Birds: Bird Scavenger Hunt

Pre-Visit Activity, All Grades 

Objective

Students will use quiet observation skills to complete a bird scavenger hunt. 

Materials

  • Scavenger hunt list (one for each student)
  • Pencils (one for each student)
  • Clipboards (optional, one per student)

Procedure

  1. Gather your students in the classroom and explain that they are going on an adventure or safari.  Their mission is to find as many things as they can that relate to birds.  Explain that you will give them a list to check off, but they can also write things down that they see, that are not on the list.  Non-readers can do this activity as a class, with the teacher in the lead pointing out different bird signs.
  2. Instruct the students to be quiet and sneaky if they want to be successful on their hunt.  Students should not take or disturb any of the things that they find.
  3. Pass out scavenger hunt sheets and give students a chance to look them over.
  4. Lead students on a walk around school grounds or the surrounding neighborhood.
  5. Discuss exciting sightings with the entire class.

Scavenger Hunt List 

(Create a page with boxes by each item listed-two lists on a page so it can be cut in half for students)

  • A bird nest
  • A bird egg, or the shell of an egg
  • The call of a bird (1 or 2 notes)
  • The song of a bird (series of notes)
  • A robin
  • A pigeon
  • A brown bird
  • A colorful bird
  • A black and white bird
  • A birdhouse made by a person
  • A bird feeder
  • A bird of prey (hawk, falcon, owl, eagle)
  • A bird feather
  • A bird flying low near the ground
  • A bird flying very high
  • A bird with nesting material in its beak
  • A hole in a tree where a bird could live
  • A place where a water bird might live
  • Something that might harm a bird
  • A place where a bird might bathe
  • A part of a plant a bird could eat
  • An animal a bird could eat 

Extension

Lead the scavenger hunt on a field trip to a local park or other natural area.

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