Birding for Kids: Fun Bird Watching Activities, Ideas, and Resources

Birding, also known as bird-watching, is a fun activity for kids and adults of all ages. 

Birding for Kids! Bird-watching activities, like the ideas in this helpful guide to birding with children, provide a great way to get kids outside to enjoy nature and learn valuable lessons about wildlife and ecology. Recently, there has been a growing movement toward a more nature-based education. The birdwatching activities for kids in this informative guide are a valuable resource for parents, teachers, and outdoor educational programs.

Watching birds is an excellent way to explore nature at home, at school, or in the great outdoors. Children and adults alike enjoy observing and identifying birds, both for fun and to learn more about them. This guide to birding with kids, along with the bird activity ideas throughout, will help you teach kids about birds and get them started with bird watching. You might also enjoy this list of Outdoor Learning Activities for Kids.

Best of all, bird watching is a simple way to explore nature right in your own backyard. Just go outside, stop, look, and listen; you’re likely spot some birds! Children of all ages, as well as their parents and teachers, will enjoy this list of bird-watching activities and lesson ideas. This kid’s guide features several fun beginner birding activities for kids, from toddlers to teenagers, and the adults who guide them.

Invite children of all ages to use Bird-watching printables to count the birds they recognize, and to start recording their birding observations and experiences in nature. Scroll down for a list with several more birding or birdwatching activities and lessons for preschoolers, kindergarteners, elementary-aged kids, tweens, teens, and adults. You might also enjoy this list of squirrel facts and learning ideas.

Beginning Birding for Kids and Adults: How To Start Bird Watching:

Watching and observing birds of many different feathers is an educational outdoor wildlife activity and a lifelong hobby for young and old alike. Interest in birding usually begins between ages 7 and 10, and sometimes during the teen years, but anyone can become captivated by our many fine-feathered friends. Even babies and toddlers can enjoy birdwatching or listening, as they often notice birds’ sounds and try to imitate them. However, most people don’t take birdwatching seriously until middle age, at around 35 to 54.

Although the average dedicated birder is around 49, interest among younger generations has grown quickly, especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, as many people turned to nature for comfort and a deeper sense of connection during quarantine. In recent years, birdwatching for kids has become more popular among homeschoolers, forest school programs, and families like mine that enjoy teaching their children both out in nature and in more natural settings. For more ideas, please visit this list of Outdoor Learning Activities for Kids.

Getting Started With Birdwatching:

People often get started with birdwatching unintentionally. Children might become curious about birds while watching them at a feeder, while playing outside, during family walks, or when someone points out an interesting bird to them. Others discover it later through activities like gardening, hiking, or traveling. Sometimes we don’t become aware of the many winged wonders right outside our windows and in our environment until we change locations. Becoming aware of an extraordinary bird we have never seen before can help us appreciate the common birds near our homes even more.

For my family here at Rhythms of Play, birding has become an everyday part of our lifestyle. We’re birders, listers, lifers, bird spotters, twitchers, casual backyard birders, avian enthusiasts, and bird nerds. It’s just a part of who we are as a family. Especially me. I’m becoming one of those crazy bird ladies, and I love it! No wonder grandpa enjoyed bird watching so much! No matter what age you start, spying on birds from the window or patio, in the front or back yard, in the schoolyard, in the park, and out in the wild is fun and educational for children and adults of all ages. You might also enjoy flying a kite!

How do you start birding with kids?

A simple way to get started with birdwatching is to point out a bird you see or hear with your naked eye. Next, invite children to take a closer look at a particular bird with a pair of binoculars or a telescope. Then, ask your students or children simple questions about it. Such as “What do you think that bird is doing down there in the grass?” This will help them begin to observe, question, and discover the wonderful world of birds in the air, on land, and in water, beginning with the most common birds around them.

This basic birding activity will spark children’s wonder and curiosity. Once this happens, give them a pair of binoculars and a bird field guide. Before you know it, your children or students will want to know more about the birds they see and hear, and you will be off to a great start learning about different bird species and bird habitats. Another great way to introduce kids to birding is to take them on a bird-watching trip to a local park, State Park, National Park, or Nature Reserve. Not only is going birding an educational outing or field trip for kids and adults of all ages, but it’s also a lot of fun!

For several more fun and educational bird-watching ideas, scroll down to see the easy ways to start birding in any outdoor space with the fun list of bird-watching activities for kids and adults below. First published on March 14, 2016, this backyard birdwatching post is updated and republished with the latest and greatest birding ideas and activities for kids, along with the adults who act as their teachers, guides, mentors, and fellow nature explorers. Bookmark this page and check back to see what’s new!

How To Start Birding: 21 Beginning Bird Watching Activities for Kids and Adults

Looking for simple ways to introduce kids to birding? Use the list of birding activities below to ignite a child’s interest in nature and science. The birdwatching activities below will prompt them to ask even more questions about the big, wide world around them. First, encourage children to observe birds and their basic behaviors in their front or backyard, schoolyard, neighborhood, or local park. It’s often easiest to start watching birds from your yard, patio, or even through a window. But almost anywhere birds can be seen is a great place to start your birding adventures.

Next, head out into your local community to observe the birds that live nearby. Then take children to local nature centers, parks, nature reserves, and other outdoor spaces for birdwatching. This can be especially fun during migration periods in the spring or fall. Encourage kids to record their observations in nature journals or birding logs. Use these printables to tally the number of birds they identify and document their bird-watching experiences. Try the fun and educational birdwatching activities for kids (and adults!) below:

1. Gather Must-Have Bird-Watching Supplies and Learning Resources for Beginner Birders:

Below is an essential list of birding supplies for kids and adults who act as their teachers and guides. It includes a few birding basics to help new or young birders get started with bird-watching. whether in the backyard or on a birding adventure in the great outdoors. Fortunately, beginner birdwatchers only need a few basic supplies to get started.

Although you can see birds with the naked eye, it’s hard to go birding without something to help you see them a little better. It’s also helpful to have a bird guide to learn more about them. However, unlike binoculars, the field guide can be left at home. This makes binoculars, or a camera or phone with a telephoto lens, the most essential tool for bird watching, because they help you see birds “up close” even from a distance.

I regularly update this “birding for kids” post with the latest educational birding books, backyard birdwatching supplies, and birding reference guides for children from toddlers to teens, as well as for the adults who act as their teachers and guides. So, bookmark this page and check back to see what’s new!

Best birding supplies for kids:

• Binoculars or a telescope to look for and spot birds in the backyard or wilderness. A good pair of binoculars is the most essential item for bird-watching. Binoculars are a valuable piece of birdwatching equipment because they make it easy to see and enjoy birds at a distance. Choose at least one of the following recommended options:
  • Compact Binoculars for kids and adults
  • Full-Sized Binoculars
  • Monocular Telescope (with cell phone attachment for older kids and adults)
• Bird Watching or Birding Field Guide (optional but recommended). Choose at least one of the following to identify the birds you see:
  • Peterson Field Guide to Birds
  • The Sibley Guide to Birds
  • Wildlife Guide (This book does not have an extensive list of birds, but it is a handy and comprehensive first field guide for kids, with several other plant and animal species included for reference.)
• Birding printables or a bird-watching log book (optional) to count the number of birds you see and record your birding experiences everywhere from your backyard to the wild world of nature. Choose at least one of the following birding supplies:
  • Bird-Watching Printables Bundle
  • Beginning Birdwatcher’s Book (with 48 stickers!)
  • Birder’s Logbook: A Seek-and-Sticker Book for Budding Ornithologists
  • A Homemade Nature Journal
  • Children’s Bird-Watching Journal
  • Or a Bird Log

A few more Awesome but Optional Bird Watching Supplies:

Once you have collected a pair of binoculars for birdwatching (or a telephoto lens for a camera or cell phone), a field guide, and a few other birding supplies for kids from the list above, you are ready to go. If you discover that birdwatching is a hobby you and your children or students enjoy, grab a few more fantastic birding resources and bird books from the list of bird-watching supplies for kids below. You might also enjoy this list of Nature Study Supplies for Kids.

• Colored pencils, watercolor pencils, or a portable watercolor set to draw the birds you see and create gorgeous nature journal entries.
• Birds of North America Poster (Every Bird Species in North America) 
• Backyard Birding Flashcards with 100 Common Birds of Eastern and Western North America.

2. Get Children Interested in Birding with Bird Books for Kids:

Get kids more interested in birding with the fantastic educational bird books below. When paired with at least one of the birding field guides recommended above, these bird books for kids make great additions to your ornithological library. Following is a list of some of my family’s favorite books about birds and birdwatching for kids. Each of these bird book recommendations will make a great addition to your growing collection of educational nature study resources.

Best Birding Books for Kids, Teens, and Adults:

• Backyard Birds (Peterson Field Guides: Young Naturalists): This comprehensive field guide and introduction to ornithology includes the birds you are most likely to see in North American backyards. It includes vibrant, lifelike illustrations that bring each bird to life. It also provides the best method for bird identification and an easy-to-use design that helps beginners succeed and have fun.
• Birds, Nests & Eggs: “A fun and informative take-along guide that will help young children learn to identify 15 birds, and it features a few bird activities that are fun and easy to do.”
• National Geographic Kids: Bird Guide of North America: Here’s a beginning birding book for kids from National Geographic’s bird experts. It has several fun bird facts kids love, beautiful photography, and interactive birding activities and crafts—the perfect way to introduce junior birders to the fun and amazement of birding.
• What’s it Like to Be a Bird: “A bird book for birders and nonbirders alike that will excite and inspire by providing a new and deeper understanding of what common, mostly backyard, birds are doing—and why!”
• Burgess Bird Book for Children: Parents, teachers, and young readers worldwide will enjoy learning about birds with this classic nature book featuring Peter Cottontail and his many feathered friends. Learn all about the life and habits of several varieties of birds in this book about birds for kids. This excellent bird book shares information about different bird families, written in a chapter-book style and told as a story.
  • I recommend reading one chapter of this bird book aloud to children each day as part of your homeschool education.
  • Next, read the Burgess Animal Book or the Burgess Seashore Book for Children.
  • Together, these books are a fantastic educational chapter book series for young and old alike!

3. Designate a Bird Watching Spot (or Spots Indoors and Outdoors):

Once you have gathered a few must-have birding supplies for kids from the lists above, it’s time to create a bird-watching sit spot inside or outside the home or classroom. In our home, we have a designated birding spot by the kitchen window where we keep our nature journals, bird-watching printables, bird field guides, and a pair of binoculars.

When looking for birds in the backyard, we have chairs and a table outside so we can bring our birding supplies outdoors. It just so happens that the sliding door to the backyard is right next to the birding supplies we keep on the kitchen counter. Placing them in a central location makes them easier to grab at a moment’s notice. Today, birdwatching has become a daily habit that my daughter, husband, and I thoroughly enjoy. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

4. Enjoy Backyard Birdwatching:

Bird-watching is a great way to study nature in your backyard! Our family loves watching various birds in our yard and garden from the windows of our house. We call out to the sparrows, finches, jays, mockingbirds, warblers, chickadees, and other birds we see from our windows when we spy on them in our birdfeeders, and we even call some by name.

For example, the hummingbirds that visit our feeders are named “McFly,” “Chipper,” “Flash,” and “Ruby.” I never thought that I would one day be able to tell birds of the same species apart, but like twins, it becomes easy once you get to know them.

If you don’t have a backyard or patio to observe birds, parents, educators, and their students can also do backyard birdwatching activities for kids in the schoolyard, a nearby meadow, hiking trail, pond, or at the local park. Backyard bird-watching is a fun activity for all ages. Both kids and adults love observing birds and learning more about them. Get access to these bird-watching printables. Or choose any of the other fun birding activities listed below to get started!

5. Make Your Backyard Bird-Friendly:

The best way to attract birds to your backyard (or onto your patio) and help them thrive is with bird-friendly yard and garden plants. It’s fun for children and adults alike to create a bird-friendly backyard habitat for your feathered friends.

Create a Bird-Friendly Garden or Habitat:

A simple way to attract birds to your backyard is to plant native plants and flowers, or to create a garden filled with native bushes, trees, and plants that help birds thrive. Grow a beautiful garden for birds in the face of climate change. Learn how to make your backyard bird-friendly with THESE helpful tips from The Audubon Society. Or use the wildlife habitat gardening tips for birds, pollinators, and other wildlife in birdwatching activity #6 below:

Provide Bird Feeders, Bird Houses, and Bird Baths:

Another great way to invite birds into your yard is to make or provide a feeding station or water feature. Adding backyard bird feeders, standing or hanging birdbaths, and birdhouses is a simple way to make your backyard or patio more bird-friendly.

Most of the wild backyard bird friends in my family’s backyard prefer hanging platform or tray feeders with sunflower seeds, metal-mesh feeders, and suet feeders.

Hummingbirds, on the other hand, love to drink nectar from the native plants in our backyard, as well as from hummingbird feeders, especially in the winter. Fill glass hummingbird feeders with homemade sugar water mixed at a ratio of four to one (or three to one during the winter) as instructed below:

DIY Hummingbird Feeder Recipe Mix:

• 4:1 ratio of water to sugar (1 part sugar to 4 parts water):
  • Mix four cups of hot water with one cup of sugar
  • Or two cups of water with a half cup of sugar, etc.
• During the colder winter months or when birds are migrating, use a 3:1 ratio of water to sugar to meet increased energy needs.
  • Mix three cups of hot water with one cup of sugar.
  • Or 1 1/2 cups of water with 3/4 cup of sugar.
• Allow the hummingbird feeder mixture to cool before pouring it into the feeder’s chamber and hanging it outside.

Best Hanging Tray Birdfeeders and Birdbaths:

Here are several other fantastic bird-feeding options. Try any of the excellent recommendations on the list below:

• Hanging Tray Feeder Platform (Mesh)
• Wild Bird Feeder (Brushed copper with squirrel-proof tube)
• Fly-Through Hanging Bird Feeder with Covered Roof & Aluminum Mesh Seed Tray
• Standing Bird Bath (My family loves and uses this in our backyard because it’s inexpensive, easy to clean, looks like real metal, and our wild bird friends LOVE it!)
• Gorgeous glass hanging birdbath

6. Turn Your Yard, Garden, or Patio into a Certified Wildlife Habitat:

Another bird-friendly option is to certify your backyard, patio, or garden as a wildlife habitat with the National Wildlife Federation. Wondering How to Get Certified as a Wildlife Habitat? Review THIS informative guide and get started today!

Anyone can create a welcoming haven for local wildlife. Turning your yard, balcony container garden, schoolyard, work landscape, or roadside greenspace into a Certified Wildlife Habitat® is fun, easy, and can make a lasting difference for wildlife.

The National Wildlife Federation

7. Learn to Identify Birds in the Backyard, Park, and Wild Nature Spaces:

Learning how to identify birds is a fun outdoor learning activity for kids of all ages. Children from toddlers to teens enjoy learning more about the birds they see in the backyard and the wild world around them. You can learn to identify them by their colors, sizes, shapes, features, behaviors, habitats, food sources, mating habits, and sounds. This activity often starts with identifying the common birds in your area. If you have ever heard the question, “What’s that bird?” It’s time to invest in a pair of birding binoculars (or a monocular telescope with a quick cell phone attachment) and a good bird book to help children try this fun birding activity!

In other words, if your children or students have questions about the birds in your neighborhood, or seem curious about the pair of wings floating through the sky above them. It’s time to invest in a few birdwatching supplies for kids to help ignite that initial spark of curiosity. The first bird-watching activity for kids mentioned above offers several excellent options for young and old birders alike.

My daughter loves to grab her birding binoculars each time she sees a bird in the backyard. So, I have learned to keep them near the sliding back door, next to her nature notebook, to avoid the disappointment of the birds being gone by the time she returns. Today, she has an excellent working understanding of the local birds that frequent our backyard, local parks, and the wild natural spaces around us, as well as many of the birds that we encounter when we travel.

How to Identify Birds:

Teaching yourself how to identify birds is one of the best ways to learn more about them. This birding activity can keep children busy for hours as they look for field marks and other identifying characteristics to identify the birds they see and look up the birds they don’t know in a bird field guide.

Identifying birds requires keen observation and attention to detail. Start by noting the bird’s size, shape, appearance, coloration, and distinctive markings. Field marks are physical characteristics such as color, size, shape, the type of beak or bill, and other identifying markings that make each bird unique.

Pay attention to specific features such as bill shape, wing shape, and tail length, as these field marks can vary significantly between bird species. It’s also a good idea to note the bird’s behavior, habitat, and the time of year and location where you spotted it, as these factors can provide valuable clues for identification. 

Listening to the bird’s calls and songs can also help narrow down its species. Utilize field guides, birding apps, or online resources to compare your observations and confirm the bird’s identity. With practice and patience, you and your children or students will become more adept at confidently identifying birds. The recommended resources below can help:

Best Online Bird Guides and Apps for Identifying Birds:

• The National Audubon Society has an online guide to help children identify birds, available HERE.
• All About Birds by Cornell Lab of Ornithology is another excellent online bird guide available HERE.
• Merlin Bird Id and eBird are fantastic free birding apps you can use to help identify birds you see and hear.

The Best Bird Field Guides for Children and Adults:

Here’s a list of the best bird books and birding field guides for kids and adults. You will notice that some of these birding books are also listed, along with the birdwatching books, supplies, and learning resources recommended at the beginning of this guide.

• Backyard Birds (Field Guides for Young Naturalists): This birding book is designed for beginning birdwatchers of all ages. It features the original art of celebrated naturalist Roger Tory Peterson and incorporates the Peterson Identification System — the most effective method for bird identification.
• Peterson Field Guide to Birds: For decades, the Peterson birding guides have been trusted by birders of all levels, thanks to their unparalleled illustrations and famous bird identification system.
• The Sibley Guide to Birds: This excellent birding resource is used by millions of birders worldwide, from novices to the most advanced. “The Sibley Guide has become the standard by which natural history guides are measured.”
• Sibley’s Birding Basics is a comprehensive and beautifully illustrated guide to identifying birds in the field. It is an essential companion for birders of all skill levels and experience.
• National Audubon Society Birds of North America: This comprehensive bird book for kids and adults is considered one of the most extensive and authoritative guides to the birds of North America. It includes the latest information on conservation status and the effects of climate change. From the world’s most trusted name in birding, Audubon’s guide is beloved by millions of backyard bird enthusiasts and birding experts worldwide.

8. Learn Basic Bird Anatomy with the Parts of a Bird Printable Worksheet:

Before learning to identify birds, it’s a good idea to know the parts of a bird. Learning basic bird anatomy makes it much easier for kids and adults to identify the birds they see. Get the parts of a bird printable anatomy worksheet in the Rhythms of Play Learning Center to help kids learn which part is which!

9. Observe, Count, and Record the Birds You See in the Backyard and the Wild:

Observing, counting, and recording birding observations is a fun and educational birding activity for kids. Here are a few simple bird-watching printables (including a bird-watching journal, bird-watching log book observation page, a bird-watching tally chart, bird life list, parts of a bird anatomy worksheet, and a bird count checklist) to help young naturalists learn to identify birds, count the birds they see, and record their birding experiences in the backyard and the wild.

Backyard Bird Watching Observation Activity Ideas:

These bird-watching printables are an excellent nature study resource for kids and adults alike. The printable birding log book pages can help you count and record the number of birds you observe daily, weekly, or monthly. My daughter and I like to keep them in our homemade nature journals.

• First, use a three-hole paper punch to make holes in the printable bird-watching log and journal pages you like best, and put them in a homemade nature notebook.
• Next, use the printable bird-watching tally sheet or checklist to count and record the number and variety of birds you identify. (Write the names of the most common birds you see in the backyard, park, etc., in the column on the left, and use the tally or checklist to count the number of birds you see each day, week, or month.)
• Add each bird you identify to your printable bird life list.
• Record bird observations and experiences in your bird-watching journal or bird log.
• Finally, submit counts to help scientists collect essential data about the birds you correctly identify year-round with eBird or at one of the global bird count events in the next section.

10. Become a Citizen Scientist: Participate in International Bird Counting Events:

There are a few global bird-counting events and festivals my family loves to participate in, and we think you will, too! Count and record the number of birds you see and correctly identify in the backyard, local park, nature reserves, and wild outdoor spaces at one of the global bird counting events on the list below.

Not only is it fun to help scientists collect essential data about birds and our environment, but it’s also interesting to learn something new each time you count birds. Whether it’s identifying a new bird to add to your life list, learning its call or song (and why the bird might be making it), discovering what it likes to eat, or understanding where it builds a nest. Every bit of time spent identifying and counting birds will benefit your education.

Best of all, every bit of data we provide helps scientists better understand and protect birds worldwide. Each year, people come together to watch, learn about, count, and celebrate birds at international bird-counting events. Learn more about each of these global bird counting events and discover how to join these fun citizen science projects below!

The Great Backyard Bird Count:

The Great Backyard Bird Count is held annually in February. This 4-day count is most often held over a long weekend in February. Join the next Great Backyard Bird Count on February 13-16, 2026. Today, it’s easier than ever to join the backyard bird-counting fun. Learn more about this fun birding event–> HERE.

A few fantastic birding apps make it easy to count the birds you see (or hear) during the Great Backyard Bird Count. Use Merlin or eBird to identify, observe, record, and submit the birds you correctly identify in your backyard (or anywhere else) to help provide scientists with essential data about bird populations. Submit multiple checklists for even more fun!

Project Feeder Watch:

Project FeederWatch runs from November 1 to April 30 each year. Count birds in your backyard feeders from November to April for Project Feeder Watch with The Cornell Lab. To join, download the Project Feeder Watch App and count the birds you see in your backyard feeders from November 1 to April 30, following the directions provided. You do not need to count birds every day, but instead, watch and count for two consecutive days each week. Learn more about Project Feeder Watch–>HERE.

The Global Big Day:

The Global Big Day bird count occurs annually on World Migratory Bird Day. In 2026, this international bird-counting event will be held on Saturday, May 9. Become a member of Birding’s biggest team of bird enthusiasts by counting and recording the birds you see or hear for The Global Big Day on May 9, 2026. Like the International Great Backyard Bird Count, you can join this fun birding event from wherever you are. Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day and learn how to participate in this global bird counting event–> HERE.

The Christmas Bird Count:

Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count takes place each year from December 14 to January 5. Conservationists started this annual bird count on Christmas Day 1900 to promote bird conservation by counting rather than hunting birds. The CBC now takes place in over 20 countries across the Western Hemisphere! Learn more about this community science event and how to add your counts to the tally–> HERE.

11. Learn to Name that Bird by Birdcall or Song:

Encourage children to learn to identify the bird calls, sounds, and songs of the bird species in your area. Learning bird calls and songs is a great way to identify birds that hide in dense foliage and birds that come out at night. This birdcall identification activity can help children and adults learn to identify birds that look alike but may not sound alike. Below are a few fantastic bird language books for use at home, outdoors, or in the classroom. The Merlin app also lets you identify birds by their calls, songs, or other sounds.

Books, Audio, and DVDs with Bird Language Basics:

• Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song. Drawing from the world-renowned Macaulay Library collection at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Bird Songs presents the most notable North American birds with colorful illustrations and a digital audio player with each bird’s distinctive song.
• What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World. This informative birding book reveals how understanding bird language and behavior can help us see more wildlife. Author Jon Young proposes that songbirds know everything necessary about their environment, be it backyard or forest. We can learn much about our world by tuning in to bird vocalizations and behaviors.
• Bird Language Basics with Jon Young DVD: Join expert tracker and nature mentor Jon Young on this journey, examining the language of birds. This set will give you the tools you need to see the landscape through the eyes of the birds and to build a more intimate relationship with the world unfolding outside your door.
• Bird Language Groups with Jon Young DVD: Bird Language becomes a dynamic indicator of predator-prey relationships to the aware observer. Join Jon Young in this two-disc journey examining the language of birds and bringing you to a more intimate relationship with the world unfolding outside your door.
• Sibley’s Birding Basics: How to Identify Birds, Using the Clues in Feathers, Habitats, Behaviors, and Sounds. Learn how to interpret what the feathers, the anatomical structure, and the sounds of birds are telling you with this informative guide by Sibley.

Learn Bird sounds on the Internet:

• Click–> to HEAR 50 common bird species and the sounds they make.
• Learn more about identifying bird songs and calls, including five essential beginner tips –> HERE.
• Alternatively, learn a few fun mnemonics for common bird songs with the National Audubon Society–> HERE.
• You might also enjoy the Common North American Bird Sounds video below:

Even Toddlers Can Learn to Identify Birdcalls:

Babies and toddlers love to imitate the sounds they hear from a young age, because it’s one of the primary ways they learn to talk. Thus, they also echo the bird sounds, calls, and songs they hear in the natural world around them. Help your toddler learn bird language basics with the fantastic birding nature study resource guides listed in the section above. Toddlers and preschoolers love these birdwatching activities!

Of course, the woodpecker was one of my daughter’s favorite bird sounds to imitate when she was a toddler. She’d exclaim rat-tat-tat-tat each time she heard or saw one pecking at a tree with its beak. She also enjoys cooing gently with doves, squawking with blue jays, cawing at crows, hooting with owls, and quacking around with the local ducks (as shown in the photograph below).

12. Practice Bird “Listening” and identifying Outdoors:

Another fun birding activity for kids (and adults) is identifying birds in your backyard or out in the wild by their calls, sounds, or songs. To practice bird listening, use the resources in the section above to learn how to identify different bird sounds and calls. Next, listen to birds outside and attempt to identify them by their sounds alone.

Finally, when you hear birds, do your best to “find” the bird making the sound with your eyes. It’s not always possible, but it sure is fun! My daughter and I are constantly looking for the hawks and other birds of prey that we hear screeching and calling in the wooded areas where we go for walks.

Different Bird Sounds, Songs, and Calls:

Another type of bird listening involves understanding the different kinds of birds’ sounds and calls, such as territorial, alarm, and companion calls. Learning more about each bird species, observing them, and listening to their sounds, especially in their natural habitat, will help you understand why they are singing, calling, or screaming.

Much of the time, you hear birds crying out in alarm about your approach or appearance in their space, especially if you have a pet with you, speak loudly with others, or otherwise make a lot of noise. You will not hear as many bird alarms when you walk outdoors if you tread lightly, approach quietly, and hold a sense of peace or unconditional love in your heart.

One of the best ways to listen to bird sounds, calls, and alarms without disturbing and influencing what they might be saying is to sit quietly in your front or backyard, or a quiet spot in nature (such as a sit-spot), for an extended period. Or even better, sit quietly out in nature to listen to birds in their natural environment. I highly recommend this birding activity for kids and adults of all ages. Give it a try!

The Day My Toddler Out-Birded Me:

My daughter showed me that she could correctly identify geese honking in the sky from a great distance when she was only two years old! Suddenly, while out on a peaceful nature walk, she exclaimed, “Geese!” I said, “What?” She loudly repeated, “GEESE!” as if frustrated with my ineptitude. I was about to squash her excitement and tell her there were no geese (just like any other typical adult, ignoring their child’s perceptiveness) when I suddenly heard a faint honk in the sky!

I looked up and saw a perfect “V” of geese flying high above us. They were so high up in the atmosphere, I was shocked that she could even hear them, let alone correctly identify them. Not only did she accurately identify what they were by their birdcall. But she noticed them honking through the sky long before I did! As a toddler, she couldn’t see them from standing. I had to pick her up in my arms and lay her horizontally so she could see them! It was a proud-mama-and-daughter birding moment we thoroughly enjoyed.

Related: Kids’ Music That Won’t Drive You Nuts!

13. Go on a Bird Walk or Birding Adventure:

Grab your nature study supplies and head outside on a bird walk to practice identifying birds by sight or sound. You can also try one of the fun bird scavenger hunt ideas below. Alternatively, plan an adventure to a nearby area known for bird-watching, such as a large outdoor park or nature reserve.

Wondering what to bring for bird watching? At the very least, we recommend beginning with a good pair of binoculars (or a cell phone or camera with a telephoto lens) to observe birds. (Choose from the birding basics on the list of recommended bird-watching supplies at the top of this list of beginner birdwatching tips.)

Investing in at least one birding field guide or field journal can also help you identify the birds you see and hear. I also recommend bringing water, snacks, sunscreen, and a few other helpful nature study supplies with you on birding adventures in the great outdoors.

14. Birding Scavenger Hunt Ideas:

Go on a bird scavenger hunt to give your birding adventures a purpose. Here are a few bird scavenger-hunt ideas my daughter and I invented together on our daily forays into nature. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Bird Counting Scavenger Hunt:

You can do this fun and educational birding scavenger hunt in two different ways:

1. Count the number of bird species you can identify by sight or sound for the day, such as the number of wrens, goldfinches, cardinals, jays, or American robins you see (or hear).
2. Alternatively, add the number of birds you see or hear to the number of birds you have seen of each species in your birdwatching or nature journal for the week, month, year, or lifetime.

Find That Bird Scavenger Hunt:

Is there a bird you would love to see but haven’t yet? Then, head out on a scavenger hunt to find the bird, or birds, that continue to elude you with this fun bird-seeking activity:

1. First, research the bird’s favorite habitat, food, bird call or sound, and waking and sleeping patterns.
2. Next, head out on an adventure in search of that bird!
3. Once you find it (hear it or see it), take a picture of it if you can, and add the new bird you found to your printable bird life list!

Bird Feather Scavenger Hunt:

Here is another fun birding scavenger hunt idea. Invite children on a scavenger hunt in search of bird feathers! Follow the step-by-step instructions below to try this fun bird scavenger hunt activity for kids:

1. Go outside to search for feathers in your backyard, neighborhood, or local park.
2. Challenge the kids to use one of the bird field guides recommended above, or a book titled Bird Feathers: A Guide to North American Species, to identify which bird each feather came from.
3. Record the types of bird feathers you find, put them in a pocket or pencil pouch dedicated to bird feathers in your nature journal.
4. Take a few of your favorite bird feathers to keep in a vase on your nature table.

Related: Nature Sensory Bin Scavenger Hunt

15. Draw or Paint Birds:

Another fun birding activity for kids and a great way to learn more about birds is to draw or paint them. Use colored pencils (or watercolor pencils) to draw birds or watercolors to paint birds onto cardstock, watercolor paper, or directly into a nature journal or birding log book. Drawing and painting birds can help anyone learn more about them. Try any of the “How to Draw Birds” books below. I love and recommend “The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds,” which is a favorite in our homeschool art room.

Best Books About How to Draw Birds:

• The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds (Our favorite bird drawing book.)
• How to Draw Amazing Birds from Songbirds to Birds of Prey
• How to Draw Birds: A Step-by-Step Guide for Realistic Drawing Projects
• Drawing: Birds: Learn to draw step by step (How to Draw & Paint)

Learn to Draw a Bird on the Internet:

• How to draw a bird: Learn to draw birds with David Sibley on Audubon–> HERE.
• Drawing birds with John Muir Laws–> HERE.
• How to draw a bird step-by-step tutorial–> HERE.

16. Take Pictures of Birds

Many birding enthusiasts worldwide carry a cell phone with a telephoto lens attachment or a DSLR camera with a telephoto lens instead of binoculars to observe a bird and capture its photo! Taking a picture of a bird makes it possible to use a birding field guide to identify it later, rather than trying to look up an unfamiliar bird in the wild.

If birding is an activity you or your children enjoy, consider investing in photography lessons and a good camera with a telephoto lens or a cell phone camera lens. You may find yourself wanting to capture pictures of your bird friends, the birds you meet along the way, and rare captures worthy of the birding photography wall.

17. Make a Bird’s Nest: A STEAM Birding Activity for Kids

Creating a bird’s nest is a fun STEAM challenge for kids of all ages. Invite children to make a bird’s nest as an entertaining, educational birding activity. To do this birding activity, first encourage children to head outside and search for items a bird would use to build a nest.

Remind children that many birds don’t build their nests in trees. And some don’t build a nest at all! Please encourage them to think creatively before starting this nest-building activity. Look through this fun, informative Birds, Nests, and Eggs birding book with children to help them learn how and where birds build their homes and all about their young. If you are curious and want to learn more about the fascinating variety of bird nests, check out the Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests.

Next, invite them to use natural materials they collect to make a bird’s nest. Nest building is a self-motivated activity for our daughter; she has been making bird nests from nature’s scraps since she was a toddler. One of her many nests is pictured below. She has also fashioned a few nests in hollow logs, a clay mud nest on a wall, and some great ground nests in clumps of tall grass over the years.

18. Play Bird Games to Learn More About Birds:

Playing games with and about birds is a fun and interactive way for children and adults to learn more about them. Try the bird games below. These fun birding activities for kids can help teach children about birds from toddlers to teens. (They are listed in order of age recommendation, with the more advanced bird games for older children and adults towards the bottom of the list.)

Best Games About Birds for Kids and Adults:

• Bird Families: A high-flying card game based on Happy Families and Go Fish for players ages two and up. In Bird Families, the aim is to get as many sets of birds as possible. Collect four of each bird species before your opponents. This beautiful game comes with a booklet that describes each bird species featured.
• Sibley Backyard Birds Matching Game: A memory game with 20 matching pairs for children by Sibley Birds. With beautiful watercolor bird illustrations from leading ornithologist David Sibley, this 40-piece matching game for children ages three and up will surely charm both kids and parents.
• What The Flock: A hilarious game of words and birds, perfect for word enthusiasts and bird lovers ages three and up. Through skill, chance, and strategy, be the fastest to assemble your bird by playing various word games—an ideal addition to game nights and family gatherings.
• Wingspan (Base Game): A relaxing, award-winning strategy board game about birds for birders ages fourteen and up. In this educational birding game, players are bird enthusiasts, researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors seeking to discover and attract a diverse array of birds to their wildlife preserves.
• Bird Brains: A trivia card game for bird lovers. Test your knowledge about Birds with this fun game for birders ages fourteen and up!
• Sibley Birder’s Trivia Card Game: Here’s a bird trivia game for players ages fourteen and up with 400 questions to test every birder’s knowledge from the bestselling author and ornithologist David Allen Sibley.
• What Bird Am I?: A bird identification game for birding fanatics ages fourteen and up. This game is perfect for novice, intermediate birdwatchers, and truly serious birders. Test your species identification skills with this educational bird game!

19. Study a Bird or Species of Birds (Conduct a Bird Study):

Once children become interested in birding and the birds they hear and see around them, a great way to extend their learning is to study a particular bird or species. Spend time observing the bird in its natural habitat. Look it up in your birding books and field guides, head to the library for information, and do a Google search for fun ways to learn more. “When we follow our children’s interests, they are much more interested in learning.“

For example, hatching chicks and tending a small flock of chickens is a great educational birding activity for homeschoolers. As a toddler, and today at eleven, our daughter is highly fond of her fowl friends. She loves tending to and playing with the chicks and hens we keep in our coop and free-ranging in our backyard. Collecting eggs, feeding, and watering them are also jobs she thoroughly enjoys. She is even known to herd them toward the vegetation they like best and find insects for them to eat. That’s the definition of hands-on learning! Look at how happy she is as a toddler in the picture below, holding the chicken.

20. Try a Few Bird Science Activities:

Another fun way to learn more about birds is with the standards-aligned science lessons on Mystery Science. Captivate your children or students with engaging bird lessons and assessments that deepen their understanding of birds.

21. Contribute to Bird Conservation Efforts:

Kids can play a vital role in bird conservation efforts through engaging, educational activities. Fortunately, most ways we can do this (as adults, we are not exempt) have been briefly discussed throughout this article. The following is a summary of several ways children and adults can contribute to conservation efforts to help birds and our environment flourish: 

• Bird watching can raise awareness about the diversity of bird species on our beautiful green and watery planet and the importance of each habitat. 
• By hanging and building birdhouses and feeders and planting bird-friendly garden plants, kids can provide safe nesting places and food sources for birds, especially during migration and the winter months. These birding activities help bird conservation efforts immensely.
• Engaging in citizen science projects (such as the international bird counts mentioned in #10 above) allows kids to contribute valuable data that helps scientists monitor bird populations and their health. 
• Additionally, advocating for bird-friendly practices in their communities, such as planting native plants, keeping cats indoors, and reducing window collisions by hanging stickers or window stars on large windows, can significantly benefit them. 

These activities can help protect and preserve bird species and instill a sense of responsibility and connection to the natural world in young conservationists worldwide. This is an excellent recipe for the future. 

Benefits of Bird Watching:

Birding is a lifelong hobby with many educational benefits for people of all ages. The list of birding or bird-watching activities and lessons for kids included in this birdwatching guide can help children (or adults) learn about birds and expand their understanding of the many species native to their environment and to the wider world beyond their backyards. It can also foster a lifelong interest in nature and instill conservation and stewardship values in the next generation. The following are a few benefits of this wildlife activity:

1. Bird watching gets kids and adults of all ages outside, learning, and having fun:

One of the primary benefits of birding for kids is that the best bird watching happens outdoors. In other words, this list of birding activities can help get kids outside to connect with the natural world and the secrets it shares. Exposure to nature and the great outdoors has several far-reaching physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits for young and old, including enhanced self-regulation skills.

Creating a connection with nature in our children is also beneficial because it will likely help increase conservation efforts in the future. People do not care about what they do not understand or feel connected to. When we connect children with nature and Mother Earth’s many creatures, including birds, we increase the likelihood of sustaining life as we know it on Planet Earth. Even more importantly, we open the door to improving it for all beings on Earth. For more ways to get kids outside learning and having fun, check out this quick list of outdoor activities for kids and adults: Get Outside and Connect.

2. Birding helps children and adults stay present:

When people are outside bird watching, they immerse themselves in the experience and joy of the present moment. Birding causes us to stop, pay closer attention, and notice the little details more acutely. We become more aware of everything. Our innate intuition and spidey senses tingle, and we open our senses more fully to the sensations in the wild world around us.

Colors become more vibrant, and we can hear every sound more clearly, from the gentle twitter of a bird in the distance and the almost silent scampering of a wren to the far-off cry of a hawk. This is precisely what most mindfulness practices advocate. Get out there and become more mindful and aware of your surroundings. Like getting on a yoga mat, you might be surprised at what you discover.

3. Birds make People happy, and there’s research to prove it!:

Believe it or not, birds make us happy, and today, there is research to prove it. Exposure to nature and its many varied winged creatures can help improve well-being. A 2017 study published in Bioscience suggests that birdwatching can improve physical and mental health by reducing stress, anxiety, and depression.

In other words, getting outside to watch birds helps us get exercise and feel more at peace. Interestingly, the study concludes that birders didn’t need to interact with the birds to derive these benefits. Our mental health can improve simply by watching or listening to birds. No wonder bird-watching (and listening) is such a universally popular activity. Birdwatching helps us feel better.

Research repeatedly proves that birds increase happiness, joy, and fulfillment. A German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research study published in Science Daily found that bird biodiversity is associated with increased life satisfaction. The study found that people living near natural areas with greater diversity of bird species are happier. Fortunately, seeing a wide variety of birds isn’t the only thing that can positively affect our moods. Hearing them is just as beneficial for our bodies, minds, and spirits.

4. Birding allows children of all ages to take charge of their education:

One of the most incredible benefits of backyard birdwatching is that it allows children to search for answers to the questions that matter most to them. Following their interests helps children take charge of their education. Birdwatching can also instil in children a sense of environmental stewardship and a desire to protect natural resources. Keeping endangered birds alive and protecting our future is essential for each of us. Please visit these Outdoor Activities for Kids for more educational outdoor activities and nature study ideas.

Best Bird-Watching Activities for Kids and Adults:

Birding, also known as bird watching, is a great way to get kids outside to learn and have fun. First, grab the recommended bird-watching supplies for kids (and adults) from the list above. Next, use the recommended supplies, birdwatching activities, and ideas in this handy guide to get kids started with backyard, local park, and outdoor birdwatching.

One of the best times of year to watch birds is late winter and early spring, when many can be seen migrating north to return home. You might see birds migrating to and from their summer and winter homes and habitats during the fall and spring. But any day is an excellent day for birdwatching!

In the springtime, you can also get lucky and spot a few mating rituals. I had a great time watching two male mockingbirds compete for the affections of a lady mockingbird out my office window one spring morning. As a bonus, many birding activities make it easy to add literacy, math, science, art, and STEAM into a child’s education at home or in the classroom. You might also enjoy searching for signs of spring, or try this spring scavenger hunt for toddlers and preschoolers.

More Educational Birding Resources for Children and Adults:

A few more excellent educational birding resources for children are listed below.

Best Bird-Watching Printables for Kids and Adults:

If you haven’t already, get this fantastic bird-watching printable bundle on the list below for one low price–> HERE! Or purchase your favorite printable birding journal from the list below:

• Printable Bird Life List
• Bird Watching Log Book Observation Sheet
• Printable Bird Watching Journal Sheet
• Bird Watching Tally Chart
• Parts of a Bird Printable Bird Anatomy Worksheet
• Bird Watching Checklist

Educational Birding Games and Activities for Children Bundle:

Study birds with children while playing games, working on crafts, completing STEM challenges, and doing other hands-on activities at home or in the classroom with THIS educational birding bundle for kids from Adventure in a Box. With this birding bundle, students can explore:

• Birds’ plumage and dimorphism in birds
• The diversity of the birds, as well as their distinctive features
• Birds’ eggs and parenting habits
• 48 different species of birds
• Birds’ houses and engineering skills

The combination of pictures, icons, and limited language in most games and activities within the birding bundle makes the lesson plans suitable for preschool through middle school children. Enjoy exploring the world of birds at home or in the classroom with THIS fun and educational birding bundle for kids!

Birding Lessons and Learning Activities for Kids:

Learn more about birds and their habitats with lessons tailored to students of all ages. Learn more birding lessons and bird-watching activities for kindergarten through 12th-grade students with The Cornell Lab.

From free curricula to all-inclusive kits, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a wide variety of lessons and activities to captivate learners of all grade levels.

The Cornell Lab

Related: Spring Books for Kids

Birding Activity Ideas for Kids:

Birdwatching offers a gateway to exploration, science, and environmental awareness that can last a lifetime. Become a mentor by igniting children’s wonder and curiosity about birds. Introducing children to the world of birds with the birdwatching ideas above can be an enriching experience. It allows them to connect with nature, cultivating curiosity, observation skills, and a sense of appreciation for the diverse avian species around them. 

Kids and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages enjoy watching and identifying birds to learn more about them. Whether you are a parent or a nature school teacher, grab your binoculars, head outdoors, and embark on a memorable birding journey with your kids or students with the birding activity ideas above. Doing so will foster a lifelong interest in nature and instill conservation and stewardship values in the next generation.

Learn more about Nell Regan Kartychok, author of these birdwatching activities for kids HERE, and Rhythms of Play HERE!

More Outdoor Activities for Kids:

• Outdoor Learning and Nature Activities for Kids
• Nature Study for Kids
• Planting Sunflowers with Kids
• Search for Signs of Spring
• Planting Spring Flowers with Kids
• Skipping Stones
• Rock Balancing and Stone Stacking Art