|
|
An Activity Guide About the Songbirds
of
British Columbia
|
|
BACKGROUND
Within our homes we can find some of the most devastating
hazards to songbird. Glass is one of these hazards. Glass in doors and
windows often create reflections of the trees and sky. Sometimes songbirds
try to fly through the glass, often killing themselves. The worst windows
seem to be those that create the illusion of a way through. Large "picture"
windows are particularly hazardous with their vast, unbroken surfaces
of glass. So are windows on either side of the corner of a room, or large
windows at each end of a room.
Preventing birds from striking your windows is as easy as making them
aware that there is an obstacle in front of them. This can be done by
applying something to, or hanging something on the outside of the window.
Cut-out silhouettes or objects hung in front of the windows work well.
In this activity, the students will make silhouettes for their windows
at school and at home to break the reflection and warn birds. Here are
some tracers to get you started. Click on them to open up the full-sized
image.
|
Another
hazard from the home is the house cat. Hunting and killing are part of the
natural instincts of cats. The negative effect of house cats on the songbird
population is disturbing, especially when you consider that there are over
100 000 cats in Victoria alone. However, cats are often a much loved part
of a family and it is difficult to take a strong stand against your cat's
natural behaviour. It is not practical to teach cats not to hunt birds.
The best solution seems to be simply putting two small bells on a cat's
collar. The bells will tinkle whenever the cat moves, making it very difficult
for the cat to sneak up on birds. Another solution is keeping cats indoors
more often. This is especially important when songbirds are roosting at
night.
MATERIALS
- Silhouette
tracers of birds
- Black and coloured
paper
- Scissors
PROCEDURE
1. Discuss how windows and cats are hazardous to songbirds.
2. Click on the outlines above to open up the full-sized tracers of silhouettes.
Print out the tracers. Enlarge them further, photocopy them onto thicker
paper and cut them out. Show the students how to use the tracers to cut
out a silhouette of a bird. It is not necessary that the silhouettes be
black. If possible the silhouettes should be laminated or cut out of weather-proof
material since they will be hung on the outside of a window.
3. Hang the silhouettes on the outside of large windows around the school.
Suggest the students take some home to hang on their windows.
4. Explain how students with cats can help songbirds by putting two bells
on their cats' collars and keeping the cats inside at night.
|
|
Household
Hazards 
