Teacher to teacher

Learning that’s for the birds

by Michael Fernandez

Nov 12, 2009 1:32 PM

Are you interested in helping to protect the environment? A novel way that you and your students can pitch in is by participating in a citizen-science project. After learning about the programs offered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, my colleague, Zamurrad Barron, and I decided to start a bird-watching club at our school. The Woodpeckers Club takes 10 weekend trips in and around New York City to observe birds and collect data. Our students not only learn about birds, but also get a chance to get some fresh air and enjoy some of the wild parts of the city.

For each of our bird-watching excursions, Ms. Barron and I accompany up to 12 students to a birding “hotspot” in New York. On our way to each locale, we’ll use some of the materials included in Cornell’s Birdsleuth curriculum to train our students how to identify birds. Equipped with a few sets of bird guides and binoculars, our students use checklists to record the birds that they spot. When we return to school the following week, we log in to Cornell University’s eBird program to add our findings to a global database that tracks birds. Finally, students have a chance to write a blog entry about the experience.

Beyond the connection to our science curriculum, bird watching is an activity that requires skills that translate to any classroom. In order to identify birds, students have to hone their powers of observation, looking for slight variations in color and size. As birds rarely stay still for long periods of time, persistence and patience are required. Birds can be identified not only by their appearance, but also by their calls, so active listening is a skill that all good birders need. One of our students has become an expert on the distinct calls of the blue jay and the northern cardinal. Determining a bird’s species also requires research; after one of our trips to Central Park, we spent the entire subway ride back to Brooklyn poring through guides until we identified the black-crowned night-heron that we had spotted on the edge of the Harlem Meer.

Bird-watching also exposes our students to the world outside their neighborhood. Our students brave the elements, steep hills, deep mud, slippery ice and numerous MTA service changes in order to find new birds. Of course, getting there and back is part of the magic of the experience. Imagine a dozen 7th-graders riding on Metro-North in stunned silence as they look out at the Hudson River and the Palisades. We also enjoy watching the planes land at JFK as we head to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and seeing the Statue of Liberty as we take the F train back from Prospect Park.

We were able to start the Woodpeckers Club last year thanks to a mini-grant from the UFT. To keep the program going this year, we’ll be seeking funding from Donors Choose. Travel costs are our greatest expense (roughly $40-$100 per trip), with discounted group rates available on Metro-North and the LIRR. A good bird guide such as the “Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America” costs about $20. Binoculars are helpful but not absolutely necessary — a good set runs in the hundreds of dollars, while inexpensive binoculars can be frustrating to use.

Last year, we spotted 45 different species. This time around, we’re hoping to see the bald eagles this winter at Croton Point Park and the red-tailed hawks in Prospect Park.

By participating in a citizen-science program, our students are making valuable contributions to the scientific community’s efforts to study global climate change. The data we enter into eBird will be used by researchers studying the impact of environmental change on bird populations. Some examples include studies on the effects of acid rain on birds and the spread of House Finch Disease across the United States. Each little contribution from bird watchers across the country helps scientists fill in the gaps in the big picture.

There’s so much to learn about our natural world, and it’s right here in New York City. If you prefer to keep it local, you can set up a bird feeder at your window and observe from the comfort of your classroom. If birds don’t interest you, there are dozens more citizen-science programs to choose from: measuring rainfall, UV radiation, clouds and much more. All you need is Internet access, some basic materials, and an interest in helping the scientific community. For more information on Cornell University’s citizen-science programs and the Birdsleuth curriculum, visit www.birds.cornell.edu.

Michael Fernandez teaches science at MS 584 in Brooklyn.

Want to share your successful classroom techniques with fellow teachers? We’d love to hear from you. Send an e-mail with your proposed column topic to Executive Editor Deidre McFadyen at dmcfadyen@uft.org.