OHC More Nature Study Book #4: Hummingbirds and Nests

More Nature Study Book #4
Hummingbird Study - Summer Birds

This week is bird watching week!

You may find that your family likes birds so much that you decide to keep a running list of birds you see this summer. You can see Outdoor Hour Challenge #5-Keeping a List for more ideas. You can print a notebook page to record your birds or use your nature journal. 

Here is a video that will inspire you to start your own hummingbird feeder station in your yard:
Hummingbird Station

  
Inside Preparation Work:

• Read pages 115-117 (Lesson 29) in the Handbook of Nature Study. There is also a section on pages 46-47 (Lesson 7) that focuses on The Study of Birds’ Nests in Winter. Read for information and highlight questions you can use in the future when you observe a bird’s nest.
• You absolutely must watch this video of a Hummingbird Building a Nest. Most of us will never experience this in person so a video is the next best thing! You can also read the previous Outdoor Hour Challenge for Hummingbirds where we focused on their beaks. Read online: Burgess Bird Book for Children: A Butcher and a Hummer.
• Advanced Study: Use a local field guide to familiarize yourself with birds you may see in your neighborhood. You can also use this tool on the Great Backyard Bird Count: Explore Results By Location. Enter your town and the site will generate a list of birds seen during the count. Note that you may see different birds during the summer months but it will give a starting point to use with your field guide. Ebook Users: Print several of the Bird Nature Study Observations sheets included with the ebook (used with permission from HeartsandTrees).

Outdoor Hour Time:

• Take your outdoor time for this challenge early in the day and look for birds before it is too hot. If you have hummingbirds in your neighborhood, spend some time observing their behavior. Watch for any birds that visit your yard or at your feeder. Compare any birds you have to the hummingbird: size, beak, tail, food, color, flight.
• Advanced Study: Ebook Users: Use the Bird Observation sheets included with the ebook to make a careful study of any backyard birds you view for this challenge.

Follow-Up Activities:

• Use a field guide to identify any birds you observed during your outdoor time. Complete a nature journal entry for any bird you observed. If you would like to complete a notebook page for hummingbirds, the NotebookingFairy has some very simple free pages for you to print.
• Advanced Study: Complete a nature journal entry for a hummingbird you have in your local area. Use a field guide for more information. Ebook Users: There is also a notebook page in the ebook for recording more nest and beak information.

Additional Links:
YouTube: Hummingbird Chirp
YouTube: Mama Hummingbird feeds her Babies (in the nest)

Fun Facts on Hummingbirds 

Nests and Beaks Links for the Notebook Page:
AllAboutBirds—Scroll down to Nesting

World of Hummingbirds

All the summer challenges for 2012 are included in the new More Nature Study Book #4 Summer Sizzle ebook. The challenges in the ebook are the same challenges that will post every Friday here on my blog. If you want to follow along with notebook pages and coloring pages, click over and learn more about the ebook.