Celebrate Urban Birds NYC!

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Celebrate Urban Birds! with Cornell University Cooperative Extension - NYC.

Cornell University Cooperative Extension (CUCE) NYC  has led many NYC schoolchildren in the study of NYC birds.

Extension educator, Susan Cheng asks students to match pictures of birds to their silhouettes on a Celebrate Urban Birds!

The students learned how to identify birds by familiarizing themselves with the bird’s silhouettes and unique physical characteristics (color, pattern, beak/tail shape)  To download  pdf  instructions on 'How-to make a Celebrate Urban Birds ID board' click here.  This board can be used by individuals who approach a table and want to learn the birds or used as part of a Bird ID game with a group. 

Next step...get outdoors and look for those birds during the 10-minute Celebrate Urban Birds  observation.  The data sheet is inside the Celebrate Urban Birds kit, and more than one person can participate in the same observation. 

Students using their new bird identification skills in the field by surveying the bird populations around a pond.

Students especially enjoye learning about the ecological role and behavior of birds, such as the impact of invasive species on native populations and that male birds tend to have brightly colored feathers so they can attract mates.

The interactive experiences with CUCE teaches students how an experiment is conducted and how they can be citizen-scientists.   The Cornell Lab of Ornithology will use the data the students collected to study how birds interact with green spaces in cities.  One such  event was held at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden.

Visit the Cornell NYC  Buzz blog for more about the event! 

New York City has been celebrating its urban birds with Cornell University Cooperative Extension – NYC (CUCE-NYC) since the arrival of spring.

On April 26, 2009, Central Park visitors learned about urban bird species at Central Park’s Earth Day event. CUCE-NYC educators created a bird matching game for the event, using the bird silhouette poster from the Celebrate Urban Birds! (CUB!) packet and bird picture cards made from photos on the website. Children and adults alike delighted in the challenge of identifying the project’s 16 target species in an interactive and engaging way. Throughout the day, adults, children, and families stopped by the CUCE-NYC Earth Day booth to learn more about city birds and to put their bird identification skills to the test.

On May 5, 2009, New York City school children gathered at Roberto Clemente State Park, a waterfront park along the Harlem River in the Bronx for experiential bird education. Approximately 200 students from Bronx elementary schools enjoyed a live “Mad About Raptors” show and then joined CUCE-NYC educators to learn about urban birds. Educators led groups of students in 10-minute bird surveys to collect data about the park’s birds and in discussions on how rivers, vegetation, and paved areas influence the composition of bird populations in an urban park.

On May 9, 2009, CUCE-NYC brought CUB! to Thomas Jefferson Park in East Harlem as part of the Americorps Service Week Opening Day. CUCE-NYC trained 30 Americorps volunteers working in New York City after-school programs on leading youth in environmental learning in urban neighborhoods. Volunteers learned how to conduct explorations of neighborhood green spaces, including community gardens. They also learned how to incorporate CUB! activities and bird surveys into neighborhood-based environmental learning. The day ended with the volunteers conducting five bird surveys in Thomas Jefferson Park.

Read about Cornell Cooperative Extension NYC 2007 and 2008 events.