All the children were so keen to tell me which birds they already knew, and what they had seen from the window. I was impressed to see the bird feeder and the bird box hanging on a tree near the class room, and the children had already begun recording which birds they had seen outside.
I began with a quick introduction, explaining I was from the RSPB and that we would be learning about birds, and going outside to look for them. To warm up I asked each table to name 2 birds: most of them knew some garden birds already such as magpie, robin, blackbird. Others knew more unusual birds like raven. I cannot tell you how keen they were, it was wonderful to think that all these children are taking an interest in the natural world!
Then I asked who wanted to be detectives - hands shot up in the air! We could be detectives by looking at different birds, to find out which birds they were. I explained that different birds look different: we can tell what they are by looking at colour, size, where a bird is, what sound it makes, and also by what they are eating. There were 6 birds to show the children, and I had a beautiful big colour picture of each, together with a silhouette to show the actual size, and their favourite, the RSPB soft toy bird that makes a bird sound! So I looked at each bird in turn, pointing out the colour, the shape, what they eat, and any interesting fact about them. I was delighted that children were saying other colours, and making comments about their sharp beaks, or their skinny legs, or their long tails. And once they got the idea, they started asking me, "what noise does this one make?" and so for each bird I would produce the soft toy bird, and the children could press the bird and listen to the noise. These went down very well and everyone wanted a go, so each table had one bird to share. The children were amazed to learn that blue tits can take their chicks 600 caterpillars a day, and that starlings mimic sounds such as mobile phones. I was really impressed that a quick question on each bird at the end showed that they had been listening and picked up main facts such as Mrs (female) Blackbird is actually brown!
Next, I explained that we would be looking at the birds outside in groups, and counting what we saw. Over 2000 schools are taking part in the Big Schools Birdwatch and the RSPB uses the information to see which birds need help and which birds are doing okay. For their survey, you have to count the highest number of birds you see at any one time, rather than counting the same birds over and over again. So there was a game to show this, but in the event of going outside, I decided it didn't really matter if the children didn't get this - it was most important to encourage them to look for birds. (It would be easier to explain the counting technique to older children. The Birdwatch is available to 7-11 year olds). Each child was given a card showing one of the six garden birds (blue tit; robin; starling; thrush; blackbird; house sparrow). I stood at the front holding a picture of a seed feeder. When I called out one bird, children with that bird card would come to the front, to the feeder. I encouraged them to walk like that bird, or to sing like that bird. They were very good and pretended to feed at the feeder. Miss Wilson counted them for us and put it up on the board. Finally one bird type came up twice, and we counted 8 of them in total. But in fact there were only 4 in the room - so one bright child said we'd counted them twice. And that's what we were supposed to realise... But as I say, outside, there was too much excitement to care about counting!
So after break the children went outside in groups of 5 or 6, with clipboards and pictures of birds they might see. They were very excited to be going outside, so there was little chance of keeping them nice and quiet for birds to show up - however, they have perfect birdwatching grounds and a lovely garden area where there is the feeder and nest box, plus a bird table. Next to that was a playing field with trees at the back. And the playground was also surrounded by trees, which were good places to spot birds. The children thought most birds were blackbirds - probably because they looked black against the sky! - so in some cases I let them think they were, if I could not see what it was, and in others I would say, it's a crow, or it's a seagull, because these are much bigger. There were 2 crows making a noise on the nearby church, so they could hear the distinctive cawing sound; then there were lots of magpies in the trees, so they could see they were black and white. One group were lucky to see a blue tit come into the tree. It was hoping to get to the seed feeder, but in our excitement we scared him off - but at least he came! We also saw some pigeons in the sky, one group thought they saw a robin, and one group saw 2 little birds on top of the school - I could not get a good look but thought they were wagtails - and explained that they wag their tails!
It was so lovely to see them all looking and all excited and they were all desperate to tell me what birds they'd seen and how they'd fed this bird at home, or seen this bird somewhere else. One boy said he'd seen a red kite, one boy must have had parents from Africa as he knew all about African birds and said how they eat them. One boy asked me if birds were poor! So I explained they didn't use money but had to find enough food each day. They were all so keen it was hard to keep up with all the hands in air, (when they remembered to do this) and I hope I gave enough encouragement to them all.
To finish off, I told them I would be back after Easter, and gave each child a "hide" poster, which they could stick to the window and look through a gap in the middle at the birds; and on one side they had lots of pictures of birds to identify. One boy helped me to hand out the posters, which was really kind!
Miss Wilson was apologising that they were quite a handful and said that there were 24 boys in the class (I'd not realised until she said!) but I thought they were wonderful. It was so fantastic to see such enthusiasm and eagerness to learn and tell us about things they knew, and to have fun. When do we forget to be this excited about life!? It was actually a lesson for me as well as them! And I learnt how lovely children are and how full of life. Imagine having as much fun every day as I had today, it would transform your life! Never mind about being nervous, I can't wait to go back and see them after Easter. I thought that if I made a difference to just one child, it would be worth it, but I can see that all of them were interested in looking at birds, and were constantly telling us when they saw a bird out of the window, and I hope that they will keep doing this!
