Discover Birds Curriculum Guide Available for Teachers!

A NEW resource is available for classroom teachers and home school parents to aid in using the Discover Birds Activity Book with core curriculum standards.

Gaynell Perry, a retired teacher and member of the Tennessee Ornithological Society has generously donated her time in the development of a Curriculum Guide for the Discover Birds Activity Book.  The guide corresponds to current Tennessee School Core Curriculum guidelines in math, science, English and art.

The guide can be found at the following link: Curriculum Guide and may be downloaded and printed as a pdf or as text document.

Enjoy this new resource and tell your fellow teachers and home-school parents about it!

Discover Birds Curriculum Guide
Discover Birds Activity Book
Discover Birds Program
Tennessee Birds

Nature's Way Students Thank Discover Birds with Art!

I love art, especially art inspired by nature and birds.  It is so much fun to receive "thank you art" in notes from the students we visit--art that is freshly inspired by spending time with birds!  Take a look and you'll see what I mean.

Nature's Way Montessori School
KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society
Discover Birds Program
Discover Birds Activity Book
KTOS on Facebook
Tennessee Birds
Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds
Cornell's free beginning birding app--Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Audubon Mobile Field Guides

Discover Birds Visits Nature's Way Montessori School

February 28th, on a very cold, sunny morning, the KTOS Discover Birds volunteers presented the Discover Birds program to 47 students and their teachers at the Nature's Way Montessori School in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The program was presented in three parts with a bird slide show, bird treasure program and guided bird walks, with the students rotating through the sections in three groups.  Above, Billie Cantwell, President of the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS) introduces birds to the students with images of birds and stories about birds in her own yard.    

The two screech owls above live in Billie's yard during breeding season.  The female lays eggs in the owl box on the left.  The male stays with her perching near by to protect their nest.  Screech owls commonly roost in cavities, so Billie bought another owl box so he could roost in a cavity while guarding his nest!

Paula Schneeberger, below, talks with students about bird-related items she has collected in her treasure chest.  Many items, such as feathers, can be held by the students for a closer look.  Others, such as owl pellets, are encased in plastic so they can be passed around.  

Below, Paula holds up a feather and talks about how the individual feather parts or filaments can separate leaving gaps.  Each filament also has barbs that helps the filaments hold together.  Birds take care of their feathers by preening.  Paula compares preening to a zipper on a jacket.  Preening zips the filaments back together!

For the outdoor section, students and volunteers put on jackets, hats and gloves to participate in bird walks around the nature trails and grounds of Nature's Way Montessori School.

Above, Kelly Sturner talks with students as they take turns looking at a mourning dove through the birding telescope or "scope".  Below, Chis Welsh shows students a bird in his cell phone "app".  The program shows several images of the birds and also the sounds and songs of each species.

Above, Oliver Lang shows students how to "cup" their ears to help them hear bird sounds better.  One of the birds spotted were a pair of mourning doves in a pine near the fence.  When one of the birds dropped to the ground on the other side of the fence, the students moved very slowly and carefully, closer to the bird.

 One of the students reported back, "It's picking up sticks!"

The students got some good looks from close range because they were careful to be quiet and move slowly as they watched the bird.  One of the students commented, "I've never been that close to a bird before!"

Below, Oliver Lang shows students more information about a bird in his mobile bird field guide (phone app).

While spotting birds on their bird walks, students referred to their Pocket Naturalist Guides on Tennessee Birds donated to the Discover Birds Program by Waterford Press.  Students also found birds they were familiar with from their own yards, as well as, the birds they saw on their bird walks.

Mourning doves, robins and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker were among the birds found by students

Students were encouraged to look for special characteristics as they viewed the bird through the scope. Features like the color of the eye and the beak help students remember the bird and recognize it again.

All of the students enjoyed carrying and referring to their Pocket Naturalist Guide on Tennessee Birds for reference and to get a another good look at the bird.  Below, students compare what they see on the guide and help each other locate the bird they are discussing.

At the end of the program the students and teachers were presented with complimentary Discover Birds Activity Books provided by KTOS.  It was a great morning of great birding!

A special thank you to Nature's Way and to Discover Birds volunteers, Billie Cantwell, Paula and Doug Schneeberger, Linda Denton, Kelly Sturner, Oliver Lang, and Chris Welsh for a great morning of fun with birds and learning!

For more information about the Discover Birds Program contact Billie Cantwell at bfcantwell@gmail.com. To order printed activity books, contact Cyndi Routledge at routledges@bellsouth.net. To download and print the activity book, visit:  The Tennessee Ornithological Society--Educational Resources page.

Links and Resources:

Nature's Way Montessori School
Waterford Press Pocket Guides--Tennessee Birds
KTOS--Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society
KTOS on Facebook
Discover Birds Program
Discover Birds Activity Book
Feather parts--filaments
Mourning Dove
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Tennessee Birds
Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds
Cornell's free beginning birding app--Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Audubon Mobile Field Guides

Waterford Press Pocket Guide a Big Hit with Discover Birds Students!

A big THANK YOU  to Waterford Press, Inc. for their generous gift of 25 plastic-coated Tennessee Birds Naturalist Guides for use in the KTOS Discover Birds Program!

The bird guide provides a pictorial description of 145 species of birds commonly found in Tennessee, grouping them according to similarity, and including the bird's scientific name and size.  The pocket-size guide folds out to twelve pages and is a perfect identification tool for our students to carry with them on our Discover Birds bird walks.

As our students spot birds on our bird walks, they sometimes have a chance to see the birds close up through a birding telescope.  After they've seen the bird or even when the bird flies before they have a chance to get a good look, they are able to find the bird in their pocket field guide and remember its colors and where they saw it.

It is a real treat to see the students locating birds in the guide and helping each other locate the bird.  They also recognize birds they have seen in their own yards.  

The Discover Birds Program volunteers hand out the bird guides to students at the beginning of the birdwalk and collect them at the end for use with the next student group. "We are never upset when we come up short," says KTOS President, Billie Cantwell. "It means someone is HOOKED on birds!"

Our special thanks, again, to Waterford Press for this generous contribution to the Discover Birds Program! Visit the Waterford Press website to learn more about their Naturalist Pocket Guides

Waterford Press Pocket Guides--Tennessee Birds
Discover Birds Program
Discover Birds Activity Book

A fun Interactive Bird Poster

This fun interactive poster can be found on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website. Just click on the bird and the bird's name will appear and you will hear its song!  The Gray Jay is not found in Tennessee but most other birds can be found in Tennessee depending on your region and the habitat.

The bird songs are from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the art is contributed by Bill Reynolds.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources bird song interactive poster

Links and Resources:

Cornell Lab of Ornithology songs and sounds of birds
Some common birds in Tennessee 
Tennessee Watchable Wildlife Birds
Vickie Henderson Art-- my blog about birds and bird art
Discover Birds Activity Book 
More about the Discover Birds Program on the TOS website
Vickie's Sketchbook--bird art with an occasional other

Discover Birds and the Tennessee Aquarium

The Discover Birds Activity Book and program are now linked to the Tennessee Aquarium "Just for Kids" page!  You will find "Just for Kids" under the education tab on the Tennessee Aquarium's home page.  On this page you will find many resources to make learning about nature fun for kids.  

The link to the Discover Birds Activity Book takes you to the Tennessee Ornithological Society website where you will find information about the Discover Birds Program and activity book. Information about where to get printed books and a printable pdf are available on this page.

Located on the banks of the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, the Tennessee Aquarium inspires wonder for the natural world and showcases animals in their natural habitat from mountains to the sea. Explore some of the fun resources and activities available on their education page!

Discover Birds Program Featured in Tennessee Conservationist Magazine!

The January/February issue of the Tennessee Conservationist Magazine has just arrived in the hands of subscribers and it includes my article on the Discover Birds Program!  

Inspired by the Discover Birds Activity Book, and prompted by a desire to provide young people with a memorable introduction to birds, our team of volunteers from the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Association  began visiting area schools in 2012, donating books to all of the classrooms of a single grade level, and taking students and their teachers through a three-part birding program.   The students are divided into smaller groups and on a rotating schedule, they experience a slide show presentation of Tennessee birds and their songs and a show-and-tell treasure chest of bird related items, such as, talons, feathers and nests. They also learn to identify birds in their schoolyard through guided bird walks with a close-up view of birds through birding telescopes.

As the writer and illustrator of the Discover Birds Activity Book, I am delighted with the program and the excitement I see when children and teachers are introduced to birds in this memorable way.  

The Discover Birds Activity Book includes science, math and language activities contributed by a team of educators including members of the National Intitute of Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, and individual naturalists and educators.  Using actual data from the Geological Survey's annual Breeding Bird Surveys, students learn to graph bird population fluctuations and consider what may be influencing these changes.  Another activity includes a fun decoding math formula to learn which birds are the champions of speed, distance and size.  In other activities, students are introduced to the interesting traits that make birds unique members of the wildlife community and among the most fascinating to observe and study.

A special "thank you" goes to editor, Louise Zepp, for including this article in her award winning magazine published by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation . The issue is available for $3.25 and can be ordered at The Tennessee Conservationist Magazine website.

Discover Birds bird walks have also been offered to scout groups and home education groups.

Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society's education page to find more information about the program and the Discover Birds Activity Book, including an online version of the book.

For more information about the Discover Birds Program, contact Billie Cantwell at bfcantwell@gmail.com or Cyndi Routledge at routledges@bellsouth.net.  For information about obtaining printed books, contact Cyndi Routledge at routledges@bellsouth.net.

BHEA Students and Parents Discover Birds

On November 21st, the The Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS) and the Discover Birds Program hosted 33 students and their parent-teachers from the Blount Home Education Association at Ijams Nature Center for a great afternoon of discovering birds!

The event started with a bird slide show presentation by KTOS President, Billie Cantwell, introducing students to the variety of birds they can find in Tennessee, including some of their nests and eggs.

Paula Schneeberger, above, shows the students "bird treasures" and passes many items around to students for a closer look. Above, Paula holds a display of owl pellets and points out one that contains a complete tiny bird skull for the students to notice. Other items include bird eggs, nests, talons and feathers.  

Below, a student compares the talons of a Harpy Eagle and a Golden Eagle.  

After the indoor program and a break, everyone gathered at the Ijam's outside pavillion to enjoy a beautiful Red-tailed Hawk exhibited by senior naturalist and author, Stephen Lyn Bales.  

Red-tailed hawks live in Tennessee year-round and many hawks from northern areas come south to Tennessee to spend the winter.  They hunt mice, voles and other small mammals by perching in an open area to find them with their keen eyesight.  We often see them perched on posts and tree limbs along the side of roads and fields.  

The hawk and its interesting story inspired lots of questions.  

Next, the students had the opportunity to look at birds through the birding telescopes, also called birding "scopes".  

A pair of Mourning Doves found perched on tree limbs at the edge of the field became the first birds they viewed and the birds remained still for everyone to get good looks.  

Photo credit:  Billie Cantwell

Mourning Doves (below) are named for their soft song that is often considered a sad or mournful song. They are ground feeding birds and will sometimes come to feeders and eat the seeds dropped on the ground or visit the bird bath for a drink.

Photo credit:  Billie Cantwell

Photo credit:  Stephanie Bowling

Below, Oliver Lang, Discover Birds volunteer, shows students the field guide he carries to help him identify birds.

After viewing the birds near the pavillion, the group divided into three smaller groups for bird walks.  Each group took a different trail and spotted birds to view with the scope, giving them an opportunity to enjoy the different kinds of birds found on the many acres at Ijams Nature Park.

Below, Kelly Sturner, Discover Birds volunteer, talks with students about birds and how to find them.

Quiet voices and keeping your eyes alert for movement are some of the best ways to find birds.

Chris Welsh, below, takes his group on a wooded hike along the River Walk Trail.  

Photo credit:  Billie Cantwell

Photo credit:  Stephanie Bowling

Photo credit:  Stephanie Bowling

Above, a wintering Hermit Thrush was one of the great finds on their bird walk.  Be sure to click the link and listen to this bird's beautiful song

Photo credit:  Stephanie Bowling

Photo credit Stephanie Bowling

Each of the participating students received a Discover Birds Activity book to help continue their excitement and learning about birds.  

For more information about the Discover Birds Program contact Billie Cantwell at bfcantwell@gmail.com.

To order printed activity books, contact Cyndi Routledge at routledges@bellsouth.net. 

To download and print the activity book, visit:  The Tennessee Ornithological Society-Educational Resources page.

Links and Resources:

Discover Birds Program
Discover Birds Activity Book
Hermit Thrush
Mourning Dove
Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS)
KTOS on Facebook
Tennessee Ornithological Society
Blount Home Education Association
Stephen Lyn Bales
Ijams Nature Center
Tennessee Birds 
Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--Birds
Cornell's All About Birds--ID birds and their songs