2024 GENERAL WORKSHOPS
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The Rising Tide of Avian Nocturnal Flight Call Monitoring
Presented by Bill Evans
Date: Saturday, May 4
Time: 11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes
Bill’s presentation will span from the early pioneers of avian night flight call monitoring to the cutting-edge research of today. He will play examples of night flight calls and discuss how anyone can get involved in monitoring the calls (including how to add 10+ species to your yard list). He will also review the migration weather forecast and discuss what can be expected to be heard during the conference...if the weather cooperates, he hopes to lead a listening session or two!
Date: Saturday, May 4
Time: 11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes
Bill’s presentation will span from the early pioneers of avian night flight call monitoring to the cutting-edge research of today. He will play examples of night flight calls and discuss how anyone can get involved in monitoring the calls (including how to add 10+ species to your yard list). He will also review the migration weather forecast and discuss what can be expected to be heard during the conference...if the weather cooperates, he hopes to lead a listening session or two!
Everyone's Singing all at Once!
Sorting out the singers in the chorus
Presented by Lisa Rainsong
Date: Monday, May 6
Time: 1-2 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes
Everyone’s Singing at Once! Sorting out the singers and learning one step at a time.
Have you ever tried to learn bird songs in May? If so, you quickly discovered that everyone seems to be singing at once. Although it may feel almost impossible to sort out the singers and the songs, music theory professor Lisa Rainsong will introduce you to a step by step approach that is engaging and enjoyable. If weather permits, we’ll walk outside after the indoor presentation so that we can practice our listening skills.
Date: Monday, May 6
Time: 1-2 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes
Everyone’s Singing at Once! Sorting out the singers and learning one step at a time.
Have you ever tried to learn bird songs in May? If so, you quickly discovered that everyone seems to be singing at once. Although it may feel almost impossible to sort out the singers and the songs, music theory professor Lisa Rainsong will introduce you to a step by step approach that is engaging and enjoyable. If weather permits, we’ll walk outside after the indoor presentation so that we can practice our listening skills.
Behind the Scenes of Merlin Sound ID
Presented by Alli Smith
Date: Tuesday, May 7
Time: 1-2 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes
The Merlin Bird ID app, created by the Cornell lab of Ornithology, is a global field guide and a powerful tool to help identify the birds around you. Merlin can identify 1,000+ bird species by sound even when you can’t see them - but how does it work? We’ll take a deep dive behind the scenes of Merlin to learn how Sound ID was developed, and how you can help us expand Merlin to cover more species worldwide.
Date: Tuesday, May 7
Time: 1-2 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes
The Merlin Bird ID app, created by the Cornell lab of Ornithology, is a global field guide and a powerful tool to help identify the birds around you. Merlin can identify 1,000+ bird species by sound even when you can’t see them - but how does it work? We’ll take a deep dive behind the scenes of Merlin to learn how Sound ID was developed, and how you can help us expand Merlin to cover more species worldwide.
From Checklist to Conservation:
How your eBirding helps birds
Presented by Emily Engle
Date: Wednesday, May 8
Time: 1-2 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes
Did you know you can help birds every time you go birding? Your eBird checklists are used by scientists at the Cornell Lab and all around the world to better understand bird movements, population trends, and more. In this talk, we’ll show you how your checklists are used, how we manage data quality by reviewing reports of rare birds, and share tips on how to get the most out of eBird.
Date: Wednesday, May 8
Time: 1-2 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes
Did you know you can help birds every time you go birding? Your eBird checklists are used by scientists at the Cornell Lab and all around the world to better understand bird movements, population trends, and more. In this talk, we’ll show you how your checklists are used, how we manage data quality by reviewing reports of rare birds, and share tips on how to get the most out of eBird.
Birds: Just what are they thinking?
Presented by John Kricher
Date: Thursday, May 9
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes
Birds are hyperactive, warm-blooded, and perceptive animals and any birder soon becomes aware of various bird behaviors. But to really understand bird behavior requires that we try and "think like a bird." Is this really possible? John Kricher will present a series of intriguing examples of how ornithologists have tried to explain and understand why birds do what they do. With well over 10,000 species of birds in the world, behaviors among species vary considerably but underlying this diversity, birds all have one thing in common: intelligence and cognition layered with a good dose of genetically-based instinct. The devil is in the details. Once you have heard John's talk, your birding will hopefully be enhanced and you will gain even more empathy for birds and what they are.
Date: Thursday, May 9
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Fee: $10
Registration Required: Yes
Birds are hyperactive, warm-blooded, and perceptive animals and any birder soon becomes aware of various bird behaviors. But to really understand bird behavior requires that we try and "think like a bird." Is this really possible? John Kricher will present a series of intriguing examples of how ornithologists have tried to explain and understand why birds do what they do. With well over 10,000 species of birds in the world, behaviors among species vary considerably but underlying this diversity, birds all have one thing in common: intelligence and cognition layered with a good dose of genetically-based instinct. The devil is in the details. Once you have heard John's talk, your birding will hopefully be enhanced and you will gain even more empathy for birds and what they are.