Coastside Land Trust’s new Wingwatchers program is off to a strong start, with seventh graders at Cunha Intermediate School completing their first unit in September. Building on the nature journaling skills many students developed through CLT’s Junior Land Stewards program in fourth grade, Wingwatchers introduces students to bird observation, identification, and ecology.
Students are learning to observe quietly, recognize bird shapes and body parts, understand adaptations, and identify potential habitats. Through nature journaling, they practice slowing down, recording observations, and making connections between organisms and their environments.
Each month, students investigate a local bird they might see along the Coastside. September’s featured species was the Sooty Shearwater, a remarkable seabird that can migrate up to 40,000 miles annually. During fall migration, these birds gather offshore in large rafts, sometimes numbering in the thousands, often alongside whales, dolphins, sea lions, and other seabirds.
Students also explored conservation challenges facing Sooty Shearwaters, including plastic pollution and warming ocean temperatures, which can push prey into deeper waters and make food less accessible.
Photographer Jonathan Felis, USGS Western Ecological Research Center.
From Observation to Conservation
Wingwatchers connects field observation with practical conservation. Students explored how choosing sustainable seafood, reducing plastic use, participating in beach cleanups, supporting marine protected areas, and contributing observations through citizen-science platforms such as eBird and iNaturalist can help protect marine ecosystems.
By combining natural history, observational skills, and conservation science, Wingwatchers helps students build a deeper understanding of local biodiversity and the ecological connections between our coastline and the wider Pacific.
We're excited to see what these young observers discover throughout the year as they strengthen their skills and deepen their connection to the natural world.
Wingwatchers Gratitude
Thank you to the Maxwell-Hanrahan Foundation and to Robin Kirby and everyone who helped support this program (through Coastside Gives and other donations). Your support helps Coastside Land Trust provide hands-on environmental education and protect the open spaces that make this learning possible.
Please consider making a donation to support Wingwatchers and CLT's ongoing conservation and stewardship work.
