CELEBRATING THE YEAR OF THE BIRD IN YOUR CLASSROOM

2019 has been named the Year of the Bird. STEM teachers around the world can get students excited about birds without leaving their classrooms through the use of webcams. 

Divide your students into different groups and assign each a bird to watch on the webcam feeds. Encourage them to write down exactly what they saw the birds doing on the feed. Then, share with the class about what they observed. 

Eagles- Watch the eagles at the National Arboretum in Washington D.C.  throughout the year with the feed posted to YouTube. 

Puffin Cam- Located 21 miles off Maine's coast, this live cam allows students to watch puffins in their nests. 

Long-eared Owl Nest- Located in Montana, this live cam allows students to watch long-eared owls. 

Red-tailed Hawk Cam - Students can watch a red-tailed hawk nest in Montana for signs that the eggs are hatching and the antics of the baby hawks. 

Bermuda Petrels- While very few of your students may ever travel to Bermuda, they can watch Bermuda petrels on this webcam. 

Hummingbirds- California may be too far away to take students on a field trip, but they can glimpse up-close shots of them on this webcam. 

White storks- Students can watch the live cam or highlights from the webcam in Makov, Chez Republic. 

A great way to expand this in the classroom is to help students set up their own classroom webcam. Simply hang a bird feeder someplace near your school where you notice that birds gather naturally. Then, position a webcam nearby in a hidden location. Let students record the birds that they see come to the feeder. Then, they can use their internet resource skills to learn more about them.