New Canaan High School student Avery Cotton teaches Carver after-school students at Brookside Elementary School about the fascinating world of birds!
A tiny, round bird perches just outside the classroom window. It has a black “cap” atop its little head, white “cheeks,” a short bill, and a long, narrow tail. In schools throughout North America, students have surely seen this bird many times. But do they know what it is? Carver students at Brookside Elementary School know!
The Black Capped Chickadeen with “white cheeks”
In addition to music, New Canaan High School student Avery Cotton is passionate about birdwatching, conservation, and nature. He is an active volunteer at the New Canaan Land Trust. Avery is also sharing his passion for nature with our after-school kids!
On May 24, Avery provided his custom enrichment program to our scholars at Brookside Elementary School. He will be returning soon to guide our students on a birdwatching tour of their school campus.
Birds are a part of every child’s life, even if only as a part of the background. By teaching our students how to identify some birds, we can help make them more aware of our local biological diversity and more attentive to our local environment in general.
Especially Hummingbirds, tiny creatures faster than the Space Shuttle that balance the impossible equation of extreme fragility and superhuman strength. As if the evolution of ordinary bird flight weren’t miracle enough, the hummingbird can fly backward and upside-down and can hover. It is hovering that most defiantly subverts the standard physics of bird flight: head practically still as the tiny turbine of feather and bone suspends the body mid-air — not by flapping up and down, as wings do in ordinary bird flight, but by swiveling rapidly along the invisible curvature of an infinity symbol.
Bird identification is not nearly as daunting as it sounds. It’s like any other skill: practice will make our students better. It’s best to start at the beginning and gradually build our students’ knowledge of birds and bird traits. One of the great things about getting started is that everyone has some kind of basic knowledge of birds. Birds are everywhere!
We are grateful to Avery for giving our students an exciting alternative to the many screens that distract them. Connecting our students with the outdoors has many health benefits and helps them learn the importance of looking after our planet.
