Hey tweets, if you're interested in learning about how birds cope with winter, you might like to attend a class I'm teaching this coming Monday at UW Botanic Gardens' Center for Urban Horticulture. We'll be talking about the birds that spend the winter here in the balmy south of Seattle and how they manage to survive our so-called temperate but still challenging climate. The class is ideally suited for beginners and intermediate birders. Here's a link to more information and registration:

http://depts.washington.edu/uwbg/visit/calendar.shtml#/?i=1 <http://depts.washington.edu/uwbg/visit/calendar.shtml#/?i=1>

and scroll down to "Birds of Winter."

In other news, Seattle Audubon Society is sponsoring a revitalized Urban Nature Working Group as part of our conservation activities. This group will focus on issues connected to Seattle's urban habitat, including Seattle Parks & Recreation's desire to revamp the off-leash dog rules; change the use guidelines for parks and natural areas to include more "active recreational" activities; and operate under its new governance system. We will also tackle tree canopy coverage in the city, encouragement of homeowners to garden for the benefit of birds, more involved ways to cooperate and interact with other urban environmental groups, and any other topics upon which we can advocate for urban wildlife.

If you want to participate, please let me know, and I can give you more details. - Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com <mailto:constancesidles at gmail.com>
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