Birdwatching with kids – an amazing way to connect with nature

Birdwatching with kids might sound like a contradiction at first sight – don’t you have to be super quiet and patient to see any birds? And isn’t that almost impossible with kids? While the first part is true – birding requires silence and some patience – it definitely is possible with kids, as long as they understand the basics of it. If they do, birdwatching with kids is an amazing way to connect with nature, stir interest in biology and spend some quality outdoor time as a family.

My own history with birdwatching started almost 20 years ago. I was volunteering in an environmental project in the cloud forest in Ecuador before I went to university. I loved the place and knew all the paths and hiking trails very well, so when an ornithologist arrived and needed a guide, he chose me as his company. For the next two weeks, I would go with him daily on his birding walks to produce a full tally of birds in the natural reserve, and they ended up being just fantastic. Roger taught me a completely different way of perceiving my surroundings, with so much attention to detail that I learned to experience the forest I thought I knew in a completely different way. It was magical.

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Birdwatching with kids – why is this a good idea?

As you see, my own experience with birdwatching was amazing and has shaped my way of viewing my surroundings forever, so naturally, I wanted to share this with my daughter once we started exploring together. But birdwatching has some more general benefits for children which should make it part of your outdoor activities.

Birding as an introduction to biology

Birdwatching is an amazing way to introduce children from an early age to biology. Once they start learning about how to identify birds, they will want to learn more about the ecosystems they live in, the food chain, and much more. Once they get to those topics in school, they will be leaps ahead of their peers and will be interested in learning much more. Birding with kids can be the first step of an introduction to science for children.

Health benefits of birding with children

Usually, you do birdwatching outside, and being outside has many developmental benefits for your children. Outdoor play and activities can prevent nearsightedness and are great for brain development. Outdoor time can help to deal with mental health issues and is generally a great way to boost your family’s health. So having another reason to get out there is a huge plus!

Furthermore, when you want to see birds, you have to be more or less silent. Learning to observe and quietly wait has a calming effect on most people and will be hugely beneficial for children later in life. It also helps to focus and concentrate even when it is easy to be distracted.

Related: Five ways outdoor play benefits your children

Raising environmentalists

One of the easiest ways of raising children who are environmentally conscious is to expose them to nature every step of the way. The more children get to learn and understand about the environment and the threats it faces, the more they will be willing to do something to protect it.

At the same time, it is very important to create positive experiences as well. Birdwatching with children is an amazing opportunity to create these positive connotations. Your kids get to see animals in their natural habitat, will identify them, research them and understand them better. They surely will also be interested in protecting them and their habitat afterward.

Related: Teaching Children how to be environmentalists

How to make birdwatching with the kids fun

To make the experience of birdwatching with children fun for everyone, there are a couple of rules you should follow. Of course, these are not carved in stone, but they are suggestions from our own experiences.

First of all, it is important that you teach children to observe and not to intervene. Touching nests or baby birds might result in them being abandoned by their parents, some birds might be aggressive if you get too near (I mean you, swans…) and the idea of nature observation is basically to respect nature and leave it alone. Once children understand this, they will have a much healthier approach towards nature.

If you want to observe birds with children, it is also important to choose a way that is age-appropriate. A toddler won´t be interested in a long hike that is only focused on birds but might be much happier to be taken to the lake with many animals which are easy to spot. Older kids can be taken on more advanced birdwatching tours where they have to really be investigators to see the birds you are looking for.

Making nature observation part of your daily life

If you want to make birdwatching part of your daily life, you can also do some things to attract more birds to your own backyard. This way, you can observe from your porch or balcony, support the bird population in your area and give your kids an easy way to learn about behaviors and habits. You could either put up a feeder (be sure to use the right kind of feed though) or a bird box in your garden or close proximity to your house. We do not have a garden, but a balcony, and last year we put up a nesting box on a tree opposite our house. My daughter loves to observe the blue tits that have moved in for a second year now!

You can also just plant the right plants in your garden to attract birds. If you want to attract the colorful orioles into your backyard, you have to plant fruit trees, and the more flowers and plants you have that attract insects, the more birds you will have.

If you want to motivate your children, even more, to observe your backyard and understand the wildlife that lives there, you can take part in events like the Great Backyard Bird Count. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology also has some amazing background info and more current events on its homepage.

What to bring on a birdwatching trip with kids?

The things you should bring along to make your birdwatching trip with kids a success are very similar to the ones you would need when hiking. Enough snacks, water, warm clothes (maybe this one is even more important, as you won’t be moving around as much). But there are a couple of more things that will really make an amazing experience out of your birdwatching adventure.

Bring a pair of binoculars

Bring binoculars! It is going to be so much easier for you to see details and to be able to identify the species you are looking at when you can see them through binoculars. If you can, bring a pair for everyone on the trip to avoid discussions amongst the tiny birdwatchers… I am speaking from experience…

This is our favorite model for kids, as they are protected from falls and splash water.

Related: 10 great gift ideas for outdoorsy kids (and families)

A field guide for birding

Seeing the birds is one thing, but it is much more fun to also be able to identify them. With time, you will get better and better at this, but especially in the beginning, you will have to look them up quite a lot. Having a great field guide for birding with children is going to help with that. They will be so excited to look through the pages, trying to identify their newest find. When you can identify them, you can even start having a list of birds you have seen – every ornithologist has one, so why not start your kids’ list at a young age.

Here are some field guides for North America – but you can find them for any country.

A journal

Birding is a great motivation to start nature journaling. Children can write down which birds they saw, try to draw them, note down their observations and get an easy and fun introduction to nature journaling this way. They will observe even more carefully to be able to depict what they saw and it will sharpen their eye for details!

If you are interested in learning more about nature journaling, we recommend the online courses by artist Devon Meyer – she is amazing with kids and creates breathtaking art. Please get in touch if you are interested in a class with her.

Please share your experiences in birdwatching with kids with us! We would love to hear if you have any more tips to add to the list!