The Official Blog Of Discover Upstate NY.com

How To Make Bird Watching A Fun Activity For the Entire Family

posted by Donald Hobson at 2021-06-21 10:19:00

Return to READ THE LATEST BLOGS FROM UPSTATE NY

In this day and age where almost everything revolves around technology, it’s becoming rare to see families doing activities together without playing with their gadgets and putting their headphones on. Suppose you want to prevent or end such divided attention during a family gathering. In that case, it’s probably time to introduce a new activity.

Spending time outdoors is the perfect way to get your family away from the distraction of smart devices. It may not sound exciting at first, but bird watching is an excellent starter to do something different with your family. You’d be surprised with the pleasure and advantages you can get once you start doing it.

So we’ve put together different ways to make bird watching a fun activity for your family.

Visit A Bird Sanctuary

The best way to spark your family’s interest in bird watching is to visit a bird sanctuary. With an expert-led walk through the sanctuary, you have an excellent opportunity to learn about different types of birds. It’s also a perfect time to meet birders and bird watchers of all skill levels.

Visiting a bird’s sanctuary can allow your family to experience the beauty and fun of watching birds. There are a wide range of activities that your family will surely enjoy, such as playing in a bird-themed playground, interactive feeding sessions with the keeper, or a family sleepover with the dazzling birds. Alternatively, you can go on a nature trail.

Once interest and connection with birds are built up, it would be easier to make bird watching a fun activity for your family and then do it in your own backyard.

Make Your Backyard A Safe Space

There is no need to wander away too far to do some bird watching with your family. After visiting a bird’s sanctuary, you can apply what you’ve learned and get started watching birds in your backyard. But of course, you have to prepare and make it safe for birds to come and show up around your home.
Highlighted below are a few things you can do and provide to welcome and attract birds. Doing this is a perfect way to spend more time with your family.

Provide Food

Bird feeding is an excellent way to attract birds to your yard, so make sure to provide food for birds regularly. If not, birds will be forced to look somewhere else, and they won’t go back to your yard. Note that choosing the right feeder is also essential to attract a specific type of bird.

If you want to attract a woodpecker, make sure that you have the right feeders for woodpeckers. It means something with plenty of perching space. To add more fun to this activity, you can also make your own version of bird feeders.

Provide Nesting Areas

Birds need a source for nesting material and a place to build a nest, lay eggs and raise their young. Providing them with these nesting areas will make them frequent your backyard. As a result, there will be more birds for your family to watch and enjoy.

Provide Clean and Running Water

Just like food, water is essential for birds’ survival. They are at risk for dehydration during their seasonal movement. Thus, make sure to provide clean and running water where birds may drink, bathe and cool themselves in your yard.

Start A Family Bird Watchlist

Once you’re done making your backyard a safe place for birds, it’s time to start a bird watchlist for your family. Ensure that everyone in the family has a notebook or journal to record everything they see and observe with the birds. The list may also contain whatever you want your family to discuss during or after bird watching.

It’s a perfect way to bond with your family and be open to each other. Writing down the birds you’ve watched together can be good memories that you’ll surely treasure forever. You’d be amazed to discover how it can be fun to sit with your family at home, looking out of your window through a binocular, and watch every bird that comes and goes.

Take Photographs

Taking photographs of the birds you spot can also make bird watching more fun and rewarding. Aside from writing, it can be a method of documentation for you and your family. But to make it more challenging and exciting, the key is to get a decent picture of the bird rather than merely spotting it. Some birds are easy to capture, though.

Regardless of that, you’d be surprised to find that photographing birds can be one of the most enjoyable parts of bird watching once you do it. Note that you don’t need to spend a lot on gear to make this possible. Just make use of whatever you have and enjoy it with your family.

Identify Birds By Their Song

Learning bird songs is another activity you can incorporate while you’re watching birds with your family. Birds vocalize for several reasons. They might be singing to claim a territory, make their presence known, inform other birds they’ve found food or warn them that there’s a predator nearby.

Nevertheless, you can start learning to identify at least a few of the birds that are singing around your home. All you have to do is focus and analyze what you hear, describe the sound, draw a diagram, and write it down to your watchlist. Being able to identify even a few birds by their songs will give you and your family a feeling of accomplishment.

Do Other Bird-Themed Activities

Making bird watching a fun activity doesn’t mean just looking out the window and spotting birds through a binocular. You can also do other bird-themed activities to make it more fun and exciting. It can be reading books or listening to songs about birds. You can also make bird crafts for younger kids in the family, such as birdseed slime or bird nest sensory bin.

Enjoy Bird Watching With Your Family

The point of bird watching with your family is to spend time together and have fun. Thus, it’s important not to stress yourself out in incorporating activities to make it more enjoyable. Just be with your family and make the most of the bird-watching experience.

Author’s bio:
Donald’s passion for bird-watching has continued to grow, and he shares his new hobby with his wife. They have created a haven for birds in their yard and often spend weekends hiking in nature looking for their favorite and more elusive birds. He shares his excitement through blogs and photos, and often creates content for various websites to spread the word about conservation, as well as tips and tricks to get the most out of this fun hobby!

Bird pic flying #1 Photo credit: Erik Karits at https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-and-white-bird-on-brown-tree-branch-4590994/
Bird 2 – Male Bluejay Photo credit Tim Lape
Bird 3 – Male Bluebird Photo credit Audubon NY
Bird 4 - Owl Photo credit @sarah.beth_photography

posted at: 2021-06-21 10:19:00, last updated: 2021-07-23 14:49:01

You must be logged in to comment.

LOGIN CREATE AN ACCOUNT

▲