Make Your Own Bird Unit Study

An easy introduction to nature is through a bird unit study, which can provide a wild distraction, a connection to the natural world, and a chance to be grounded in an off-screen reality.

Make Your Own Bird Unit Study

You’ll jumpstart your birding experience if you can set up a bird feeder (we have DIY birdfeeder ideas for you below). Backyard feeders work well in many places, but you can also attract birds to apartment balconies (before setting up a feeder, observe the area to be sure there are no predators like hawks or owls, and ensure feeders are mounted high enough to keep birds safe from cats).

You can order bird feeders online or at hardware, home, discount, and farm supply stores. If funds allow, a camera feeder can be an exciting addition to birdwatching.

Black oil sunflower seed is a good first bird seed to try in a store-bought feeder, but you can expand to millet, thistle, and fruit and nut blends to attract other bird species.

If you’re counting pennies or want to try a craft, you and the kids could make and hang birdseed ornaments and simple bird feeder crafts (see our favorites below). If you want to see the birds from inside your home, be sure to put the bird feeder in a place where your kids can see the birds through a window.

Providing fresh water outside will also attract birds (be sure to use a shallow container to keep the birds safe).

In addition to getting the birds to come to you, you and your kids can head out for a bird walk to try to sight birds in a park, along a farm fence line, or along a creek or river.

Enhance your birding opportunities with:

• Binoculars
• A bird identification app or website (the free Merlin app can identify birds by description, sound, or image and populates a birding life list for all birds identified)
• A field guide to birds (see our favorites below)
• A sketchbook and colored pencils
• A phone camera or camera

A few tips for birding with kids:

• Help your kids start their own birding life lists. A life list is a paper or digital list of all bird species encountered with the date and place seen. Starting a life list while kids are young means they can end up with exceptionally long lists, even if they stay in the same geographic area!
• Join in sketching birds or nature journaling with your kids.
• Post their sketches, lists, and photos on your walls, near your bird-watching window if you can!
• Put snacks and water for the kids in the bird-walking backpack!
• Try some citizen science with a two-day bird count.

Let go of pushing through homeschool work that isn’t working and start a joyful “birdy journey.”

Create a Birding Journal

Birding can be fleeting and enjoyed in the moment. A glimpse of a swooping great heron or a roosting raptor can be a thrill and a connection to the natural world.

Parents can encourage children to go further and practice additional academic skills by asking them to create or contribute to a birding journal.

A birding journal can help your kids:

• learn to identify various species of birds by sight or sound
• learn details about the differences in male, female, and juvenile individuals of the same species
• learn the time of day and season of year that certain species of birds appear locally
• understand bird habitats
• add to their "life list" of birds
• practice using binoculars, field guides, and birding apps
• practice sketching or photographing birds, depending on the type of journal
• practice handwriting by labeling bird species, date, weather conditions, etc.
• begin to develop a soft sense of collecting and analyzing data

Kids can use their own sketchbook or notebook for their birding journal, or they can create a page for each bird they observe with our printable Birding Journal pages. The completed pages can be bound together with a cover to create a personal birding book. They could also be combined with pages for journaling about trees, plants, animals, and more to create a more complete nature journal.

Our Birds Activity Pack & Birding Journal (see below) contains printable Birding Journal & Life List pages as well as bird identification activities to help kids hone their identification skills through sight and sound.

Get Our Birds Activity Pack & Birding Journal

Our Birds Activity Pack & Birding Journal is a wonderful addition to any bird unit study.

With the activity pack, kids can

• learn science
• practice handwriting
• read and answer questions (orally or in writing)
• develop observation skills
• practice acute listening skills
• enjoy hands-on activities
• identify bird species by sight and song
• build vocabulary
• develop fine motor skills
• connect with nature

While parents enjoy the process!

The activity pack gives you straightforward printables, engaging (but not difficult!) experiments to do with your kids, pictures & info for learning to identify birds, and more.

The Birds Activity Pack & Birding Journal contains over 40 pages of hands-on projects, activities, and experiments—smoothly combining academics with nature appreciation.

Buy Our Birds Activity Pack & Birding Journal

Make DIY Bird Feeders

There are so many ways to make easy homemade bird feeders with kids using recycled materials, natural items, or simple craft supplies. Here are a few of our favorites.

Bird Seed Ornaments

Make these easy bird seed ornaments from just a few items that you probably already have in your home. (Source: Crafts By Amanda)

Pinecone Bird Feeder

These peanut butter bird feeders are a great nature craft for late winter and early spring. (Source: Fox Farm Home)

Frozen Mini Bird Feeders

DIY frozen bird feeders provide nature-inspired entertainment for kids. (Source: Barley & Birch)

Pumpkin Bird Feeder

Upcycle your pumpkins by turning them into simple, natural bird feeders. (Source: The Gingerbread House)

Mason Jar Bird Feeder

Make this mason jar bird feeder in minutes for a fun summer garden craft. (Source: Crafts by Amanda)

No Peanut Butter Bird Feeder

These homemade bird feeders are made with just birdseed and gelatin. (Source: Teach Beside Me)

DIY Window Bird Feeder

Make an easy bird feeder from a recycled milk carton, string, and a suction hook. (Source: Teach Beside Me)

Popsicle Stick Bird Feeder

Make a bird feeder from twine, craft sticks, and glue. (Source: Tina's Dynamic Homeschool)