Date: October 27
Time: 9:30 a.m. – noon
Location: Montana Natural History Center (we will start indoors and then walk the Kim Williams trail)

Cost: $35 MNHC members / $40 non-members. Scholarships are available! Please contact cmorris [at] montananaturalist.org for more information.
You can add an MNHC membership at checkout.

Get ready for winter birding with ornithologist Mike Krzywicki! He will begin with an illustrated program indoors. Then we will move outside to practice our skills and spot some birds as we walk along the Kim Williams trail from MNHC.

Winter birdwatching in Montana is often an exercise in learning to appreciate what you have. Have you ever gone birding on a cold, quiet winter morning and thought “oh great, another chickadee”? This workshop will have you saying “oh great! Another chickadee!” and help you get the most out of winter birding. Sure, there are fewer birds around in the winter than other times of year. But this makes it an excellent season to hone skills that advanced birders use every time they’re in the field. We will discuss ways to learn more from each bird we see, strategies to make the most of winter birding trips, and simple ways to improve bird ID skills. Birding experience helpful but not required. The best birder is the birder that’s having the most fun. Let’s make winter birding more fun!

Instructor Mike Krzywicki is a biologist and educator that splits his year between Montana and Sonora, Mexico. He has ten years of experience as a field ornithologist working throughout western North America, with multiple stints studying bird populations in northern Mexico, the San Francisco Bay Area, and western Montana. He is currently the Director of Navopatia Field Station, a non-profit dedicated to the research and conservation of the Costera Pitayal, a unique coastal thorn-scrub forest found only in NW Mexico.

What to Bring:

Clothes for indoor and outdoors - layers, coat, mittens, hat, warm walking shoes/boots
Water/snacks
Journal and writing implement
Binoculars (optional, we have some to borrow)

FAQ

What’s the refund policy?

The course fee is refundable if a cancellation is made up to 7 days before the event. No refunds will be issued for cancellations made after this deadline. In light of changes to programming due to novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Montana Natural History Center will make exceptions to its normal refund policy. These exceptions are as follows:

Any programs cancelled by the Montana Natural History Center are eligible for a full refund.
In the event a program fee can be rolled over to a following cycle or year, that offer will be made available to the paying program participant, and a spot will be reserved for the participant.
If a program is cancelled by a participant due to reasonable health and safety concerns from exposure risk to novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Montana Natural History Center will issue a full refund.
If any participant experiences major illness, injury, or loss of a family member prior to the start of a registered program the participant is eligible for a full refund.

Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?

Nope! We will have a list of all the attendees.