As we recently reported here, Miss Lauren Leal, 5th Grade Teacher at Brookside Elementary School who also is Carver’s Lead Program Coordinator for our 5th Grade Scholars Program there, has been sharing with us the wonders of birdwatching that Avery Cotton, a New Canaan High School volunteer, is introducing to her students.

In addition to music, 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.

Avery returned today to conduct a birdwatching journey all around the Brookside Elementary School campus.

Avery teaches that birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using the naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, or by listening for bird sounds.

Birdwatching often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are more easily detected and identified by ear than by eye. Most birdwatchers pursue this activity for recreational or social reasons, unlike ornithologists, who engage in the study of birds using formal scientific methods.

Bird songs show us that we need a combination of many visions of nature to make sense of the whole. Avery is inspiring our students to have a more engaged interaction with the natural world.

Our students come to realize that we do not feed the birds because they need us; we feed the birds because we need them. Professional birdwatchers may observe a thousand species, but we will be grateful if our students spend quiet time simply being present to them.