One outdoor sport that I have recently made an effort to learn more about is birding. Living in Sacramento, we have access to plenty of riparian habitat and some world renowned wildlife refuges nearby. I must confess, although I love to watch birds I have a hard time differentiating one from another.
(Photo Credit: Mike Baird via Flickr.com)
In my effort to learn more about the subject of birding, I have become a regular reader of Birdfreak.com. Recently, they published a guide called "The Birdfreak Guide to Taking Kids Birding" which includes the following list of topics:
- Binocular selection
- Field Guides
- Starting with Feeder Birds
- Keeping the interest going
- Birding in multi-kid mode
- Knowing when to quit
One of the key Trailmix.Net philosophies of hiking with kids is focusing on what we call "Action Scenery". The guide that the folks at Birdfreak.com have put together is a tool that can open up an entirely new world of action scenery through birding.
You can download the guides here:
The Birdfreak Guide to Taking Kids Birding (HTML)
The Birdfreak Guide to Taking Kids Birding (PDF)
Enjoy!