Both of our WSB efforts have been limited to Voorhees Township for a number of reasons. This extremely limited geographic area gives the students a good feel for the true diversity of the bird world. They are surprised to discover how many birds can be seen within their hometown. They are also intrigued to investigate other regions and habitats to see all the species they are missing.
Our Big Days are more like a Big Mornings that involve hitting several local parks. Last year, we found 60 species between 7 am and noon. This was a satisfying achievement given the limited habitat types available to search.
The goal this year was to improve on the 2006 team's total.
We started our morning bird walks in early March. I was very pleased to have a 300% increase in the number of student signed up for my morning bird walks. A few die-hard students have shown up almost an hour early for school several times a week. One very enthusiastic student has come almost every morning - no matter how chilly or soggy! (She became this year's team captian.)
While it was encouraging, the heightened student interest also posed a major problem. I did not have enough quality optics to lend out for the WSB! Having kids bird with poor (or no) binoculars does little more than frustrate them.
Thanks to the efforts of National Biodiversity Parks president, we had 11 brand new pairs of Zhumell 8x42's available for the students AND their parents to use during the WSB. Understanding the urgency of the situation, binoculars.com rushed the new bins to me just in time for the WSB.
We kicked off our WSB with a continental breakfast at the first stop. Throughout the morning, the kids' excitement could barely be contained. They were amazed by the colors of Scarlet Tanagers, Baltimore Orioles, and Indigo Bunting. They were amused by the Spotted Sandpiper's bobbing and the flights of swallows.
Our Big Day was terrific! For them, the highlights included Purple Martin, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and the easy to find warblers along with Red-bellied Turtles, a Green Frog, and a curious looking flower.
The hands-down bird of the day was a Mississippi Kite saoring low over the fields at Stafford Trails. According to a New Jersey Birds regional editors, this was the first Camden County record for the species!
My personal highlights were seeing how excited the kids were to bird new areas away from the school AND watching the parents get just as into the birds as their children!
By the way, we found 72 species. This was a 20% increase from last year!
3 comments:
Sounds like a lot of fun!
I wish my son's elementary school had a birding group. How do schools set things like that up?
It's good that the kids get to see so much in their own area. When they (hopefully) start spreading the birding geopgraphy, this will help them notice new birds that much easier!
Good thing the binocs worked out. It sounds like binoculars.com were interested in helping the kids.
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