Project FeederWatch
Look out the window, is it Superman? No! Is it a sasquatch? No! It’s birds from the Sonoran Desert! Mrs. Fraher and I have a dream for our students. We are always looking for ways to integrate technology into our classrooms and we found a grant that would help us accomplish our goals. The grant was through AZtea and CenturyLink. We wanted to involve our classrooms in a collaborative project, Project FeederWatch, that allowed students to participate and share their results with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Our class is currently working on a project because we were awarded the grant for $10,000! We used the money to purchase iPads, binoculars, bird seed, and bird guides to help students in collecting data for the project. Students are able to view bird species from our classroom windows and keep track in digital notebooks from their iPads. So far we have observed nearly 30 different species. Each day we put out fresh bird seed and take 15 minutes to observe the different bird species and record our data. Students are keeping journals of all the interesting things they see when they view. So far we have made two kinds of bird houses, one from reclaimed wood from a barn, and one from recycled materials found around the house. We have also done research on some of the different birds found in the desert, and created presentations to share with the class. Finally, we pulled in some are by teaching the students about sketching and creating some sketches of our favorite birds.
on February 14, 2012 at 12:09 pm
What a great project! I loved watching the slide show. I recognized the curve-billed thrasher, wth his bright orange eye. I hope you all get to see many more cool bird species this spring.
Leslie Boucher
on March 21, 2012 at 10:02 am
Dear Leslie,
Please don’t use your last name and by the way I knew it was a Curved Bill Thrasher. It looks cool right.Hope you liked our blog.
From,
Hannah
on March 21, 2012 at 9:46 am
Dear Leslie,
How much did you like the sideshow and the pictures? Do you like our blog? It is very fun Birdwatching. I can’t believe how many different types of birds I saw. Write me back.
Yours truly,
Cierra
on March 21, 2012 at 9:51 am
Dear Leslie ,
hi there thank you for visiting our blog . What do you like about our blog??????Don’t use your last name. so you can keep your identity safe. Please leave more comments thank you again
Love,
BAILEY T
on March 21, 2012 at 10:00 am
Dear Leslie,
I see a lot of different types of birds.I love the northern cardinal.What type of birds do you like?
Love,
Izabell
on March 21, 2012 at 10:05 am
Dear, Leslie
We have been listening and looking for birds and we have been recognizing them. Like you said, we have been doing the same thing. Have you recognized any other birds?
Sincerely,
Sarah
on March 21, 2012 at 10:05 am
Hello Lesile Boucher, I am one of Mrs.Gouchers students, and It is really fun ti sit there and watch those birds come up to her window. I am so glad to be watching them, do you now that we have to count species of the birds on our chart?
Mrs.Goucher’s Student, Jessica