Libraries across the nation are participating in "Celebrate Urban Birds!"

by hosting workshops, artsy celebrations,  family book readings, and much more.

 

Check out what other Libraries are doing:
Santa Clara Library ,Santa Clara, CA,
Easttown Library, Berwyn, PA 

Students read a book entitled 'Wringer' and researched pigeons and conservation issues in preparation for a debate, with the support of their homeroom teacher, school librarian, and a teleconference with staff at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Celebrate Urban Birds has ideas for libraries:

 1. Create a book display 

• Nature in the Neighborhood by Gordon Morrison -- This book is a beautiful guide to nature in the neighborhood. The author focuses on wildlife found in an ordinary neighborhood throughout the seasons.
• Songbird Journeys: Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds by Miyoko Chu – learn about the lives of songbirds as they move from continent to continent with the seasons

• The Black & Brown Faces in America's Wild Places: African Americans Making Nature and the Environment a Part of Their Everyday Lives  by Dudley Edmonson -- Photographs and interviews with people of color who are deeply involved with our natural spaces. Insightful and inspiring.

 

 

• Birds of Central Park by Cal Vornberger --Vornberger captures the beauty of wild birds in the heart of New York City.
  

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  The Audubon Society Guide to Attracting Birds: Creating Natural Habitats for Properties Large and Small by Stephen W. Kress -- Includes a wonderful  variety of practical techniques and resources for habitat improvement.
  
  

• City Birding : True Tales of Birds and Birdwatching in Unexpected Places –  by Mark Allison, Curtis Badger, Mary Durant, Mark S. Garland, James Gorman, Paul A Johnsgard, John Nichols, Marienn Winn, Julie Zickefoose – You’ll be amazed at what species of birds can still be found in the ‘remaining pockets’ of habitat present in heavily urbanized areas.
  
  
• Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird - by Andrew D. Blechman
  Pigeons: you either love them or hate them! Are they just "rats with wings" or much more? Learn all about them in this wonderful, comprehensive, and very readable book.

 

• Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder-by Richard Louv 
   
  There is a growing disconnect between children and nature. Children's lives are out of balance, with little free time. They are spending most of their time in structured indoor activities and less and less time simply playing outdoors. People protect what they value, and they value what they know and appreciate. If children don't cherish the natural environment, there is a good chance that they won't grow up to be good stewards of the earth that sustains us.
 
• Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park by Marie Winn (1999) -- Highlights the saga of Pale Male a Red-tailed Hawk that takes residence in the heart of New York City.
• Life of The Skies: Birding at the End of Nature, by Jonathan Rosen, who birdwatches in Central Park frequently   

2. Distribute Celebrate Urban Bird Kits to the public

Involve your community in a great project that gets people of all ages outdoors, teaches about birds and conservation in a fun and easy way, gets the families involved in the process of science, and encourages community action. Register for free and let us know how many kits you will distribute. We'll send them to you for free! Email us at urbanbirds@cornell.edu for more information or to obtain more kits.

3. Hold a book reading

Grandmother’s Pigeon - Louise Erdrich

Great read-aloud books include:

Flute’s Journey by Lynne Cherry – A young Wood Thrush named Flute makes its first migration from its nesting ground in a Maryland forest to its winter home in Costa Rica, and back again.

Urban Roosts: Where Birds Nest in the City by Barbara Bash –  Explore how 13 species of birds have successfully adapted to city habitats.

Grandmother’s Pigeon by Louise Erdrich – An eccentric grandmother leaves behind three old eggs that hatch into Passenger Pigeons. Blends fantasy and science.

Gracie, the Public Gardens Duck,  by Judith Meyrick, Illustrations by Richard Rudnicki 

Gracie is used to human food and knows how to get fed.  What happens when her friends stop feeding her, for her own good?  Will she learn to eat like a wild duck?  What duck food does she find in the public gardens?

 

On Meadowview Street, by Henry Cole

   Have you ever wondered what would happen if you let your lawn grow?  Henry Cole tells a wonderful story as 'lawn' becomes 'habitat' for all kinds of interesting creatures and beautiful birds.  And everything in the story can actually be done in your own neighborhood!

A Nest for Celeste, by Henry Cole

A novel for young readers, featuring a mouse named Celeste, who lives in a big plantation house in Louisiana, searches for a cozy home, makes friends with painter Audubon's apprentice, sees Passenger Pigeons and an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and many more birds! 

 

Signs of Jays by Linda Kurtz Kingsley-a children's picture book about 2 Scrub Jay babies who get rescued, rehabilitated, and then mainstreamed back into the wild...Great book for  children with disabilities, especially relevant to hearing-impaired kids or any kids who want to learn about children with disabilities.  Hand signs for some of the key words are included.  Gorgeous illustration painted by Linda Kurtz Kingsley.  Contact her web site to obtain book. 

 

Our Education Department's Children's Book Recommendations

will give you a good list to use as resources and for story hours. You can check out more of the Education Dept book resources by clicking here to go to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Education Dept web site. Here's the Education Dept  Fall '09  Read Aloud book list, and the Winter Spring 2010 Read Aloud list

 

4. Host a movie night about birds and conservation

Here are some movies to consider:

Pale Male  a film by Frederic Lilien – Watch incredible footage of Pale Male a daring Red-tailed Hawk that takes residence in the heart of New York City

The Life of Birds by David Attenborough

The Life of Birds hosted by David Attenborough
An incredible movie! It highlights birds across the globe (over 300 different species). The movie pushes filming technology to the limits. Beautiful, wonderful detail! See the world from a bird's point of view.

Winged Migration (2001) Directed by Jacques Perrin -- Fly along with the birds as they migrate through 40 countries. This is a breathtaking film!

An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore -- This film integrates the science of global warming with Al Gore's lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change.

 

 

5. Host a workshop

Involve a local university, bird club, pigeon racing club, gardening association, or habitat restoration organization. Host a talk or series of talks that feature urban greening, birds, and the environment.

 

 

 

 

6. Celebrate the Arts!

• Find art activities to help your patrons connect with nature. Activities include fabric collages, tiles, bird mobiles and much more.
  

• Hold an art or photography contest featuring urban nature and host a "gallery showing" 

  Highlight some of the wonderful work you receive by hosting a photo or art gallery. Make sure to include a youth section. Send the Lab of Ornithology some of your entries.

 

• Sponsor a "bird art" treasure hunt in your library or neighborhood
  Participants may have to find clues, artifacts, or components to solve a mystery or to create an original work of art! Pair up with local artists to make this event more meaningful.

• Create a story that requires that children find clues outside by looking at their neighborhood birds or habitat.

  

8.  Connect with Sound

Find activities to help your patrons connect with bird sounds.

 

• See a lesson plan by Colleen McLinn, from Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds and get close and personal with bird sounds.
• Learn more about identifying birds: take the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Bird Quiz!
• Hold a workshop on creating podcasts. Learn about Urban Bird Sounds Project a project led by youth integrating technology and nature. Download podcasts by youth from Codman Academy Charter Public School, Dorchester, MA
• Take students outside to record bird calls on their cell phones, watch the music video created by middle school students in Chennai, India, with the help of their teacher, AJ Mithra, using bird animations by Nancy Landrum
  

 

Allow patrons to check out a "Celebrate Urban Birds!" kit, bird guide, and binoculars.

Please enclose a new data form each time a patron checks out a kit. You might even collect all the data forms and then send them along to the Lab of Ornithology. Encourage everyone to participate and contribute to science.

 

9. Other ideas