of Birds. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Sill, C.P. 1997. About Birds: A Guide for Children. Peachtree Publishers.
Tekiela, S. 2001. Birds of Iowa: Field Guide. Adventure Publications.
Weidensaul, S. and T. Taylor. 1998. Birds (Audubon Society First Field Guide Series). Scholastic, Inc.
Yolen, J. 1999. Bird Watch: A Book of Poetry. Putnam Juvenile.
Zim, H.S. 1989. Birds. St. Martin's Press.

Grades 3-5
Arnold, C. 2003. Birds: Nature's Magnificent Flying Machines. Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc.
Arnosky, J. 1997. Bird Watcher. Random House Children's Books.
Arnosky, J. 1993. Crinkleroot's 25 Birds Every Child Should Know. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Arnosky, J. 1992. Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Birds. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Bailey, D. 1992. Birds: How to Watch and Understand the Fascinating World of Birds. DK Publishing, Inc.
Bateman, R. 2005. Bateman's Guide to Backyard Birds. Barron's Educational Series, Incorporated.
Boring, M. 1998. Bird, Nests, and Eggs. T&N Children's Publishing.
Burnie, D. 2005. Birdwatcher. DK Publishing, Inc.
Cortright, S. 1995. Birding Basics. Sterling Publishing Company, Incorporated.
Davies, J. 2004. The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Dawe, N. 1988. Bird Book and the Bird Feeder. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.
Fitcher, G.S. 1982. Birds of North America. Random House, Incorporated.
Herkert, B. 2001. Birds in Your Backyard. Dawn Publications.
Hume, R. 1993. Birdwatching. Random House, Incorporated.
Johnson, A. 2005. Iowa Birds. Lone Pine Publishing.
Kavanagh, J. 2001. Iowa Birds. Waterford Press Ltd.
Kirkland, J. 2002. Take a Backyard Bird Walk. Stillwater Publishing.
Kress, S.W. 2001. Bird Life. Golden Guides from St. Martin's Press.
Latimer, J. et al. 1999. Backyard Birds (Peterson Field Guides for Young Naturalists). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Lerner, C. 1994. Backyard Birds of Winter. HarperCollins Publishers.
Lindsey, T. 1999. Birding. Time-Life Custom Publishing.
Loates, G. and B. Kalman. 1988. Birds at My Feeder. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Maslowski, S. 2001. Birds in Winter. Smart Apple Media.
Peterson, R.T. 1999. Backyard Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Pine, J. 1993. Backyard Birds. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Rabe, T. and A. Ruiz. 1998. Fine Feathered Friends: All About Birds (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library). Random House Children's Books.
Rockwell, A.F. 1992. Our Yard Is Full of Birds. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Sill, C.P. 1997. About Birds: A Guide for Children. Peachtree Publishers.
Tekiela, S. 2001. Birds of Iowa: Field Guide. Adventure Publications.
Weidensaul, S. and T. Taylor. 1998. Birds (Audubon Society First Field Guide Series). Scholastic, Inc.
Yolen, J. 1999. Bird Watch: A Book of Poetry. Putnam Juvenile.
Zim, H.S. 1989. Birds. St. Martin's Press.

Grades 6-8
Burgess, T.W. 2003. Burgess Bird Book for Children. Dover Publications.
Burnie, D. 2004. Bird. DK Publishing, Inc.
Ganeri, A. 1993. Birds. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Johnson, A. 2005. Iowa Birds. Lone Pine Publishing.
Kavanagh, J. 2001. Iowa Birds. Waterford Press Ltd.
Latimer, J. et al. 1999. Backyard Birds (Peterson Field Guides for Young Naturalists). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Lee, F. 2005. Backyard Birding for Kids: A Field Guide and Activities. Gibbs Smith.
Robbins, C.S. 2001. Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. Golden Guides from St. Martin's Press.
Spaulding, D.T. 1997. Watching Our Feathered Friends. Lerner Publishing Group.
Tekiela, S. 2001. Birds of Iowa: Field Guide. Adventure Publications.
Ward, A. 2004. Pocket Factfiles: Birds. Sterling Publishing Company, Incorporated.
Weidensaul, S. and T. Taylor. 1998. Birds (Audubon Society First Field Guide Series). Scholastic, Inc.

Grades 9-12
Dobson, C. 1981. Feeding Wild Birds in Winter. Firefly Books.
Gardner, D. and N. Overcott. 2003. Birds at Your Feeder: A Guide to Winter Birds of the Great Plains. University of Iowa Press.
Johnson, A. 2005. Iowa Birds. Lone Pine Publishing.
Johnson, J. 2003. 1000 Facts on Birds. Barnes & Noble Books.
Kavanagh, J. 2001. Iowa Birds. Waterford Press Ltd.
Peterson, R. T. and L. A. Peterson. 2010. Peterson Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Roth, S. 2000. Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible. Rodale Press, Incorporated.
Sibley, D. A. 2000. National Aububon Society: The Sibley Guide to Birds. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Stokes, D. and L. Stokes. 2010. The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Little, Brown & Company.
Tekiela, S. 2001. Birds of Iowa: Field Guide. Adventure Publications.