Summer Day Camp Blog

Bring on the Birds

Ecology Day Camp, Week 6

This week we got out with our binoculars to explore Audubon's forests, fields, and ponds in search of our avian neighbors. We played so many games, went on daily bird walks, and learned all about bird songs to celebrate what makes a bird a bird and what makes them fascinating to us.

Monday was all about birding basics. We split up and went to different bird stations where we did activities around nest building, bird calls, and a bird walk. In the afternoon to cool off we went to the brook.

students learning bird songs
Photo: Audubon Vermont
campers at the brook
Exploring the brook! Photo: Audubon Vermont

Tuesday we talked about different parts of a bird and got to make our own cardboard beaks. We then measured our wingspan and found out what bird we were. Some birds has some very long wingspans. Of course we went on our daily bird walk, did some shelter building, and went to the river

Bird walk
Going on our daily bird walk Photo: Audubon Vermont

Wednesday we went on a field trip to the Birds of Vermont Museum. We got to see the hundreds of bird carvings that were all done by hand and see some of the birds we have been seeing on our walks. In the afternoon we made the worlds longest worm paper chain and went to the brook caught crayfish and built dams.

Students crafting
Making the worlds longest worm! Photo: Audubon Vermont

Thursday was a bit of a rainy day but that didn’t stop us. We went to beaver pond caught leeches and tadpoles, and caught in the rain. We learned about what birds eat this kinds of critters and how a lot of birds like these water insects. Once it started to pour we had some inside activities like coloring, charades, and making clay eggs. Once the rain got a little more of a drizzle we worked on building a human sized nest.

Students at beaver Pond
Exploring Beaver Pond Photo: Audubon Vermont
Students in a birds nest
Our human sized birds nest! Photo: Audubon Vermont

Friday, our final day, started with Bird BANDING! It is always amazing to see a bird up close in someone’s hand. We learned about owls too and got to dissect an owl pellet too!

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