Ask Ollie
Backyard Bird Tally Chart
Here's one to try together!
Sit still, spot feathered visitors, and turn your bird count into a bar chart!
Reviewed by our team.
Safety first
- Stay quiet and keep a respectful distance so wild birds are not disturbed
- Do not touch or feed wild birds
- Supervise children when sitting outdoors in the yard
- Wash hands after going outside if birds or feeders were touched
What you need
- Paper, 2 sheets
- Crayons or markers, a handful
- Pencil, 1
- Clipboard or book, 1
- Phone, 1, for the timer (optional)
How to do it
Grown-up prep: Choose a calm window or a seat in the yard with a view of trees, bushes or a feeder. Stay close by while kids sit outside.
- Set up your bird page with today's date at the top.
- Find a quiet spot by a window or in the yard.
- Sit quietly for fifteen minutes and watch for birds. Ask: What colors or sizes of bird do you think will visit first?
- Sketch each new kind of bird you spot.
- Make a tally mark beside the sketch for each bird.
- Only keep the biggest number of one kind seen together. Ask: Why could counting the same bird again and again give a wrong answer?
- Draw a bar chart of your counts.
- One week later: sit and count again in the same spot.
- Put both charts side by side and compare them. Ask: Which birds came more, which came less, and why do you think that happened?
- Show someone your charts, or try another spot! Which new bird will you find?
Play it again
- New spot: count birds in a different corner of the yard or at a park.
- Bird bingo: draw a grid of birds you might see and cross them off.
- Time of day: count in the morning, then again at dusk, and compare.
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