Course Schedule
2012 Lecture schedule
Wednesdays 7:30-9:30pm in the main auditorium of the Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY. From 6:30 - 7:30 there are optional video presentations. All lectures are by Steve Kress unless otherwise noted. The Wild Birds Unlimited store at Sapsucker Woods will be open during evening lectures, and they provide bird-friendly coffee for our coffee breaks. All SFO students receive a 10% discount on all non-sale purchases at Wild Birds Unlimited during the class.
March 21
6:30 Birding the Cayuga
Basin book signing
7:30 How to identify birds & use binoculars Bring your binoculars!
8:30 Winter landbird resident identification
March 28
6:30 optional video: A Celebration of
Birds with Roger Tory Peterson
7:30 Waterfowl identification - Lecture by Kevin McGowan, Behavioral ecologist at the
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
8:30 Bird Skin Collection Lab (Part 1), Cornell Museum of
Vertebrates
April 4
6:30 optional video The Life of Birds
Signals and Songs, with Sir David Attenborough
7:30 Early landbird migrant identification
8:30 Bird Song and Courtship
Tuesday, April
10 (night trip for
lecture class)
7:15 pm, Woodcock/Owl
field trip
April 11
6:30 optional video:
Pale Male
7:30 Hawk & owl identification
8:30 Bird migration
April 18
6:30 optional video: Life of
Birds--Demands of the Egg
7:30 Eggs and Nests - Dr. David
Winkler, Department of Ecology &
Evolutionary Biology
8:30 Bird Skin Collection Lab (Part 2), Cornell Museum of
Vertebrates
April 25
6:30 optional video: Fish out of Water
7:30 Warbler and vireo identification
8:30 Seabird Conservation
May 2
6:30 optional video: Watching
Warblers
7:30 Neotropical songbird conservation - Dr. Kenneth Rosenberg,
Director of Conservation Science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
8:30 Late Landbird Migrant Identification
May 9
6:30 optional video: Opposable
Chums: Guts and Glory at the World Series of Birding
7:30 Beyond Birding
8:30 Gardening for birds
2012 Field trip schedule
Saturday and Sunday trips leave the Lab of Ornithology at 7am unless otherwise noted. Students enroll for either Saturday OR Sunday field trip sessions and there is no switching of days once the course begins. On days when an all day trip (7am-4pm) is offered, a regular morning trip (7-11am) is always offered. Groups are organized by birding ability (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and students stay with the same group throughout the course (leaders change). Please bring binoculars and a field guide to all outings. You can also bring a spotting scope if you have one.
March 24, 257-11am Sapsucker Woods and vicinity
March 31,
April 1
7-11am Local
wetlands
April 7,
8
7am-4pm all day trip to Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, Seneca
Falls, NY
Bring a non-perishable bag lunch and a drink
OR
Overnight trip to Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (additional fee and registration required).
Meet at the Lab at 7:00am, return at 5:00pm on Sunday.
Bring a non-perishable bag lunch and a drink for both Saturday and
Sunday
OR
7-11am local trip (nearby habitats; will not go to Montezuma)
Tuesday, April
10 (night trip for
lecture class, field trip students invited too)
7:15 pm, Woodcock/Owl
field trip
April 14, 15
7-11am Local upland habitats
April 21,
22
7am - 4pm all day trip to Derby
Hill Hawk Watch.
Bring a non-perishable bag lunch and a drink
OR
7-11am local trip (nearby habitats; will not go to
Derby Hill)
April 28,
29
All day trip to Braddock
Bay Bird Observatory to
participate in bird banding.
Groups will depart at 4am, 5:30am
and 7am and return in the afternoon.
Please bring a non-perishable bag lunch and a
drink
OR
7-11am local trip
May 5, 6
Overnight trip to Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge
and Cape May, NJ (additional fee and registration
required) Bus departs at 6am on Saturday, returns 10pm
on Sunday. Bring a non-perishable bag
lunch and a drink for Saturday picnic lunch.
OR
7-11am local trip
May 12, 13
7am - 4pm day trip to Arnot Forest. Bring a non-perishable
bag lunch and a drink
OR
7-11am local trip to local habitats
Meeting time and place for Arnot trip TBA
For more information, see Frequently Asked Questions or contact Erica Marx, SFO Course Coordinator at 607-254-2466 or sfoclass@cornell.edu.
