Birding along our Creeks
Authored by Eliza Clarke
Recommended Grade: 3rd+
A birding activity to practice identifying birds species. Participants connect bird diversity to ecosystem health and surrounding land-use. This activity develops stewardship through observation and critical thinking.
Utah Core Standards
Science - Standard 3.2.2
Science - Standard 4.1.2
Materials
Binoculars
Notebook
Pen or pencil
Discussion Questions
What birds are here?
How many are there?
How are they using the space?
Lesson Plan
Pass out handout. Record name, date, location, and weather.
Use binoculars to identify birds. In a notebook, write down the species of birds you see–if known. If unknown, write down a detailed description with size, color, shape, beak, and behavior. Please do not disturb nests or birds.
Use a field guide to identify unknown birds.
Participants write a paragraph about what birds are here and their behavior. Discuss how the surrounding area and what birds tell us about the health of the ecosystem.
Background
Our creeks provide critical lowland riparian habitat—one of the most important habitat types for birds in Utah [01]. These areas are used by 75 percent of our bird species and have up to fourteen times the density of birds when compared to upland habitat [02].
Birds are mobile, sensitive to changing conditions in their environment, and easy to detect and identify. This makes them excellent indicators of ecosystem health [03]. The diversity and type of species present at a site informs us on land-use decisions, success of riparian restoration, and other factors that are contributing to declines or increases in populations.
Bird watching forms an understanding between humans and ecosystems [04]. It gets people outside and exploring nearby parks and natural spaces. It connects us to the local landscape, and creates deeper knowledge of what lives there. This develops an interest in stewardship and conservation of these environments. Recreationists, like birders, were four to five times more likely to engage in conservation compared to non‐recreationists [05].
Globally, birdwatching is one of the top 10 hobbies. Birders having a significant economic impact. They spend nearly $41 billion annually on trips and equipment. Local economies receive $14.9 billion from food, lodging, and transportation. In 2011, 666,000 jobs were created as a result of bird watching [06].
“If we can all pass just a little of this passion [for birdwatching] on to the next generation then the conservation of our world’s birds has the best possible chance.”
Feedback
Did you use the curriculum? What did you think? Share your feedback to help us improve and refine this activity.
Sources
Gardner, A handbook of riparian restoration and revegetation for the conservation of land birds in Utah with emphasis on habitat type in middle and lower elevations (1999).
Howe, Breeding Status of Utah’s neotropical migrant birds (1992).
Blair, Birds and butterflies along an urban gradient: surrogate taxa for assessing biodiversity (1999).
White, Why bird watching is important (2019).
Cooper, Are wildlife recreationists conservationists? Linking hunting, birdwatching, and pro‐environmental behavior (2015).
Carver, Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis Addendum to the 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (2013).
