Education

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Warbler Identification “Quick Finders”

Warblers are among the most challenging birds to identify, with their seasonally changing plumage and often-confused songs and calls. Eight illustrated plates are available for free download, provided by the authors of The Warbler Guide. Use these "Quick Finders" to help you identify any of the 56 species of warblers in the United States and Canada.

Included in the → PDF Download:
Warbler faces, Side views, 45° views, Undertail views, Warblers by region, Spring/fall warblers. Thanks to Cornell University researchers Maren Vitousek, Conor Taff and Monique Pipkin.

Help Us Introduce Youngsters to Birdwatching

We had our first classroom  activity with Ms Yvette Troy's 3rd graders at José Barrios, and have outdoor activities planned for the spring. We hope to expand activities with other elementary school children; stay tuned! We’ll be needing binoculars for this project and would appreciate donations of any binoculars you no longer use.

Have extra binoculars to donate? You may bring them to any Audubon program, see Programs for dates →

Collaborative Grant Awarded to SWNMA

We are pleased to be the recipient of $1000 from the Audubon Collaborative Grant program. We purchased six additional pairs of binoculars to share in classrooms and on field trips, and will develop and purchase durable education materials for classroom programs to increase activities already started at José Barrios Elementary School.

It's Bird Time at School!

Board member Lisa Fields has had a great time with two lessons about birds in Ms Yvette-Torrez Troy’s third grade class at José Barrios Elementary School. The first lesson focused on types of beaks and the relationship to what birds eat. The students played a game, “Bon AppeTweet,” and collected data about which food types their “beaks” were best and worst suited to be able to eat.

The second lesson was about feathers, type, form and function as well as feather anatomy. The students used hand-held magnifiers to examine how the feather vanes’ barbules “zip” together. Both sessions included short, on-line videos. The class also made pine cone bird feeders to hang up at home, and several of the students have been observing their backyard birds!