Name of Class: Wetland Bird Identification (1 Day)
Ottawa County Parks and Recreation
Date: May 30, 2024
Location:
Field: 2 sites in/near Holland, MI:
- Upper Macatawa Natural Area (1300 84th Ave, Zeeland, MI 49464)
- Window on the Waterfront (E 6th Street & Central Avenue, Holland, MI 49423)
Optional Classroom: Hemlock Crossing Park (After Lunch, 1 PM to 3 PM)
https://www.miottawa.org/Parks/hemlockcrossing.htm
(8115 West Olive Road, West Olive, MI 49460)
Time(s): 6 AM to 12 PM
Instructor: Caleb Putnam
Cost: $125 (MWA members), $150 (non-members)
Click here to become a MWA member.
Class Description: MWA is pleased to announce a collaborative workshop with Ottawa County Parks and Recreation focused on wetland bird identification. Birds are not often a primary focus of wetland delineations and mitigations; however, wetland-inhabiting bird species can provide valuable insights to professionals working in these areas. However, birds are notoriously hard to identify, and wetland species can be very difficult to detect without proper knowledge of migration and breeding phenology, obscure call notes, and microhabitat preferences. The workshop will cover species identification by both voice and plumage, tricks for detecting key species, and an in-depth field examination of habitat preferences and contextual clues. Following lunch, the course will move to an indoor session during which we will review the skills learned, study key species from slides, answer, and remaining questions, and more. Curtis Dykstra of Ottawa County Parks and Recreation will be on hand throughout the day as host and interpreter.
Mosquitoes are likely to be prevalent, and participants should be prepared for potential precipitation and cold weather and hiking in very wet conditions. Due to the importance of beginning fieldwork at dawn, the class will begin at 6 AM, which will likely require overnight lodging prior to the course. All class attendees are encouraged to bring a write-in-the-rain notebook, writing utensil, binoculars, recording devices or phone apps, camera, and field guides are recommended. However, a particular focus on audio detection and recognition will be placed.
Instructor Bio:
Caleb Putnam – Caleb Putnam is a professional ornithologist and owner of Real Birds LLC. Caleb has spent 12 years working for the National Audubon Society as the Important Bird Areas program coordinator and two years with Audubon Great Lakes and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources as the MI Birds program coordinator. He has also been involved in environmental consulting since 2009, including various companies and projects centered around green energy development. A lifelong birder, Caleb has honed the ability to recognize all Michigan’s bird species by sight and sound. He has a wide array of knowledge of habitat requirements and conservation issues of Michigan bird species. He has served on the Michigan Bird Records Committee, is a statewide expositor of eBird, and is a local eBird reviewer for an 11-county area in west lower Michigan.
Class Cancellation Notification
Five (5) days prior to the start of class, participants will be notified of a cancellation. The MWA Treasurer will refund 100% of the fee received to participants.
Cancellation Policy for Attendees
- Any attendee can transfer, at any time, their spot in the class to another person with no financial penalty.
- Cancellation prior to14 days of the class is eligible for 100% refund of class fees.
- Cancellation from 1-13 days of the class is eligible for 50% refund of class fees.
- Cancellation within less than 1 day of start of the class (including during the class) is not eligible for any refund (0%), however the spot can be transferred to any other person.
