Manatee Audubon -- Beginning Bird Identification Course -- EXCELLENT!!

Class sessions for the 2014 Bird Course are from 6:30 -- 9:00 PM, on 17, 23, 27, & 30 JAN 2014. All-day Saturday field trips begin promptly at 7 AM on 25 JAN & 1 FEB 2014. Expect to be on the road until 3 PM or later. We will carpool.NOTE. Because the Church needs the room on Monday 20 JAN 2014, the first class will be held on Friday 17 JAN 2012.Class two will be on Thursday 23 JAN, class three on Monday 27 JAN and Class four on Thursday 30 Jan.Times(6:30—9:00 PM) remain the same and doors will open at 6 PM.Classes are held at the First United Methodist Church in Palmetto, 330 11TH AVE W, Palmetto, FL 34221.

2014 MCAS membership is required and a fee of $50 includes all class sessions, handouts & field trips. No fee is paid until the first class session. At that time, please write a check to Manatee County Audubon Society (MCAS). If not already paid, 2014 membership fee ($20/household) may be added. Course fees are for each person attending the course. One check may be used for all fees due and for all members of a single household. 

As we usually have a waiting list, it is important that all 36 spaces be filled.

Your seat is reserved and will not be given away UNLESS you fail to confirm your participation during the week ending on WED, 16 JAN 2013. Once you confirm attendance, you are expected to pay the course fee. IF YOU DO NOT confirm during the week that ends with WED, 15 JAN 2014, your place will be given to the next person on the wait list. I suggest e-mail reconfirmation as that provides written proof. I am not infallible in this area, but make amends for my mistakes. The last MCAS meeting prior to this course begins at 6:30 PM on Thursday, 16 JAN 2014.

Before the course, please view all 6, 10-minute videos by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, www.allaboutbirds.org.Click on tab labeled Birding Basics; then read Bird ID Skills before moving through the 6 videos by clicking the indicated buttons for the next video. These videos are organized like the MCAS Bird Watching Course.

Last, you will benefit by attending Audubon Meetings and Field Trips (both Manatee & Sarasota Audubon Societies have websites that provide locations, dates, times, etc.). Helping with the Christmas Bird count enables you to pair with more experienced birders, who will provide enormous help, giving you a leg up for this course.

Please contact Nancy, if you have any questions or concerns between now & your attendance confirmation between 9 and 15 JAN 2014. E-mail remains best contact method. I may be called at 941-792-9235.

www.ManateeAudubon.org