ONLINE Six sessions: Thursdays, February 17, 24, March 3, 10, 17 & 24; 4 – 5 p.m.
Certificate Credit: BRN | BREG | NCEE – 1 hour per session
Birding is one of the fastest growing hobbies in the country. Your next bird sighting could be as close as your nearest window, yard, or tree! Grab your binoculars and join the fun with the start of this year’s Birding Basics series during our LoveBirds Celebration at the Arboretum. Learn more about our avian neighbors and the basics of being a birder in this series of weekly online classes. Or you don’t have to be a beginner to enjoy these lively presentations by expert birders Simon Thompson, Kevin Burke and Clifton Avery of Ventures Birding Tours.
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Sessions:
February 17 Spring Arrival Birds
Spring is one of the most exciting times of the year in the birding world. Every day more and more birds are flying north to either nest in our woods or to continue further north. Simon Thompson introduces us to the warblers, vireos, cuckoos and many more birds that will soon be filling our forests and woodlands with color and song.
February 24 Bird Song
With the dense canopy of spring forests it can be difficult to identify which birds are singing without at least learning the basics of birdsong identification. Kevin Burke helps us distinguish one song from another — so much so that we’ll find ourselves caught up in the spring breeding behaviors and calls of the birds.
March 3 Nocturnal Birds
Whoo… whoo… whoo’s making all that racket after sunset? There seems to be a lot of activity taking place when most of us expect our birds to be resting. Many species of birds are active at night, including owls, nightjars, and even some songbirds. Some birds are predominantly nocturnal whereas others do specific tasks, like migrating, nocturnally. Kevin Burke covers the ecology and behavior of Western North Carolina’s nocturnal avian residents and provides helpful patterns for identifying them by their vocalizations.
March 10 Hummingbirds
Everyone loves Hummingbirds and the first males will be arriving in our area any day. They will stake out their territories before the females start to arrive later in the month. Simon Thompson will give us the glittering lowdown on hummingbird biology, feeding techniques and the flowers we can plant to encourage hummers to visit our gardens regularly.
March 17 Eastern Birds of Prey
The Eastern United States is home to an interesting diversity of diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey. In this birding basics class we will go over what makes a bird a raptor and the individual species that make up the Eastern population. Join Clifton Avery and explore all things raptor in this interesting addition to the series.
March 24 Nests
Have you ever wondered where a certain bird nests? How about how they build those intricate nests? Kevin Burke will be talking all about nest selection and construction during this class, highlighting some of the more common species nests in our area as well as some of the more unusual nest builders from around the world.
