Student Stationary Count Instructions - Flying WILD Stationary Count Instructions ... Learn about pigeons, gulls, crows, ... warm-blooded), which means they can maintain

C O U N T Y O U R B I R D SFlying WILD: An Educator’s Guide to Celebrating Birds

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BirdSleuthStudent Stationary Count Instructions

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY A STATIONARY COUNT?A Stationary Count is a method of counting birds from a fixed area.

During a Stationary Count, observers stand in a designated count area for a certainperiod of time and record all the birds seen or heard from there.

STEP !: Identify the Stationary Count area.� With your teacher, define the boundaries of a count area that is 30 yards in diameter (that’s about

the size of a tennis court.� Give each Stationary Count area a unique name.

STEP 2: Record where, how, and when you count birds on the Tally Sheet.� Fill in the information in Boxes 1 and 2 on the Tally Sheet.

STEP 3: Look and listen for birds to identify and count.� Remember, you can count birds that are inside or outside the area as long as you see or hear

them while YOU are in the area.� Count time should be between 5 and 15 minutes long.� Identify the bird species you see and hear, and count how many of each species are in

the area.� Be careful not to count the same bird twice!

STEP 4: Record you bird data..� Record what you’ve seen on the Tally Sheet

in Box 3.� WHICH species you counted.� HOW MANY of each species you

counted.� Whether you reported all the birds you

identified.

STEP 5: Submit you data.� Visit the eBird website at www.eBird.org

to submit your data.

WHY ARE STATIONARY

COUNTS IMPORTANT?

Scientists use repeated stationary counts to

study how the species and numbers of birds in

an area change over time. Thank you for helping

our Lab of Ornithology researchers, and our con-

tinent-wide bird monitoring efforts, by becoming

citizen scientists and submitting your data!

I JUST SAW A COOL BIRD—BUT NOT DURING A STATIONARY COUNT!CAN I RECORD IT?

YES! It’s called a CASUAL observation, and reporting that bird is as easy as 1-2-3!1. Note the species of the bird.2. Record the DATE when and LOCATION where you saw the bird.3. Submit you data via the eBird site at www.eBird.org. Let us know it is a casual observation.

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BirdSleuthStationary Count Tally Sheet

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Bird Identification 1

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Bird Identification 2

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The activity included here is from BirdSleuth, an inquiry-based curriculum for middle-school students. Classrooms involved in the full BirdSleuth curriculum: � identify birds and learn the importance of habitat;� participate in citizen science—observing, collecting, and submitting data;� engage in the scientific process—investigating data and drawing conclusions;� and take part in authentic inquiry by designing and conducting their own research projects.

To learn more about BirdSleuth, contact the project’s leader at [email protected] orby calling (607)254-2489.

Here are additional resources about birds and bird watching:

EDUCATOR’S GUIDE TO BIRD STUDY: Educator’s resources (activities, bibliography,funding pointers), student research, and an overview of the Lab of Ornithology’s CitizenScience projects.

� www.birds.cornell.edu/schoolyard/index.html

ALL ABOUT BIRDS: Online bird guide, binocular guide, general bird and bird ID information. � www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/

BIRDSLEUTH: View and download the BirdSleuth Reports webzine (an online studentresearch journal), discuss bird education issues with other educators on the discussionboard, and find links to resources and information.

� www.birds.cornell.edu/birdsleuth/

URBAN BIRD STUDIES: Learn about pigeons, gulls, crows, and other urban birds.� www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/urbanbirds/

THAYER BIRDING SOFTWARE: Interactive software, photos, video clips, and quizzes. � www.ThayerBirding.com

DISCOVERY TRUNKS may be available from a local nature center, zoo, or department ofconservation office.

CORNELL LAB OF ORNITHOLOGY WEB SITE: www.birds.cornell.edu

SLIDE SETS: Sets of 15 slides of the most common feeder birds in your state are availablethrough Cornell’s Visual Services Department, for $35/slide set. For more information con-tact [email protected] (email) or 607/254-2450.

FOCUS CARDS: Focus Bird Cards are a great way to help students learn how to identify 36common birds! The front of each card contains a beautiful, full-color 5x8” image, while theback describes the habitat, food preferences, range, and breeding biology of the bird featured.The cards come with password access to a bonus online quiz containing video, sound, and morephotos of the focus card birds. It’s a great way for students to quiz themselves on birds bysound or sight. Order the cards at www.birds.cornell.edu/birdsleuth/about/order-form.

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TTaaxxoonnoommyyKINGDOM: Animalia (Animals)

PHYLUM: Chordata (Animals that have a dorsalhollow nerve cord, a notochord, and gill clefts.These three structures are found in the earlydevelopmental stages of all chordates.)

SUBPHYLUM: Vertebrata (Vertebrates:Animals with backbones)

CLASS: Aves (Birds)

ORDER: The class Aves is divided into approxi-mately 29 orders (some scientists use 24 or 27orders). For example, the order for perchingbirds is Passeriformes.

FAMILY: Each order is further divided intofamilies. For example, jays are a perching birdin the Corvidae family.

GENUS and SPECIES: Each family has a numberof genera (plural for genus) and each genususually has a number of closely related species.A species is a population of organisms of whichall the members are able to breed amongstthemselves.

The Eastern Blue Jay belongs to the genusCyanocitta and species cristata, hence, its Latinscientific name is Cyanocitta cristata. Using sci-entific names allows scientists all over the worldto be sure they are talking about the same speciessince common names are different among differ-ent languages. For a list of North American birdspecies that includes the scientific name, go to the American Ornithologists’ Union website atwww.aou.org.

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AAlthough birds are incredibly different insize, shape, color, and behavior, they all

share certain characteristics.

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All birds have feathers, and they are the onlyliving animals that have them. Feathers not onlyallow birds to fly, but they also keep their skindry, help to streamline the body for flight, andprovide excellent insulation.

Birds have many different types of feathers,from stiff contour feathers to soft and fluffydown feathers. The flight feathers, on the wingsand tail, form the flying surfaces and makeflight possible. The contour feathers cover thebird’s body and are lightweight yet strong.Underneath the contour feathers are the smalldown feathers that provide great insulation.

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AArchaeopteryx is perhaps one of the earliest birds in existence. Fossil records indicate thisbird lived during the age of dinosaurs, about 160 million years ago. In addition to its reptil-

ian features, such as sharp teeth, scales, and claws, Archaeopteryx also had feathers. Illustration courtesy of Joe Tucciarone

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The color of bird feathers varies tremendously.Some birds have protective coloration thathelps them blend in with their surroundings;others have brightly colored feathers that mayhelp them attract a mate or identify other birdsof the same species.

As feathers become worn and damaged, birdslose and replace their feathers through aprocess called molting. For most birds, moltingis a gradual process. They replace their feath-ers a few at a time each year, often after breed-ing season. (Sometimes when a large bird fliesoverhead you can see where one of its flightfeathers is missing.) Ducks, however, molt alltheir flight feathers so rapidly that they areunable to fly for a few weeks.

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All birds have two wings. The majority of birdsuse their wings to fly, but even flightless birds,like penguins and ostriches, use their wings.For example, the wings of a penguin help it toswim and the wings of an ostrich help it to bal-ance as it moves. A bird’s wing is shaped like anairfoil, thicker in front and thinner behind. Thiscauses the air to move slower over the lowersurface, which increases the upward pressure,or lift, which allows the bird to get into the airand fly. The shape and size of a bird’s wingsdetermine whether it is a fast or slow flyer. Forexample, soaring birds like eagles have long,wide wings; most songbirds have short wingsfor flying among trees and shrubs.

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All birds have a beak or bill (the words are usedinterchangeably). A beak is the bird’s jaw andits horn-like covering. It is bony inside, but theoutside is made of keratin, the same living,growing material that makes up your fingernails.Beaks come in many different shapes and sizes,and they are used for many different purposes.For example, hummingbirds have long hollowbeaks to get nectar from flowers; herons have

long, sharp beaks for spearing fish; and wood-peckers have strong beaks for chiseling wood.Beaks help birds to get food, tear or break thefood into pieces, drink water, gather nestingmaterials, preen feathers, feed their babies,protect themselves from enemies, and more.Birds do have tongues, but not teeth.

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All birds are endothermic (often referred to aswarm-blooded), which means they can maintaina relatively high and constant body temperatureindependent of the surrounding air and watertemperatures.

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All birds are hatched from hard-shelled eggs.The protective outer shell keeps the developingchick from drying out. Once the eggs are laid,they must be kept at the proper temperature orthe developing embryos will not survive.

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All birds have two legs and two feet. Dependingon the species, birds use their legs and feet formany different purposes, including walking,standing, hopping, running, perching, carryingthings, grabbing prey, swimming, wading, digging, or fighting.


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TThere are approximately 9,000 species of birds. In North America about 650 species

nest and about 150 migrate through each year.Birds’ ability to fly (in most cases) and uniqueskin covering (feathers) makes them one of themost successful vertebrates. Their variety allowsthem to exist in many places and in many forms,including hummingbirds, eagles, penguins, ducks,pigeons, peacocks, roadrunners, chickens, sparrows, and many more.

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Most of the bones in a bird’s body are hollow andthin, making them very lightweight. Many bonesare strengthened by internal struts or bracessimilar to the trusses inside the wing of an air-plane. In addition, many of the bones are fused(joined together), which provides extra strength.

KKeeeenn EEyyeess ii gghhttHaving excellent sight is extremely importantto birds as they fly among branches, search forfood, look for a mate, and watch for enemies.Birds have very large eyes that occupy a majorportion of the head. In addition, the eyes andoptic regions of the brain are well developed.Their eyesight can change quickly from distantto near vision. This is important as they are fly-ing among trees or swooping down from a highperch. It seems that birds can see color andhave very keen visual perception—they can tellobjects apart even when the objects are faraway but close to each other. Most birds havesight perception that is several times betterthan that of people.

The eyes of most birds are located on the sidesof their head, which gives them a large field ofvision. Some predatory birds, like owls, haveeyes in the front of their head, which gives themexcellent depth perception. Depth perceptionmeans that they can judge distances precisely.(Owls cannot move their eyes in their eye sockets,but can turn their heads 270°.)

EExxccee ll ll eenntt HHeeaarr ii nnggThe sense of hearing in birds is well developed.This helps them communicate with other birds,listen for danger, and locate prey. Birds haveone ear on each side of their head. You cannotsee the ears because they are typically smallholes covered with feathers.

PPoooorr SSeennssee oo ff SSmmee ll llBirds have two nostrils in their beaks. Although birds can see andhear well, most do not have a good senseof smell. A sense of smell may not be as important to animals that are adapted to spending most of their life off the ground. The turkey vulture is one exception, probablybecause its sense of smell leads it to food.

PPrreeeenn ii nnggBirds use their beaks to preen, or smooth andstraighten out, their feathers. If their feathersget rumpled and have breaks or gaps in them,they do not work efficiently for flight or forkeeping the bird warm and dry. Most birds havean oil gland located on their back near the baseof the tail. Birds press their beaks against thegland to get oil on their beak, then use theirbeaks to spread this oil over their feathers. Thishelps to condition and waterproof their feathers.

EE ff ff ii cc ii ee nn tt BB rr ee aa tt hh ii nn gg aa nn dd CC ii rr cc uu ll aa tt ii oo nnThe breathing and blood circulation systems inbirds are extremely efficient, which allowsthem to maintain a fast metabolism and highbody temperature and to fly. Birds have astrong heart that beats rapidly (400-500 beatsper minute for a small bird at rest compared to60-90 beats per minute for a human). Theirstrong heart efficiently circulates the blood carrying oxygen throughout the bird, which isnecessary for the strong flight muscles.

Birds have two small lungs with special airsacs attached to each one. These air sacs extendinto many parts of the bird’s body, including thehollow parts of some bones. This allows the birdto store more air. Air moves through the lungtissue of birds in only one direction, which ismuch more efficient than in humans where theair is inhaled and then goes back where it camefrom to be exhaled.


“In full flight, a bird’s wing can beat very rapidly (27 strokes per second in chickadees, morethan 50 strokes per second in hummingbirds). When a bird is flying at its normal pace, the flightmuscles develop oscillatory rhythms that are self-sustaining for brief periods, so that nervestimulation to muscles need not occur on each stroke. The effect is like a spinning bicycle wheel,which once in motion needs only an occasional boost to sustain a constant speed.”

—Sibley Guide to Birds

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Student Stationary Count Instructions - Flying WILD Stationary Count Instructions ... Learn about pigeons, gulls, crows, ... warm-blooded), which means they can maintain