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Home For Birders For Teachers Fledging BIrders Challenge Programs
| Bringing the joy AND BENEFITS of birding to our youth - to promote their healthy development and bird conservation. |
| Fledging Birders Institute P.O. Box 1774 Bellmawr, NJ 08099 logo developed by aclogodesign@aol.com Great Horned Owl and Red Knot images courtesy of www.scottelowitzphotography.com |
| Submit your FBC entries online! Eastern Region Western Region March entries must be received by April 10th! |
| Frequently Asked Questions about the FBC |
What if we live in an urban area? There's no way we can win! One of the best things about birds is
they can be found almost everywhere all the time. Take your students out to really observe some of the
"urban specialties" and submit your checklist. You'll be surprise at how much you will see. When you
submit your sightings, please use the narrative box to let us know if you consider yourself an "urban"
area so you can be entered in our random drawings for bird-related prizes.
How can we find more birds at our school, yard, or local park? Some ways to find more birds include:
Another way of finding more birds is to attract new birds to your yard. You can do this by:
What if my teacher is not a bird watcher? At the school's discretion, each participating group can
have a Parent Chaperone that helps the students learn about the birds and assists with field
identification. You can include the chaperone's name on the submission form.
How can we do identify birds if we don't have a field guide? Actually, not having a field guide can make
your participation in the SBC even more beneficial for the students. Here's how you can still ID birds
without carrying a guide into the field:
they can be found almost everywhere all the time. Take your students out to really observe some of the
"urban specialties" and submit your checklist. You'll be surprise at how much you will see. When you
submit your sightings, please use the narrative box to let us know if you consider yourself an "urban"
area so you can be entered in our random drawings for bird-related prizes.
How can we find more birds at our school, yard, or local park? Some ways to find more birds include:
- recruit new teammates - more eyes always helps!
- study the field guides and birdsong cd's before heading out into the field
- get out more often and for longer searches
Another way of finding more birds is to attract new birds to your yard. You can do this by:
- putting up bird feeders
- planting a garden of native plants
- getting a bird bath
What if my teacher is not a bird watcher? At the school's discretion, each participating group can
have a Parent Chaperone that helps the students learn about the birds and assists with field
identification. You can include the chaperone's name on the submission form.
How can we do identify birds if we don't have a field guide? Actually, not having a field guide can make
your participation in the SBC even more beneficial for the students. Here's how you can still ID birds
without carrying a guide into the field:
- Encourage your students to list as many details as possible for each bird: Start with overall
size, shape, and behavior. Then, working from head to tail, take in the colors patterns, shape of
bill, and other features (ex: crest, wing bars, etc.) Write down these field notes! - Have students compare notes: They may have noticed different features or even been looking
at different birds! - Try to narrow your choice to a group of birds: If they find a long legged bird spearing fish at the
edge of a pond, this would indicate the heron family as opposed to a sparrow. - Use an online resource to identify each species: The WhatBird site provides an interactive bird
identification tool that allows you to narrow the possible species based on various
characteristics such as size, shape, location and several other key points.