Libraries across the nation are participating in "Celebrate Urban Birds!"

by hosting workshops, artsy celebrations,  family book readings, and much more.

Check out what other Libraries are doing:
Santa Clara Library ,Santa Clara, CA,
Easttown Library, Berwyn, PA 

Celebrate Urban Birds has ideas for libraries:

 1. Create a book display 

• Nature in the Neighborhood by Gordon Morrison -- This book is a beautiful guide to nature in the neighborhood. The author focuses on wildlife found in an ordinary neighborhood throughout the seasons.
• Songbird Journeys: Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds by Miyoko Chu – learn about the lives of songbirds as they move from continent to continent with the seasons

• The Black & Brown Faces in America's Wild Places: African Americans Making Nature and the Environment a Part of Their Everyday Lives  by Dudley Edmonson -- Photographs and interviews with people of color who are deeply involved with our natural spaces. Insightful and inspiring.

• Birds of Central Park by Cal Vornberger --Vornberger captures the beauty of wild birds in the heart of New York City.
  

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  The Audubon Society Guide to Attracting Birds: Creating Natural Habitats for Properties Large and Small by Stephen W. Kress -- Includes a wonderful  variety of practical techniques and resources for habitat improvement.
  
  

• City Birding : True Tales of Birds and Birdwatching in Unexpected Places –  by Mark Allison, Curtis Badger, Mary Durant, Mark S. Garland, James Gorman, Paul A Johnsgard, John Nichols, Marienn Winn, Julie Zickefoose – You’ll be amazed at what species of birds can still be found in the ‘remaining pockets’ of habitat present in heavily urbanized areas.
  
  
• Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird - by Andrew D. Blechman
  Pigeons: you either love them or hate them! Are they just "rats with wings" or much more? Learn all about them in this wonderful, comprehensive, and very readable book.

• Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder-by Richard Louv 
   
  There is a growing disconnect between children and nature. Children's lives are out of balance, with little free time. They are spending most of their time in structured indoor activities and less and less time simply playing outdoors. People protect what they value, and they value what they know and appreciate. If children don't cherish the natural environment, there is a good chance that they won't grow up to be good stewards of the earth that sustains us.
 
• Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park by Marie Winn (1999) -- Highlights the saga of Pale Male a Red-tailed Hawk that takes residence in the heart of New York City.
• On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole (2007)                                  Have you ever wondered what would happen if you let your lawn grow?  Henry Cole tells a wonderful story as 'lawn' becomes 'habitat' for all kinds of interesting creatures and beautiful birds.  And everything in the story can actually be done in your own neighborhood! 
  
• Gracie, the Public Gardens Duck, story by Judith Meyrick, Illustrations by Richard Rudnicki 
  
  Gracie is used to human food and knows how to get fed.  What happens when her friends stop feeding her, for her own good?  Will she learn to eat like a wild duck?  What duck food does she find in the public gardens?

2. Distribute Celebrate Urban Bird Kits to the public

Involve your community in a great project that gets people of all ages outdoors, teaches about birds and conservation in a fun and easy way, gets the families involved in the process of science, and encourages community action. Register for free and let us know how many kits you will distribute. We'll send them to you for free! Email us at urbanbirds@cornell.edu for more information or to obtain more kits.

3. Hold a book reading

Grandmother’s Pigeon - Louise Erdrich

Great read-aloud books include:

Our Education Department's Children's Book Recommendations

will give you a good list to use as resources and for story hours.

4. Host a movie night about birds and conservation

Here are some movies to consider:

Pale Male  a film by Frederic Lilien – Watch incredible footage of Pale Male a daring Red-tailed Hawk that takes residence in the heart of New York City

The Life of Birds by David Attenborough

Pictured is Jonathan Rosen, who birdwatches in Central Park frequently, is profiled in the film, and also wrote Life of The Skies: Birding at the End of Nature 

5. Host a workshop

6. Celebrate the Arts!

• Find art activities to help your patrons connect with nature. Activities include fabric collages, tiles, bird mobiles and much more.
  

• Hold an art or photography contest featuring urban nature and host a "gallery showing" 

  Highlight some of the wonderful work you receive by hosting a photo or art gallery. Make sure to include a youth section. Send the Lab of Ornithology some of your entries.

• Sponsor a "bird art" treasure hunt in your library or neighborhood
  Participants may have to find clues, artifacts, or components to solve a mystery or to create an original work of art! Pair up with local artists to make this event more meaningful.

• Create a story that requires that children find clues outside by looking at their neighborhood birds or habitat.

8.  Connect with Sound

Find activities to help your patrons connect with bird sounds.

• See a lesson plan by Colleen McLinn, from Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds and get close and personal with bird sounds.
• Learn more about identifying birds: take the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Bird Quiz!
• Hold a workshop on creating podcasts. Learn about Urban Bird Sounds Project a project led by youth integrating technology and nature. Download podcasts by youth from

Allow patrons to check out a "Celebrate Urban Birds!" kit, bird guide, and binoculars.

Please enclose a new data form each time a patron checks out a kit. You might even collect all the data forms and then send them along to the Lab of Ornithology. Encourage everyone to participate and contribute to science.

9. Other ideas