birdBackyard Bird Watching for Kids: How to Attract, Feed, and Provide Homes for Birds by George H. Harrison

Published May 1997 by Willow Creek Press

From the back:

This book provides a fascinating opportunity for children to learn how to attract birds to their own backyards. Backyard Bird Watching for Kids is filled with entertaining and fulfilling projects that allow young bird watchers to interact with nature while learning about the needs and behaviors of wild birds. And there’s no better teacher than “Mr. Backyard Bird Watcher” himself, expert birder and author George H. Harrison. This book will kindle in readers a healthy, enduring interest in birds and other wild animals.

My thoughts:

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not exactly a nature lover, but I do enjoy watching the birds at our backyard feeder from our kitchen window. I know this book is geared for kids, but I found the pages on identifying birds especially useful. It only lists about 20 birds, so it was easy to figure out which ones I was seeing. My current favorites are the red-wing blackbirds that started showing up a couple of weeks ago.

The book also has sections on what plants and seeds the birds like, watering the birds, and solving bird problems, like if you see a lost baby bird or birds keep hitting your windows. My husband and daughter built a birdhouse based on the directions in the “Houses for Rent” chapter and put it in by the trees at the side of our yard. I’ll have to post some pictures next week, showing the house and, hopefully, some of the birds at our feeder.

My rating is 5/5. This book is an excellent resource, with more than enough information, but not so much that it becomes overwhelming. It’s also a perfect book for this time of year, when we can’t walk outside without hearing bird songs of one kind or another. You can purchase it at Amazon.

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