Teaching kids about birds and nature is important for many reasons. It helps them develop compassion and empathy, relieves stress and builds emotional resilience, and teaches them be responsible stewards of the natural world around them. Here are a few tried tips for how to make learning about birds fun for kids of all ages.

Hang a Backyard Bird Feeder

A couple hangs a Chirp backyard feeder with their two young children.

What better way to teach kids about birds than to bring birds right to your own backyard to observe? The easiest way to do this is by hanging one or more bird feeders filled with high-quality seeds and snacks your local birds love. Create a sense of ownership by making it your child’s job to hang the feeder, and fill it when it’s empty. Encourage them to make a list of all the birds that visit the feeder, including taking notes on coloring, markings, and bird calls and songs.

Not sure how to create a backyard birdwatching sanctuary? Check out our Beginner’s Guide to Backyard Bird Feeding.

Plant a Bird-Friendly Garden Together

A toddler waters yellow flowers with his watering can.

Teach your children about the importance of growing native plants to support the environment and your local birds and animals. Make planting a bird- and pollinator-friendly garden fun! Even if you only have a small space, you can grow a container garden filled with plants that attract and support the birds in your area. Find out how your kids like to help the most—do they love to get their hands into the soil? Put them in charge of filling holes or pots with garden soil. Do they love watering the newly planted garden? Set up a watering schedule for them. Maybe they want to pick the plants to grow? Give them a list of native plants to choose from. Then sit back with them and watch the birds enjoy your new bird sanctuary!

Go on a Birdwatching Adventure

A mother and daughter go on a nature hike.

Gather the family together and go on a birding adventure—whether that’s a stroll down your street, a hike on a local nature trail, or a trip cross-country. Bring the proper birding gear for your kids, including binoculars made to fit them, a colorful kid’s birding book or guide, and an ID app like eBird or Merlin.

Bring the fam on one of Chirp’s monthly Bird Walks around the Big Bear Valley!

Try a Bird Scavenger Hunt

A young boy kneels to look on the ground on a scavenger hunt in the forest.

Engage your child’s senses and imagination with a fun scavenger hunt geared towards birds. Keep it simple, so your kids are sure to be successful. One way to do this is to have them “collect” a list of bird observations. This could be listening for bird song or calls, finding local birds with a specific color or marking, tracking the ground for fallen feathers, looking for nests during nesting season, etc. Your scavenger hunt can be as simple as trying to spot a certain number of birds in one outing, or (for older children), as advanced as IDing all the different bird vocalizations you hear.

Play a Bird-Themed Game

A little girl and boy play Little Bluebird's Matching Game, available at the Chirp store.

From board games to apps, there are countless bird-themed games available for all ages. In addition to the board games you can find at the Chirp store, here are some apps and online games to check out:

Apps:

Online games:

Go Online for Young Birder Education

A mother helps her daughter on the laptop.

There’s no shortage of free online learning modules for young bird enthusiasts that center on birds and nature. Many are broken up into curriculums designed specifically for certain age groups, and include interactive elements that better engage young ones. Here are some to try:

Watch a Live Bird Cam Together

When you’re not birdwatching outside, you can still get up close and personal with birds around the world. Your children will love watching the curious antics of birds in their natural habitat on a live bird cam. The best part about these live cams is that they’re free and you can travel the world virtually to see a variety of birds you can’t find locally.

See a list of Chirp’s favorite live bird cams for you and your young ones!

Make Some Fun Bird Crafts

Need more of a hands-on approach for your little ones? Get out the pens, paper, and other household items and make some bird-related crafts. Check out Chirp’s Activities page and join us for our next kid’s craft project. In the meantime, here are a few to try:

Visit Chirp with Your Chickadees

Browse the latest kid’s games, books, and gifts at the Chirp store, or go on our guided virtual store tour. There’s always something for birders of all ages at Chirp!