Birding 101 Class - the finale, sort of?

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Well we have reached the last days of classroom training for the Beginning Birding 101 class. It has been enlightning, fun, scary for me, and a delight. I have had a whole lot of different emotions around this class. The participants have been such a joy. We have seen, shared, discussed, and just plain talked about a lot of aspects for the beginning birder. I must say if I had to teach it again I would do several things differently, but I would also keep things that worked. I feel like I have learned lots of new things about going out to observe birds. I realize that I have some difficulty getting me binoculars in the right place at the right time, I never have my camera handy when I need it, and I haven't always had my field guide ready. Just with those things in mind I can find some advantages and disadvantages to all. One of the things I feel like I've gotten better at is saying, it's a hawk, it's a turkey vulture, it's an osprey, it's a cormorandt. I can tell these things by just looking for head, tail, body shape, and flight patterns. There are some birds that are really easy to identify. Eagles are really easy to identify. Great Blue Heron's, easy to identify. Some of the other birds of prey are a bit more challenging. Hey what the heck. I'm learning something new almost everyday. That has been the really fun part. I think I'm getting better at some of the birds as a result of the class. What fun. What fun. It's not too late in the year, so get out and see what kinds of birds you can find. You'll start to notice different things about various birds. It's not important at first to know exactly what they are, just enjoy that they are there.