As part of Nature PEI’s 50th Anniversary celebration, the Society is offering a four-evening introductory bird identification course on Island birds. The course is being held on specific Thursday evenings between March 28th and May 16th at Beaconsfield’s Carriage House at the corner of West and Kent Street in Charlottetown. The course commences at 7:00 pm and should wrap around 9:00 pm depending on the number of questions raised by the audience. The course winds up with an early morning field trip on June 1st. The instructors are Dwaine Oakley, Ray Cooke, Brendan Kelly and Dan McAskill.
The course is free but donations or Nature PEI memberships will be gladly accepted. The course is being offered by Nature PEI with the support of the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation’s Beaconsfield Carriage House.
- March 28th – “Using Bird Features, Behaviour and Birding Tools (Binoculars, Telescopes, Birding Guides, Bird Songs) to Assist in Identification” with Ray Cooke. This evening’s presentation will include the selection of binoculars and telescopes as well as birding ethics.
- April 11th – “The Loons, Cormorants, Herons, Waterfowl, Hawks and Grouse” with Dwaine Oakley.
- May 2nd – “The Rails, Shorebirds, Gulls, Terns, Owls, Flycatchers and Jays” with Dan McAskill.
- May 16th – “The Larks, Swallows, Wrens, Warblers, Sparrows, Grosbeaks, Blackbirds, & Finches” with Brendan Kelly.
Course participants can put their newly acquired knowledge into practice during the field trip on Saturday, June 1st. Meet at 5:45 am at the Provincial Administration Building Kent Street Parking Lot for car pooling/rideshare coordination. Departure at 6:00 am sharp. While there will be at least a few telescopes, participants should bring their own binoculars and, if they have one, their scope.
For more information, see our website at www.naturepei.ca