June 2015: Bird Summer Activities

Hey everybody, and welcome to Caitlin’s Corner! This is the moment you all have been waiting for…summer break! Even though we are all relieved that this heavenly time of freedom has come, we can get bored over break after so many weeks. That is why I am here this month; I am going to provide you all with ideas for summer activities! Try giving these a spin by yourself or with a friend:

· Creating Art Out of Natural Materials: Feeling a bit artsy? What you can do is go to your nearest natural place, if that is your backyard, a park, or a place to go hiking. Gather different materials such as mulch, tree bark, grass, leaves, sticks, loose flower petals, weeds, seeds, etc. (with permission from an adult, of course). Then, you can glue some of these things together to create a masterpiece of your own, if it is meant to be a type of bird or not. For instructions on how to make the owl below, visit http://www.firefliesandmudpies.com/2014/08/30/bark-owl-craft/#more-6522.

· Read a Book: This is one of the best things to keep you entertained and your mind alert. I suggest going to your nearest library or bookstore and picking up any book on birds, whether it be fictional or not. Some top reads are National Geographic Angry Birds, National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America, and The Backyard Birdsong Guide (one is Eastern North America, while the other is Western North America).

· Make Your Own Human-Sized Bird Nest: Need a cool place to hang out? Well, you can build your own nest! To make this, you need to take a blown-up kiddie pool and cover it in brown paper. To be surrounded by eggs, you can blow up colorful balloons (without making yourself too light headed) or buy giant eggs at a craft store. You can add shredded paper and cardboard to make it look like a real nest, shown in the picture below. Feel free to also add toy/stuffed animal birds. Just don’t fill it with water! For complete instructions, visit http://creeksidelearning.com/kiddie-pool-birds-nest-and-story-time/.

· Make Your Own Hanging Bird Treat: One way to attract more birds is to make your own birdseed design. I have done my own in the past during Christmas time. They were in the shapes of a gingerbread man, a Christmas tree, and a snowman (as seen in the pictures). I recommend shapes such as a popsicle, sun, sunglasses, a starfish, or a flip-flop. To make these, you need to first get a bowl. Add seed mixtures to this bowl and put in two cups of birdfeed that has seeds that are small in size. Then add a one fourth cup of flour, putting in drops of water until it is a thick, gooey substance. Once here, take out chunks of seed and shape it how you please. Place it on plastic wrap, putting a hole through the part you want the rope to go through using a straw. Once it is dry, string a rope through the hole and tie the rope. Hang it outside for the birds to eat. For a slightly different way to do make the treat with the same idea, visit http://www.instructables.com/id/Hanging-Wild-Bird-Treat-A-different-kind-of-seed/.

· Go Bird Watching: This might not seem super fun at first, but it is a great experience that you will love! This is something you can do by picking up binoculars and scoping your backyard (the birdfeed you make can help attract birds for this). But, there are also parks that can have guided tours that you can attend. This is a great way to learn more about your favorite birds and about the ones you may not be super familiar with, too!

Well, I hope you found something that caught your interest! Have great start of summer, everyone, and see you next month on Caitlin’s Corner!