Cape May School of Birding Spring 2009 Birding Workshops

Now is the perfect time to enjoy some of the best birding in North America and improve your birding skills with the Cape May School of Birding! Presented by New Jersey Audubon's Cape May Bird Observatory, School of Birding workshops feature expert, fun and attentive leaders, and a range of birding topics suitable for birders of any experience level. Coming workshops include Field Sketching, Basic Birding Skills, Birding by Ear, Warblers, and Spring Migration. The full slate of spring workshops is below. Visit the School of Birding web site, or call the Cape May Bird Observatory at (609) 861-0700 for more information or to register.

Cape May School of Birding Spring 2009 Birding Workshops:

Building Basic Birding Skills Sat, Apr 18, 2009 -- Sun, Apr 19, 2009
Meet 8:00 a.m. at CMBO/CRE in Goshen With Don FreidayThe bulk of this workshop is not about bird identification, but rather the methods that lead up to it. We’ll review fundamental and fine points of binocular use, how to get close to birds, how to see and hear better, understanding weather and tides, and the best fundamental approach to identifying birds. Birding often demands the same gear and approach as hiking, camping or hunting, so we’ll also review the best field clothes and gear for birding. Plenty of time in the field to refine bird finding and identification skills. Don is a master of the birding craft - check his on-line Birding Fieldcraft column. Pre-registration required. Cost: $150 members, $190 nonmembers.

Birding by Ear: Southern Forest, Field and Marsh Sat, May 02, -- Sun, May 03, 2009
Meet 7:00 a.m. at Belleplain State Forest field office in Woodbine With Michael O’Brien
Everyone’s dreamed of learning bird songs, and everyone can. Even experienced birders spend time each spring “getting their ear in,” re-learning the songs they already know. Jump-start your audio-recall by learning how to listen critically, group and categorize song types, and (as your song and call repertoire grow) gain confidence and skill. Many of southern NJ’s breeding birds are back and singing heartily, and migrants will be joining the chorus, too. Second leader (if registration warrants): Louise Zemaitis.Pre-registration required. Cost: $170 members, $210 nonmembers.

Warblers by Sight and Sound Mon, May 04, 2009 -- Tue, May 05, 2009
Meet 7:00 a.m. at Belleplain State Forest field office in WoodbineWith Louise ZemaitisIt’s been suggested that without the excitement of warblers in the spring, there would be no bird watching as we know it today. No family of North American birds is so colorful, vocal, and animate. No spring is complete without a trip seeking warbler waves. Here’s your trip. Timed to catch the peak of the northern migrant wave with species like Blackburnian and Canada, and also to find southern breeders like Hooded and Prothonotary. And did we mention that vireos, thrushes, and tanagers will also be about? Second leader (if registration warrants): Michael O’Brien.Pre-registration required. Cost: $170 members, $210 nonmembers.

Spring Migration: Peak Week Tue, May 12, 2009 -- Thu, May 14, 2009
Meet 7:00 a.m. at Cape May Point State Park With Louise Zemaitis
Birding for everything! Celebrate spring with migrating songbirds deposited by the night sky and shorebirds teeming on the mudflats. Hooded and Kentucky Warblers sing in the shadows of Belleplain State Forest, while Summer Tanagers “piki-tuck” overhead. Red Knots and Sanderlings feed in mosaics of rust and silver on the Delaware Bay shore, and egrets and herons dot the back bay meadows. This workshop is all about diversity, and focuses not only on identifying the birds, but also learning about their lives. Second leader (if registration warrants): Michael O’Brien.Pre-registration required. Cost: $255 members, $295 nonmembers.

Birding by Ear: Appalachian Birdsong Immersion Fri, May 29 -- Sat, May 30, 2009
Meet 4:00 a.m. (optional) or 7:00 a.m. at High Point State Park Headquarters, Sussex, NJ With Don FreidayThe School of Birding goes on the road! With forests, hemlock glens, marshes, streams and bogs, there is no better place than northern NJ to hear a diversity of bird songs in a concentrated area, from Cerulean and Blackburnian Warblers to Ruffed Grouse and Barred Owls. We’ll recommend a place for lodging in Milford, PA (or you can find your own), and concentrate on High Point State Park and Stokes State Forest in Sussex County, NJ. Plan to start early each day, break for a siesta, and (optionally) head back out in the afternoon for more listening. This workshop will be entirely in the field, and yes, we will look at birds as well as listen to them - last year featured excellent views of Cerulean Warbler and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, for example, amidst well over 100 species heard or seen. Second leader (if registration warrants): Mark Garland.Pre-registration required. Cost: $190 members, $230 nonmembers.

NEW! Shore Birds: Terns, Herons, Rails and More Thu, Jun 25 -- Fri, Jun 26, 2009
Meet 7:00 a.m. at Cape May Point State Park With Michael O’BrienWho says summer is the birding doldrums? Tern nesting is in full swing, and the Cape May “Rips” can be alive with Common and Forster’s Terns - learn to tell this difficult pair apart, and perhaps pick out one of the rarer species like Sandwich or Roseate. In some years shearwaters join the terns within the reach of shore. In the back bays, herons and egrets are in their nuptial finery, not so much identification challenges as simple visual delights. Clapper Rails skulk their “thin-as-a-rail” way through the marsh grass, while Seaside and Salt-marsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows play hide-and-seek in it and “Eastern” Willets call their name. Summer is a period of abundance in Cape May - see so for yourself. Second leader (if registration warrants): Mark Garland.Pre-registration required. Cost: $170 members, $210 nonmembers.