How to make birdwatching fun for children on a day hike

Hairy Woodpecker

For many children, spotting and watching birds – especially raptors, those that are courting, and rare species – is a great element of a day hike. Besides being entertaining, birdwatching offers many opportunities for learning while ensuring a memorable rest break.

Unfortunately, sometimes the birdwatching experience turns out to be a bad one, due to novice mistakes, and the hobby never takes root. There are a number of steps you can take, though, to ensure a birdwatch is interesting and fun for children:
g Know what to expect before hitting the trail – Many hiking guides will list what rare or spectacular birds can be seen along a trail. Look up those birds online or in books to learn more about them. This will help you more easily spot and identify them once on the trail. You also can get a good introduction to the hobby and learn some ins and outs of it by going on guided bird walking tours.
g Hike in the morning – Most birds are easier to spot in the morning than at other times of the day. That’s because many search for food during the morning.
g Search for birds in pairs or groups – Two sets of eyes often are better than one, and three even more so. You’re more likely to spot a rare bird when multiple people are looking in different directions for it on a hike.
g Skip the bird calls – While this may be useful for game birds, typically it scares off birds because it raises their stress levels. Ditto with artificial lighting during the evening.
g Bring binoculars – You’ll have a difficult time getting close enough to most birds to notice details about them. In addition, bring enough binoculars for everyone on the hike so that all can participate.
g Keep your distance – Should you be lucky enough to get close to where a bird is feeding or come across its nest, keep your distance. This also induces stress and can disrupt its natural habits.
g Leave the bird guidebook at home – The time you have to observe a bird often is flitting is best. By flipping through pages to identify the bird, one of two things likely will occur: 1) You’ll make noise that scares it off, or 2) It will fly away before you even get close to identifying it. Instead, jot down notes about the bird’s various traits or sketch its appearance so you later can look it up in a guidebook. Also listen closely for its vocalizations, as that will be very useful in identifying it.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

Great activity for day hiking kids: Birdwatching

Hairy Woodpecker

Generally, exploring and discovery is enough for kids, but sometimes even they can grow bored with that and become restless. Remember that they naturally have shorter attention spans than adults.

Fortunately, there are lots of tried and true activities you can do on the trail that’ll keep kids from getting bored. Among them is birdwatching.

Early morning is the best time to watch birds. You’ll want to bring binoculars for each member of the party so there aren’t antsy kids while waiting to look. Good times to visit a park or nature preserve is when birds may be flying over and stopping over on their annual migrations. A bird identification guide can help you figure out what you’re seeing.

Materials: Binoculars, bird identification guide

Ages: 16 and up

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

Consider bringing binoculars on hike w/ kids

Binoculars are not just nice for getting a closer look at distant animals or geological features, but they also can be used as a navigation tool by helping you get a closer look at where a trail leads. An adult will want a pair that magnifies by the seven or eight power to be of any real benefit. Larger lenses will give you a clearer and more detailed view.

If bringing binoculars, consider also getting small, lightweight versions (with lanyards) for your children. Most will love carrying them around their neck. They won’t be able to see as far as you can in yours, but they’ll still think seeing a grazing deer or a snow-covered mountain peak “close up” is cool. If children do wear binoculars around their necks, make sure their shirt has a collar so that the lanyard can be tucked behind the fabric. It then won’t cut into the skin.

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g Carry safety whistle when hiking with children
g Selecting the right camera for a day hike with children

Read more about day hiking with children in my guidebook Hikes with Tykes.