We recently took a field trip to a local wetlands park near us here in Central Florida and attended a class led by the most wonderful and knowledgeable natural science experts on all things about God’s creation. They taught us the ins and outs of successful bird watching.
These man made wetlands were amazing! They were created as part of the water filtration system for the city of Orlando as the last stage of water filtration. The main purpose of the wetlands is to filter out excess nitrogen and phosphorus. After the water is filtered, it flows into a large local river.
While at the wetlands, we were observing birds and learning about their different forms and functions. Such as webbed feet for swimming or long legs for wadding in shallow water.
Brid Watching Binoculars
We used binoculars to help us see the details of the various birds and to also keep a look out for alligators. There were plenty of alligators making their mating calls and throwing their heads and tails up in their mating dance. At some points throughout the hike, there were alligators within a few feet of us.
If you don’t have local wetlands to observe birds in, you can take a hike through a forest, park, or just sit quietly in your backyard. If you have a body of water where you can observe birds, you may be more likely to spot different kinds.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife has a program called Wings Over Florida where they mail you a certificate once you’ve spotted at least 25 different varieties of birds. We were happy to complete this certificate level during our wetlands birding experience. We are looking forward to creating a birding life list of all of the kinds of birds we can find in the future.
Here are some of my favorite birding books to help identify the birds you may find.
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida.
National Audubon Society First Field Guide – Birds .
Homeschool Science Bird Watching Notebook
The next day after our field trip, the boys took out their birding notes and drew pictures of their favorite bird they observed. Then they wrote about some key features of the bird that they observed. Here are examples of my boys’ birding notebooks.
You can also participate in The Great Backyard Bird Count that the Audubon Society does every year in February. We have participated in years past. Here is a post of our backyard bird count and homemade bird feeders.
Thank you for joining us on our homeschool science bird watching field trip. Follow along @homesteadonlakeside for more homemade family inspiration and recipes.
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