Birding at the Blue Heron Wetlands with Pete Dunne at last year's Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival
I thought I’d share some of the classes and field trips I’ve signed up for during the January 2011 Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival.
Wildflowers, Plants, & Other Things – there’s more to the Festival than birds, so I thought I’d take advantage of the opportunity to learn about plants and other wildlife by taking this combination class / field trip in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
Digiscoping with Digital SLR – this is a class taught by Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optic. I’m interested in taking photos through a spotting scope, so I thought I’d take this class for beginners before I go shopping for equipment.
Shorebird Workshop for Advanced Birders – Kevin Karlson will be leading this field trip. I like the approach to identification he uses in his outstanding book “The Shorebird Guide” so it was a no-brainer to sign up for this class. And I spend a lot of time around shorebirds so it’s something I need to know.
How We Identify Birds – Birding Outside the Box II – this is a classroom presentation led by Alvaro Jaramillo. There isn’t much more you need to know. If you’ve ever had a class or trip with Alvaro you’ll never again miss an opportunity to learn from him.
Beach Birds Intro & Field Trip – This is an all-day trip at beautiful Smyrna Dunes Park on Ponce Inlet. Who can resist a trip to a place called “Disappearing Island?”
Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands at Viera – Numerous friends rave about what a great place this is for birding, so I had to sign up for this field trip.
Florida Reptiles – I’m not really that much into the study of reptiles, but this is a presentation by Reinier Munguia. He was a keynote speaker at last year’s festival and he totally impressed me with his knowledge, enthusiasm and engagement with Florida wildlife conservation and education. It’s going to be a great learning experience.
The Noon Blog – a lunch and get-together for bloggers who want to connect and share ideas / techniques / strategies. I hope to meet some fellow nature bloggers in this discussion led by Mike Bergin of 10000birds.com
Also, I’ll be attending all of the evening Keynote presentations. This year’s Keynote presenters are:
- Lillian and Donald Stokes
- Laura Erickson
- Chuck Hagner
- Julie Zickefoose
Update: A new course (The World of James Currie) has been added since the Festival catalog came out. James Currie of Nikon Birding Adventures TV will be giving a presentation about his adventures filming birds and their behaviors in some pretty exotic places around the world. Here’s the description from the Festival web site:
Join Nikon BATV host, James Currie, as he outlines the ins and outs and challenges of filming the world’s birds – from Florida to Panama to Costa Rica and Australia. Enjoy tales of fascinating discoveries and crucial conservation, and laugh at the lighter side of birding. Featuring exceptional video footage of remarkable birds and far-off destinations, James will share with you the first ever video footage of Sunbitterns at the nest in Costa Rica; dancing Bowerbirds from Australia; Red-cockaded woodpeckers and Snail Kites from Florida; and Antpittas from Panama.
The presentation by James Currie is not in the catalog, but does appear on the online registration form. More details below:
- When: January 29, 2011
- Where: Brevard Community College Room 119
- Cost: $25
