A trip down memory lane and teaching on home turf

We were well received at Darrow's alma mater

At the end of last week, we arrived in the sunny and busy city of Los Angeles. Darrow is from LA, so this trip has been a time of visiting family and working in the community. A highlight this week was visiting Darrow's old middle school on Tuesday--The Wesley School. Wesley is a tiny school with a strong sense of community and it felt great to be back! Darrow was able to reconnect with the few teachers that are still teaching since his time there and got to roam his old stomping grounds in search of birds with the current 7th graders. We worked with Mr. Vance's science class, learned some basic bird skills in the class and then spent some time in the courtyards and had some amazing looks at Yellow-rumped Warblers, House Finches, Anna's Hummingbirds, and our old favorite, the Black Phoebe. We had a couple of solid hours to work, which gave us time to journal and come up with some great science fair project questions. Some of the questions they came up with could someday be master's thesis questions! Things like, "Do the birds have specific territories at our school and are these species territorial?" and, "How come the house finches and warblers hang out in the same place if they have different bills and behaviors?" and, "What are all of the birds getting out of the gutter?" are all great questions that could be answered through continued observation and scientific methods.

If you have not gone back to visit your old school, we highly recommend it. Find out a way to give back to your school and go for a visit. It means the world to teachers!

Darrow reunited with his middle school science teacher--Mr. Vance!

Today, we worked with El Rodeo school--a K-8th school near Darrow's mom's house where his younger brother and sister--Jack and Emily-- attend. We worked with four classes in a row--two kindergarten classes, a third grade class, and a fourth grade class! It was a very full day in yet another urban school, but we continued to see beautifully inspiring birds such as the Yellow-rumped Warbler. This warbler has taken on a new and endearing name amongst Bird School students: "butter butt."

The Yellow-rumped Warbler showing off the "butter butt."

El Rodeo kindergartners sneakily watch a Bewick's Wren.

Kevin and his wonderful bird song orchestra.

We will wrap up our quick visit to LA with a second day at El Rodeo tomorrow (another four classes!). Looking forward to it!

Inspiration from the 3rd graders at Linwood E Howe Elementary

As we walked into Lili Glassman's 3rd grade class at Linwood E. Howe Elementary in Culver City, Los Angeles, CA, there was an apparent shimmer of excitement. Students were yelling across the room, welcoming us and sharing stories of birds they had seen. Some stories seemed like tall tales, but as our walk about their campus began, what also became apparent was that these kids all had a keen awareness for the natural world. Each student seemed to have a favorite spot where they had seen a bird, or thought they had seen a nest, that they wanted to show us. Some of these favorite spots even included bird feeders, bird baths, and bird houses in the yards of neighboring houses across the street.

Students hands shot in the air at every question Darrow asked.

Olivia tallies up the species list while Darrow talks about eBird.

 We spent a whole hour walking the school premises in search of birds high and low. The students jumped at the opportunity to count the number of birds we were seeing and added up a total of forty nine birds, across nine different species!

Good listeners make good scientists.

When in doubt, figure it out.

We were sad to be leaving these students so quickly, however we know that their curiosity and awareness will carry them a long way.

Inner-city LA get's a full day of birds!

When Darrow was in high school, he had a dear red-headed friend named Landry. He did not know at the time that Landry would grow up to be an energized and passionate teacher in downtown LA. Landry allowed us to visit her fifth grade class for the entire day on Friday. When we asked students to introduce themselves and share something they were grateful for, every single one responded with how grateful they were that we came to visit and teach them about birds. They showed us, in that short introduction, how important our work is. Esperanza Elementary is a Title 1 school-- meaning enough students' families fall under the poverty line that the school provides some free services, school supplies, and food to students. Many of these students have had harder experiences than we can even imagine. It is imperative we help provide meaningful experiences like this to them.

We began our day by introducing our birds, doing a lesson on bird sounds and bird language, and had students pick a focus bird and draw and label the various parts of a bird. They learned some new vocabulary like crown, nape, and rump and learned about the genus and species names for their birds.  After recess, they learned about using binoculars (which no one had ever used) and we went outside to look for birds. We were able to see a few common species, but it was a bit hard to focus with other students having lunchtime on the playground. After lunch, we decided to try going out on the yard again. This time, without the added noise of other students, we were able to find all sorts of birds including House Sparrows, Anna's Hummingbird, and the exciting and tropical Yellow-Chevroned Parakeet!

The Yellow-Chevroned Parakeet is quite the bird to see in downtown LA
(credit: birds.audubon.org)

The Parakeet is native to South America from Brazil to Argentina. There are established feral populations of Parakeets in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami. They are believed to have been released from captivity and have established their populations since then. Though the bird is non-native, it is still an attention-grabbing bird and did not fail to get our students squeaking with excitement.

Mr. Rumble is a major bird education advocate 

We also had the privilege of meeting Esperanza's principal, Brad Rumble. Mr. Rumble happens to be perfectly aligned with the vision and interests of the Bird School Project. Mr. Rumble is on the board of Los Angeles Audubon and is a passionate teacher and birder that has made great strides for the outdoor education movement in Los Angeles. Rumble used to work at Leo Politi Elementary, another LA school that made headlines when Rumble received a large grant from Audubon and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to transform the school's yard into a native habitat oasis for birds and insects alike. After completing his noble work there, Rumble is now at Esperanza and hoping to accomplish a similar transformation. Please read about this incredible project and watch the video HERE. We are excited to be connected with Mr. Rumble and look forward to collaborating with him in the future!

The class getting quiet to check out nearby birds

To wrap things up, we wrote up our species list for the day (nine species!) and came up with some "I wonder" questions for students to work on for homework. We made sure that everyone could easily identify the four most common species on the schoolyard--American Crow, Western Gull, Rock Pigeon, and Mourning Dove. By the time dismissal came around, students couldn't stop asking questions. Many wanted to stay after class to look at the bird specimens and tell us stories about birds they have seen at the local park. We are confident that this was not just another day at school for these students. This was something that many were needing--an assuring experience that it is okay to take the time to honor the beautiful and natural, that it feels good to just go for a walk and listen, that birds are simply amazing!

Learning about the five voices of the birds and how to draw sonograms

What do you all think are the common birds at school?

Southern California: Hope, habitat, and happenings

Amidst a mid-week rain storm, The Bird School Project was back in action this week in Southern California. We kicked off the week visiting Hope Elementary School in Santa Barbara.
We visited two 6th grade classes (Mr. S. and Mrs. Thurston) in the morning. Students were excited to learn that the trees surrounding their soccer field made great habitat for Yellow-rumped warblers and Bushtits, two common birds in California. We spent some time comparing call notes between the two. What do you think?

Bushtit sounds

Yellow-rumped sounds

A tried and true method for a bird photographer without a zoom lens.

Another highlight from our morning walk was when we took the students outside and before going to look for birds, we asked them to just stand quietly and listen. Upon doing that, a young girl's eyes got very wide and she said, "I never knew we had so many birds here! This is incredible!" It is moments like this that make all of our work this fall worth it.

Oh, what you'll find if you sit and listen a while!

Most schools have a large area for play, like a field or blacktop, but what happens when you add a few trees?

After lunch we switched age groups and took Mrs. Thornton's 1st graders for an energy packed walk about campus. They managed to discover a few quiet spots along the fences that made good sit-spots, despite having to avoid predation from the Red-tailed hawk!

The male Bufflehead duck is a beautiful sight indeed!
(credit: allaboutbirds.org)

During our time off during Thanksgiving week in Santa Barbara, we had the chance to visit the Campus Point Lagoon at UC Santa Barbara and were able to see the groups of migrating ducks that only just recently arrived in the area from areas further north. A personal favorite of ours is the Bufflehead duck. The males have bright white patches on the back of their head and bright white bodies that allow them to stand out amongst the rest. Look in your local pond or lake for these dapper ducks!

On Tuesday, when the storm began (Woohoo! California's kinda wet again!), we showed up to a wet and wild Santa Paula High. We taught a section of Ms. Mitchell's wonderful AP Environmental Science students and also a section of Zoology.

Santa Paula High zoology students read up on the ranges of the common birds in their neck of the woods.

These are the oldest students we have taught yet, and some of the most inspiring. The attitude changes when students are in a class because they chose to be, and these students really cared about the subject. We specifically focused on a lesson about what birds need to survive. We talked about the components of a good ecosystem and what makes an ecosystem a habitat. The students then designed their own habitat for common California birds.

Time to map it out. What are the key components to good bird habitat?

These birds are singing in the rain.

Then, into the mist we drove. To Los Angeles, where the Rock Pigeons, Crows, Gulls, Mallards, and Mourning Doves make illustrious distractions for the many warblers, sparrows, finches, sandpipers, and Buffleheads that share the city's space!