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Fundamentals of Avian Biology: The Study of Birds, Fall Session (6 classes)

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Classroom Instruction:National Wildlife Federation
11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston, VA 20190
Thursdays, 7:00 – 9:00PM; Oct. 3, 10, 17; Dec. 5, 12, 19

Field Trips: October 12; December 14 (location TBD)

Dr. Chris Haney, Founder and President of Terra Mar Applied Science

Limit: 30 students. Don’t delay, this class will sell out quickly.
Fee: $250 members, $275 non-members

Register here.

Audubon Society of Northern Virginia is pleased to present this in-depth course about birds, designed for all skill levels. Experienced birders and novices will improve their understanding of birds and birding skills through classroom sessions and field trips.

Fundamentals of Avian Biology: Fall Session, will feature close scrutiny of the modern theory and field methods used to interpret the life of birds. Topics to be covered will encompass basic avian biology, life histories, evolution, behavior, ecology, geography, migration, and human socio-cultural relationships. Whenever appropriate, contrasting perspectives will be offered, including some controversial views, and distinctions made between different historical approaches of professional ornithology and birding. Classroom presentations will include PowerPoint slides, auditory or video supplements, and some participatory exercises.

Instructor: Dr. Chris Haney’s expertise straddles the fields of ornithology, including: marine science, climate change, wildlife biology, ecosystem management, and conservation policy. His projects and scholarly work have taken him to Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Bahamas, Lesser Antilles, several countries of southern Africa, and the former Soviet Union. He has authored over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and technical notes, and over 150 reports, abstracts, and testimony. He has delivered more than 150 seminar, conference, and workshop presentations. Dr. Haney’s knowledge and enthusiasm in the classroom is contagious!
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This course is designed and presented at a university introductory level in two separate sections (Fall and Spring) with a total of 12, two-hour classroom sessions. The two sections are independent and field trips will focus on birds that are present during the season. The Spring Session will begin in late winter 2020, there is no prerequisite for this section. 

Birding and binocular fundamentals, Aug. 10th

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LL Bean – Tysons Corner Mall
8095 Tysons Corner Center, McLean, VA 22102
Saturday, 10 August 2019
10 – 11 am

Birding is one of the fastest growing hobbies around and a great addition to any outdoor activity. It’s a wonderful way to connect to nature and fun for the whole family. Join Audubon Society of Northern Virginia’s good friend Larry Meade at LL Bean for a FREE one-hour clinic on birding and binocular fundamentals. Questions? Please contact the store at (888) 552-9876.

Learn about warblers, April 30th

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Alexandria Country Day School, 2400 Russell Road, Alexandria, VA
Tuesday, 30 April 2019
7 pm
Field Trip: Saturday,4 May 2019, 8 am (rain date, May 5)
Monticello Park, 320 Beverley Drive, Alexandria, VA

Warblers show more color and variety than any other family of birds in the Washington area. Some of them stop to breed here, but a greater number pass through on their way to nesting grounds to our north. Bill Young will show you how to identify the 35 warbler species that you have a chance to see, focusing on appearance, vocalizations, behavior, and other factors. Register here.

Instructor: Bill Young is a local writer and co-creator of the MPNature website, which is designed to teach people about the nature at Monticello Park. His book The Fascination of Birds: From the Albatross to the Yellowthroat explores the connections between birds and a broad range of subjects, such as biology, ecology, literature, music, history, politics, economics, religion, geography, physics, chemistry, linguistics, the visual arts, the performing arts, sports, and comedy. Bill’s YouTube channel, which features his natural history videos, has more than 500 subscribers and more than 320,000 views.

Limit: 20
Cost: Members $50, Non-members $60

Birdathon 2019, Have fun, raise funds, 19 April – 19 May

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Spring is on its way, and so is Birdathon! It’s time to organize your teams and sign up for Audubon Society of Northern Virginia’s annual spring migration birding competition.

The concept is simple: Participants can bird in teams of two to five. Team members then make their own donations or secure pledges from friends,family members, colleagues, neighborhood merchants, etc. Then, during any 24-hour period between April 19 and May 19, teams search Northern Virginia to see how many bird species they can identify. The two principal rules are Have Fun and Raise Funds. For the rest, click here. Click here to register your own team or click here to pledge support for your favorite team.

Hear bird calls at FMN Quarterly Meeting, Mar. 18

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Photo by Barbara J. Saffir (c)

Hidden Oaks Nature Center
7701 Royce St., Annandale VA
Monday, 18 March 2019
7:30 – 9 pm

Public welcome!  The Fairfax Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists will have a brief chapter meeting, enjoy some food and drink, give out door prizes, and enjoy a presentation on Beginning Birding by Ear by Colt Gregory. Colt Gregory has been pursuing birds since the 1970’s when he first saw an Oystercatcher through a scope at Assateague.
He started closely listening for birds when small children limited his outings to neighborhood walks.  He expanded his knowledge by listening to the Allen Kellogg LPs – (founder of Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology) and moved on to CDs and MP3s! (Got to keep up with the technology.) Colt is an active member of Arlington Regional Master Naturalist, Northern Virginia Audubon Society, Northern Virginia Bird Club and volunteer for the National Park Service.  He participated in the two year birding census for National Park Service at Wolf Trap, leads a section on the Christmas Bird Count and co-leads the weekly Sunday bird walk at Great Falls National Park with Fairfax Master Naturalist Kristine Lansing.

Master naturalists can earn one hour of continuing education credit.