Here's a fun date for your homeschool calendar: November 1. That's when the Project FeederWatch season starts. FeederWatch is a winter bird-counting project from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada, where ordinary families count the birds at their feeders and share the data with scientists.
The timing is good for Arkansas. Winter visitors are on their way, and University of Arkansas – Fort Smith ornithologist Dr. Ragupathy Kannan has a handy rundown of Arkansas winter birds: cardinals, Carolina chickadees, tufted titmice and blue jays at the feeder, with dark-eyed juncos that, in his words, "show up with the first snow." His top feeder tip? Black-oil sunflower seeds, which are high in fat and carbohydrates and help birds stay warm.
And the Ozarks are about to put on a show. The More Than Just Parks foliage tracker says Arkansas is running about six days late this year, with most of the state peaking between November 4 and 13. Once those leaves drop, birds get a lot easier to spot from the kitchen window. That makes the next few weeks a perfect time to turn your backyard into a bird science lab.
What your kids will learn
A simple feeder test packs in real biology and real data skills.
Grades K–5
- Observe birds closely and describe how they look and act
- Identify common Arkansas backyard birds like the northern cardinal and blue jay
- Count visits with tally marks and turn them into a bar graph
- Discover that different animals need and choose different foods
Grades 6–12
- Design a fair test by controlling variables: dish, location and time of day
- Collect data over repeated trials and graph the results
- Connect beak shape to diet: insect-eaters vs. seed-eaters
- Draw evidence-based conclusions and explain sources of error
This week's activity: the Three-Dish Bird Food Test
Which food do Arkansas birds pick first? Here's how to find out with things you may already have.
- Pick your spot. Choose a flat surface you can see from a window, like a deck rail, a porch step or a low table, ideally near shrubs where birds can take cover.
- Choose three foods. Use three identical dishes or jar lids. Try black-oil sunflower seeds, a plain birdseed mix, and unsalted shelled peanuts (Dr. Kannan notes peanuts attract blue jays). Put the same amount in each.
- Make a prediction. Have each child write down which food will be most popular and which bird will show up first.
- Watch and tally. Pick a time of day and watch for 15–20 minutes. Make a tally mark each time a bird lands at a dish, and note the species if you can.
- Switch the order. Each day, rotate which dish sits on the left, middle and right. That way, you're testing the food, not the position. (Older kids: this is called controlling a variable.)
- Repeat for a week. Same time, same length of watch, same amounts of food.
- Graph it. Make a bar graph of visits per food. Did cardinals and jays choose differently? Talk about why beak shape might matter.
Keep it clean and safe: an adult should help set up any feeder on a rail, wash hands after handling birdseed, and wash the dishes every few days.
Want it all ready to go? The Bird & Chicken Mealworm Observation Experiment Kit turns this activity into a complete unit. It also works with backyard chickens, if your family keeps a flock. Inside the box:
- 8 oz dried mealworms
- 8 oz black-oil sunflower seeds
- 8 oz white millet
- 3 identical clear feeding dishes
- A printable curriculum for your grade band, emailed after purchase, with a bird ID guide, observation logs, tally sheets and graphing pages
Comparing mealworms (an insect food) with two seeds is a great way to see insect-eaters and seed-eaters make different choices. One tip from the kit: mealworms are a treat, not a complete diet, so offer a small handful at a time.
Bonus experiment: the sunflower seeds birds eat are living seeds, each with a tiny plant embryo inside. The Sunflower Seed Germination Science Kit lets kids watch 10 sunflower seeds split open and send out their first roots, usually in 2–5 days, with a germination pouch, observation worksheets and a 4-lesson curriculum. It's a great indoor project for the cold days when the birds are busiest.
Join the growing community
Every kit includes an invitation to Aardvark's Seed Planting For Little Hands, our private group where kids and parents share photos, ask questions and get support with their experiments.
Post your bird graphs and your best feeder photos. Young scientists in Arkansas, West Virginia and Arizona see different birds outside their windows, and comparing results across states is half the fun.
Get your bird lab ready before November 1
Set up this week, and your kids will be counting like real citizen scientists when the FeederWatch season begins.
- Bird & Chicken Mealworm Observation Experiment Kit – $34.99 (Grades K–5 or 6–12)
- Sunflower Seed Germination Science Kit – $25.00 (Grades K–5 or 6–12)
