Birding Basics Class & Fieldtrip Series 

 

The Yakima Area Arboretum and Yakima Valley Audubon Society have partnered together to bring you this fun and educational series on one of the nation's most popular outdoor pastimes BIRDING.

The Birding Basics Series will be taught by experienced Audubon Society members in lecture form on 4 Wednesday evenings at the Arboretum and in 4 guided Saturday fieldtrips to local spots rich in birds.  During the series you will learn about the “tools of the trade,” including binoculars, spotting scopes, field guides, and birding applications, in addition, to watching and appreciating birds in their world, both at feeders in your yard or out and about in the rich mosaic of natural habitats around Yakima.

Birding Basics Schedule

Lecture: Wednesday, February 26 “Waterbirds” - This lecture will focus on the wide variety of waterfowl, both geese and ducks, that form the bulk of the first wave of northbound migrating birds. More than 20 species of ducks and geese stream north as soon as the ice and snow melts locally.  The class will focus on waterfowl and how to differentiate these species plus tidbits on their biology and habitat requirements. You will also be introduced to various other waterbirds such as loons, grebes, cormorants and pelicans.

• Instructor - Luke Safford:  Luke is an active birder and waterfowl hunter. His perspective will be most interesting on this much-loved group of birds.

Fieldtrip: Saturday, March 1 "Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge" - The early waterfowl migration should be in full swing.

Lecture: Wednesday, March 12 “Raptors” - Birds of prey always command attention due to their size, dramatic predatory habits, and mastery of the skies. This class will cover the basic groups of daytime or diurnal raptors such as eagles, soaring hawks, falcons, and “bird hawks.” The Yakima region is also rich in owls, those mysterious nighttime predators.

• Instructor - Denny Granstrand:  Denny is a longtime Yakima Audubon member.  He has studied and photographed raptors for over 35 years and will share amazing images of these incredible birds.

Fieldtrip: Saturday, March 15 "Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge" - The Toppenish NWR and nearby fields are rich in raptors. 

Lecture: Wednesday, April 16 "The Shrub-steppe" - The hills surrounding Yakima may appear brown and lifeless for much of the year, but during this lecture you'll see that this landscape of gray shrubs and intermixed bunchgrasses, officially known as the shrub-steppe, comes alive each spring with colorful wildflowers and a variety of colorful, and not-so-colorful birds.

• Instructor - Andy Stepniewski: Andy is a long time Audubon Society member, author of the popular local birding book Birds of Yakima County, and frequent contributer to the Yakima Herald-Republic's Wildlife Moment column.  He has studied the shrub-steppe for more than 35 years and guarantees you will come away from this class with a new appreciation for the “barren” hills around Yakima.

Fieldtrip: Saturday, April 19 "Shrub-steppe Habitat" - Location to be announced.

Lecture: Wednesday, May28 “Woodpeckers and Mountain Birds” - The forests around Yakima contain more species of woodpeckers than almost any other region in North America. This is due to the mosaic of forest types-from “Wetside-to-Dryside” in close proximity. During the class, you will discover the wide variety of other birds that inhabit the Cascade's eastern slopes, some residents year-round, others pouring north from their winter quarters in the tropics. The latter leading to a discussion of the wonders of the Neotropical migrants.

• Instructor - Jeff Kozma: Jeff is a professional Wildlife Biologist for the Yakima Nation Fisheries Resource Management division. He spends much of his time studying cavity nesting birds in the managed ponderosa pine forests of the eastern Cascade Range.  He is an expert in his field.

Fieldtrip: Saturday, May 31 "Leader's Choice" - A location to be announced in the nearby forested area of the Cascades.

 

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