Beginning Birding – What is that bird?

Do you want to know what kind of birds you keep seeing in your yard or on neighborhood walks?  Do you wonder about what they eat?  Where they go in the winter? What makes them unique? Do you want to learn how to go about identifying birds?

We at the Black Hills Audubon Society (BHAS) offer you an opportunity to learn about the birds you are most likely to see around and about in Western Washington.  (Dr.) Kim Adelson will host a series of four 90-minute classes, each a standalone presentation. The course will cover a total of roughly 40 bird species, ranging from kinglets to doves to sparrows to woodpeckers.   The intent is to teach you how to identify these birds by sight and to learn where they are found and what their typical behaviors are (also good clues to identification!) In many cases you will learn to identify them by ear.  If you are intimidated by “little brown birds” and think that they all look alike, this is the class for you!

About the Instructor: Kim Adelson is Vice President and Education Committee Chair of Black Hills Audubon. She regularly gives presentations on birds, the effects that climate change is having on them, bird evolution, and ways to attract them to one’s yard. She was a college professor for more than 30 years in Minnesota, Ohio, and New Zealand. Kim is passionate about teaching others about birds, with the hope that it will encourage an interest in preserving our beloved Washington habitat and the wildlife it contains.

Dates: March 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th These are all Wednesdays.
Location: Lacey Community Center,  6729 Pacific Avenue SE
Time: 6:30pm – 8pm
Cost: $50.00.  Pre-registration and prepayment are required.

Note: The class is structured so that there will be no content overlap from week to week. Below is an approximate list of the birds we will discuss each week.

Class 1: Building confidence

• The “How To-s” of bird identification
• Large and Noisy: Doves & Pigeons
• Big Black and Blue Birds: The Corvids
• (Grosbeaks, if we have time)

Class 2: A Pastiche of Common Neighborhood Birds

• The Tree Huggers: Woodpeckers, Brown Creepers and Nuthatch
• Thrushes
• Towhees and Juncos
• Cedar Waxwing
• Grossbeaks, if we didn’t get to them last time

Class 3: The Little Guys

• Kinglets
• Hummingbirds
• Two or Three Warblers
• Our Two Chickadees
• Bushtit

Class 4: Those Intimidating LBBs (Little Brown Birds)

• The most common LBBs: Sparrows and Finches
• Wrens
• A few easy ways to attract more birds to your yard