Subject: Classes available at Seattle Audubon Society
Date: Apr 21 23:38:26 2002
From: Marissa J. Benavente - junebugrocks at attbi.com


Hi all:
Just wanted to let everyone know about some great classes that are coming up
at SAS in the next couple of months. Call the nature shop to register.
(523.4483)

The Natural History of Backyard Birds
with Lyanda Haupt, Master Birder and author of "Rare Encounters with
Ordinary Birds"
Increase your understanding and appreciation of the birds you see most
often. We'll explore the secrets of backyard birdlife including diet,
behavior, ecological adaptations, breeding, nesting, mating, and migration.
All the birds we are likely to encounter in Northwest backyards will be
covered, and a few less common visitors as well.
Class: Mondays, April 29 and May 6, 7:00-9:00PM
Location: Section A of NHS Hall, Center for Urban Horticulture
Cost: $35 members, $50 nonmembers
Limit: 40

Introduction to Shorebird Identification: A Beginner's Course on
Washington's Coastal Shorebirds
With Jim Flynn
If you confuse plovers with peeps or have ever despaired at sorting out all
of those long-legged and long-billed brown shorebirds, then sign up for this
introductory level shorebird class and learn how to navigate the muddle of
mud-probing shorebirds. Slides and information sheets on habitat, season of
occurrence, size, and overall shape of shorebirds will help you narrow the
choices to the one or two most likely species. From there the final ID is
within reach! During the field trip to Grays Harbor we will see most of the
common species of Washington in their most colorful breeding plumages.
Jim is a graduate of the Master Birder Program and has been birding in
Washington for over 20 years. Also a member of Rainier Audubon Society, Jim
wrote the bird sightings column for Rainier for 5 years, has taught classes
for both chapters and has led numerous field trips throughout the state.
Classes: Tuesday, April 30 and Friday, May 3, 2002
Time: 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Location: Class 1- NHS Hall, Class 2- Douglas Classroom
Field Trip: Saturday, May 11th or Sunday, May 12th (choose one)
Cost: $65 SAS members, $80 non-members
Limited to 25 participants

Native Plants in the Urban Landscape
with Erikka Pearson, Hyde Herbarium
What is the definition of a "native" plant? Which native plants are suitable
for urban gardens? Do hybrids and cultivars play a role? We will discuss
these topics and the appropriate horticultural conditions for 25 native
trees and shrubs in the Union Bay Gardens. We will look at slides and
herbarium specimens of plants that are good garden candidates, and then take
a walk around the grounds to look at native plants in a managed landscape.
Class: Saturday, May 4, 9:30AM-12:00PM
Cost: $30 members, $45 nonmembers
Limit: 15

Tracking: Insights into the Unseen Lives of Wildlife
with Paul Houghtaling, Wilderness Awareness School
We will explore many of the techniques used during the process of tracking:
knowing who is in your area and how to study mammals in particular; the
importance of the concept of "baseline" in nature observation; and using
tracking as a way to observe animals in an undisturbed state. The field trip
will include practical experience in all of these. Please bring your lunch,
a field journal (both days), and camera (optional).
Class: Friday, May 10, 6:00PM-8:00PM
Field Trip: Saturday, May 11, 9:00AM-3:00PM
Cost: Members $60 Non-members $75
Limit: 20

Native Trees and Shrubs of Seattle
with Pat Otto, docent for the arboretum and a "Project Learning Tree"
facilitator
When you're out birding, would you like to know the name of the tree or
shrub in which those bushtits are foraging? Learn what native plants make up
the ecosystems in our own backyards, and visit both an old-growth and a
second-growth forest. We will focus on native plant identification and uses.
Bring a lunch and be prepared for walks of up to two miles.
Class: Saturday, May 18, 10:00AM-3:00PM
Location: Schmitz Park, West Seattle (SW Stevens and SW Admiral Way).
Cost: $20 Members, $35 nonmembers
Limit: 16

The Art of Bird Language Interpretation
with Daniel Evans, Wilderness Awareness School
This class will teach the techniques of watching wildlife at close range.
Participants will also learn how to interpret bird alarms and behavior, make
group ecological maps and naturalist inventories, and identify bird
territorial boundaries.
Please dress for the weather, especially sitting outside. Bring your lunch
and a blindfold. This class is especially designed for those who have
attended the "Language of the Birds" class.
Class: Wednesday, May 29, 6:00-9:00PM, and Saturday, June 1, 9:00AM-1:00PM
Location: Section A of NHS Hall, Center for Urban Horticulture (Note:
Saturday session will meet in the Douglas Classroom at CUH.)
Cost: Members $60, nonmembers $75
Limit: 18


Birding by Ear: Learning Northwest Bird Songs
With Bob Sundstrom
This popular and practical class is back this spring in a format emphasizing
intensive field experience. Designed to help you get a handle on bird songs
and calls, the field trips will cover a wide variety of habitats within
approximately 100 miles of Seattle. This course in intended for first time
birding by ear students as well as those wanting an intensive refresher.
One evening introductory session is followed up by three different full day
field trips. Students must sign up for each field trip separately. Come
tune up your ears!
Class: Monday, May 13, 2002
Location: Douglas Classroom, Center for Urban Horticulture
Time: 6:30-9:00 p.m.
Field trips: #1: Nisqually and Thurston County - Sunday, May 19 (THIS DATE
ONLY IS FULL)
#2: Snoqualmie Pass, Stampede Pass, and east - Wednesday, May 29
#3: Kittitas County - Thursday, May 30
Cost: Each field trip is $45 for members and $60 for non members. You may
register for one, two or all of the field trips. Travel will be by carpool.
The evening class is included in the price of the field trip.
Each field trip is limited to 16 participants.

Wild Plants of Greater Seattle
With Arthur Lee Jacobson, author of Trees of Seattle etc; a lifelong
Seattleite with 20+ years of plant-study. To learn more go to
www.arthurleej.com.
A lively way to learn ID and attributes of urban and suburban wild plants.
Get acquainted with native and non-native trees, shrubs, weeds, wildflowers
and grasses. Whether you know much or not, you will enhance your
understanding and appreciation of greenery in the city. The class has two
parts: a slide-illustrated evening lecture to serve as a broad overview and
introduction, and next-day field trip to see, touch, sniff and sometimes
taste living plants. Optional text is the instructor's new book Wild Plants
of Greater Seattle.
Class: Friday, May 24th, 2002 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Location: Center for Urban Horticulture, NHS Hall, 3501 NE 41st St
Field Trip Date: Saturday, May 25th, 2002 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Cost: $35 for members $50 for non-members
Limited to 20 participants

Purple Martins of the Seattle Area
With Kevin Li
Purple martins were once seen by the hundreds in the Seattle area, but in
recent decades their numbers have dwindled. Loss of habitat and competition
with starlings and house sparrows has taken a toll on this largest species
of North American swallow. Nest box programs in the Pacific
Northwest and British Columbia have shown great localized progress in
bucking the decline of recent decades; learn how to be a part of that
success. A slide presentation and a discussion on the recent history of
Seattle purple martins will comprise the Friday evening session and a half
day field
Trip to several active martin colonies will follow.
Class: Friday, June 14, 2002
Time: 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Location: Douglas Classroom, Center for Urban Horticulture
Field trips: Saturday, June 15 or Sunday, June 16 (choose one)
Cost: $30 members, $45 nonmembers
Limited to 24 participants

Cruise to Protection Island
With George Gerdts
A trip to Protection Island is an unforgettable experience! Join naturalist
George Gerdst aboard a spacious 69 foot custom built yacht and experience
the richness and diversity of this four hundred acre National Wildlife
Refuge. Protection Island serves as the breeding ground for over 70% of the
marine birds of the Puget Sound area. Enjoy wonderful glimpses into the
lives of rhinoceros auklets, pigeon guillemots, cormorants, black
oystercatchers and yes - tufted puffins!
Date: Sunday, June 30, 2002
Leaving Port Townsend 10:00a.m. with return by 1:30 p.m.
Cost: $55.00 per person
Limited to 20 participants from SAS

Pelagic Birding
With Mike Donahue
The west coast of North America offers some of the best seabirding anywhere
in the world! The rich waters 20-40 miles offshore support a diversity of
species--albatrosses, storm petrels, shearwaters and jaegers--that spend
much of the year in the waters far offshore at the edge of the continental
shelf. If you've heard about pelagic birding, but wasn't sure what was
involved, this class is for you!
Two classroom sessions will cover the diversity of seabirds and marine
mammals to be found offshore, focusing on natural history and
identification, as well as how to prepare for a pelagic trip.
Michael Donahue has been enjoying pelagic trips for over 25 years and is a
regular leader on the trips offered by Westport Seabirds.
Class: Tuesdays, July 23 and July 30, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Location: Douglas Classroom, Center for Urban Horticulture
Optional Pelagic Field Trip: Saturday, August 3. The boat leaves the dock
in Westport at 6 a.m. sharp and participants should be at the dock no later
than 5:45 a.m. The boat will return between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m.
Note: This course does not provide lodging or transportation to Westport
for the field trip. Participants will need to arrange these on their own.
Participants who sign up for the field trip portion of the class will
receive information on lodging in advance of the first class.
Cost of Class Only: $45 members, $60 non-members. Register through the
Seattle Audubon Society Nature Shop at 206.523.4483
Cost of Field trip: $85, payable to the instructor. To register contact
Mike Donahue at 206.323.9889. Register early! The field trip is limited
to 10 participants.
Limit: 40 class only, 10 field trip









Marissa J. Benavente
Classes Committee Chairperson
Seattle Audubon Society
junebugrocks at attbi.com
206.459.4309