Beginning Workshops

2024 BEGINNING WORKSHOPS

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Spectacular Shorebirds

Presented by Erik Bruhnke
Date: Friday, May 3
Time: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes

When it comes to identifying different genres of birds, shorebirds will always present a unique challenge. From fields and rivers, to the beautiful Great Lakes shoreline just moments away, there are many exciting shorebirds found nearby! This identification workshop offers tips and anecdotes to learn shorebirds, for both beginning and advanced birders alike!

About Erik Bruhnke

Erik Bruhnke has loved birds since he was a child looking at chickadees. He graduated from Northland College in Wisconsin with a Natural Resources degree in 2008 and taught field ornithology at Northland College for three semesters. After graduation his springs and summers were spent conducting bird surveys through northern forests, vast prairies, and western mountains. He worked as an interpreter for six fall seasons at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in Duluth, Minnesota; counted migrating raptors at the Corpus Christi HawkWatch in Texas in 2015; and was the 2016, 2017, and 2018 hawk counter at the Cape May Hawkwatch in New Jersey. In the fall of 2020, he educated visitors at the Cape May Hawkwatch. Last fall he helped count raptors and point out the migration once again to visitors back at Hawk Ridge; his earlier hawkwatching stomping grounds. Erik’s wildlife photography has won national awards, and he’s written for the American Birding Association’s Birder’s Guide, BirdWatching magazine, and Bird Watcher’s Digest. Erik is a birding tour guide for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours as well as his own business, Naturally Avian. He enjoys hiking, kayaking, cross-country skiing and just being out in the snow. In his free time he loves to cook and bake.

Birding 101

Presented by Cassidy Ficker
Date: Friday, May 3
Time: 1-2 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes

Flipping through the pages of a field guide can be very intimidating to a new birder, with countless photos and unfamiliar terms. Before learning the differences between species, it is important to learn what one should be looking for. From locating important field marks to explaining what terms such as "bill droopiness" and "supercilium" actually mean, join this presentation to understand how to work through identifying birds on your own!

About Cassidy Ficker

Cassidy Ficker is a second year veterinary student at the Ohio State University, planning to specialize in companion animal and wildlife medicine when receives her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2026. She completed her undergrad at OSU in the spring of 2022 with a major in Animal Sciences and minor in Wildlife Sciences. She has been a birder since third grade, growing up in the Miami Valley Christian Academy Bird Club and Ohio Young Birders Club. One of her favorite aspects of birding is connecting with others as we all celebrate a common love for birds, and she has been honored to have ample opportunities to do this both as the former president of the Ornithology Club at Ohio State and a guide at the Biggest Week in American Birding festival for the past few years. The Biggest Week area is particularly special to her as she serves as an eBird reviewer for the counties.

Introduction to Gull Identification

Presented by Amar Ayyash
Date: Saturday, May 4
Time: 1-2 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes

Often approached with apprehension, gulls have gained a love-hate relationship with many birders. Among these larids are some of the most coveted bird species in the world. Amar will highlight key identification field marks for separating our most common gull species, and he will also touch on some of the often-ignored topics in gull-study such as the aging process and plumage. Come learn why an increasing number of people are being drawn to this family of birds and are eagerly calling themselves “larophiles”.

About Amar Ayyash

Amar Ayyash is both an expert on the gulls of North America and an evangelist for "gull recreation". He coordinates the Annual Gull Frolic on Lake Michigan, hosts the popular website anythinglarus.com, and is often found speaking at birding events throughout the continent. Much of his free time is dedicated to traveling the world to photograph and study gulls. Ayyash has published a number of articles on gull identification, distribution, and molt. He is the author of the upcoming book, The Gull Guide. Amar lives in northern Illinois where he teaches mathematics.

How to Learn Bird Songs (and Memorize Anything!)

Presented by Tom Stephenson
Date: Monday, May 6
Time: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes

Identifying the warblers and other species singing in the field is one of the most enjoyable and satisfying aspects of birding. However, trying to learn and remember the important ID points of bird vocalizations can be difficult and sometimes very frustrating.

This lecture will cover many new techniques that make it easier to identify singing warblers and other species. Based on the system outlined in The Warbler Guide, the lecture will also explain how understanding a song’s structure, using objective, easy-to-hear song qualities, can speed up the identification process and make separating similar-sounding species much easier.

Learning and remembering songs is another important skill for birders. The workshop will also cover the science of memory and learning, and outline a simple, 3-step system that works very effectively for memorizing bird vocalizations and anything else you’d like to remember!

Introduction to Eastern Warblers

Presented by Tom Stephenson
Date: Tuesday, May 7
Time: 1-2 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes

Warblers are some of the most beautiful birds in the world. In this lecture we'll look at lots of pictures, to prove that point! We'll also cover where and what to look for first when you see an unknown species. We'll discuss some basic vocabulary that helps train your eye to see some of these most important ID points. And we'll also talk about some of their songs, why they sing, and how they learn their songs.

About Tom Stephenson

Tom has been birding since he was a kid. His articles and photographs are in museums and many publications including Handbook of the Birds of the World, Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Birds of Madagascar, and Guide to the Birds of SE Brazil. He’s guided many groups in the Americas and Asia, and had the honor of training guides for the government of Bhutan. He’s won categories in the World Series of Birding and holds the US photo big-day record at 208 species. As a musician Tom played concerts and did studio work for many years, worked with several Grammy and Academy Award winners, and performed with members of the NY Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. His clients included the Grateful Dead, Phil Collins and the FBI. His latest book, The Warbler Guide, is published by Princeton University Press and won the National Outdoor Book Award. The Warbler Guide App includes 3D rotating models and won the 2015 Design Award for AAUP. He is currently working on five more books and apps for Princeton including a full US field guide app based on the 3D rotation and comparison features in The Warbler Guide app. Tom has a patent on technology to identify animal vocalizations using a wide range of analytic criteria

Basics of Identifying Sparrows - SOLD OUT

Presented by Kenn Kaufman
Date: Wednesday, May 8
Time: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes

The North American sparrows seem to create an unreasonable amount of confusion and difficulty for the average birder. This is partly because they are often hard to see, partly because there are so many species to choose among, and partly because the field marks for many of them seem to be so similar. A birder catching a glimpse of a sparrow may be at a loss to even begin to put a name on it.

The best approach to identifying sparrows doesn’t begin with field marks at all. In this program, Kenn will illustrate the importance of putting the sparrows into groups on the basis of their shapes, habitats, and behavior. Once a sparrow has been placed in the right group, it becomes much easier to narrow it down to species by looking at a few key field marks. By getting past the ID challenge, we can focus on the beauty of these subtle birds.

About Kenn Kaufman

Kenn burst onto the North American birding scene as a teenager in the 1970s hitch-hiking all over the continent in pursuit of birds, an adventure later chronicled in his cult-classic book Kingbird Highway. After several years as a professional bird tour leader taking groups to all seven continents, he transitioned to a career as a writer, editor and illustrator.

Most of his energy currently goes into book projects and painting bird portraits. His 13 books include seven titles in his own series, Kaufman Field Guides which are designed to encourage beginners by making the first steps in nature study as easy as possible. His next book is The Birds That Audubon Missed scheduled for publication in May 2024.

Kenn is a field editor for the National Audubon Society and a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society, and is the only person alive to have received the American Birding Association’s lifetime achievement award twice.

Thrushes and Their Lookalikes

Presented by Erik Bruhnke
Date: Saturday, May 11
Time: 1-2 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes

The world of thrushes is filled with charismatic song and impressive migration. Every year these birds wow us with their beauty, and every year these birds cause identification headaches among fellow birders. Thrushes share many similarities to each other and also look like other birds completely unrelated to them! Join in the fun as Erik talks about the field marks, songs, and more with thrushes and their lookalikes.