Becoming a Bird Listener: Learning to Bird by Ear

Date: February 4, 7 pm to May 17, 10 am

Instructors: Bruce Mast (cathrasher4@gmail.com) and Zac Denning

Learning Objectives:

1.      Learn some of the more common local bird songs and calls in the Bay Area
2.      Learn how to learn bird songs and calls
3.      Going beyond bird ID, gain an appreciation for bird vocalizations as communication and meaning
4.      Familiarize participants with techniques for recording and studying bird vocalizations

Description: 

This course combines an exploration of the science of bird vocalizations with skill-building around bird identification by call and song. It is an opportunity to learn some of the more common local bird songs and calls, develop an appreciation for bird vocalizations as communication with meaning, and gain familiarity with techniques for recording and studying bird calls and songs. The format consists of four two-hour lectures via Zoom, plus four early-morning field trips. The lectures are designed to be interactive, with presentation and discussion of ID challenges, games and quizzes to reinforce learning, and discussion of field trip experiences. 
Participants will receive a copy of Nathan Pieplow’s Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Western North America as part of their registration fee (distributed at the first field trip).

The field trips will visit locations that offer a diversity of bird sounds, with a focus on listening to, identifying, and documenting what we hear. Field trips involve 3 to 4 hours of walking and standing. They will generally start around dawn to coincide with peak vocal activity. One pre-dawn outing will listen for owls and other nocturnal creatures. Each trip will cover several miles over hills and uneven terrain, generally on paved or well graded roads. The walking pace will be slow to allow plenty of time for listening. Some participants may wish to carry a light-weight sitting stool.

If you’ve taken one of Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s beginning birding courses, or have birded on your own for 1 to 2 years, you are ready to enjoy participating in this course.
This class meets once a month for four months.
Recordings of the lecture presentations will be available to class participants for a limited period of time.
    
Dates, times, and locations of the field trips are subject to change.

Four Wednesday night Zoom lectures, 7 pm to 9 pm, February 4; March 4; April 8; May 6

            (Zoom link will be provided when you register.)

Four Sunday morning field trips: February 8; March 8; April 12; May 17

Detailed field trip descriptions:

February 8, 6:30-9:30 am: Valle Vista Staging Area: We'll cover 2 to 3 miles, generally on fire roads and well-maintained trails over gentle grades. Depending on scouting results, we will probably first follow the trail through the pine-oak woodland to the access road that parallels the east shore of the reservoir. We may go as far as the Rocky Ridge trail junction on this 2-mile out-and-back leg. Depending on the time and the birds, we may also wish to walk the 0.8-mile loop from the staging area to the west shore of the reservoir. Restrooms are available at the trailhead.
 
March 8, 6-9 am: Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park: All told, we’ll probably walk 2 to 2.5 miles. Due to the early hour, we will park at the wide pullouts near the entrance on Redwood Road and walk into the park. The entrance is a paved road up a gentle grade, a half mile to the Canyon Meadows Staging Area. From there, we will probably continue up the Stream Trail, perhaps as far as the Old Church Picnic Area, 0.6 miles upstream. Our walk-in will be in darkness, stopping and listening for owls and other nocturnal critters. We’ll time our return walk to enjoy the dawn chorus. Restrooms are available at the Orchard Picnic Area.
April 12, 6-9 am:  Vollmer Peak: We'll cover 1.6 to 2.1 miles, with roughly 400 feet of elevation gain, and overall intermediate difficulty, though we'll stop frequently. We'll walk mostly on the wide paved Seaview trail, with a largely moderate incline, with a level stretch in the middle, and one short stretch of steep climbing towards the top of the peak. The peak is wide and level but unpaved, covered in dirt and gravel. On the way down, we'll descend the steep stretch, then either take a narrow single track (the Vollmer Peak Trail), or we have the option to return the way we came, depending on where the birding seems promising and the preferences of the group. We may also take short detours along either a graded fire road (mild to moderate incline) or along a fairly flat but meandering, narrow single-track trail. Restrooms are available at the trailhead.
May 17, 6-10 am: Mitchell Canyon: We'll cover roughly 2 miles in total (1 mile each way), with easy to moderate difficulty, largely along a graded fire road with 180 feet of elevation gain in the outbound direction. On the way back, we have the option of either retracing our outbound route or detouring onto the 1/2 mile Globe Lily trail that runs parallel and upslope of the main fire road. Globe Lilly is a single-track trail, but mostly flat and meandering, which offers good opportunities for migrant passerine flocks moving along the scattered hillside vegetation.  Rattlesnakes and poison oak are both possible in Mitchell Canyon, though rarely an issue.

Restrooms are available at the trailhead.

Class Size: Limited to 15 participants.

Price: $450 ($360 for GGBA members (a 20% discount)

Registration opens on Wednesday, December 3, for all Winter classes, and closes on Tuesday, February 3.