Fun Friday: Backyard Wildlife Watching

Fun Friday activities are quick-and-simple ways to explore nature in your own backyard. 

THE IDEA
Look for wildlife – and signs of wildlife – in our very urban backyard.

This week is National Wildlife Week – a signature event of National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There™ campaign. To celebrate, I thought it might be fun for the kids to see what type of wildlife lives in our backyard.

OUR NOTES FROM THE FIELD
We live in the heart of a city, with a modest backyard composed of a combination of concrete and a large patch of grass. And while we do have a lone lemon tree at the far end of our yard that the birds like to hang out in, I figured that’s about all the signs of wildlife we’d see once we started looking closely.

Once again I was sorely mistaken.

Before we headed out, I asked the kids to find things in our backyard that were wild; things we didn’t put there. They always love to be armed with a task, and this activity was no exception.

As we stepped out the back door, we spotted our first wild critter, Mr. Squirrel, who is a big fan of our bird feeding efforts.

Then we noticed an overturned pot lying in the dirt. I asked the kids what might be underneath it. Of course, the 5 year old didn’t wait to answer, lifting the pot immediately. What did we find?

Tons of crawly critters that sent the kids reeling with excitement. In fact, the oldest ran back into the house to get his bug container.

He grabbed two roly polies (because the first needed a friend) and put them in. With extreme care, he then added “bits of nature” like grass, dirt, leaves and rocks so the bugs would feel at home (his exact words).

From there, we headed to the back of the yard where we could see all our usual feathered friends (house sparrows). But we also saw a hummingbird (too quick for my camera!), a butterfly and a crow. Wow!

There were feathers, ladybugs, spider webs and spiders, too. In the span of about 20 minutes, I’d seen enough to realize that our backyard is a haven for wild creatures. And I’m glad the kids have seen it, too.

TAKE-HOME TIPS
We don’t have a forest in our backyard, so our pool of potential backyard residents is a bit smaller than it might be if we lived in the country. To make your search more exciting:

• Invite wildlife in. Our bird feeders ensure our tree (and the neighbors’) is frequented by our winged friends. And I think we’ve scored points with the squirrel population, too. Flowering plants can also attract wildlife to your yard.
• Track signs of wildlife, too. We were lucky enough to see plenty of wild critters, but it’s also fun to look for signs of animals or animal homes. You can go on a hunt for spider webs, nests, seed shells, animal tracks, even scat (poo). Then your kids can try to guess what animal left behind the item.

MORE BACKYARD FUN
I’m not the only one providing simple ideas for exploring nature in your backyard. Here are a few more ideas to help you get your kids outdoors this weekend:

• See how to watch the grass grow over at The Grass Stain Guru
• Learn how to follow a stream with Mel at Your Wild Child
• Find out a few plants kids can play with at Caro & Co
• Count shades of green with this activity from Nature Rocks
• Go on a spring scavenger hunt with help from Let’s Connect With Nature
• Enjoy some outdoor imagination games from Your Therapy Source

I hope you’ll get exploring this weekend – let me know how it goes!