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1 hour ago, Connor Cochrane said:

Happy 4th to everyone. We went fishing today and we’re lucky enough to bring in 2 salmon (a rare occurrence for us). Overall a great day. 
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Awesome!

I was being used as target practice for my younger brothers friends to shoot at with Nerf Guns. Gunna set off some fireworks in a bit though.

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On 7/1/2021 at 4:58 PM, Jefferson Shank said:

Better than any other spring! I'm out of school and into the full work swing. I think I have somewhere around 150 species. Possibly in the beginning of August, I may spend a week in the Amazon in Colombia doing some wildlife (especially birds) for a friend of mine who is writing a book about Colombia, since he is teaching school there.

Nice to see you back!

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Hi, Young Birders!  My granddaughter will turn 6 this fall and already has a keen interest in birds.  She has asked for a bird book.  I had gotten her a pair of small binoculars, but they broke this weekend. ?  I really want to foster and encourage her interest in birds.  What books, equipment, courses, trips, events, etc, can you all recommend?  Thank you.

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2 hours ago, floraphile said:

Hi, Young Birders!  My granddaughter will turn 6 this fall and already has a keen interest in birds.  She has asked for a bird book.  I had gotten her a pair of small binoculars, but they broke this weekend. ?  I really want to foster and encourage her interest in birds.  What books, equipment, courses, trips, events, etc, can you all recommend?  Thank you.

As for field guide purposes, anything that’s not super advanced( even the nat geo adult versions, stokes guides, Peterson guides to all of N.A., will work. Those are what I use and I understand them completely fine. Really I’m not sure on the binos. Take her( or tell her mom or dad), to take her to a great hotspot near her house or something and explore. And tell her my most important part of advice that has worked for me , Have fun!

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8 hours ago, IKLland said:

As for field guide purposes, anything that’s not super advanced( even the nat geo adult versions, stokes guides, Peterson guides to all of N.A., will work

Respectfully, for a six-year-old, I'd go with something much simpler.  I'd go with a regional guide, something specific to the state or area she lives in, with big pictures.

For binos, a six-year-old has pretty small hands and is still developing fine muscle skills.  I'd accept that she'd probably going to break them regularly, and go with something inexpensive.  Check this list of binos for kids:

https://www.google.com/search?q=binoculars+for+children&safe=active&biw=1202&bih=832&tbm=shop&ei=izTsYIucCM_mkgWP0aHgBQ&oq=binoculars+for+children&gs_lcp=Cgtwcm9kdWN0cy1jYxADMgIIADIICAAQFhAeEBgyCAgAEBYQHhAYMggIABAWEB4QGDIICAAQFhAeEBgyCAgAEBYQHhAYMggIABAWEB4QGDIICAAQFhAeEBgyCAgAEBYQHhAYMggIABAWEB4QGDoKCAAQsQMQgwEQQzoICAAQsQMQgwE6BAgAEBhQ4oUCWIusAmC-uAJoAXAAeAKAAaUKiAGWOJIBDTItMi4zLjMuMy4xLjGYAQCgAQHAAQE&sclient=products-cc&ved=0ahUKEwjLjYCmw93xAhVPs6QKHY9oCFwQ4dUDCAs&uact=5

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I'd like to hear from the Young Birders themselves, especially those who started birding in elementary school.  What first got you interested in birding?  What kept your interest in birding?   Currently, she & I watch from the window and she asks the names of the birds and I tell her and show her pictures in Sibley.  I want to fuel that spark!

 

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3 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

Respectfully, for a six-year-old, I'd go with something much simpler.  I'd go with a regional guide, something specific to the state or area she lives in, with big pictures.

For binos, a six-year-old has pretty small hands and is still developing fine muscle skills.  I'd accept that she'd probably going to break them regularly, and go with something inexpensive.  Check this list of binos for kids:

https://www.google.com/search?q=binoculars+for+children&safe=active&biw=1202&bih=832&tbm=shop&ei=izTsYIucCM_mkgWP0aHgBQ&oq=binoculars+for+children&gs_lcp=Cgtwcm9kdWN0cy1jYxADMgIIADIICAAQFhAeEBgyCAgAEBYQHhAYMggIABAWEB4QGDIICAAQFhAeEBgyCAgAEBYQHhAYMggIABAWEB4QGDIICAAQFhAeEBgyCAgAEBYQHhAYMggIABAWEB4QGDoKCAAQsQMQgwEQQzoICAAQsQMQgwE6BAgAEBhQ4oUCWIusAmC-uAJoAXAAeAKAAaUKiAGWOJIBDTItMi4zLjMuMy4xLjGYAQCgAQHAAQE&sclient=products-cc&ved=0ahUKEwjLjYCmw93xAhVPs6QKHY9oCFwQ4dUDCAs&uact=5

Ah, you’re right. Thanks.

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27 minutes ago, floraphile said:

I'd like to hear from the Young Birders themselves, especially those who started birding in elementary school.  What first got you interested in birding?  What kept your interest in birding?   Currently, she & I watch from the window and she asks the names of the birds and I tell her and show her pictures in Sibley.  I want to fuel that spark!

 

?

12 hours ago, IKLland said:

As for field guide purposes, anything that’s not super advanced( even the nat geo adult versions, stokes guides, Peterson guides to all of N.A., will work. Those are what I use and I understand them completely fine. Really I’m not sure on the binos. Take her( or tell her mom or dad), to take her to a great hotspot near her house or something and explore. And tell her my most important part of advice that has worked for me , Have fun!

 

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28 minutes ago, floraphile said:

I'd like to hear from the Young Birders themselves, especially those who started birding in elementary school.  What first got you interested in birding?  What kept your interest in birding?   Currently, she & I watch from the window and she asks the names of the birds and I tell her and show her pictures in Sibley.  I want to fuel that spark!

 

You can see my post above! I started last November. It was COVID that got me interested in something outdoors. I just fell in love with it and kept going and I still am. 

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13 minutes ago, floraphile said:

I'd like to hear from the Young Birders themselves, especially those who started birding in elementary school.  What first got you interested in birding?  What kept your interest in birding?   Currently, she & I watch from the window and she asks the names of the birds and I tell her and show her pictures in Sibley.  I want to fuel that spark!

 

Was interested in birding from a very young age, listening to common bird recordings and flipping through my Birds of New York field guide for hours. I really got serious about birding in my first year of middle school, upgrading to a sibley guide and taking bird photo quizzes like crazy. What always kept me birding was the thrill of seeing new and different birds and observing new behaviors. Birding has become an obsession, and I am not likely to stop anytime soon or ever.

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Let them catch YOUR enthusiasm! They are much more likely to take an interest when they see you enjoying it. My 3 year old already knows the names of most of our common feeder birds and more. I let her key in what we are seeing in ebird - it's fun for her to use the phone and good alphabet practice too ;-)  She also loves the flash cards from Cornell. 

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8 hours ago, SirVive said:

Let them catch YOUR enthusiasm! They are much more likely to take an interest when they see you enjoying it. My 3 year old already knows the names of most of our common feeder birds and more. I let her key in what we are seeing in ebird - it's fun for her to use the phone and good alphabet practice too ? She also loves the flash cards from Cornell. 

That is a great suggestion!  Thank you.

 

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On 7/13/2021 at 6:12 AM, floraphile said:

That is a great suggestion!  Thank you.

 

I almost forgot, definitely tell her parents to put out bird feeders and some water. That’s one of the first things I told mine to do.

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