Bird Buffet

Educators Information

This activity capitalizes on the special relationship that students have formed with their
“class tree” that they have been observing weekly throughout the school year. Parents can
be encouraged to create bird treats with their child at home and send them in, or this can be
done as a class activity. It’s fun to see what the children bring in for wildlife and how creative
some get. One of my students made a gingerbread house for the animals covered in honey,
seeds, and raisins! Options could include peanut butter and birdseed covered pine cones,
seed cakes made with unflavored gelatin, suet, or shortening/peanut butter, popcorn and
berry strings, Cheerios strung on pipe cleaners, or fruit slices spread with peanut butter,
birdseed, or meal worms. Ensure that each student has at least one object to hang on the
tree. My class did this activity the day before snowfall and our tree was absolutely swarmed
with birds foraging in preparation for the inclement weather.

Procedure

1. Have students prepare treats for the birds either at home or as a class activity. Ensure that each child has at least one object to hang on the tree.

2. Have a class discussion about what wildlife the treats may be likely to attract, and why. Of course birds will be drawn to the food, but what other mammals may pay a visit? What birds is it reasonable to expect, and what birds would not be reasonable to expect? The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Common Feeder Birds graphic would be useful to show students which birds prefer which foods.

3. Look up the weather forecast with students and predict how the weather may affect animals’ foraging behaviors.

4. Visit the class tree and allow students to decorate the class tree with the wildlife treats.  This can be in conjunction with your weekly Project EXPLORE tree observation, or as a separate activity.

5. Introduce common species of feeder birds depending on your location. The Wild Birds link in the resources section is a great visual.

6. Allow your students the opportunity to observe birds feeding at the class tree from a location in which they will not disturb the birds. Ideally, this would be through your class window, but this may need to be some distance from your class tree outside and students can use binoculars.

Supplemental Reading

• Night Tree, by Eve Bunting
• Annie and the Wild Animals, by Jan Brett
• Birds in Your Backyard, by Barbara Herkert
• Cooking for the Birds, by Adele Porter
• Backyard Birds of Winter, by Carol Lerner
• Riki’s Birdhouse, by Monica Wellington
• Crinkleroot’s Guide to Knowing the Birds, by Jim Arnosky

Extensions

Depending on the age of your students, you may wish to have them record their
observations by drawing their favorite bird they see, checking off bird species on a regional list the teacher has prepared, or using a bird field guide.

These findings can be uploaded to a birding Citizen Science platform such as ebird, Project FeederWatch, or Great Backyard Bird Count.

Mathematics Extension:
You could also have students predict which bird treat will be the most popular and create a bar graph comparing how many birds were observed feeding on each treat in a given time span. Students could be organized in groups responsible for recording data for each treat category to ensure accurate data.

Resources

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology Common Feeder Birds ID
• National Wildlife Federation Attracting Birds to Your Garden
• http://wilderchild.com/decorating-outdoor-edible-tree-for-the-animals/
• Great Backyard Bird Count Printable Bird Checklist by Locale