Subject: [Tweeters] Upcoming Seattle Audubon Classes
Date: Jul 1 18:43:11 2006
From: Vicki King - vkbirder at gmail.com


Seattle Audubon is offering two excellent classes that will expand
your horizons: one on pelagic birds, the other on bats. To register,
please call the Nature Shop, Monday - Saturday, 10 AM - 5 PM at 206
523-4483.

PELAGIC BIRDING, with Michael Donhue

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!

This popular class will cover the diversity of seabirds that are found
offshore, focusing on natural history and identification, as well as
how to prepare for a pelagic trip.

Classes: Tuesdays, July 25 and August 1, 7-9 p.m.
Location: Douglas Classroom, Center for Urban Horticulture
Cost of class: $50 members, $65 nonmembers
Youth (24 and under): $25
Limit for class: 40

Optional field trip: Sunday, August 6. We will be joining an already
scheduled pelagic trip with
Westport Seabirds. The boat departs from Westport at 6 a.m., and
participants should be at the dock no later than 5:45 a.m. The boat
will return between 3 and 4 p.m.

Cost of field trip: $110, payable to Westport Seabirds. To register
for the field trip, contact Mike Donahue directly at 206-323-9889.

Limit for field trip: 10

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.


The Appreciation and Conservation of Bats - The Other Flying Vertebrates
Curt Black, Environmental Scientist and Specialist on Bats
Unless you are in a steel-and-glass downtown office tower, chances are
you're within 50 feet of a bat. If that bothers you - even a little -
I hope you will take this class. I use stunning video, photographs and
audio to challenge your preconceptions about bats. We'll look at how
bats and birds meet their needs, sometimes in very different ways.
We'll look at recent technical developments allowing the
identification of many bats on the wing. We'll finish by considering
the conservation needs of both bats and birds, identifying steps you
can take including volunteer opportunities as well as the construction
and installation of bat houses. We will finish with a bat walk for
our third class meeting at a convenient local site rich with bats.

Lectures: Tuesday, Aug. 15, and Thursday Aug. 17th, 7 ? 9 pm at CUH
(Douglas Classroom)
Bat Walk: Friday, Aug. 18, 8 PM, subject to weather
Cost: $50 members, $65 non-members
Max Class Size: 30

Curt Black has a BS in Zoology and a Masters in Hydrogeology from the
University of Texas. He is a past Board member of Bats Northwest has
been getting rabies shots since the 1970s to allow the up-close and
personal interaction with bats that he enjoys. He started as a caver
and was the local Cascade Grotto chairman. He has traveled
extensively around the world chasing bats in places like Belize, Costa
Rica, Fiji, Australia, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Morocco. He is also an
active nature-sound recordist and ham
radio operator, call sign WR5J.

Vicki King, Seattle
vkbirder at gmail.com