Teaching children about birds.

Birds I photographed at Lac Bellevue, Alberta, in 2016.

I visited my daughter, Leanne, when she was a camp counsellor at Alberta's Lac Bellevue, seven years ago in 2016.  While there I plied the waters with my kayak and photographed many of the wetland birds I saw.  The diversity was astonishing; in fact, two different species I have not photographed before or since.

If you ask a child about the types of wild birds they know, the chances are they will tell you about robins, crows, and house sparrows.  They may also have a general idea about ducks and gulls.  Outside of that, it is unlikely they could identify a hawk from a falcon, a sandpiper from a plover, or even a wren from a finch.  I think it could be said that many adults would have the same problem.

This is the heart of the matter.  Adults don't know, and so neither do children.  Most teachers are not familiar with local fauna and the curriculum generally does not require them to be.  Parents were never taught such things and, unless they happen to have a passion for nature, are not well informed either.  The fact is that the majority of the population understands that birds sing, build nests, and fly.  Outside of that, a bird is just a bird.  Of course, that is very much like saying a cow is just like a goat or a sheep.  After all, they all eat grass, are farm animals, make sounds, and may end up on our dinner plates.

However, it is quite amazing how much children know about farm animals.  They read books on the subject, they reproduce the animals' sounds, and they know about how humans benefit from their husbandry.  They may even go to a petting zoo, watch videos about them, or even know someone that owns them.  The truth is that children are raised to know about livestock but not wildlife, especially birds.  Adults often think that bird watchers are creepy, weird, or eccentric.  Why would I want my child to fall into one of those categories?

And so, birds are appreciated in a general way but not in a way that truly helps their plight.  Many bird species are endangered or have even gone extinct.  Much of this can be attributed to our ignorance about the needs of individual species.  Habitat loss, hunting practices, and even just stupid cruelty have caused the collapse of many species.  Yet the general population is unconcerned because they see plenty of birds around.  

Consider taking your child to a bird sanctuary and spend some time searching for birds that they, or even you, know nothing about.  Then go back home and do some research on the bird.  You could even buy a field guide and mark the ones that you saw.  That will have a bigger impact than you may think.  And guess what?  It wasn't a creepy, weird, or eccentric thing to do.  It was just a good idea.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com