Playing and Learning with I.D.Bird Cards
Big Day Play:  When birders go out for a Big
Day, they try to see as many species in a single day
as possible.  These experienced birders often see
over 100 species in one day and identify nearly
every bird they see.  Children can simulate this
experience and define how many bird species they
can identify with I.D.Bird Cards.  The goal of this
game is to find out how many different species your
child has learned.  
  1. Place 3 to 10 I.D.Bird Cards inside the Cover-
    Up Sleeves.
  2. Lay them out on an uncluttered surface.
  3. Let your child identify as many of the birds as
    they are able.
  4. If they have good success and want to
    continue, start the process over again.

A Few Notes on Big Day Play:

  • At first, children may only be familiar with 3 to
    10 species (like most non-birding adults)
    and NOT all 100 plus I.D.Bird Cards.  After
    children become more familiar with the I.D.
    Bird Cards, most children will be able to
    review their entire collection and be able to
    identify nearly every bird presented.

  • I have never presented this game to my
    children as a race, as my children seem to
    enjoy racing through faster than I can lay the
    bird cards down inside the Cover-Up
    Sleeves.  Some children may enjoy trying to
    identify as many birds as possible against a
    time clock.  To do your part, you may need
    additional Cover-up Sleeves.  The goal is not
    to see how fast the child can identify birds,
    but to see how many birds the child has
    learned.

  • Also, do not miss the opportunity to coach
    the child and the identification marks of any
    bird they did not identify.  Generally, children
    prefer this learning to come later and during
    another study period.  So instead of pointing
    out the identification marks they missed
    during the game, you may want to set these
    cards aside for study at a later time.

  • Sometimes this game is helpful to simply
    choose another 3 or 4 new birds for your
    child to study at another time or to learn with
    another I.D.Bird Card game.
Navigation Bar for I.D. Bird Card
Learning Toolkit
Recognition and Recall Games:  Using I.D.Bird
Cards and Cover-up Sleeves, children can practice their
recognition of bird species and recall of bird identification.  
Most older children and proficient readers can learn
numerous bird names very quickly, either on their own or with
the help of an adult.  Have the child begin by selecting several
birds that they would like to learn and naming them aloud, as
in the first period of the three-period lesson. Then, simply
proceed with the three-period lesson.  (If you have not yet
read, Learning Principles II:  Seguin’s Three Period Lesson,
this may prove worthwhile.)  Also, start with a goal of learning
3 to 4 species at a time so that the child can experience and
enjoy success with learning bird identification.  This following
describes the game in more detail.
  1. After unfamiliar species have been identified, slip
    these I.D.Bird Cards inside the Cover-up Sleeves.
  2. Lay 3 to 8 of these cards before the child and name
    each species.  Reposition the cards and repeat this
    step.
  3. Next ask your child to identify each of the species.  Ask
    questions like:  “Show me the …..” or “Which one is
    the  ….”.  
  4. Next allow the child to practice their recall of each
    species.  After laying out three to four I.D.Bird Cards,
    ask the child to identify each bird (one at a time).  
    “Which is species is this?”  “What is the name of this
    species?”
Similar and Different:  This simple game can be
presented in many different ways so that children learn to
identify differences in similar looking birds.  This is how this
game works.
  1. Identify 3 to 10 similar looking birds.  
  2. Place the I.D.Bird Cards inside the Cover-Up
    Sleeves.
  3. Lay them out on an uncluttered surface.
  4. Let your child identify as many of the birds as they
    are able.  You may want to give them some
    identification cues, such as, “the male American
    Wigeon has a white cap on a big swash of green on
    its head while the male Mallard has an all green
    head”.   And then ask, “Which duck is an American
    Wigeon?”
  5. If the child  is having great success and wants to
    continue, select a different grouping and start the
    process over again

A Few Notes on the Similar and Different Game:

  • Some of the groupings, which you may want to try,
    include presenting waterfowl together, or
    woodpeckers together, or birds who have feathering
    which is predominantly blue (or some other color)
    together, or birds that share a common habitat
    together.  Many other groupings are possible by just
    looking at the images of the card and selecting birds
    which look similar.  

  • Teaching children 3 to 4 birds at a time seems to
    work best!  The most important thing is to keep the
    game simple enough to allow success at identifying
    the bird on the card.

  • As the children become more familiar with the birds
    on the cards, you can try this game with as many as
    8 to 10 cards at a time.  You will be impressed with
    your child’s learning ability and newly gained
    knowledge.
Who Am I?  This game is best played by
two or more players with matching sets of
cards.   Through a series of questions, the
players learn bird identification cues and guess
which bird their opponent has chosen.
  1. Players hold 3 to 10 cards in their hands
    -- each player’s hand matches the other’
    s, bird for bird.  
  2. Each player mentally designates one
    bird to be “it,” and sets this card to the far
    left of her hand.  
  3. Players take turns asking each other a
    question that can be answered with yes
    or no, e.g.: “Do you have wing bars?”  
    “Do you have an eye ring?”   “Do you
    have a crest?”   
  4. With each question, a player should be
    able to eliminate one or more cards
    from her hand.  
  5. The first player to name her opponent’s
    designated card, wins.
The Art of Documentatation:  Encourage your
children to practice drawing, sketching and painting the
birds they admire, starting with their I.D.Bird Cards, and
then taking their art to the field. Have them keep a notebook
of their renderings and help them think of this practice as
documentation. This eliminates some of the pressure to
make their work beautiful, and results in more
spontaneous and unselfconscious images.