My cat loves to sit at the window and watch the birds. He is more than happy to lay there for hours, watching all the birds as they fly and eat and just hang out. But birding isn’t just for cats. It’s a great activity for kids too. Author Kristine Rivers takes her lifelong love of bird-watching and helps kids aged 8-12 get started and get excited about the hobby in Exploring Birds Activity Book for Kids.

Rivers starts with the basics, showing kids how to get together a backpack with a journal and colored pencils, sunscreen and bug spray, water and snacks, and a first aid kit for minor accidents. Then she teaches them how to use binoculars and some basic bird words. There’s even a bird bingo card to for getting started using those observation skills that are so important to birding.

From there it’s all about building more observation skills. From noticing the size and characteristics of a bird to making quick sketches to noticing how they sound, from seeing how they behave in a variety of weather to understanding how the part of the country you’re in effects the behavior of the different species of birds. Kids can learn about the anatomy of a bird, understanding how their physical features help them survive, and about the life cycle of a bird. They can even learn how different birds try to attract a mate.

There are also lots of fun ideas for activities to get kids into the mind of a bird, from building their own nest from materials they find outside to trying to pick up different types of foods with tools that could approximate a beak (like tweezers or chopsticks). There are even suggestions to get them involved beyond their own backyard, like helping with the Great Backyard Bird Count that happens every February, counting the birds they see and then going online to add their data to that of bird counters across the country, offering information to the scientists who track the migration patterns every year.

With an emphasis on conservation, there are ideas for creating a habitat that will attract birds and keep them safe, building a birdhouse or birdbath, planting bird friendly flowers, or mixing up a batch of birdseed. There are even tips for caring for an injured bird, and for knowing when to intervene and when to leave the bird alone.

Exploring Birds Activity Book for Kids has lots of pages for the kids to fill in themselves, from sketching to making up a new species of bird to listing all the birds they see to writing a comic strip about their bird. There are games to help them understand the potential dangers of migration and to act out the different species of birds for others to guess. Kids who are interested in nature and science will find this a great starting point for a lifetime of observing birds and understanding the world they live in.

I thought this was a really charming book of ideas and activities, with lots of fun ideas to get kids involved with nature and to instill a lifelong love of birds. This would be a great gift!

Egalleys for Exploring Birds Activity Book for Kids were provided by Rockridge Press through the Callisto Media Publisher’s Club, with many thanks.