Christmas Bird Count for Kids!

The Christmas Bird Count is a popular annual tradition where the public spends a day observing and

counting birds in their hometowns, then submits their observations to Bird Studies Canada and other

scientists who study bird populations across Canada. This year, we want to start a new holiday tradition

by inviting our NatureKids Clubs to participate in a Christmas Bird Count for Kids! The Christmas Bird

Count for Kids is an easy and fun introduction to birds and bird identification, and a great way for

families to get outside together in the winter!

This activity guide includes suggestions for planning your event, optional activities you can do with the

Kids, and instructions for how to tally and submit your Christmas Bird Count observations!

1. Planning your Christmas Bird Count for Kids

Date, Time, Location You can host a Christmas Bird Count for Kids just like your regular monthly NatureKids Club

meetings.

When choosing a date and time for your meeting, keep in mind that traditional Christmas Bird

Counts are held in December or early January, and that birds are most active in the morning and

evening hours.

A great location for your Count would be a park or nature trail. You could also experiment with

visiting different habitats (like urban areas or bodies of water) to explore whether different

habitats are home to different birds.

Bird Experts You don’t need to be a bird expert to do this activity with your Club! Part of the fun is finding a

mysterious bird and leafing through a field guide together to discover what kind of bird it is.

If you would prefer to have some bird experts on hand, Nature NB can connect you with some

local naturalists who would be more than happy to share what they know with some excited

NatureKids.

2. Running your Christmas Bird Count for Kids Running your Christmas Bird Count is fairly simple. Take your group on a birding walk for an hour or

longer, and tally the types and number of birds that you observe. Feel free to include some extra bird-

related activities either before or after your walk!

Birding Walk Materials and Resources:

Field Guides

Binoculars

Clip boards and pens

Observation sheets

Prepare your supplies ahead of time. If needed, some binoculars can be borrowed from Nature NB

(depending on availability).

Explain to the kids that they are going to be participating in a citizen science project today! A note on citizen science:

Citizen scientists are really important! Ask the kids to imagine how BIG Canada is. Can they guess how many people live in Canada? (About 35 million). How many scientists live in Canada? (A few thousand).

So we don’t have enough scientists to study ALL of Canada – it’s too big! The scientists would have to work 24 hours a day to learn everything about Canada.

But lots of citizens live in Canada! And citizens can help scientists learn about Canada by making observations in their backyard or their park or their town and sharing them with scientists.

The Christmas Bird Count is a citizen science project that helps scientists learn all about birds, especially the ones that don’t migrate south for the winter.

Take the kids out to your trail or route and have fun looking for birds! Remember to also listen for birds

– sometimes you will hear them before you can see them. When you find a bird, ask the kids to help

identify it. Use field guides as needed and ask the kids questions about the colour of the bird, the shape

of the bird, the size of its beak, the length of its tail, etc. to help identify it.

Recording your Observations Use the included observation sheet to record your observations. Keep track of the type of birds you see

and the number of birds you see (e.g. 5 black-capped chickadees, 1 herring gull). The observation sheet

lists birds that are commonly found in New Brunswick in the winter. How many can you find?

Optional Activities Round out your birding walk with some crafts or games! Pine Cone Bird Feeders Collect pine cones with the kids. Fold a piece of twine into a loop and tie it around the top of the pine cone. With a spoon, spread vegetable shortening (e.g. Crisco) or peanut butter (depending on allergies) over the surface of the cone. Roll the cone in bird seed and hang from a tree! You can also cut slices of orange, thread twine through the top of a slice, and hang them as another delicious treat! Find Your Flock Birds use their songs to communicate with each other, and will often find one another by listening to and following songs. Ask the kids to share any bird songs that they know. Choose 4 or 5 common birds (e.g. chickadee, crow, goose, humming bird) and share their songs with the kids, and have them repeat the songs back to you. Tell the kids to choose one of these birds, but to keep it a secret. On “GO”, the kids will have to sing the song of their bird and try to find others singing the same song – BUT, because birds use their ears to find each other and not their eyes, the kids must do this with their eyes closed!

3. Submitting your observations Send your Christmas Bird Count observations to the NatureKids Coordinator at Nature NB!

(naturekids@naturenb.ca)

Nature NB will submit your observations using eBird, a data collection tool. Nature NB will also compile

the results of all the NatureKids Club Christmas Bird Counts across the province, so you can see what

birds were found in other areas!

BIRD · OISEAU TALLY · COMPTE TOTAL BIRD · OISEAU TALLY · COMPTE TOTAL

Canada Goose

Bernache du Canada

Common Loon

Plongeon huardAmerican Black Duck

Canard noir

Northern Gannet

Fou de Bassan

Mallard

Canard colvert

Double Crested Cormorant

Cormoran à aigrettesSurf Scoter

Macreuse à front blanc

Great Blue Heron

Grand HéronWhite-winged Scoter

Macreuse bruneLong-tailed Duck

Harelde kakawi

Turkey Vulture

Urubu à tête rougeCommon Goldeneye

Garrot à oeil d'or

Northern Harrier

Busard Saint-MartinCommon Merganser

Grand Harle

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Épervier brunRed-breasted Merganser

Harle huppé

Bald Eagle

Pygargue à tête blancheRed-tailed Hawk

Buse à queue rousseRing-necked Pheasant

Faisan de Colchide

Rough-legged Hawk

Busse pattueRuffed Grouse

Gélinotte huppée

Merlin

Faucon émerillon

Ring-billed Gull

Goéland à bec cerclé

Rock Pigeon

Pigeon bisetHerring Gull

Goéland argenté

Mourning Dove

Tourterelle tristeIceland Gull

Goéland arctiqueGreat Black-backed Gull

Goéland marin

Great Horned Owl

Grand-duc d'AmériqueSnowy Owl

Harfang des neigesRazorbill

Petit Pingouin

Barred Owl

Chouette rayéeBlack Guillemot

Guillemot à miroir

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Petite Nyctale

Loons, Gannets, Cormorants, Herons · Les Mouettes,

Gannets, Cormorans, Hérons

Birds of Prey · Les Oiseaux de Proie

Owls · Les Hiboux et les Chouettes

Auks, Murres, and Puffins · Les Guillemots et Puffins

Geese and Ducks · Les Oies et Canards

Pheasants and Grouse · Les Faisans et Grouse

Pigeons and Doves · Les PigeonsGulls · Les Goélands

Christmas Bird Count!Recensement des oisequx de Noël!

CLUB:

DATE:

1

BIRD · OISEAU TALLY · COMPTE TOTAL BIRD · OISEAU TALLY · COMPTE TOTALFox Sparrow

Bruant fauveRed-bellied Woodpecker

Pic à ventre roux

Dark-eyed Junco

Junco ardoiséDowny Woodpecker

Pic mineur

White-throated Sparrow

Bruant à gorge blancheHairy Woodpecker

Pic chevelu

Song Sparrow

Bruant chanteurNorthern Flicker

Pic flamboyant

Northern Cardinal

Cardinal rougePileated Woodpecker

Grand Pic

Red-winged Blackbird

Carouge à épaulettesCommon Grackle

Quiscale bronzéGray Jay

Mésangeai du Canada

Brown-headed Cowbird

Vacher à tête bruneBlue Jay

Geai bleu

Baltimore Oriole

Oriole de BaltimoreAmerican Crow

Corneille d'Amérique

Pine Grosbeak

Durbec des sapinsCommon Raven

Grand Corbeau

House Finch

Roselin familierHorned Lark

Alouette hausse-col

Purple Finch

Roselin pourpréBlack-capped Chickadee

Mésange à tête noir

Red Crossbill

Bec-croisé des sapinsBoreal Chickadee

Mésange à tête brun

White-winged Crossbill

Bec-croisé bifasciéRed-breasted Nuthatch

Sittelle à poitrine rousse

Common Redpoll

Sizerin flamméWhite-breasted Nuthatch

Sittelle à poitrine blanche

Pine Siskin

Tarin des pins Brown Creeper

Grimpereau brun

American Goldfinch

Chardonneret jauneGolden-crowned Kinglet

Roitelet à couronne dorée

Evening Grosbeak

Gros-bec errantEuropean Starling

Étourneau sansonnetBohemian Waxwing

Jaseur boréalCedar Waxwing

Jaseur d'AmériquePine Warbler

Paruline des pinsYellow-rumped Warbler

Paruline à croupion jauneSnow Bunting

Bruant des neigesAmerican Tree Sparrow

Bruant hudsonienChipping Sparrow

Bruant familier

Songbirds · Les Oiseaux Chanteurs

Other · Les Autres

Woodpeckers · Les Pics

2