Nests of a Few Common Birds of the Northeast Temperate Forestlands

A Few Common Birds and Their Nests EB

 

This is an activity / coloring page / reference drawing that can readily complement many biology lessons for young children.   It can be used for field trips focused on topics such as non-human architecture, birds in spring, parental care, or the importance of shelter and niche construction among certain species. The children I taught were usually very intrigued by bird’s building techniques and the variety of materials that “handless,” “uneducated” birds were able to harvest and shape into sturdy, protective homes!   Learning to look for nests during field trips and associating certain nest forms with certain birds adds so much to the experience of moving through the landscape. 

Because young people deserve to know more about other species besides  their human-given names, I recommend that teachers and parents give children abundant opportunities to really observe and interact with birds over time  in their particular ecosystems.  It can be very helpful to invest in some good books about bird behavior.  I happen to like the Donald and Lillian Stokes series on this topic.  Parental care, nest building, and family life in general are also beautifully described in the following two books:

Dunning, Joan. Secrets of the Nest: The Family Life of North American Birds. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.

Erickson, Laura, and Read, Marie. Into the Nest: Intimate Views of the Courting, Parenting, and Family Lives of Familiar Birds. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 2015.

Indeed, children’s views of their world will be transformed if they can begin to realize that every bird they see flying or hopping about is actually the dazzling  product of sustained love and attention on the part of his or her parent birds.   Each little bird (like all living things – and even non-living matter) is also the cumulative product of billions of years of evolution!

Within remarkable nests / cradles / structures like those featured on this activity sheet, these feathered wonders (living dinosaurs in terms of lineage)  survive so much.   Each bird a child sees has endured the difficult breakout from a tough, calcium carbonate shell, harsh weather, and, for many, hours or weeks of helplessness when every morsel of food had to be ferried diligently to the newborn by his or her devoted parents.  There is so much intergenerational love, care/work, and even teaching embodied in every living bird – and in many other living creatures as well!  An awareness of our fellow beings’ personal histories, deep histories, family bonds, architectural prowess, and everyday struggles & interactions enables youngsters to better appreciate the grandeur, complexity, and marvels of Life.