Welcome to day one of Take It Outside! Every day this week, we will put out a blog post, an outdoor challenge for beginning and advanced birders, and a craft to help our community learn more about our feathered friends.
Today, we are exploring the common birds of the Pajarito Plateau.
Blog Post:
Volunteer and local birder extraordinaire Bob Walker did the research for PEEC and figured out what the 20 most commonly reported birds are in Los Alamos County! Most of the birds on this list are here year-round and learning to identify them is a great way to start your birding journey. Check out his blog post here.
Craft:
A fun way to get your child excited about birding is making toilet paper roll binoculars! You can decorate these as simply or intricately as you like and they are great for any age. For children three or younger, using just one toilet paper roll to make a monocular can work well. This simplifies things and allows their eyes to focus on one spot. Find instructions for today’s craft here.
Take these with you on today’s outdoor challenge!
Outdoor Challenge (Beginner):
Walk around your yard, neighborhood, or a nearby trail. Count the number of birds you see. How many different colors and sizes can you find? Look for a large, black Common Raven and a smaller, black, red, and white Spotted Towhee!
Outdoor Challenge (Advanced):
Head out and go birding! How many birds from today’s blog post can you find? Go above and beyond by submitting an eBird checklist.
Other Resources:
- Did you see any birds that weren’t in today’s blog post? Visit PEEC’s online nature guide to explore more birds in our area.
- Looking for a birding book you can take on the trail with you? We recommend this book for kids and beginning birders. This guide is perfect because you can search for birds by color. No experience is needed, just observe the color of the bird and search for it in the book.
Share Your Experience:
Submit at least three outdoor challenge reports this week for a chance to win a set of PEEC’s custom bird stickers! We’d love to see your photos, too. Please send them to takeitoutside@peecnature.org or share them on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #peectakeitoutside.
Join us tomorrow to explore more about birds!