– Sea & Sage trip at Lake Carneros – photo by Tom Drouet

Education Resources

Learn More About Birds with the Birding Experts!

Sea and Sage Audubon Society offers a variety of educational brochures, booklets, videos, and science lessons produced by our Education Team that educators and individuals can use to learn more about nature. Although many of the videos were designed for 4th-5th grade students, the presentations are useful for all ages; the only requirement is your interest in nature!

We also highly recommend the educational curriculum by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon, which are explained below.

“Each link is offered free of charge, but your donation will enable our education staff to create more educational opportunities for you and others. Just click the donate button!” by Carolyn Noble, Education Committee Chair.

Contact Person for Information: Trude Hurd

Brochures – Nature

Orange County Backyard Birding (1-page photographic guide):
Orange County Neighborhood Birds in Spanish (1-page photographic guide):
How to Create A Bird-Friendly Garden (trifold brochure):
Hummingbirds of Orange County (trifold brochure identifies 6 hummingbird species and explores their interesting adaptations and behaviors):
You Can Help Birds in Orange County (2-page coloring sheet for youth):

Brochures – Nature At The San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary

Marsh Education Project at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary (trifold brochure explains the 7 educational programs at the wetland for the public)
Common Birds of San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary (photographic brochure of 40 birds)
Nesting Stilts and Avocets at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary (trifold brochure illustrates the nesting cycle of these two shorebirds)
The Osprey Family of the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary (trifold brochure explains the nesting cycle of this raptor)
Summer Birds, Plants and Wildlife of the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary (half-fold handout of 16 photos and one thing for each to find on your visit)
Winter Birds, Plants and Wildlife of the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary (half-fold handout of 16 photos and one thing for each to find on your visit)
Checklist of Animals at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary (trifold brochure listing the common insects, fish, reptiles & amphibians, and mammals at the marsh)
Come Visit the Pollinators’ Garden of the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary (trifold brochure about the creation and purpose of the garden, how to help native bees, native plants that attract hummingbirds and bees, and how to learn more)
American White Pelicans of the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary (trifold brochure about the biology of White Pelicans, when they are at the marsh, and what the tags mean) (COMING SOON)

You Tube Videos

Sea and Sage Education Programs

(2021)

This 3-minute video is narrated by Project Director Trude Hurd who explains our 7 education programs for the public at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine, Orange County, CA.

SEE VIDEO

Bird Beak Adaptations

(2021)

This 18-minute narrated lesson shows how different birds have different shapes of beaks depending on their prey. The first half covers 7 groups of birds and the second half asks students to make predictions about 5 mystery birds. Narrated by Project Director Trude Hurd.

SEE VIDEO

Food Chains and Food Webs

(2021)

This 13-minute narrated lesson uses wildlife of a Southern California freshwater marsh as examples to explain food chains and food webs and invites students to observe and answer questions. Narrated by Naturalist Debbie Hays.

SEE VIDEO

Water Quality of a Marsh

(2021)

This 8-minute narrated video explains the importance of water quality testing, shows a scientist collecting water samples from a large freshwater pond in Southern California, includes a pH test demonstration involving student participation, and concludes with how students can keep urban runoff unpolluted. Narrated by Education Assistant Deborah Brin.

SEE VIDEO

The Language of Birds

2021)

Go to the link above and then enter Student Code: NZBIP and then your First Name (link is good until 12/1/2023).

This 15-minute narrated NearPod lesson encourages student learning about bird communication as they participate in simple quizzes about the songs, calls and mechanical sounds that birds make. Narrated by Naturalist Debbie Spurr.

SEE VIDEO

Beach Birds of Crystal Cove State Park

(2021)

This short, narrated video explores the beach birds of Crystal Cove State Park, Orange County, California. Viewers will learn tips to identify the common birds on Southern California beaches, the biology of their lives, and ways to protect them. Narrated by Project Director Trude Hurd.

SEE VIDEO

Backyard Birds

(2020)

This 16-minute narrated video is for beginning birdwatchers and features 10 common backyard birds in Southern California, how to identify them, and a few fun facts about their life histories. Narrated by Hunter Craft, camp graduate and former teen Junior Naturalist.

SEE VIDEO

Native Plants to Attract Birds

(COMING SOON)

This short, narrated video explains the importance of locally native plants for birds, 12 types of plants, and where to get more information.

Adaptations of Bird Beaks

(2020)

This 26-minute lesson features our Project Director Trude Hurd who uses our taxidermy bird specimens to compare and contrast the beak shapes of ten categories of birds in Southern California.

SEE VIDEO

Adaptations of Raptors

(2020)

This 16-minute video features our Project Director Trude Hurd who uses our taxidermy bird specimens to explain the three characteristics of raptors in Southern California.

SEE VIDEO

Endangered Coastal Birds, Part 1

(2020)

This 31-minute narrated PowerPoint video explains how birds become endangered, what laws protect them, and two local success stories in Orange County, CA (California Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon).

SEE VIDEO

Endangered Coastal Birds, Part 2

(2020)

This 35-minute narrated PowerPoint video explains four local coastal birds still in trouble in Orange County and how we can help (Ridgway’s Rail, California Least Tern, Western Snowy Plover and Belding’s Savannah Sparrow).

SEE VIDEO

Owl Behaviors and Adaptations

(2017)

This 4-minute unnarrated presentation will help you discover how owls live and survive. Use the pause feature for each slide as you learn about adaptations (eyes, ears, talons, beak, feathers, and neck), feeding behaviors, nesting, how to help owls, resources, student activities, and vocabulary.

SEE VIDEO

Wonderful World of Bats

(2021) (COMING SOON)

This ___ minute unnarrated presentation dispels the myths, explains the biology, and shares the most common bats in Orange County, California. Use the pause feature for each slide.

Introduction to Shorebirds

(2021) (COMING SOON)

This ___ minute unnarrated PowerPoint video shows the main categories of shorebirds and how to identify between the most common species in Southern California.

Google Classroom – Sea And Sage Audubon

Virtual Coastal Bird Camp

A Google Classroom lesson comprised of 26 self-paced activities for ages 9 to adult to learn more about Coastal Shorebirds, Endangered Coastal Birds, and Coastal Plastics. See PDF for how to enroll.

Educational Opportunities By Other Organizations

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

This is the place for articles and videos to help you develop your bird identification skills, photography skills, and learn about feeding birds and bird sounds. There’s the free All About Birds on-line bird guide, free Merlin app to identify birds from a description or photo, live Bird Cams, and interesting fee-based courses. All ages will benefit!
Free K-12 Lessons: You will find a wide variety of bird lessons and activities that are user-friendly, meet Next Generation Science Standards, and inspire students. Choose from Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12

Audubon For Kids

This National Audubon web page features a wide variety of activities and content from Audubon’s national network of environmental educators to help connect children to the natural world.
Topics include Get to Know Birds, Owls, Migration, Plants for Birds, Hummingbirds, Raptors, Wading Birds, Seabirds, Share the Shore, Climate, and Drawing a Bird with David Allen Sibley.
Audubon Adventures issues colorful newspapers for children in grades 3-5 on a variety of nature topics (available for purchase).

Image copyright Alex Tomlinson – National Audubon Society at click here.
Image used with permission from National Audubon.