Instructions
Welcome, young scientist! Mandurah is home to an amazing variety of birds that live near the water. Use your detective skills to complete the activities below and learn more about these feathered friends and their estuary habitat.
Activity 1: Match the Bird
Read the description in the left column. Draw a line to match it with the correct bird name on the right. Good luck!
| Bird Description | Bird Name |
| 1. I am a huge white bird with a massive pink bill that has a stretchy pouch underneath to scoop up fish. | Black Swan |
| 2. I am a powerful hunter with sharp talons and a hooked beak. I dive into the water to catch fish. People sometimes build tall platforms for me to nest on. | Pied Oystercatcher |
| 3. I am a large, graceful bird with black feathers, a bright red bill, and a very long neck. I eat underwater plants. | Australian Pelican |
| 4. I am a striking black and white bird with a very long, bright orange beak that is perfect for poking in the sand and prying open shells. | Osprey |
Activity 2: Bird Beak Bonanza
A bird's beak is a special tool perfectly shaped for the food it eats. Read about the beak types below and match them to the food they are designed to catch.
- A. Pouch-like Beak: A huge beak with a stretchy skin pouch. It works like a big fishing net to scoop up fish and drain out the water.
- B. Hooked Beak: Strong, sharp, and curved at the tip. It's perfect for tearing meat and holding onto slippery fish.
- C. Long, Strong Beak: Long, thin, and powerful like a chisel. It's used for probing deep into mud and sand and forcing open the hard shells of molluscs.
Write the letter (A, B, or C) next to the food it helps the bird eat:
_____ Tearing a freshly caught fish.
_____ Prying open an oyster or mussel shell.
_____ Scooping up a school of small fish from the water.
Activity 3: Estuary Food Web
An ecosystem is a community of living things that depend on each other. A food web shows who eats whom! Draw arrows to connect the organisms below, showing the flow of energy. The arrow should point from the thing being eaten to the animal that eats it.
Hint: An arrow from a fish to a pelican (Fish → Pelican) means the pelican eats the fish.
Osprey
Australian Pelican
Small Fish
Crabs
Algae & Tiny Water Plants
Activity 4: Draw a Bird's Home
Choose one of the birds from this worksheet (like the Osprey or the Pied Oystercatcher). In the box below, draw the bird in its natural habitat. Remember to include and label at least three things that are part of its environment, such as water, sand, reeds, fish, or a nest.
Answer Key
Activity 1: Match the Bird
- I am a huge white bird... -> Australian Pelican
- I am a powerful hunter... -> Osprey
- I am a large, graceful bird with black feathers... -> Black Swan
- I am a striking black and white bird... -> Pied Oystercatcher
Activity 2: Bird Beak Bonanza
B Tearing a freshly caught fish.
C Prying open an oyster or mussel shell.
A Scooping up a school of small fish from the water.
Activity 3: Estuary Food Web
Your arrows should show the following connections:
- Algae & Tiny Water Plants → Small Fish
- Algae & Tiny Water Plants → Crabs
- Small Fish → Australian Pelican
- Small Fish → Osprey
- Crabs → Pied Oystercatcher (This is an example, not included in the list, but shows understanding). The key connection students should make is that both fish and crabs eat the plants/algae, and the larger birds eat the fish.
Correct arrows to draw:
- An arrow from Algae & Tiny Water Plants pointing to Small Fish.
- An arrow from Algae & Tiny Water Plants pointing to Crabs.
- An arrow from Small Fish pointing to Australian Pelican.
- An arrow from Small Fish pointing to Osprey.
Activity 4: Draw a Bird's Home
Answers will vary. Check for a drawing of a bird in its habitat (e.g., near water, on a beach, on a nest platform). Ensure there are at least three labels pointing to things in the environment like "water," "sand," "fish," "reeds," "nest," etc.