Sometimes the best ideas come when you least expect them. Maybe your lightbulb moment for getting your kids interested in birdwatching came when working on a school project with your children or watching a TV program with them.
If you live in a flat or even if you have a garden, your kids might have had limited access to nature. They’re always on their cellphones and quite frankly they’re pale, pasty, and often have colds.
Lets dive into 8 easy tips for getting kids interested in birdwatching!
1. Getting Kids Interested in Birdwatching – Immersion in Nature
Your kids may never have experienced the special something about getting out in nature because you as the parent haven’t ever encouraged them. Your kids may be active online but what about getting them active elsewhere?
There is every possibility for you to create another life that may well be right on your doorstep. Isn’t it time to help your kids get out of their chairs and rooms, out of their cellphones, and out of their cramped lifestyles?
What about all of you getting out into nature and establishing a whole new connection with birdwatching? Time spent in nature on a regular basis will benefit your children in so many ways.
2. Start going on lovely country walks
You may have a lovely home and a gorgeous garden but what’s the point if your kids are always in their rooms? It’s time to locate a lovely spot for country walks outside your suburb and still fairly close to your home.
Maybe you’ve neglected to get your kids involved with nature from an early age. Don’t fret. There is still time to provide fresh inspiration with exciting country walks to go birdwatching.
It’s time to get your kids out and about to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. Don’t make the walk purely educational. Make it exciting for your kids. Pack cold drink bottles and picnic snacks into the backpacks and turn the entire birdwatching outing into a pleasurable adventure.
Getting kids interested in birdwatching is really fairly simple!
3. Collect some pine-cone feeders
Another easy-peasy method for getting kids interested in birdwatching is to have bird relevant crafting fun! Which brings us to our next suggestion… making a simple bird feeder.
Who says you have to buy an expensive bird feeder to feed the birds? Make things exciting for your kids and on your next country walk, get them to find some pine cones.
Allow them to help you make your own cheap bird feeder with the pine cones. Attach some attractive-looking string to the pine cone for hanging in a shrub or tree. Make sure it’s high enough so the dogs or other animals can’t reach it.
Spread some peanut butter into the crevices and spread some bird seed onto the peanut butter. Believe me – the birds will certainly come for a nibble. Watch from your birding station and see which feathered friends are the first to make their appearance.
4. Allow supervised access to technology
Not all parents want their kids to have access to technology in the early years. However, if you have access to technology, you can always download a birding app onto your phone that you can allow your kids to use too with your supervision.
These apps can change things a lot because it allows you quick access to a lot of birding information, and all from the palm of your hand. With these apps, you don’t have to lug a bird book with you on your country walks.
Some of these bird apps provide you with access to a huge number of bird sounds and songs. The cool thing with the apps is that many of them are free to use.
5. Join a local birding group with children
There are so many benefits to be had by joining a local bird club with children, one of which is to take part in local bird projects and outings. They can be so exciting that the lure of a more sedentary recreation in the form of computers and cell phones becomes less appealing.
It’s quite possible that older kids in school take science, and a bird club engages kids in science by applying some of the concepts learned in class to the outdoors.
Your kids will reap the benefits of outdoor time and the bird club will spark curiosity about nature and also encourage a lifelong hobby for your kids.
6. Even kids in apartments can attract birds
Birdwatching is gaining momentum with people all over the world and you can encourage your kids to start birdwatching in their own backyard.
There is no reason to despair if you live in an apartment block because you can still create a hanging garden with plants and seeds for birds. What better way to encourage your kids to look outside the window to see if any birds are responding to the plants and seeds.
If you are lucky to have a garden, pointing out the different birds is guaranteed to spark your child’s curiosity about nature.
7. Set up a birding station
Set up a comfortable chair or even a ‘birding table’ at a favorite viewing window in your child’s room or some other room. This can be called the birding station and it’s where your kids will be encouraged to observe the different bird visitors they see. A nice touch is to also add a bird feeder here.
Set up the birding station with a sketch pad and pencils for your kids to ‘record’ what they see. Maybe you can even rig up your birding station with a pair of binoculars so your kids can see what the birds get up to while they’re in your yard.
Make sure that you check out our top 4 recommendations for the best binoculars for eyeglass wearers. The ones I have selected are great for those with perfect vision as well.
8. Rainy day bird ideas
Don’t for one minute think that you have to visit a craft shop to buy the latest ideas for bird crafts ideas on a rainy day. When you do research online on ‘rainy day bird ideas’, it is quite likely that you will already have many of the craft scraps you need.
If you’re only starting with getting your kids interested in birds, start off by collecting scraps that can help with your creative ideas. Pine cones, wonderful leaves of different colors and shapes, feathers, stones, bottle tops, buttons, paper, cardboard, and other scraps are all budget friendly and your kids already have glue, crayons, and scissors. You can be sure that on a rainy day, with these crafty bird ideas, your kids are going to be in high spirits.
Birdwatching and a love of nature brings rewards
Bring nature into your children’s lives with this colorful range of tips and ideas to encourage their interest in birds.
These super ideas offer hours of fun that are sure fire methods for getting kids interested in birdwatching – at the very least, they will teach your children to build up a love for birds and nature. Do the research and you’ll find that by investing in your children’s lives in this way, you’re guaranteed to have calmer, happier, caring children.