Bird Study in the Classroom and Out

Maine students get involved in science through Project FeederWatch

By Brent Horton

This year, 75 schoolchildren in Maine collected data to help scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology study winter bird populations. As part of the National Science Foundation's Graduate Teaching Fellows program (NSF GK-12), students from four schools participated in the Lab's Project FeederWatch and conducted their own research to learn about birds and biology.

The students were introduced to birds on a field trip during which they assisted in capturing, banding, and measuring wild birds. Helen, a 7th-grader at Reeds Brook Middle School, later wrote, "I learned that ornithologists have to do a lot of work banding birds and writing their data down." Students learned about bird taxonomy, migration, seasonal ranges, and bill adaptation. They also learned to describe field marks to identify birds.

Drawings such as this Evening Grosbeak by Ben, a Washington Street School 4th-grader, helped students focus on field marks for bird identification.

After learning to identify more than 30 common birds in Maine, the students were ready to conduct Project FeederWatch in their own backyards. Each student performed biweekly counts, kept accurate data records, and maintained his or her own feeders. "My favorite part was getting to see the different kinds of birds and being able to record information that goes to an actual university such as Cornell," wrote Ryan, a 7th-grader at Reeds Brook Middle School.

For many of the students, this project was a great family activity, and their contributions added 75 new count sites to the existing 186 FeederWatch sites in Maine. These young FeederWatchers also tested their own hypotheses about the seed preferences of different bird species, combining and analyzing their data to determine which species prefer certain seed types. "I loved acting like scientists and writing all the information down the way they do," said Renee, a 7th-grader at Reeds Brook Middle School.

Kayla, a 4th-grader at Washington Street School, learned about birds by observing them, in addition to participating in classroom discussions.

Photo by Stephanie Ware

This joint project was made possible by the University of Maine's NSF GK-12 program, which places graduate students in science and technology in K-12 schools to enhance the level of interest and quality of experiences in science. By connecting the university and K-12 schools, the program hopes to create a scientifically literate society with citizens who will be able to make intelligent and sophisticated decisions about the increasingly complex questions raised by technology and science.

Seventh-graders from Reeds Brook Middle School record data while Brent Horton weighs a White-throated Sparrow captured in a mist net moments earlier.

Photo by Laura Mathews

As a graduate fellow, I found that Project FeederWatch served as a great tool to incorporate my passion for ornithology into hands-on lessons with genuine value beyond the classroom. The students collected and sent scientific data to researchers that will become part of a database that ornithologists will use for years. Although this project may not have inspired 75 new ornithologists, it is my hope that it instilled a lifelong appreciation for ornithology and science in general.

Brent Horton is a Ph.D. candidate in zoology at the University of Maine and a fellow in the NSF GK-12 program. Participating teachers were Linda Brooks (Lamoine Consolidated School), Rhonda Geaghan (Washington Street School), Lori Matthews (Reeds Brook Middle School), and Brenda Meehan (Brewer Middle School).

The author would like to thank the NSF GK-12 program, Blue Seal Feeds in Bangor, Maine, Dr. Rebecca Holberton's Laboratory of Avian Endocrinology at the University of Maine, and the staff of Project FeederWatch.

For permission to reprint all or part of this article, please contact Miyoko Chu, editor, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY, 14850. Phone: (607) 254-2451. email: mcc37@cornell.edu