Taking children birding for the first time is much like taking them on their first fishing trip-if you don't catch anything, they won't enjoy it very much. On the other hand if it turns out to be an exciting experience, with lots to see, it could become a hobby for life.

In the Atlantic region we have lots of good "fishing holes" for birders, and if you're taking your child out for the first birding trip, I'd like to recommend some guaranteed locations.

There is a wonderful spot in Sackville, NB, where you are sure to see numerous waterfowl and songbirds. The Sackville Waterfowl Park is 22 hectares (55 acres) of marshland, which is home to dozens of birds. It's easy to observe them, too, because the marsh is crisscrossed with boardwalks, trails, and viewing platforms - 3.5 kilometres of them. If you visit in May and June you are likely to see broods of mallard ducks, ring-necked ducks, and pied-billed grebes, waddling along behind their mothers, or swimming frantically to keep up. There will be lots of songbirds, including nests of yellow warblers, red-winged blackbirds, American redstarts, and tree swallows. In all, more than 170 species of birds have been recorded either by sight or sound throughout the park.

In Prince Edward Island, you can get up close and personal with woodland birds at Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project located in Orwell on the eastern side of the province. Along with helping to restore PEI's Acadian Forest, the staff of this project are also interested in the role songbirds play in forest habitats. Regular birding tours are offered, and more than 70 species of birds have been identified. In past seasons they have had the fun of watching ruby-throated hummingbirds and Swainson's thrushes nest and raise their young. Some of the other birds you can expect to see are chickadees, warblers, nuthatches, kinglets, ducks and PEI's provincial bird, the blue jay.

The Memorial University Botanical Gardens in St. John's, NF, is another place where birds are sure to be found in abundance. The Botanical Gardens offer a variety of specific habitats attractive to birds, and the Wildlife Garden and pond support a large assortment, including rusty blackbirds, cedar waxwings, and blackpoll warblers. In spring, a male ruffed grouse may be heard, and sometimes seen, drumming his wings on a rotting log to attract a mate. Or you may be lucky enough to see the belted king-fisher's headlong dive into the water to catch fish. The Gardens offer guided tours every second Sunday morning throughout the summer for young birders.

Growing up in Nova Scotia, visiting the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park, located between Halifax and Truro, was always a treat. Here, along with many native species of mammals, are impressive and dignified bald eagles, great horned owls and red-tailed hawks. The park's ponds are surrounded by more than a dozen species of both ducks and geese, and four species of magnificent swans including the tundra swan. Several varieties of colourful pheasants and huge rheas and cranes can be seen-more than 70 species in all. Many of these birds have been found injured and are now housed in safe enclosures, while others can come and go at their pleasure.

All of these locations provide birding information and identification through tours or displays. The best time to visit is usually in the morning or late afternoon. Children will observe some birds feeding their second or third brood of babies well into July and August, and in the fall you may see many different species stopping for a rest during their long migrations. Take along a picnic lunch and make some wonderful family memories.

For more information:

Sackville Waterfowl Park
Phone: (506) 364-4967 or 1-800-249-2020,
Sackville, NB
Take Exit 541 off the Trans Canada Highway between Moncton and Amherst
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Fee for guided tours.

Macphail Woods Ecology Forestry Project
Phone: (902)659-2081 or (902) 651-2575, Orwell, PEI
Open spring to fall, tours available
No admission, donations welcome.

Memorial University of Newfoundland, Botanical Gardens
www.mun.ca/botgarden/
306 Mount Scio Road, St. John's, NF.
Open: May 1 to November 30,
7 days a week, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Small admission fee.

Shubenacadie Wildlife Park
Phone: (902) 758-2040
Take Exit 11 off Highway 102 at Stewiacke
Open: May 15 to October 15, 9 a.m. to  7 p.m.
Weekends the rest of the year, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Small admission fee.