Birds in the City Web site Target Science

Target Science Teachers Investigate Birds of the LA River AS THE SUN CAROMS DOWN ACROSS THE ROCKS and brush of the LA River, Science teacher Kim Jones stands on a moss-covered rock peering through her binoculars at a Great Blue Heron as it gracefully swoops down onto a tree branch about 50 feet away. "Oh, look at that," exclaims Jones, pointing to the large water fowl. "Isn't that amazing what can be found in your own back yard." Jones was one of about 30 Los Angeles Unified School District science teachers who ventured to the LA River last week as part of a five-day workshop called "Birds in the City." The workshop was designed to acquaint teachers with the biology, behavior, and habitat of local birds such as swallows, pigeons, water fowl, and owls and how to integrate technology into their study. The institute, developed by the Target Science Teacher Network, LA-SI and the UCLA Science Project, is part of Project Inquiry a program made possible by a $400,000 grant from the Eisenhower Professional Development State Grant Program to introduce technology into science curricula for economically disadvantaged students in Los Angeles. Led by Target Science Directors Patricia Dung and Esther Zack, the bird exploration utilized the expertise of Dan Cooper, a bird expert from the Los Angeles Audubon Society who pointed out several bird species including American Coots, three varieties of herons, a Lazuli Bunting, a Red-winged Black Bird, a Western King Bird and a Red-tailed Hawk. "This was a really successful trip," Dung said. "I've never seen so many different varieties of birds. We must have seen about 15 different birds today." While at the river, the "birders" logged their observations and took photos. Later in the week, they returned to a classroom laboratory where they entered data into spread sheets and built Web pages for future use in their own classrooms. "I like the connection between the science and technology that this type of workshop offers," said Sue Wallander, a third- and fourth-grade teacher at Haskell Magnet in Granada Hills. "I've found that when kids use computers it cements their understanding. With this information, I can really develop some exciting lesson plans." Other classroom-based activities included a lecture on bird biology and the biology of flight by Barbara Boen of the LA Zoo, and technology training, which will instruct teachers on how to find the best Internet classroom resources on the World Wide Web and even how to create their own Web pages to present the findings of their scientific field investigations.