Outdoor Hour Challenge-Birds: Meadowlarks and Goldfinches

In Challenge One we started to look for birds in our neighborhood and in Challenge Two we focused on looking at the beaks of birds. The next challenge we will take will be to learn about bird feathers and wing and tail shapes.

Just for fun to grab some interest in birds this week, watch this amazing video on the lyre bird...the master imitator. Leave me a comment after watching the video...I would love to hear what your children think about this incredible bird and his abilities.
BBC Wildlife: Amazing bird sounds

Outdoor Hour Challenge Birds #3
Goldfinch and Meadowlark (Western and Eastern)

Inside preparation work:
1. Read the Handbook of Nature Study pages 29-33 about feathers. Another great link is found here: Feather Structure. Here is another link to Bird Wing Shapes


2. Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 53-57 about the goldfinch.

We have had great success in hanging a finch feeder in our yard. The little yellow birds love to hang upside down from the perches and eat the thistle seeds. You might think of a place to hang a finch feeder in your yard. Here are some tips to attracting finches: Get Gorgeous Goldfinches! 

3. Read the Handbook of Nature Study pages 80-82 about the meadowlark.

4. Backyard Birds: Read aloud with your child pages 16-19. Use the illustrations to point out the field marks for each bird and for the goldfinch, the differences between the male and female birds.

5. Peterson Field Guide: Make note of the wing and tail shape illustrations on pages 18 and 19(W) 24 and 25(E) Look up in the index the goldfinch and the meadowlark. Observe the illustrations carefully and read the narrative descriptions and explanations. Notice the beak, the tail, and the wing shape for future reference. (See links at the bottom of the post for the particulars on these field guides.)

Outdoor Hour Time
Practice your quiet observation skills for at least part of your 10-15 minutes of birding time. Remember the focus from challenge two and make special note of the shape of the beak and the way the bird uses it. Also, make note of the wing and tail shapes of any birds that you observe during this challenge.

Shape of the tail: Square tip? Rounded? Pointed? Notched?
Shape of the wing: Rounded? Pointed? Slim? Long? Short?

Sometimes a bird’s wings and tail look differently when they fly. Observe a bird during flight to see if you can notice different colors, shapes, or stripes when they fly. Remember to make these observations for any bird you see during your outdoor time and not just for the meadowlark and/or the goldfinch.

Follow Up Activity for the Goldfinch and the Meadowlark
You can make a nature journal entry for the goldfinch and the meadowlark if you would like. There are several styles of journal pages in the NotebookingPages.com set below.

You will find a coloring page for the goldfinch in Feeder Birds Coloring Book.

For something different in your nature journal, copy the John Keats poem on page 57 of the Handbook of Nature Study. Many families like to include poetry in their nature journals and this poem about the goldfinch is a perfect addition.

If you are using NotebookingPages.com’s bird nature study set, you can use the pages on feathers to record your feather observations or you can draw a feather and label its parts.

If you would like to hear the bird calls for this week's birds, here are the links:
Western Meadowlark
Eastern Meadowlark
American Goldfinch
Lesser Goldfinch


If you would like some ideas for attracting and feeding birds in your own yard, check out my Squidoo page: What Do You Feed Birds in Winter?  This page is applicable to all seasons.



You are welcome to submit any of you blog Outdoor Hour Challenge blog entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.