Starting Flock🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
Very likely
American Robin
Look for an orange breast, gray-brown back, and birds feeding on open grass.
A weekend field game
Fantasy
Birding
Pick 5 birds. Go outside. Write down the birds you see or hear. Earn points when your predictions are right.
The most important ruleOnly report a bird when you truly believe you identified it. If you are unsure, write “? Uncertain.”
20Birdseed
5Starters
1Honor rule
What your teacher gives you
You need only three things.
Bird cardsEach card shows one bird and its Birdseed cost.
A birding logThis is where you write each observation.
The place and timeYour teacher tells you where and when you may play.
Choose your playing area
Two Fall bird-card decks are ready.
Each printable deck has 16 birds, Birdseed costs, identification clues, likely habitats, and the points earned for a sighting.
16 cards1–5 Birdseed2 print pages
Fall deck 01
Eastern Washington
Birds for neighbourhoods, shrub-steppe, open country, rivers, wetlands, and ponderosa pine country.
View and print this deck
Fall deck 02
Ottawa region
Birds for neighbourhoods, parks, fields, woodlots, wetlands, and the Ottawa and Rideau river corridors.
View and print this deckHow to play
Do these five things.
That’s the whole game.
-
01
Buy bird cards
Choose any cards you want. Add their costs. Spend 20 Birdseed or less.
-
02
Circle 5 starters
Pick the 5 birds you think you will find. For each one, predict where it will be. These birds are worth more points.
-
03
Go outside
Play only in the place and during the time your teacher gives you. Watch and listen for birds.
-
04
Write what happened
For each bird, write its name, where, when, and the clues that helped you identify it.
-
05
Score on Monday
Bring back your log. Add your points and build one big list of birds found by the whole class.
Before the weekend
Build a flock under pressure.
Every player starts with the same cards and 20 Birdseed. Safer predictions cost more. Riskier predictions cost less.
RosterAll the bird cards you buy.
Starting FlockThe 5 birds you choose before the weekend. Predict a habitat for each one. They score 3 points each.
BenchAny other birds you bought. They score 1 point each.
PredictionCost
Very likely🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
Likely🌻🌻🌻🌻
Possible🌻🌻🌻
Challenging🌻🌻
Long shot🌻
Once the weekend begins, your five starters are locked.
A complete example
Here is one pretend round.
The numbers below are only an example. Use the costs printed on your class bird cards.
- 1
Sam buys 6 bird cards.
Their costs are 5 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 2 = 20 Birdseed.
- 2
Sam circles 5 cards.
Those 5 are the Starting Flock. The one card left over is on the Bench.
- 3
Sam goes birding.
Sam finds 3 starters and 1 bench bird. Sam writes good clues for all 4 and gets 2 habitat predictions right.
- 4
Sam scores 18 points.
Starters: 3 × 3 = 9
Bench: 1 × 1 = 1
Good evidence: 4 × 1 = 4
Habitat: 2 × 2 = 4
Total: 9 + 1 + 4 + 4 = 18
During the weekend
See a bird?
Write four things.
Your teacher sets the legal game area and observation window—perhaps Sunnyside and the surrounding region from Friday afternoon through Sunday evening.
Weekend Birding Log · example
American Robin
- Where
- Neighborhood park
- When
- Saturday · 9:10 AM
- How I identified it
- Orange breast and gray-brown back; several birds were feeding on the grass.
Evidencerecorded
Every observation needs:
Bird—Where—When—How you identified it
For the last part, describe a clue you saw or heard: colour, shape, size, movement, song, call, habitat, or behaviour. Writing only the bird’s name is not enough.
A photo is optional. This is a bird-observation game, not a photography contest. You do not need a camera or an adult witness.
Ask this every time
Do my clues really support this bird identification?
Yes, I believe they do.Put the bird in your log and score it on Monday.
I do not have enough clues.Write “? Uncertain.” It gets 0 species points—and shows careful observation.
The Birder’s Honor Rule
Not sure? Write “? Uncertain.”
Do not guess just to get points. If you truly believe your clues identify the bird, put it on your list. If you do not have enough clues, mark it uncertain. Careful uncertainty is good birding.
Red-tailed Hawk
“I think this was a Red-tailed Hawk, but it was far away and I couldn’t see enough to be sure.”
0species points
Still counts toward Honest Birder recognition.
Scoring
How many points
do you get?
Look at each bird in your log. Add the points below. An uncertain bird gets 0 species points, but it may help you earn Honest Birder recognition.
You found a bird in your Starting Flock+3
You found a bird on your Bench+1
You wrote a useful identification clue+1
You correctly predicted its habitat+2
Monday: the reveal
Come back as a class.
See what you discovered.
Bring your log back to class. Reveal your Starting Flock, add your points, and compare your predictions with what really happened. Then put every supported species into one shared class flock.
Competition gets the class started. Collective discovery is the payoff.
Fantasy Birding Champion
Strongest prediction score
Sharpest Observer
Particularly strong identification evidence
Habitat Detective
Strongest habitat predictions
Honest Birder
Thoughtful reporting of certainty and uncertainty
Biggest Surprise
Most interesting unexpected observation
What good play looks like
Choose → Look → Identify → Write → Score
ChooseBuy bird cards
→
ObserveWatch and listen
→
IdentifyUse your clues
→
WriteRecord 4 things
→
ScoreAdd points Monday
Quick answers
Before you head outside…
Do I need a photo?
No. Photos are welcome, but they are never required. Record the features, sounds, behaviour, or habitat that helped you identify the bird.
What if I’m not sure?
Mark the observation ? Uncertain and explain why. You earn no species points for it, but thoughtful uncertainty counts toward Honest Birder recognition.
What if I find a bird I did not buy?
Write it in your log. It does not earn Starting Flock or Bench points, but it can still join the class flock and may become the Biggest Surprise.
Where and when can I play?
Follow the area and observation window your teacher sets. The suggested window is Friday afternoon through Sunday evening around Sunnyside and the surrounding region.
Can someone challenge my sighting?
The game is built on trust, not surveillance. Report only what you genuinely believe the evidence supports, and be open about uncertainty.
Ready for the weekend?