Backyard Explorations! Bird Series - Part 4

1 MAY 2020
BACKYARD EXPLORATIONS

Bird Beak Buffet! or Fill The Bill!

In todays lesson we explored beak and bill adaptations. Adaptations are changes made through time by which an organism or species becomes better suited for survival in its environment. When discussing beak adaptations we are noticing how different bird species have developed different beak structures in order to find and ingest food. As we discussed in previous bird videos, birds can eat many different types of food and their beaks are suited to help them do that!

Please find the video below. It will be uploaded soon, I just have to make some edits as it is too large to upload as one file. Thank you for your patience!

Activity! You can do this at home or in your classroom!

Please find a photo version of the activity I used in this lesson from Growing up WILD curriculum.

The directions in this activity were to let students pick and explore different beak types throughout the station set up and then discover through experience which beak type worked the best for each station. During this time, I was not able to do this with students so instead I put together a simple demonstration of imitation beaks that were similar in use to the birds I showed.

Birds I mimicked in the video:

• Woodpeckers
• Herons and Egrets
• Pelicans
• Hawks, Eagles and Owls
• Hummingbirds

This was a super fun video to make and an awesome way to let kids or even adults explore beak adaptations hands on. I would love to hear about your own explorations with this activity! What bill type worked best? Can you find similar items in your home that would work as a bill too? If so, what bird would that best imitate and what food would it be eating? 

Have fun and be creative!!