FeederWatch for Homeschool

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Join other homeschool families who have incorporated Project FeederWatch into their science, using our Homeschooler’s Guide to Project FeederWatch.

Download a free PDF of the Homeschooler’s Guide to Project FeederWatch.

If you enjoy the Homeschooler’s Guide, be sure to check out the new Science Investigator’s Kit for Homeschoolers created by BirdSleuth. This new kit provides in-depth curriculum for learning science content and developing science process skills.

If you have suggestions for how we can improve the new curriculum, we’d love to get your feedback.

What homeschoolers say about Project FeederWatch

“Project FeederWatch converts casual bird observation into disciplined science and has become an integral part of the science curriculum in my daughter’s home schooling program.”  —Nancy Hough, New York, New York

“As home schoolers, one of our goals is to empower our children to be motivated self-learners. That means they need to see learning not as a scheduled assignment–done Monday through Friday–but as a lifestyle. Project FeederWatch is perfect for this.”  —Leigh and family, Nebo, North Carolina

Additional Resources

• Learn about birds on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds web site
• Explore Data submitted by FeederWatch participants
• Join Project FeederWatch and receive a Research Kit containing the Common Feeder Birds poster, a color 14-month calendar, the FeederWatcher’s Handbook, and more. FeederWatch participants also receive the FeederWatch annual report, Winter Bird Highlights.

FeederWatch for Groups

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Each year educational groups participate in Project FeederWatch. Scout troops use the project to help meet the requirements for the Bird Study Merit Badge. For example, Project FeederWatch can help scouts learn to identify 20 species–the 5th requirement for the Bird Study badge. The project can also help Girl Scouts earn their Wildlife Badge as well as an All About Birds Interest Project Award.

Other groups participate as a way to learn more about birds and nature. One 4-H student won a science award based on her FeederWatch participation and represented her state at the National 4-H Congress. Read her story.

Project FeederWatch can help engage children in the excitement of nature study and the wonder of scientific investigation by

• encouraging careful observation and note-taking
• stimulating children to ask questions about the natural world
• encouraging independent study
• providing opportunities for meaningful Internet use and exploration

Options for group participation

Option 1.

A group can choose a single bird feeding location to observe together or to observe on a rotating schedule. For example, some groups work together to count birds at a local nature center. With this option, only one registration is required since only one set of data should be submitted from a single location. The group can register under one name, or, in the case of a nature center, the group can register under the name of the nature center if the center is not already registered. The group representative or the nature center will receive a Research Kit and the FeederWatch annual report, Winter Bird Highlights.

Option 2.

The group can provide bird identification and bird feeding information to its members, and each group member can participate in Project FeederWatch from their own homes or feeder sites. For example, a researcher used Project FeederWatch at a large boarding school in Maine, where students participated at each of their residences. An article about the program was published in BirdScope. Most groups are more informal, though, and any group in the U.S. with an educational component can qualify for a group rate when six or more participants are registered, according to the following fee schedule:

1-5 participants = $15 per participant
6-10 participants = $12 per participant
11+ participants = $10 per participant

With this option, each participant receives their own Research Kit and the FeederWatch annual report, Winter Bird Highlights.

In order to qualify for the discount, a group leader or sponsor must fill out a group rate order form (below) and send it to Project FeederWatch along with the names and addresses of the group members who wish to participate and a single payment for the entire group. All group members must submit their data through the FeederWatch web site.

FeederWatch in the Classroom

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Many teachers at a variety of grade levels have incorporated Project FeederWatch into their classrooms. Here are some of their stories…

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Dennis Demcheck, a volunteer in Pamela Fry’s 4th grade science class at Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School, put together a slide show of student drawings inspired by their classes FeederWatch participation. Dennis wrote, “Several science teachers … have come to me and remarked that the students’ intense interest in birds … has sparked a wider interest in science.” Read more and see the slide show on the FeederWatch blog.

Graduate student helps middle schoolers FeederWatch in Maine

The National Science Foundation’s Graduate Teaching Fellows program at the University of Maine places graduate students in K-12 science and technology classes to enhance the level of interest and quality. Students from four Maine schools participated in Project FeederWatch under the guidance of graduate student Brent Horton, who also showed students how birds are banded. Learn more about this joint project in the Spring 2005 issue of BirdScope.

Related Activities and Learning

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You can investigate an array of natural mysteries while participating in Project FeederWatch. The following FeederWatch-related activities have been contributed by educators across the continent. They are designed to strengthen such skills as observation, identification, research, computation, writing, creativity, and more.

Science

• Natural history: Research and study the strategies birds use to survive
• Identification: Use FeederWatch’s Common Feeder Birds poster to learn how to identify the birds that visit your feeders
• Meteorology: Monitor weather conditions to see how birds alter their feeding habits
• Physics/aerodynamics: observe the different flight patterns of feeder birds
• Animal behavior: Are some species solitary while others are gregarious? Do different species have different food preferences?

Math

• Weigh the bird seed in your feeder before and after each count and compute how much seed was eaten. After several counts, calculate average consumption rate.
• Test and predict how often feeders need to be refilled.

Writing/Literature

• Journal keeping
• Poetry
• Creative writing
• Etymology–research the history of bird names

Geography

• Map your count site
• Research the geographic ranges of birds (see the FeederWatch map room)
• Learn the official bird of all U.S. states and Canadian provinces

History

• Develop a time line charting the extinction of a bird such as the Passenger Pigeon
• Research famous bird biologists or artists
• Learn the history of bird-related laws

Art

• Sketch the birds at your feeders
• Create bird masks
• Create models of bird wings, bills, and feet

Music

• Research music that has been influenced by bird song
• Study bird songs and calls
• Make your own feeder bird recordings

Additional Resources

• Learn about birds on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds web site
• Explore Data submitted by FeederWatch participants
• Join Project FeederWatch and receive a Research Kit containing the Common Feeder Birds poster, a color 14-month calendar, the FeederWatcher’s Handbook, and more. FeederWatch participants also receive the annual FeederWatch summary, Winter Bird Highlights.