Requirements:

To earn this interest project you must complete two Skill Builder activities, one Technology, one Service Project, and one Career Exploration activity. Also complete two activities from any category that you choose.

Skill Builders:

1. Check with a local town, county or national park. See if they have any programs about birding or local birds. Attend a program or get someone to talk to you about birding and bird watching. The American Birding Association may also be able to help you. https://www.aba.org/

2. Every state has a state bird. Put together a booklet, powerpoint or poster showing all of these birds. (If you do a poster you might include a map of the United States and draw a line from the birds to the states.) What bird is used by the most states as a state bird?

3. Research ways to make a birdfeeder or birdhouse out of recycled materials. You can make them out of milk cartons, plastic bottles and many other materials. See if everyone in the troop can come up with a different design. This is one site where you can get ideas http://www.lushome.com/15-smart-recycling-ideas-ma...

4. Study three types of birds that live in your area. Include at least one predator, a bird that preys on other birds or animals. Share your findings with your troop.

5. Test what happens when you have too many predators. Find a field or yard where you can get permission to scatter a big bag of sunflower seeds. The bigger the space the better it will be. Choose one girl to be the predator. Have your leader shout “Go!” and the other girls should start picking up seeds, pretending they are gathering food. The predator must tag someone. If the predator is coming the others must stop gathering food to avoid being tagged. If they are tagged they become a predator, too. You will soon see that the more predators you have the harder it is for the others to gather enough food. When everyone is caught discuss this.

6. Listen to bird calls on a tape or CD. Try to learn to identify five different birds by their call or song. Birders identify birds by sight, but also by sound.

7. Go to a museum or nature center to see birds. Create a work of art of your favorite bird. You can draw, paint, make your bird of clay or use any other medium you choose. Or make a collage with pictures of your favorite birds. If you go to a nature center, take photographs and make a display of them.

8. Find out what kinds of birds are commonly kept as pets. Choose one and learn about that particular type’s care. Prepare a care chart on what would need to be done to raise and care for that type of bird or if you have a bird as a pet keep a chart on how you cared for it for a week.

Technology:

1. Learn about statistics. See if any local park or nature center will let you assist in counting birds or make a graph about the birds in your area. The Audubon Society may be able to help. http://www.audubon.org/

2. Has loss of habitat affected birds in your area? Find out about this. See if you can help restore habitat endangered birds.

3. Find out what you should do in your area if you find a wild bird that needs help. Check with local wildlife refuge or animal shelter. What happens if a wild bird comes in injured? Based on their information, write a short story about a rehabilitated animal. Or find books about a rehabilitate bird and read them to younger troops. Tell them what to do if they find an injured bird. Some examples of books are: Maggie the One-Eyed Peregrine Falcon by Christie Gove-Berg, Esther the Eaglet: A True Story of Rescue and Rehabilitation by Christine Gove-Berg, The Birds of Pandemonium by Michael Raffin, A Bird, A Girl and a Rescue by J.A. Myhre or find another book on your own.

4. Help younger scouts learn about birds. Introduce them to birding in your area. Take them with you to visit a site where they can bird watch. Play the predator game or do an art project with them about birds.

5. What equipment do birders in your part of the country use and need? Do they use special cameras, a spotting scope, binoculars, or tripods? Learn how to use one of these things. For one example, learn what the specification numbers on binoculars stand for, how to adjust the eyepiece and how to focus to identify birds. See if you can find a copy of a magazine with pictures of birds. What does it say about the pictures and the photographers? Birds and Blooms, Bird Watching and Living Birds are some suggestions of magazines for you to look for.

6. Find out about the mechanics of flight. Learn how birds fly. Or find out what birds do NOT fly. Where and how do they live?

7. Research illnesses birds might be susceptible to. Find out about vaccines and health maintenance for pet birds.

8. Find out how banding wild birds help scientists keep track of their numbers. What kind of trap is used in banding birds? How are they designed?

9. Some birds migrate. How do you think they know when to leave and when to come back? Find out if any birds in your area migrate. For many bird species it is a straightforward reaction to the availability of resources. Seasonal change is often involved. This is one of the most dependable features of our planet. Learn about these changes and how they affect the birds.

10. Learn to use a bird field guide. Select five birds from your area and learn about their size, field marks, migratory patterns, flight patterns, winter and summer range and breeding. You can make a power point, report or a booklet to share your facts with others.

Career Exploration:

1. The study of birds is called Ornithology. Visit a local zoo and see if someone who takes care of the birds will talk to you about what they do, or see if you can get them to visit a meeting or call you during a meeting. Ask them what training they have had to do their job. How did they get hired?

2. Do any colleges near you offer programs in Ornithology, Wildlife Rehabilitation or Wildlife Management? What do you have to do to get into a program like that? Would you like to do that? Why or why not? Discuss this with your troop.

3. Find out what is required to become a vet. What education and experience do you need to work with birds in general or wild birds? See if a vet will come and talk to your troop or let you come visit them.

4. Find a photographer, artist or art exhibit that specializes in birds. Either observe the artist or do research on them. See if you can learn about their training and why they chose birds as a subject. Arthur Morris, Paul Nelson, John James Audubon, Brande Arno, Kim Diment, Lynn Gould, Kitty Harvill and Janie Penny are all suggestions