International Migratory Bird Day
Saturday, May 10, 2008 is Migratory Bird Day (visit www.birdday.org for more information). With the following extension to Project Learning Tree’s activity Habitat Pen Pals, students can gain a sense of the many different habitats migratory birds live in.
After completing the activity as instructed in the PLT guide, show students pictures of migratory birds that use the same habitats as the animals they just discussed. For example, a scarlet tanager lives in the tropical rain forests of South America during the winter, but lives in the deciduous forests of southeast Canada, and eastern United State in the summer. Show students a map of North and South America, and have them trace the paths of the major flyways. What types of habitats do birds see as they travel to their destinations? Using the example, the scarlet tanager travels through ocean, saltwater marsh, alpine forests, and prairie habitats. What animals does this bird see in each of the habitats?
Promote the following International Migratory Bird Day events in Iowa, and see if there are more in your community.
Book List
Grades PreK-2
Allen, K. 2006. Why Do Geese Fly South in Winter?: A Book About Migration. Capstone Press.
Collard, S. 2002. Beaks!. Charlesbridge Publishing.
Cherry, L. 1997. Flute’s Journey: The Life of a Wood Thrush. Harcourt Brace.
Crossingham, J. 1997. What Is Migration. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Goodall, J. and Reichstein, A. 2002. Eagle and the Wren: A Fable. Michael Neugebauer (North South Books).
Kiesler, K. 2002. Wings on the Wind: Bird Poems. Clarion Books.
Maslowski, S. 2001. Birds in Fall. Smart Apple Media.
Owens, M. 1993. Counting Cranes. Little Brown and Company.
Ryder, J. 1989. Catching the Wind. Mulberry Books.
Rockwell, A. 1992. Our Yard is Full of Birds. Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing.
Sayre, A. 1998. Home At Last – A Song of Migration. Henry Holt & Company.
Sill, C. 1997. About Birds: A Guide for Children. Peachtree Publishers.
Wood, D. 2001. Rabbit and the Moon. Aladdin.
Grades 3 – 5
Bredeson, C. 2002. Animals That Migrate. Franklin Watts.
Cherry, L. 1997. Flute's Journey: The Life of a Wood Thrush. Harcourt Brace.
Collard, S. 2002. Beaks!. Charlesbridge Publishing.
Davies, J. 2004. The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon. Houghton Mifflin Company
Kiesler, K. 2002. Wings on the Wind: Bird Poems. Clarion Books.
Knight, T. 2003. Marvelous Migrators. Heinemann.
Lerner, C. 2001. On the Wing: American Birds in Migration. HarperCollins.
Spinelli, E. 2000. Song for the Whooping Crane. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Willis, C. 2006. Red Knot: A Shorebird’s Incredible Journey. Birdsong Books.
Grades 6 – 8
Arnold, C. 1997. Hawk Highway in the Sky: Watching Raptor Migration. Gulliver Green.
Arnold, C. 2003. Birds: Nature’s Magnificent Flying Machines. Charlesbridge Publishing.
Bishop, N. 1997. The Secrets of Animal Flight. Houghton Mifflin.
Blassingame, W. 1982. Wonders of Egrets, Bitterns, and Herons. Penguin Group (USA).
Featherly, J. 1986. Ko-Hoh: The Call of the Trumpeter Swan. Carolrhoda Books.
Gans, R, Mirocha, P. 1996. How Do Birds Find Their Way?. HarperTrophy.
Kiesler, K. 2002. Wings on the Wind: Bird Poems. Clarion Books.
Nielsen, N.J. 1991. Animal Migration. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Rylant, C. 2006. The Journey: Stories of Migration. Blue Sky Press.
Spinelli, E. 2000. Song for the Whooping Crane. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
