Birdwatching resources for kids
December 10, 2019 7:30 AM Subscribe
What are some good Birding tools for kids? Apps, instruments, books...
My 10 year old son has been excited about birds lately. We have a big bird feeder that gets a good cross section of the birds here in Southern Illinois. My 10 year old has taken to writing down names and drawing in his notebook. I'd like to encourage this further by getting him some resources to help him along.
He has an android tablet so Android apps would be cool. He loves books so if there are any good bird resources that might be palatable to a 10 year old that would be awesome. I was also looking at binoculars, but things seem very expensive. If anyone has any experience with things they know are quality and work on kids that would be awesome!
My 10 year old son has been excited about birds lately. We have a big bird feeder that gets a good cross section of the birds here in Southern Illinois. My 10 year old has taken to writing down names and drawing in his notebook. I'd like to encourage this further by getting him some resources to help him along.
He has an android tablet so Android apps would be cool. He loves books so if there are any good bird resources that might be palatable to a 10 year old that would be awesome. I was also looking at binoculars, but things seem very expensive. If anyone has any experience with things they know are quality and work on kids that would be awesome!
Best answer: Check with your local Audubon Society to see if they have any junior birder programs. Ours here in Austin does and encourages kids to get involved in birding. Each state has different chapters for their area. I also have the Merlin Bird ID app and it is fabulous (as FencingGal suggested).
posted by ATX Peanut at 7:37 AM on December 10, 2019
posted by ATX Peanut at 7:37 AM on December 10, 2019
Best answer: The Audubon bird count in February, seems like he is already prepared to contribute.
posted by Botanizer at 7:53 AM on December 10, 2019
posted by Botanizer at 7:53 AM on December 10, 2019
Best answer: Sibley's (they also publish a lot of books, flashcards, etc.) and Audubon also have good birding apps. If the kid likes both books and nature stuff, an Audubon Field Guide to Birds could be the start of a lovely collection.
If you hang things on your walls, here's a nice Backyard Birds of Illinois print. (You might also hang a whiteboard where you could keep track of your bird sightings for each month/season.)
Wingspan makes good moderately-priced birdwatching binoculars (that was the brand my local Audubon director recommended)--this set should work for kids or adults.
posted by box at 7:58 AM on December 10, 2019
If you hang things on your walls, here's a nice Backyard Birds of Illinois print. (You might also hang a whiteboard where you could keep track of your bird sightings for each month/season.)
Wingspan makes good moderately-priced birdwatching binoculars (that was the brand my local Audubon director recommended)--this set should work for kids or adults.
posted by box at 7:58 AM on December 10, 2019
Best answer: It may be a little late for it this year but Audubon's Christmas Bird Count is coming up this weekend (like the one Botanizer mentions only it's sooner). You guys can be citizen scientists and actually submit your findings of who is at the feeder to the Audubon. The count for your location is December 15th (I am in Vermont and do it every year, mine is on the 14th) And you can email Frank Holmes for information about the count in your area (map).
posted by jessamyn at 8:27 AM on December 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by jessamyn at 8:27 AM on December 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Oh and in terms of binoculars, you can get a pretty good starting pair for under $50. Bushnell makes some good ones. Especially for kids it's more important that they have binoculars that they can handle and use easily than that they have the maximum magnification or viewing range.
posted by jessamyn at 8:30 AM on December 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by jessamyn at 8:30 AM on December 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Sign him up for eBird! It has become a crucial part of the hobby for most birders. There's an app, the website is a deep font of knowledge and data, and it's all free. It's a great place for him to keep his life list Pokemon-style, he can create a profile that will show what birds he's recorded (here's mine). It's also an irreplaceable crowdsourced resource for finding rare birds and little-known birding hotspots. And as far as social media go, it's really safe for little kids, as there's next to no interacting with others.
posted by Freyja at 8:48 AM on December 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Freyja at 8:48 AM on December 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I cannot rave enough about Larkwire, which is a game-based web platform/app to learn birdcalls. I wish I had started learning them as a kid! Learning the calls is a lot like languages and best to do when your brain is still flexible.
He definitely needs a good pair of binoculars though. The optics power matters; 8x42 is a good all-around choice. For a careful 10 year old, it's really not worthwhile to get him something cheap and/or intended for a different purpose like hunting that will leave him frustrated. The 8x42 Celestron Nature DX are a good entry-level pair I'd recommend, or this Audubon guide recommends some pairs as cheap as $50.
posted by veery at 9:09 AM on December 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
He definitely needs a good pair of binoculars though. The optics power matters; 8x42 is a good all-around choice. For a careful 10 year old, it's really not worthwhile to get him something cheap and/or intended for a different purpose like hunting that will leave him frustrated. The 8x42 Celestron Nature DX are a good entry-level pair I'd recommend, or this Audubon guide recommends some pairs as cheap as $50.
posted by veery at 9:09 AM on December 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
I just bought my dad an old-timey audobon birdcall.
posted by OHenryPacey at 11:50 AM on December 10, 2019
posted by OHenryPacey at 11:50 AM on December 10, 2019
Best answer: On and another recommendation -- while you didn't mention films, there's a movie with Jack Black & Owen Wilson called The Big Year about birders competing for a world record. It's age appropriate and very fun.
Another good one is Winged Migration, a gorgeous and engaging documentary.
posted by veery at 2:02 PM on December 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
Another good one is Winged Migration, a gorgeous and engaging documentary.
posted by veery at 2:02 PM on December 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
Best answer: In the 70s my grandmother bought me this Audubon Society book. It's full of color photos so you can find birds based on color and then there's more in-depth information about each species.
posted by bendy at 5:30 PM on December 10, 2019
posted by bendy at 5:30 PM on December 10, 2019
Best answer: On my phone so can’t link, but check out the “Bird Note” podcasts. Short, fun, and informative. I also highly recommend “The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds” for his artistic side, and second veery re: purchasing good quality binos.
posted by scrubjay at 6:12 PM on December 10, 2019
posted by scrubjay at 6:12 PM on December 10, 2019
Response by poster: These are all incredible! Thank you all so much. I don't have the money for actually nice binoculars, but the Wingspan ones linked that are $60 are doable. He also loves podcasts so the Bird Note podcast sounds perfect for him. He runs out of Wow in the World and Brains On so quickly. And the Merlin Bird ID app is great too. He's going to be so thrilled. Thank you all for the great help!
posted by cmm at 7:52 AM on December 11, 2019
posted by cmm at 7:52 AM on December 11, 2019
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posted by FencingGal at 7:36 AM on December 10, 2019 [5 favorites]