Christmas Bird Count (CBC):
Find CBC events across Canada here
Find CBC events across the U.S here
Lone Pine Press’s Birds of Alberta by Chris Fisher and John Acorn
Sibley’s Birding Basics by David Allen Sibley
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, and The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America by David Allen Sibley
Backyard Bird Feeding: An Alberta Guide by Myrna Pearman
Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
City Birding with stories by birders and nature writers including Kenn Kaufman and Julie Zickefoose
The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds by Julie Zickefoose
There are other citizen science programs that also take place in the winter, including Project FeederWatch and the Great Backyard Bird Count. You can provide important information about the winter bird population in your area by counting birds at your feeders and reporting the results.
Christmas Bird Count for Kids (CBC4Kids):
Learn more about CBC4Kids at Bird Studies Canada
Find more CBC4Kids events here
“The Christmas Bird Count for Kids: Engaging a New Generation of Young Birders”, Birder’s Guide to Conservation & Community, May 2014
Guides to help kids identify the birds they see:
Look Up!: Bird-watching In Your Own Backyard, written and illustrated by Annette Leblanc Cate
Lone Pine Press’s Birds of Alberta by Chris Fisher and John Acorn
Peterson First Guide to Birds of North America by Roger Tory Peterson
“Take-Along” nature guides for kids: Birds, Nests & Eggs, as well as Fun with Nature and More Fun with Nature
John Acorn (Alberta’s own!) and his “Acorn the Nature Nut” series, which is now on DVD (with episodes on birding and birds). Check your library!
The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound: A Birder’s Journal by Sallie Wolf
Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess
Let’s-Read-and-Find Out series, available at most libraries: Sunshine Makes the Seasons by Franklyn M. Branley, Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft, Big Tracks, Little Tracks: Following Animal Prints by Millicent E. Selsam
Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies, illustrated by the wonderful Mark Hearld (more about Mark Hearld and his art here)
Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner and Christopher Silas Neal
The Backyard Birdsong Guide: Western North America by Donald Kroodsma: a very nifty book, which features a built-in digital audio player that showcases each bird’s song. From the publisher’s website: “Discover 75 unique species from Western North America as you enjoy their sounds at the touch of a button-reproduced in high quality on the attached digital audio module-while reading vivid descriptions of their songs, calls, and related behaviors.”
Birdscapes:A Pop-Up Celebration of Birdsongs in Stereo Soundby Miyoko Chu, with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, illustrated by Julia Hargreaves: “For the eyes: seven elaborately engineered, full-color pop-ups portraying dozens of bird species in diverse North American habitats, from the Alaskan Tundra to a Southeast swamp. For the ears: extended recordings of the birds’ calls and songs in stereo from the collection of the world-renowned Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. For the serious birder: scientifically accurate illustrations of the birds and moving text about their fragile ecosystems.”
Birds of a Feather by Francesco Pittau and Bernadette Gervais; from the publisher’s website: this “oversized book about birds features a variety of interactive guessing games and special features, including more than 40 lift-the-flaps and more than 15 pop-ups, plus intriguing facts about each bird, providing readers with hours of educational entertainment.”
Jane Kirkland’s “Take a Walk” series: Take a Backyard Bird Walk, Take a Winter Nature Walk
Jim Arnosky’s books: his website lists all of his books and also has coloring pages. Our family has especially liked his Crinkleroot Guides for kids, including the Crinkleroot Guide to Knowing the Birds. Be sure to check your library!
The Berenstain Bears’ Big Book of Science & Nature: we didn’t like a lot of the Berenstain Bears books when we were growing up, but the three books included in this collection are very good!
The Nature Connection: An Outdoor Workbook for Kids, Families, and Classrooms by Clare Walker Leslie
Fandex Family Field Guide (similar to flashcards but compiled in a deck to fan out, and fun to take on along outdoors or in the vehicle) to Wild Birds of North America
“Sibley Backyard Birding Flashcards: 100 Common Birds of Eastern and Western North America” by David Sibley — beautiful pictures!
The Young Birder’s Backyard Guide — thanks to readers, Jessica and Jake for this recommendation
Books for older kids and adults:
Prairie Birder 