Advanced Birding Series: Birding By Ear with Alex Patia

Sunday, April 12th, 6-9 am

$35/member, $50/non-member.

Trip difficulty: Easy. Walking distance: About 1.3 miles. Trip Duration: 2-2.5 hours. Elevation gain: None. Ground condition: Groomed gravel trails. Drinking water and restrooms available at the park’s entrance. Benches are available at periodic intervals around the wetlands.

In April many of our breeding birds are singing away but these vocal songsters can also be difficult to see! Some birds at Sweetwater like Sora and Least Bittern can often be heard but rarely seen. Getting to know bird songs and calls can be challenging and take time but in this workshop we will cover tips and tricks for familiarizing yourself with bird sounds, pneumonic devices to help remember songs, and practice identifying by sound. Songbirds we will be able to listen to and work on identifying will include Bell’s Vireo, Song Sparrow, Lucy’s and Northern Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Red-winged Blackbird, and other less common birds. We’ll also practice differentiating potentially misleading mimic songs like Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, and Lesser Goldfinch.

Limited to 12 participants. Sweetwater Wetlands is located at 2511 W Sweetwater Dr.
Leader: Alex Patia

Header image: Northern Yellow Warbler by Shawn Cooper