With the beginning of a new year comes the start of another go at New Year’s resolutions. Losing weight and exercising seem to be annual favorites. 

Those are well and good, but here's an alternative: Get the kids in your life interested in birds. 

Nowadays, kids spend too much time inside playing video games, watching TV, tuning into their music – and tuning out the natural world. It doesn’t have to be this way, especially if you resolve to get them outdoors. Introducing kids to birds is a great way to hook their interest.

Chances are you already have a bird feeder hanging in your yard. But do you actually keep track of the birds you see at the feeder? A “yard list” is a fun way to interest kids in the feathered visitors to the feeder. 

There are checklists available, including some that are specific to Maine, but we prefer the old-fashioned method of simply keeping a piece of paper on the fridge and writing the name of the species seen, along with the date you first saw the bird in your yard. 

It’s fascinating to watch the list grow as the days, weeks, and months pass. Keep a field guide handy and let your kids or grandchildren do the identifying. 

The most active yard lists include birds seen not only at the bird feeder (which can usually be observed inside) but also while you’re out and about the yard. 

Our yard list includes Chimney Swift, Turkey Vulture, even Osprey and Bald Eagle, none of which we would have seen if we weren’t looking for them outside.

Kids love gadgets, so getting the kids in your life a pair of binoculars will open up a whole new world to them. Seeing brilliant red cardinals and the striking black-and-orange pattern of orioles is one thing; seeing them up close through binoculars is another. Why not add a telescope to the mix, too? 

A trek along the Boothbay Peninsula to places like the Ovens Mouth Preserve or the Zak Preserve will be like a visit to a mysterious land (and sea) when your kids peer through binoculars or telescope and see the strange bill of a Common Eider or the showy plumage of egrets and herons at high power.

And don’t forget to have the children check off their bird sightings in their handy dandy life list. Again, there are many options, and when it comes to keeping a life list, we recommend the real deal.

In both these suggestions, the common factor is time. The world is a busy place these days, and it’s easy to make excuses for not making time for the things we enjoy, including birds. Setting an example for kids and sharing the passion and excitement of birding could make a big difference in children’s lives. 

People who spend time enjoying nature are more likely to want to protect it. That’s good for birds, and for generations of people to come. 

May you have a happy, and very birdy, New Year!

Dr. Jeff Wells is the senior scientist for the Boreal Songbird Initiative. During his time at the famed Cornell Lab of Ornithology and as the Audubon Society's national bird conservation director, Dr. Wells earned a reputation as one of the nation's leading bird experts and conservation biologists. Jeff's grandfather, the late John Chase, was a columnist for the Boothbay Register for many years. Allison Childs Wells, also formerly of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is a widely published natural history writer and a senior director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Together, they have been writing and teaching people about birds for decades. The Maine natives are authors of the highly acclaimed book, “Maine's Favorite Birds.”