Birds are tricky. Most swoop and soar and are never still, making bird identification a challenge. To successfully identify a bird, one must learn to quickly spot what makes each bird different from the others. Maybe their size or shape, color or behavior helps, but field marks, those distinctive stripes, spots, patterns, and colors that birds have in such variety, are what avid birders recognize to help tag a “face” with a name.
Ecologist John Canoles is here to teach us how to see those sometimes subtle differences between bird species. We will practice in a variety of habitats including emergent wetlands, upland forests, and adjacent crop fields. We are likely to encounter song sparrow, white-throated sparrow, swamp sparrow, Carolina wren, mourning dove, eastern bluebird, bald eagle, phoebe, ruby-crowned kinglet, Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, and dark-eyed junco.
John Canoles is an ecologist focusing on the identification and assessment of natural resources and the creation of natural upland and wetland habitats. He is also involved in nature education, having helped design the nature walk and Butterfly House at Ladew Gardens and the Accessible Trail at Cromwell Valley Park, and has taught “Introduction of Birdwatching” classes for Johns Hopkins Odyssey Program, Community College of Baltimore County, and Cromwell Valley Park. John also writes a monthly Nature Notes column for the Baltimore County Country Chronicle newspaper. He is a member of the Harford Bird Club and the Harford County Land Trust and is on the board of Trustees for Ladew Topiary Gardens.
John, like most of the other people who lead NHSM field trips, is a volunteer, so your money will go directly to support the programs, the nature collections, and the building that make this kind of nature education possible. Donate or become a member of the Natural History Society of Maryland by visiting https://marylandnature.org/support-maryland-nature/.
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The exact meeting location will be listed on your confirmation email after payment has been received.
NEW – Payment and Cancellation Policy: Payment is due online at the time of registration. Cancellations made seven or more days in advance of the event will receive a refund minus a 5% processing fee. Cancellations made within seven days of the event will not receive a refund. NHSM retains the right to update or change these requirements at any time.
For questions, please email Jayne at JAsh@marylandnature.org.