Classes

Adult Classes

Ticket sales close at 4:30pm the day-of class.

ALL CLASSES ARE RECORDED AND SHARED WITH REGISTRANTS. NO NEED TO ASK.

Class recordings are available for one month past the live class date. For class series, the recordings are available for one month past the last live class session.

Current members of our local Seattle Audubon chapter receive a 20% discount on online classes as a benefit of annual membership. More online sessions will be listed as they are scheduled.

Online Class Series: Filling the Bill with Connie Sidles
Date: Wednesdays, March 8, 15, 22, 29, and April 5 from 7:00-8:30pm
Tickets: $90 with sliding scale
A bird’s bill is its most utilitarian “tool,” used to grasp, tear, catch, preen, build nests, and do all the other tasks of daily living. To understand how birds live, look first at their bills. For more than 150 million years, birds’ bills have been evolving to fill every conceivable ecological niche, from the preposterous to the practical. Come along with master birder Connie Sidles as she explores the myriad solutions birds have come up with to answer the most basic of questions: What’s for dinner? Who’s my mate? Do you like my moves? And when will these youngters feed themselves?

April In-Person Field Class: Birding at Mount St. Helens with Gina Roberti and Brendan McGarry This class is at capacity. Please register for the wait list.
Date: Saturday, April 15 from 3:00-7:00pm
Meeting location: Coldwater Lake Picnic Area. Indoor restrooms area available at the parking area, but not along the trail
Tickets: $55 with sliding scale
Trip Accessibility: 1 (leisurely pace), C (hiking trails with rolling hills), up to 3.5 miles of hiking depending upon the needs of the group
Group size limit: 20
Note: Transportation to this class will not be arranged by Seattle Audubon. Participants must arrange their own transportation.

Join us as we tour the diverse mosaic of habitats created by the 1980 eruption and learn about where to see some of Mount St. Helen’s signature birds. We will visit some of the best and most accessible birding sites on the north side of Mount St. Helens including the Hummocks trail, Coldwater Lake and the Boundary Trail. Our trip will focus on habitat type and distribution and will include a substantial amount of hiking (up to 3.5 miles). Learn more about the trip details, such as accessibility, amenities, cell phone reception, and more on THIS DOCUMENT, courtesy of Gina Roberti. The end-of-day timing is designed to align with early evening birdsong and bird activity. NOTE: there is no separate in-person or online class associated with this event. The “class” will happen in the field, at Mount St. Helens.

This field trip will familiarize you with the most accessible birding locations in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

Online Class: The 10 Gateway Birds of Seattle & How to Find Them with Whitney Neufeld-Kaiser
Class: Thursday, April 20, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
In-Person Field Trip (Optional – Union Bay Natural Area): Sunday, April 23, 7:30 – 10:30 am
Tickets: $18 for class only, $18 + $5 with field trip (sliding scale)
Appropriate for BEGINNER birders.
Birds are everywhere – they live and love in cities, towns and farms, in parks, and along shorelines.  And birding is for everyone!  If you’ve gotten curious about the birds around you and want to learn more, how do you get started?  Where do you go to see interesting birds?  How do you find the birds, once you get there?  Should you go alone or with a small group?  Do you actually need to “go” very far?  Using 10 (or so) charismatic birds that can be found within Seattle as inspiration, we’ll explore resources you can use to learn about birds and plan your own birding excursions.  We’ll touch on strategies on how to go from “duck” to “Gadwall,” though bird ID isn’t the focus of this class.

This class will be shared by Zoom.  If you can’t join us in real time, you’ll be able to watch the recording afterwards. We’ll also take an optional in-person field trip to the Union Bay Natural Area, near the University of Washington Seattle Campus, to see some actual birds.  The trip is limited to 15 people.  If you would like to join the field trip, please be sure to add the field trip option to your registration.  (This option will be removed from the registration process once the trip is full.)

This class will next be offered in July, in person, in the south end of Seattle.

Online Class: Birding for Kids and Teens, with Young Birders Piper and Anders
Date: Thursday, May 4 from 7:00-8:00pm
Tickets: $10 with sliding scale
In-Person Field Trip (Optional)*: Juanita Bay Park, Kirkland, Saturday, May 6, 9:00 – 10:30 am
Appropriate for beginning birders, ages 10-18
This class is for tween and teen birders, ages 10-18, who want to learn more about the birds of Seattle.  The online class will focus on the identification and natural history of some of our common Puget Sound area birds, with a follow-up field trip to see these species in person.  Featured birds include ducks, hawks, woodpeckers, and songbirds.  The teachers are two siblings who are themselves local teen birders. *An adult must accompany your young birder on the field trip.

Online Class: Introduction to Warblers and Vireos of the PNW with Hans deGrys
Date: Thursday, May 11 from 7:30-9:30pm
Tickets: $20 with sliding scale
Warblers are one of the most sought after groups of breeding songbirds due to their brilliant colors, distinctive vocalizations, and fascinating natural history.  Their varying plumages, habitats, and songs make them an interesting and challenging group for birders. This class will focus on both the natural history and the identification (by sight and sound) of this group of songbirds.  We will also compare and contrast warblers to some superficially similar groups such as vireos and kinglets.  This session is suitable for beginning and intermediate birders.

May In-Person Field Class: Birding at Mount St. Helens with Gina Roberti and Brendan McGarry
Date: Saturday, May 13 from 3:00-7:00pm
Meeting location: Coldwater Lake Picnic Area. Indoor restrooms area available at the parking area, but not along the trail
Tickets: $55 with sliding scale
Trip Accessibility: 1 (leisurely pace), C (hiking trails with rolling hills), up to 3.5 miles of hiking depending upon the needs of the group
Group size limit: 20
Note: Transportation to this class will not be arranged by Seattle Audubon. Participants must arrange their own transportation.

Join us as we tour the diverse mosaic of habitats created by the 1980 eruption and learn about where to see some of Mount St. Helen’s signature birds. We will visit some of the best and most accessible birding sites on the north side of Mount St. Helens including the Hummocks trail, Coldwater Lake and the Boundary Trail. Our trip will focus on habitat type and distribution and will include a substantial amount of hiking (up to 3.5 miles). Learn more about the trip details, such as accessibility, amenities, cell phone reception, and more on THIS DOCUMENT, courtesy of Gina Roberti. The end-of-day timing is designed to align with early evening birdsong and bird activity. NOTE: there is no separate in-person or online class associated with this event. The “class” will happen in the field, at Mount St. Helens.

This field trip will familiarize you with the most accessible birding locations in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

Online Class: Introduction to Flycatchers of the PNW with Hans deGrys
Date: Thursday, May 18 from 7:30-9:30pm
Tickets: $20 with sliding scale
More than a dozen species of flycatchers migrate north to Washington state each spring to breed and raise their chicks.  While flycatchers are notorious for being similar to each other and challenging to identify, most of our flycatcher species are actually quite distinct, with differing field marks, vocalizations, habits, and natural histories.  This class will focus on flycatcher identification by sight, behavior, habitat, and voice.  This session is suitable for beginning and intermediate birders.

Online Class Series: Avian Architects – Nests and How Birds Build Them with Connie Sidles
Dates: Wednesdays, April 26, May 3, 10, and 17 from 7-8:00pm
Tickets: $75 with sliding scale
For birds, making a nest is perhaps the most crucial activity in their lives. If they choose a site wisely and build the nest skillfully, they may succeed in passing their genes to the next generation. Birds have evolved countless ways to nest successfully. Stick nests, mud nests, burrows, baskets, rafts, even holes in your house – birds’ ingenuity seems almost endless. And birds do it all without the benefit of hands, tools, or blueprints. Come let master birder Connie Sidles show you how. Nesting season is upon us, and the birds will be busy.

In Person Class Series: Birding by Ear (BBE) – Tackling the Tricky Ones with Whitney Neufeld-Kaiser
Classes: Thursday June 1 and Tuesday June 6, from 7:00-9:00pm
Location: The Nature Shop (8050 35th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98115)
Optional Field Trip: Washington Park Arboretum, Sunday June 4 from 7:00-10:00am
Tickets: $40 for class only, $40 + $5 with field trip (both with sliding scale)
Class Limit: 15
Some pairs and trios of Pacific Northwest birds are difficult to distinguish by sound – at first! Such as American Robin and Black-headed Grosbeak. Using various tools of “birding by ear (BBE)” – careful, analytical listening; sonograms; mnemonics – we’ll tackle some of these tricky ones, highlighting the distinctions and clues that can help tell them apart. Folks who have had some experience with birding by ear will enjoy this class the most; this class will likely be frustrating for people just starting to listen to birds. Reading Nathan Pieplow’s webpage http://earbirding.com/blog/specs beforehand is recommended.

Nest Box Building Workshop with Dan McDougall-Treacy and Dave Wall
Class: Tuesday, April 25 from 7:00-8:30pm
Class Location: Seattle Audubon Nature Shop (8050 35th Ave, Seattle, WA 98115)
Optional Nest Box Building: Monday, May 1 from 7:00-8:30pm
Nest Box Building Location: Northeast Seattle Tool Library (10228 Fischer PL. NE, Seattle, WA 98125)
Class Cost: $20 with sliding scale
Optional Nest Box Building Cost: $15 with sliding scale
Limit: 15 for the class (Kids welcome, but must be accompanied by an adult. All participants must register); 6 for the building workshop*
Placing a next box in your yard, garden spot, or communal outdoor space is an excellent way to provide birds a safe place to raise their young, and offers you a glimpse into bird nesting behavior. During this class we will discuss “why a box?” how to best deploy your box, and what to watch for when the birds show up. We will also discuss the essential seasonal tasks of caring for and cleaning your nest box.
Those who also register for the next box building workshop will then construct a next box, suitable for small songbird species (chickadee, wren), using provided premeasured and precut materials. No power tools will be used during class. Participants are welcome to bring their own materials if they have a particular design in mind, though this certainly is not expected or required. Children are welcome as long as they are accompanied by an adult, have registered for the class, and are able to manage the entire duration of the session. *Should the May 1 building workshop fill, we will add another session on May 3 from 7-8:30pm. Appropriate for ALL levels of birders.

Recordings of classes are available for one month past the live class date