It is so neat to wake up in the morning and hear the chirping and singing before the day breaks. A choir of birds right out my window welcoming a brand new day at times is my nature alarm clock.

One adventure I have always enjoyed since we moved to the Eastern Shore is observing the many different kinds of birds in this area, migrating here during the winter months. According to “Our Water, Our Future,” by Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, the Mobile Bay Estuary supports up to 355 different bird species.

Our fair feather migrants who visit us during these winter months are supported by a variety of beautiful marine environments. As you walk along the bay as well as drive across it you can see open water, mudflats, sandy and rocky beaches, islands out in the bay, marshes, and different kinds of habitats that support a variety of birds who require different needs.

As you drive across the bay have your child observe, describe and tell you the different shapes of land. Then you and your child make plans to take a field trip and observe our feathered neighbors a little closer.

What better time to do so, than during “The Great Backyard Bird Count,” which runs Feb. 13-16. Anyone can participate and it only takes 15 minutes each day. Click on www.birdsource.org/gbbc for more details.

Children can learn so much about the birds they see. They get to take a bird quiz, learn words about the birds, color the birds or hear and learn the sounds that different birds make from a sound site.

You and your child can learn a lot of facts. Even those little-ones still in a high-chair can be moved close to a window to see the different kinds of birds flying back and forth. Toddlers and infants observe closely their world around them and learn so much about counting and color.

Making bird feeders out of pine cones, spooning in inexpensive peanut butter, and sprinkling with birdseed in the middle, and hanging it in a tree low enough for your little-one to observe, provides hours of indentifying different species of birds. Throwing out bread crumbs provides a feast for our feathered friends.

Go find those binoculars, fix a picnic, visit one of our beautiful Eastern Shore parks, read the signs on the shores about different kinds of birds.

Or look out the window at your house, but remember to count the kinds of birds you see.

Click in now to learn more about the birds you might see. Happy bird-watching!

Beth Pinyerd lives in Daphne and serves as director of younger children at Faith Family Fellowship in Spanish Fort.

Her column appears every other week in the Daphne Bulletin and Spanish Fort Sun.