New Zealand Garden Bird Survey

This New Zealand-based citizen science project aims to collect data about the types and numbers of common garden birds in our own backyard. This is done once annually during a particular window of time, usually for 1 week starting at the end of June, and the results contribute to New Zealand’s knowledge and monitoring of garden bird species and the health of the environment we live in.

Participation in the project requires you to be able to identify types of birds, with plenty of resources to support this. Opportunities for discussions around critiquing evidence (How many birds have we seen?, How do we know that we didn’t count one bird twice?) are huge, as is the potential for practising interpreting data from previous years’ surveys.

Our context for learning offers ideas for getting started and making the most of the survey.

URL: https://gardenbirdsurvey.nz/

Reach: Regional, national

Nature of science focus: Online citizen science (OCS) projects can be used to develop any of the Nature of Science (NoS) substrands. What is important is to identify aspects of NoS that your students need to be better at or understand more fully. Then frame your unit to be very clear about these things when you do them.

Science capability focus: Gather and interpret data, Critique evidence, Interpret representations

Science focus: Ecology – bird identification and species distribution

Some suggested science concepts:

• Birds can be identified by their external features.

• Birds have adaptive features – structural (beaks, feet) or behavioural (calls, migration) – that enable them to survive.

• Each bird species can be classified as being native, endemic, introduced, and/or endangered.

• Bird species are adapted to live in their particular habitats.

• Different birds live in different habitats. For example, introduced birds are more common in our towns than native species – their adaptations better enable them to live in close contact with people and mammalian predators.

• Changes in habitat can affect the survival of living organisms in an area, and the relationships between them.

• Populations are living organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time.

Many concepts could be learned – focusing on a few can often be more powerful. Develop your learning outcomes and success criteria from these concepts as well as the Nature of Science strand and the science capabilities.

Some examples of learning outcomes:

Students can:

• collect bird observations independently

• discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the data collection method

• identify local birds by their external features

• compare adaptive features and explain their role in a bird’s survival.

About Garden Bird Survey

The NZ Garden Bird Survey is a national project helping our scientists monitor bird populations in gardens, parks and schools over time. Students can learn about birds in their area and participate in a bird count during the national week of data collection. Resources are provided online to assist with this.

Ko te manu i kai ana i te miro nōna te ngahere,
ko te manu i kai ana i te mātauranga nōna te ao.

The bird that consumes the miro berry owns the forest,
the bird that consumes knowledge owns the world.

The New Zealand Garden Bird Survey has been running since 2007, providing extensive data to look back through and consider. While you can’t access your own data or compare data between schools (locally or nationally), this is a direction Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research would like to take the website in the future. In the meantime, there are fabulously displayed results available for rich class discussions and developing the science capability ‘Interpret representations’.

Several resources are provided to support teachers throughout the survey, such as a series of short videos including a 2-minute clip likening gardens to layer cakes and showing that different birds can be found in different layers depending on what they like to eat. Discussions around scale and the comparative size and weight of birds is supported by another short video introducing the Chocolate Fish Index. A LEARNZ Virtual Field Trip and DOC’s ‘experiencing birds in green spaces’ resource about the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey are also available. There are online quizzes for testing your bird identification skills and knowledge including Māori bird names. There is also an online collection of almost 200 images available to support educators putting together their NZ Garden Bird Survey activities.

Through the website, it is possible to connect with a real scientist, and there are opportunities to share your work, findings and questions through social media.