Beginner Birding Workshop

Join Ellis Nature Centre as we host Bird Dreams for a 3.5 hour gentle outdoor birding adventure on Sunday, June 1 from 9am-12:30pm! They provide you with a high quality pair of binoculars with a comfy neck strap, and a light snack. You will wind our way through the beautiful grounds and gardens of Ellis Nature Centre birding as you go. We will be on the lookout for avian insectivores including Tree Swallows, Purple Martins, and migratory Warblers! There have been 163 species of birds recorded at Ellis Nature Centre and we will look for as many as we can together in a small close up birding group. There have been 6 different kinds of Woodpeckers identified at Ellis Nature Centre, we will learn together how to look for signs of what kinds of Woodpeckers are around including size and shape of tree holes, behaviour and meaning of different calls and Woodpecker sounds.

We review the keys to ID including habitat, where to look for what kinds of birds, behaviour, colour patterns, shape, and range. We will also review the ethics of birding including how we bird, how we can positively affect birds through birding, and how humans are affected by birds and birding. We will introduce community science apps and demo them in the field together, including iNaturalist, eBird and Merlin . We will use iNaturalist to identify some beneficial native plants and insects for birds and discuss how learning more about native plants and insects benefits our local and migratory birds. We keep our tour groups very small for an up close personal birding experience. Come enjoy the sight and sounds of spring at Ellis Nature Centre and experience the joy of birding. We are proud to be members of Indigenous Tourism Alberta. The fee for this workshop is $65 per person and limited to only 8 people.