Activity

Bird nest study

Summary
Look at birds' nests and marvel at their construction.
Science content
Biology: Features, Adaptations of Living Things (K, 1, 3, 7)
Biology: Life Cycles (2)
Biology: Evolution, Natural Selection (7)
Science competencies (+ questioning + manipulation + others that are in every activity)
Questioning/predicting: predicting (1 up), hypothesizing (7)
Planning/conducting: data collection/recording (K up)
Processing/analyzing: experiencing and interpreting the local environment (K up)
robin nest with eggshell
bush tit nests
(presumed) crow nest
Lessons activity is in
Bird adaptations
Materials
  • bird nest(s)

    • NOTE: It is not legal or environmentally concious to remove a birds nest from its natural location - birds often leave eggs and young temporarily but they are not abandoned

  • flashlights
  • paper and pencils

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Procedure

Display nests so that students can study them closely.
Explain that the nests are fragile and should not be handled, but can be looked at closely - use the flashlight to find more details.
Draw what you see, or answer questions about the nests (ideas below).

Ideas for labels to place with the nests.

What?
(describe it - more that one noun!)

How?
(engineering)

Why?
(what purpose; how does this adaptation help birds survive?)

For my (presumed) crow's nest, the engineering is incredible: newspaper is wrapped around the nest withing the layers; there is dog hair or other fibrous natural material in the base of the nest to make it soft; materials used include moss, grass, pieces of paper and sticks of all sizes.
I have watched crows carefully select long, bendy nest material from damp road gutters.

My bush tit nests are works of art. There is a door at the top, under a waterproof roof. The inside is lined with moss and downy seed heads. The walls are both soft and dense, providing an interior insulated both from cold and hot extremes.

Notes

DO NOT COLLECT NESTS
My collection is from people who had collected a nest before knowing that it is at risk to birds and illegal, or rescued from green recycling.

Grades taught
Gr 4
Gr 5