This class is currently full. To be placed on the waiting list, please send an email to SCWF Director of Education, Sara Green.
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Watching Birds with the Right Brain – Birding by Heart
This unique module will help the birder - from beginner to advanced - hone his or her birding skills by better understanding the concepts of “gestalt” and birding by feel. We’ll learn to identify birds and the “potential” for them by delving deeply into habitat associations, behavioral grouping and thumbnail probability horse-zebra statistics! If you’re tired of just listing and want more from birding than just a list, this is the course for you! We’ll spend our time concentrating our outings on the Clemson Campus, Calhoun “Bottoms”, the famous hotspot of Townville, SC and Clemson Experimental forest. This will be an intense course in blurring your vision to see more clearly and absorb the miracle of evolution that every single bird presents! Course pre-reqs will include an open mind, willing spirit and love for birds and nature. You may also want to bring note pads, pencils or other means for writing/communicating.
Where: We will meet at the SCDNR's Clemson office. We will carpool from there to field locations both days.
When: Saturday, October 21st from 9:00am until 3:00pm and Sunday, October 22nd from 7:00am until 12:00 noon.
Who: This training is open to the public. No prior knowledge is required. Minimum age is 16.
For SC Master Naturalists, this event can count as Advanced Training and towards your statewide certification if you need an upstate component. Lunch will last thirty minutes, so depending on when we finish, this will count for approximately five hours of training. If you are not a Master Naturalist, just come have fun with us. Participants will also receive contact info of other participants to allow for carpooling to the park.
To ensure a quality experience for all, space is strictly limited to 20 participants. Classes fill quickly, register today! After registration, you will receive an email with lodging recommendations, directions, and any other details pertinent to the class.
Other Important Notes:
• If available, please bring binoculars.
• Restrooms are available at the SCDNR office. Pink and blue bushes are along the trail…
• Participants should bring a bag lunch on Saturday and water and be prepared for a two days in the field.
• There is no rain date for this event. We will make every effort to hold it, even in a few rain showers. If it looks like a deluge, we'll notify you of cancellation and refund your money.
• After registering, you will receive important correspondence via email. If you change your email between now and then, make sure to notify us.
Cost: The cost is $150.00 per person and limited to the first 20 people that register.
IMPORTANT: Participants should be in good physical shape. Birding involves alot of standing, and we may cover some distance in our field work.
PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN YOU CAN HANDLE THESE CONDITIONS.
Questions? Please contact Sara Green, SCWF Director of Education.