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Are you studying birds in your homeschool or classroom? Engaging your students with interactive bird activities can make learning about these unique animals memorable. Birds provide a great opportunity to explore animal biology concepts, from understanding bird adaptations and behaviors to investigating their diets and life cycles.
To support your bird study, I’ve curated eight fun and educational bird activity ideas that are perfect for homeschool parents and classroom teachers alike. Whether you’re teaching elementary science or simply looking for creative ways to bring nature into your lessons, these hands-on bird activities are sure to inspire!
1. Study bird anatomy
Download this FREE bird anatomy worksheet that I created just for you! It features a heron and is perfect for learning about the different feathers and body parts of a bird. The set includes a labeled diagram and an unlabeled diagram for practice!
2. Set up a bird feeder & study bird diets
It’s easy to observe wild birds in action when you set up a bird feeder. You can do this outside your classroom window or in another outdoor area. Bird feeders are a great way to observe the feeding habits of birds up close.
Before you set up your bird feeder, have students research the diets of common birds in your area, with a wildlife research project (free worksheets!). Birds eat a wide range of food – seeds, berries, insects, flower nectar, small animals, and more! Furthermore, they feed in different ways. Some crack nuts with strong beaks, while others drill into wood or catch flying insects from the air!
Since different birds have different diets and feeding habits, there are many different types of bird feeders to choose from. After researching the local birds and their feeding habits, students can help select the best type of bird feeder for your classroom. A few different bird feeder options include:
- Tray feeders
- Hummingbird feeders (e.g., these hand-made glass feeders)
- Tube Feeders
- Suet feeder (example)
- Hopper feeders (e.g., this feeder made from recycled plastic!)
- Nyjer feeders
- Window feeder – great for seeing birds up close! (example)
- DIY bird feeders – gather your own materials or get a kit (example)
3. Try a fun bird beaks lab
A bird beaks lab is a hilarious and hands-on way to experience competition between species and learn about natural selection and animal adaptations. Students will experience first-hand how specialized beaks can help birds quickly gather the most food and outcompete other types of birds.
In my blog, I’ve created a guide for completing your own bird beaks lab! Check out my directions for setting up your own bird beaks lab in this post!
4. Visit a raptor center
Raptors, or birds of prey, are top predators that can be found in almost any type of habitat, from coastal areas to mountains, wetlands to deserts, grasslands to forests. Some of these incredible birds can even adapt to live alongside humans in urban areas!
Raptor centers provide homes for injured birds of prey that can no longer survive in the wild, as well as raptor outreach and education for their local communities. You can learn all about raptors from the experts at your local raptor center or wildlife sanctuary while seeing these amazing birds up close! Many Raptor centers offer tours to school groups and homeschoolers, and some have outreach programs that will come to your school.
You can also find more raptor activity ideas and raptor information in my blog posts:
5. Decorate a bird house
Building or decorating a bird house is a wonderful activity to go along with studying bird life cycles. Learn about the nesting habits of birds and create a little bird home where you can watch the bird life cycle take place!
There are many bird house options to choose from. You can get a bird house kit where you assemble the parts yourself (example) or pre-made bird houses ready for kids to decorate (example)!
6. Learn about bird wing types
Birds have lots of special adaptations, and the most obvious ones are their wings! However, bird wings are not one size fits all – bird wings come in many specialized forms that are serve different functions and fit different lifestyles. Read my blog post about bird wings to take a look at a few different types of wings and what they do!
7. Try bird watching
Nothing beats seeing birds in their natural habitat! Birds can be found in all sorts of different environments, from forests to grasslands, wetlands to deserts, coasts to mountains! They can even be found adapting to live in urban areas alongside humans, in some cases!
Don’t forget to bring all the right equipment when you go bird watching. You’ll need:
- A birding log (I love this one!)
- A pair of binoculars
- Sturdy footwear
- A bird ID guidebook – or my Birds of Prey ID Cards
- A camera (optional)
8. Study Birds With Wild Earth Lab!
There’s no need to scramble to put together the perfect bird lesson plan – I’ve already done the work for you! Choose from seabirds & shorebirds, waterfowl & waterbirds, and birds of prey! You’ll find even more activities, printable learning materials, worksheets, and more in my bird units!
Explore more units from Wild Earth Lab:
If you enjoyed the bird activities in this post, I know you will love using my science materials in your classroom!
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One reply on “8 Engaging Bird Activities for Homeschool and Classroom Science Lessons”
Very nice article! You could also use a trail camera to do some bird photography. Some are better that others in taking close up photos.