Friday Courses   

Fascinated by birds but not sure how to start birding? This course introduces systematic approaches to bird identification and provides hands-on field experience. Emphasis is placed on understanding how habitat and behavior are essential to developing birding skills. We cover key birding resources, including equipment, where to go, field guides, and online tools. The course includes two Zoom classes featuring PowerPoint presentations and guided discussions, followed by field trips to local birding sites. 1–2-mile field trips walks, led by Curt, Cynthia, and other Master Birders, are a core part of the learning experience. Participants will practice identification techniques in real time, compare similar species, use binoculars, and field guides, and explore how season, habitat, and behavior influence bird presence. One field trip will include observation of bird banding (early start time). Sessions are 2½ hours. Participants should have binoculars, though a limited number may be available to borrow.

Zoom classes April 3 and 10; 2 1/2 hours.  Field trips April 17, May 1, May 8, May 15; 2 1/2 hours.   No class/field trip April 24.  One of the field trips will start earlier depending on the bird banding schedule.  

Donation of $40 per registrant required, paid at registration, to be made to Denver Audubon.  Field guides will be discussed in the class. 

Prairies, forests and wetlands at our latitude come alive in April and May with a rich diversity of birds that only weeks earlier were wintering in habitats ranging from the southern United States and Mexico to Central America and northern South America. Who are they? Join Colorado birding expert Ted Floyd for two evening lectures and two field sessions covering the whys and wherefores of one of nature’s grandest spectacles: the spring migration of birds. Start your birding journey in the classroom where Ted discusses the questions we’ve all asked since childhood: Why do birds migrate in the first place? How do they know where to go? He’ll also explore birds’ amazing physical feat of flying hundreds or even thousands of miles in a relatively short time. Discover modern resources for enjoying bird migration that contribute to basic science about avian biology, including digital recorders and cameras, smartphones, apps, and software such as eBird and iNaturalist. In the field, at destinations within a 60-minute drive of campus, experience direct contact with scores of bird species, many of them on migration layovers or in the process of actually migrating. In addition to watching and listening, record your sightings and upload your data to global databases used by scientists to monitor and protect bird populations. Come away with a new understanding of one of nature’s most magnificent and mind-boggling annual spectacles.

The Saturday field trips involve walking several miles on level, well-maintained trails.

What better way to spend your Friday mornings than on a walk with your OLLI buddies in Colorado’s spring weather?! You’ll explore places like land trust properties, state parks, and maybe a private ranch.

We don’t need no stinkin’ sidewalks! Walks are curated for OLLI’s population by local, nature-related non-profits, rated easy to moderate with some elevation changes, and led by trained, volunteer guides who provide a fun and educational experience. Learn about plants, wildlife, geology, history, and our environment while getting in your steps! You’ll travel to places that may be familiar to you, and likely some new ones. We’ll arrange meetup spots for those who want to carpool or caravan.

Wait, there’s more! A class favorite is the optional lunch after each walk, where we continue the fun and camaraderie. Be an OLLI OUTSIDER!

$50 donation for non-profits payable at registration