The Backyard Birders Enrichment Cluster is now in its second year at PS 29 Elementary School in Brooklyn, New York. Backyard Birders runs for ten weeks meeting every Thursday morning. The cluster of twelve students made up which is made up of first through third graders.

They are introduced to bird watching. The school is located in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn, which happens to be an excellent spot for urban birdwatching. The students are taught to navigate their Field Guides and become proficient at operating their binoculars, which were generously provided Celestron. On our walks we have identified Mocking Birds, Cardinals, American Robbins, European Starlings, Chirping Sparrows, House Sparrows, Ring-Billed Gulls, the ubiquitous Rock Dove (pigeon) among others. The students learn to differentiate the flight silhouettes of the Peregrine Falcon and the Red Tailed Hawk. Most of the students can recognize the call of the Blue Jay and know what the Blue Jay is trying to tell them. Not bad for bird walks that never ventured farther than two blocks. There is something very special about a student making their first identification, really knowing which bird they are looking at and if it is male or female. It is a moment for connection with nature. The students tell me they look up in the sky and trees when they walk home.

It would be great to have this program in all of our public schools.