Introduction to Shorebirds

What makes a bird a shorebird? To kick off "Migration Science and Mystery: A Distance Learning Adventure," teachers and students can use these lesson plans to answer that question.

Concepts Presented in Lesson Plans

■ Shorebirds have a unique combination of physical and behavioral characteristics that help us in their identification.
■ Shorebirds are birds specially adapted to live in open land and often near water.
■ Most shorebirds are migratory.
■ Shorebirds form some of the largest migratory groups of all vertebrate species.
■ Shorebirds are international travelers that link people and places.
■ Learning about representative species of shorebirds and their ecology can help us learn about
birds in general.
■ Many shorebird species are declining.

Lesson Plans

Get to Know the Shorebirds Puppet Shows
(lower and upper elementarymiddle school)
By creating shorebird puppets and putting on a shorebird puppet show, students learn the physical and behavioral characteristics that make a bird a shorebird.

To complete this activity, you will need the Shorebird Coloring Pages.

Shorebird Profiles
(upper elementary/middle school; upper middle school/high school)
By critically reading four shorebird profiles provided in this educator’s guide, students make direct
comparisons among the appearance, food habits, migration routes, and mating behaviors of four shorebirds found in their area. They will explore values associated with, as well as threats to, these four shorebirds.

For more information on shorebirds, check out the Shorebird Profiles.

Most Wanted: Shorebirds!
(upper middle school/high school)
Students work in teams to research and then create a “wanted” poster that highlights key information about a shorebird species whose population is of concern to biologists.

To complete this activity, you will need the Shorebird Profiles.

A Year (a Day or a Week) In My Life as a Shorebird
(upper middle school/high school)
Students imagine themselves as a shorebird and write a “first-bird” account of a day, a week, or a year in its life.

To complete this activity, you will need the Shorebird Profiles.