Bird Study Merit Badge Class

  • Sat, September 24, 2022, 3pm - 4:30pm
  • This event has passed.

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Scouts

Birds are important because they keep systems in balance: they pollinate plants, disperse seeds, scavenge carcasses and recycle nutrients back into the earth. But they also feed our spirits, marking for us the passage of the seasons, moving us to create art and poetry, inspiring us to flight and reminding us that we are not only on, but of, this earth. —Melanie Driscoll, Director of bird conservation for the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi Flyway

Bird Study was one of the first merit badges created in 1911, because a true outdoorsman can tell a lot about what’s happening outdoors by observing birds. This class will be conducted in four parts.

  • In-Person 90 minute classroom session at the Natural History Society of Maryland (September 24 from 3-4:30PM)
  • In-person 3 hour field expedition at Cromwell Valley Park (October 1 from 8:30-11:30AM)
  • On their own Scout requirements.
  • One on one Quiz with the Merit Badge Counselor done on Zoom or at the Cockeysville library, both with parents attending.

Information about requirements for this badge:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,will be taught during the class.
5, their list of 20 birds, I would like them to go out in the field by themselves or with other Scouts and parents and identify birds on their own.
7we will do as part of our Cromwell Valley field trip.
For7 A. 1. I would like Scouts to use the eBird listing app on their phone.  We can also show them how to use eBird and encourage them to open an account.  I will also show them how to use field guides and Merlin to identify birds by sound as well as sight.  Do you have a color printer?  We could give them the attached bird card for recording birds seen.  I have them use a highlighter and highlight the names of each bird.
prerequisites:
8 or it can be done after first class

Instructor Bio –

A certified Merit Badge Counselor and former Troop Leader, Marty Brazeau, Baltimore Bird Club member (BBC), is a retired Baltimore County School Librarian and is currently an Academic Advisor at the Community College of Baltimore County. Marty has birded in the Baltimore area since childhood and has served as the BBC Youth Birding Leader and the Junior Naturalist Coordinator at Oregon Ridge Park. He has completed a masters degree in Outdoor Education. Marty has visited Costa Rica nine times to film birds. Marty also developed the Ernest Thompson Seton Scout Naturalist  Program. Read about it in Scout’s Life https://scoutlife.org/about-scouts/scouting-around/175370/when-you-complete-the-seton-scout-naturalist-program-your-adventure-is-only-beginning/

Things to remember to bring for this Merit Badge Class:

  1. Merit Badge Blue Card properly filled out and signed off by your Scoutmaster
  2. Bird Study Merit Badge Pamphlet – Read ahead of time to be most prepared.
  3. Scout Uniform
  4. Weather appropriate clothing for the time of year and location of the class for outdoor participation
  5. Supporting documentation or project work pertinent to this merit badge which may also include a Merit Badge Workbook for reference with notes
  6. A positive Scouting focus and attitude

The Natural History Society of Maryland is a volunteer-led non-profit organization, so the fee you pay will go directly to support the programs, the nature collections, and the building that make this kind of nature education possible.

Thank you for your support!

Photo: Red-winged Blackbird by Mark R Johnson / Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (ML93848971)

Location