INTRODUCTION TO BIRD STUDY
What's ORNITHOLOGY? Pray can you tell?
It's hard to pronounce and it's harder to spell
Yet that's what you're learning whenever you care
To study the birds of the earth, sea and air.
There's a long word
To stand for a bird!
For a lark or a sparrow its length is absurd!
-from a poem by Eleanor Farjeon
BACKGROUND
One of the highlights of your outdoor classroom experience will be observing
some of the many species of birds that depend on the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife
Area for food, nest sites, or a safe resting place during migration. So
that your students will be prepared to observe the many species of birds
that visit the Wildlife Area, we've included six drawings of birds that
they are likely to see. There are three levels of study that are included
in this packet, which depend upon the field guides you may have in your
classroom. Feel free to copy relevant pages from the Sepulveda Basin
Bird Guide for your students to use during their studies. For more
advanced students, the additional worksheets based on the National Geographic,
Birds of North America , and the Birder's Handbook will enhance
student knowledge. These two field guides are available for loan at the
Monlux Science Center.
Common names of birds will be used by our naturalist staff during field
programs, and these names are universally used by North American birders.
The scientific name allows scientists around the world speaking different
languages to know what species they are talking about. A scientific name,
or "binomial", has two parts. The first part is always capitalized and
the second begins with a lower case letter. For example, Branta canadensis
is the scientific name for the Canada Goose. Knowing the name of a bird
is not as important as observing carefully and understanding a bird's role
in its ecosystem(s).
OBJECTIVES
The following exercise provides an introduction to bird study and will
prepare your students for their bird observation activities at Sepulveda
Basin. Groups of four to six students will use the worksheets and field
guides to study the SIX BIRDS that are included in your packet. Students
will learn physical features that make a bird unique. They will learn how
to use field marks (physical characteristics) to identify a given species
of bird and will learn about behavioral traits that may help to identify
certain species in the field.
MATERIALS
Make copies of the 6 blackline masters, and distribute copies of one study
bird to each group of students. Provide copies of information from the
Sepulveda Basin Bird Guide for each study bird as well.
INTRODUCTION TO BIRD STUDY
Student Work Sheet, based on Sepulveda Basin Field Guide
Describe your bird:
- What is the common name of your bird?
- How big is the bird?
- The picture of your bird is in black and white. Can you describe any field
marks (feather markings and patterns, bill shape etc.) that might help
you identify it when you visit Ballona Wetlands?
Describe how your bird eats:
- What is the size and shape of the bill?
- Draw a picture of the bill here.
- How does the bird eat? Describe its feeding strategy:
Share unusual behavior or facts about your bird:
Describe the habitat in which we are most likely to find this bird?
Student Worksheet Extension
based on research using selected field guides to North American
or Western Birds
Describe your bird:
- What patterns or colors would help you recognize the bird?
- Do the male and females look alike? If not, how do they differ?
- Draw a picture of the bird's feet:
- Predict how the bird uses its feet for survival
- What sounds does the bird make?
Draw a range map of where you can find your bird all year.
Common name:
Scientific Name:
- Where can you find it in the summer?
- Where can you find it in the winter?
- Does the bird migrate to Ballona Wetlands?
Student Worksheet Extension
based on research using behavior guides such as the Birder's
Handbook
Birds need to reproduce for the survival of the species.
- Where does the bird nest?
- How many eggs does the female lay?_______. Add the correct number of eggs
to the picture that you draw of the nest in the space below.
- How does your bird raise its young? Who takes care of the babies?
- How many families does your bird raise each year?
- How old are the babies when they leave the nest?
Conservation:
- What might threaten the survival of this species of bird?
- What can people do to help this species of bird's survival?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
These resources are selected from many that are available. Those included
are references that are highly informative, reasonably priced, and can
be easily used and understood by students and teachers alike.
FIELD GUIDES:
- Stokes Field Guide to Birds, Western Region; Stokes, Donald and
Lillian. (1996); Includes good photos/bird identification, range map, behavior
and conservation information; particularly good for beginners; special
pages are set up for identification of small shorebirds, backyard birds,
birds of prey etc.; very easy to locate specific birds in the guide.
- Field Guide to Birds of North America, Second Edition; National
Geographic Society; good bird identification and range maps, excellent
drawings, with species comparisons on a single page; selected by many birders
as the "best" of the field guides, but is expensive.
- A Birder's Guide to Southern California: Holt, Harold; American
Birding Association; provides maps to local birding "hot spots" and birds
you're likely to see there.
GUIDES TO BIRD BEHAVIOR, CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY:
- The Birder's Handbook. Field Guide to Natural History of North American
Birds; Ehrlich, Paul, D. Dobkin, D. Whee; Stanford University Press
1988; this is an excellent companion to all of the above field guides,
with essays and natural history information about each species; with this
book and a field guide, students can complete all three of the work sheets;
picture key accompanies information on feeding and nesting, which will
help students with limited English.
- Stokes Field Guide to Birds, Western Region (see above): best all-around
guide, if you are to purchase only one book; has both field identification,
range maps, and natural history information.
- Introduction to Southern California Birds; Clarke, Herbert; excellent
photos of local birds that have been organized by habitat; good descriptions;
some natural history.
SPECIALTY BOOKS:
- A Field Guide to Western Birds' Nests: Peterson Field Guide Series,
Harrison, Hal.; has good descriptions and actual pictures of bird nests
and eggs
- Introducing our Western Birds: California State Series (1967);
Vessel, Matthew and H. Wong; excellent introduction for younger students
to birding, with good information on feeding strategies and habitat usage.
LOS ANGELES AUDUBON BOOKSTORE: Your purchases help support local Audubon
Society programs, such as Audubon Adventures and the field trips your students
will enjoy this year. Order by phone (213) 876-0202 , Tuesday-Saturday
from 9 am to 4 pm; credit cards are welcome. If you wish to browse, the
bookstore is located adjacent to Plummer Park in W. Hollywood. The address:
7377 Santa Monica Blvd., W. Hollywood, CA 90046.
Last Updated: Tue, Feb 17, 1998 10:06 PM PST