First Class is September 1
Local birding experts will again offer Whidbey Audubon's popular course on the Birds of Whidbey Island. We are holding the class in Coupeville this time to make it more accessible to central and north islanders! Among others, instructors include Steve and Martha Ellis, Frances Wood, and Joe Sheldon.
Each class is taught around the time there is a good chance of seeing the birds being studied. One Saturday each month may have a field trip to find that month's birds.
The course is each first and third Thursday of the month, from September 2011 through May 2012, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Whidbey General Hospital in Coupeville. The course includes 18 classes and 10 or 11 field trips.
The course is $150 for Whidbey Audubon members, and may be paid in two installments.
Non-members pay $160 and receive this newsletter for the 2011-2012 Whidbey Audubon year (10 issues).
A new student rate of $50 for students up to 12th grade is also available.
Send your check (payable to Whidbey Audubon Society) to Kim Shepard, 1112 Crockett Farm Rd, Coupeville WA 98239. QUESTIONS? Email Kim by online letter or phone Miriam Nack at (360)321-3968. Space is limited and you are not enrolled until Kim has received your check.
Here is the tentative course outline:
Sept. 1: Birding Basics, Bird Identification
Sept. 15: Chickadees, Wrens, Thrushes
Oct. 6: Dabbling Ducks
Oct. 20: Diving Ducks
Nov. 3: Sparrows and Finches
Nov. 17: Loons and Grebes
Dec. 1: Cormorants, Alcids and allies
Dec. 15: Raptors
Jan. 5: Geese, Swans, Quail and allies
Jan. 19: Bird Physiology
Feb. 2: Bittern, Heron, Rails, Corvids
Feb. 16: Gulls
Mar. 1: Owls
Mar. 15: Swifts, Hummingbirds, Woodpeckers, Swallows
Apr. 5: Shorebirds of marsh and mudflats
Apr. 19: Shorebirds of sandy and rocky shores
May 3: Flycatchers, Waxwing, Starling, Blackbirds
May 17: Vireos and Warblers