By Mary Van Dyke
It is fun to study bird nests and build ‘nests or dens’ with preschoolers. Remember it is not legal to collect birds’ nests whether or not they are still being used (or reused) by birds. Over the years I have simply found one or two old Robin and Cardinal bird nests in cut-down trees or fallen on the ground. For show n' tell I bring last year's paperwasp nest, a log-cabin birdhouse as well as pine-needle baskets and acorn cap nests with clay eggs made by my daughter.
It is fun to study bird nests and build ‘nests or dens’ with preschoolers. Remember it is not legal to collect birds’ nests whether or not they are still being used (or reused) by birds. Over the years I have simply found one or two old Robin and Cardinal bird nests in cut-down trees or fallen on the ground. For show n' tell I bring last year's paperwasp nest, a log-cabin birdhouse as well as pine-needle baskets and acorn cap nests with clay eggs made by my daughter.
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| Water Vole Card, Robin's Nest, Log Cabin Birdhouse, Acorn Cap Nest, Pineneedle Basket Nest, Paperwasp Nest |
The preschoolers are interested to see the mud-building on a Robin nest and the oval nest-shape with wider breast-end and narrower tail-end. How did the parent birds make the nest? Can you imagine the parent birds (mostly the mother Robin) taking turns to sit on the eggs for two weeks or so while they keep their eggs warm in the nest until the baby birds hatch? It’s interesting to compare the Robin’s nest with the more loose arrangement of sticks in the Cardinal’s nest.
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| American Robin Nest with Eggs by L Birnbaum from the Journey North American Robin website |
Many twigs and small branches blew down in the school garden over the winter. We gather them up to tidy the grass. Why not build a larger nest or two together as a group for the stuffed animals and puppets: Squirrel, Cardinal, Robin, and Mouse?
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| Making a nest for all the animals |
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| American Robin plush toy with sound |
We gather together twigs and branches. With one group we decide to build individual animal nests, with other groups we discuss more and collectively design and build larger group-nests. One construction is two-story and has a roof. Maybe the children can build a nest-shelter-den that is large enough for them too? How about keeping warm and making a pretend camp-fire.
While outside we listen to the birds singing spring songs. I see a crow fly over with a twig in its beak. Building nests and dens is wonderful empowering fun cooperative play and learning for children of all ages. Today's garden activity building nests and dens reminds me of the shrub-playhouses, sheet-tents, olive and apple tree-climbing days of my childhood!
Some resources, literature and art connections
for teaching Nests and Dens with pre-K and K
- Peterson Field Guide Eastern Birds’ Nests, 1998, by Hal Harrison
- Collecting Old Birds Nests is Illegal by Bird Watcher’s General Store
- Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Wildlife Calendars
- from various years, take apart and laminate
- Squirrel puppet - Folkmanis American Grey Squirrel - LINK
- Cardinal Audubon plush bird with sound - LINK
- Robin Audubon plush bird with sound - LINK
- Journey North - American Robin project
- A First Book of Nature, 2014, by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Mark Hearld
- see page 58 Dens - and Things to do in your den
- BBC Springwatch greeting card collection
- including the Water Vole
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