Bird School Project: Rainy Day at Spy Rock Elementary!

We started our day today by driving through the rain and fog up a gravel road into the hills above Laytonville, CA to visit the very small, but charming Spy Rock Elementary. The school--complete with garden, cobb dragon, and tetherball court--houses only 8 children in grades K-3rd. It is a small school of mountain children, but they are grand in their spirit and gratitude for visitors. We began our rainy day lesson with meeting Cedar the Cedar Waxwing and imitating the voices of the morning birds.

We rolled into a game to learn about different bird bills and what each bill is specialized for. We "ate" seeds, butterflies, and nectar and learned that you can't really eat seeds with a nectar-eating bill. Nor can you really eat bugs with a seed-cracking bill. But, you CAN get quite a bit of food if you have a generalist bill like an American Robin.

Then, we had recess! The students told us which birds they have seen at their school. We got to see a pair of mallards fly quickly over the school and we were shown the barn swallow nests in the sports shed. We also took some time to jump in puddles and create a channel so that puddles from the playground could fill the swale in the garden. It was awesome!

Look at all the water!

Birds! Thanks to Cornell's BirdSleuth Program!

We finished off the day by learning the different parts of a bird and drawing and labeling our very own bird sketches! We had some beautiful drawings of Great Horned Owls, Anna's Hummingbirds, and Red-tailed hawks (just to name a few). These students couldn't get enough birds. They drew, read interesting facts, and asked insightful questions. Thanks so much to Spy Rock Elementary for being the bright goldfinches on a gray rainy day!