Birding By Ear workshop with Dr. Sarah Gutowsky
Thank you to everyone who came out - especially to the incomparable Dr. Sarah Gutowski - for making this workshop such a success!
About
JUNE 23-25
What: An immersive Birding-by-Ear Workshop focused on learning the basics of how to listen and learn bird song. This workshop is led by Dr. Sarah Gutowsky (sarahgutowsky.com) - scientist, educator and expedition guide.
When: June 23-25, 2021 (3 days & 2 nights)
Where: Harrison Lewis Coastal Discovery Centre, 339 Sandy Bay Road, East Port L’Hebert, NS B0T 1S0, approx. 2 hours from Halifax
Cost: $350 per person (3 days/2 nights)
Includes accommodation on the beautiful South Shore, full facilities access, home-cooked meals/snacks, and in-the-field learning. 50% deposit required to register.
*Option to stay one extra night for $50 to attend our Saturday Beach Cleanup and Hike.
Details: Learning bird songs can be daunting. This workshop will jump start your audio-recall by teaching the basics of how to listen, how to recognize song types for common bird families, and how to start building a song repertoire for NS. Most importantly, our focus will be on in-the-field learning and on having fun outside! Our goal will be to learn the songs of 25 common NS species.
Registration: Complete the form below and email it to Jenna and Molly at info@harrisonlewiscentre.org with the subject “Birding-By-Ear Registration.”
Maximum 9 participants.
Cancellation Policy: Must cancel within two weeks of the workshop for a refund of the deposit.
Listen to Sarah’s CBC interview about hummingbirds!
Tentative Daily Schedule
Testimonials
"As a total novice, I attended Sarah’s ‘Birding by Ear’ workshop with trepidation, wondering how much I would learn & expecting to come away feeling overwhelmed. Instead, it was exciting, engaging & so informative! I now know even someone with no birding experience at all will benefit from Sarah’s enthusiasm & extensive knowledge. Her presentations & explanations were easy to understand. Getting outside & actually finding & identifying birds we couldn’t always see, just by listening to their calls & songs was eye/ear opening! Sarah made the learning fun & do-able by breaking things down into simple, practical steps that meant we all took away new skills & a keen desire to practise those new abilities on our own. I highly recommend this workshop to anyone, whether an experienced birder or someone with no bird knowledge at all. Sarah will open up a new unseen world to you!"
"Sarah's course introduced us to methods of identifying birds by sound. The listening techniques and the practice sessions she taught have opened up a whole new aspect to my recreational bird-watching. In the two days since I returned home, I have discovered bird species living close by that I seldom/never see and didn't realize were regular inhabitants. Sarah's recommendations on birding software programs, and her demonstrations of them while out in the field, were invaluable, and I am now training my ear by listening to online spectrogram collections, and identifying previously un-noticed species in the fields around home. I recommend this course to all birders."
"Your ornithology knowledge is so amazing, but just as important and just as amazing, is your ability to pass on that knowledge to 'rank amateurs'! We've always loved watching birds, but it has been wonderful to add their songs to the experience. You were particularly patient with the group of somewhat older folks, who move more slowly than younger enthusiasts! The whole experience was entirely enjoyable. Many thanks!"