Another motive for this incursion was to identify the bird species in our own school Banksia Woodland. My school is unique in having it’s own environmental resource – about 300 square metres of natural bush with species of woodland plants endemic to the south west of Australia -like three different species of flowering Banksia – attenuata, menzesii and ilicifolia plus Sheoaks, Balga, Macrozamia and Jarrah - to name just a few of the larger species.
So – back to the visit. Three lovely retired gentlemen from Birdlife WA run the school bird incursions. Their names are Rod, Errol and Brice. They presented a 45-minute PowerPoint to the students covering all of the common birds they were most likely to see in the schoolyard. They provided us with fascinating details about the habits and features of birds including mimicking their calls for us. The students learned how to identify male and female Magpies. Another fascinating fact is about the Australian Raven. They are mostly found in and around Perth and often easily confused with a crow.
Following the PowerPoint presentation the students were each given a binocular with precise instructions on how to bring it into focus. Then we broke up into smaller groups to go bird watching. And what fun we had. Seeing the children’s heightened awareness for the surrounding environment was a delight. One of the highlights of the day was seeing a Little Eagle in full flight over the school woodland being harassed by three Ravens. Rod informed us that we were very lucky as seeing such competitive activity between birds is common but rarely observed on a schoolyard incursion.
At the conclusion of the tour we returned to class to share our findings and record the birds that were spotted. We ended up with a total of 16 species from small birds such as the Grey Fantail through to larger birds like the Australian White Ibis who was on route from a local by wetlands and taking a detour through our woodland.
Not only has the incursion enhancing the students observational skills it has also further consolidated the need to look after and conserve our wonderful resource – the school woodland. This provides a habitat to a staggering 16 species of local bird life if not more. This is where the outcome Science for Human Endeavour comes into play. ‘People use science in their daily lives, including when caring for their environment and living things’ and what better way to teach this than using what is already available to you in your own schoolyard.
Of course I had ulterior motives with this incursion. I too wanted to know more about the bird species as part of a whole school environmental management plan that I am working on to conserve our school woodland. I’ve sourced bird images from local and amateur bird photographers who were willing to share their work and delighted that a school was taking an interest in local wildlife.
Our next step – I’ve applied to our P and F for funds to purchase some binoculars for student use. The plan is to buddy a younger student with an older student to go bird watching and observing in our school woodland and to record their findings. The students now have a bank of images to help them identify the sighted bird species thanks to the gentlemen at Birdlife WA.
Maybe there are a few future ‘twitchers’ amongst my enthusiastic students!