Northern Irish Bird ID

Level

Beginner/Improver

Presenter

Stephen Hewitt

Date

Wednesday, April 6, 2022 - 19:00 to Wednesday, April 20, 2022 - 20:30

Places

Fully booked

In an online course designed specifically for a Northern Ireland audience, improve your bird ID and birdwatching skills and learn how these can be put to good use locally in some exciting BTO-led projects.

This training course will consist of three weekly online modules, complemented by supported self-study exercises. It will be led by BTO's Northern Ireland Engagement Coordinator Stephen Hewitt, himself an experienced birdwatcher and bird surveyor, with support from other BTO staff. Participants will be invited to subsequent (optional) field outings.

All three modules will cover bird identification hints and tips, with an emphasis on transferable skills. The three elements of the training will be as follows:

MODULE 1: Bird identification, with an emphasis on songs and calls
Wednesday 6th April, 7-8:30pm
An overview of the various components of bird identification followed by an entertaining interactive workshop which will help you to recognise and remember the songs and calls of many of the commoner breeding birds found in Northern Ireland.

MODULE 2: How to improve as a birdwatcher 
Wednesday 13th April, 7-8:30pm
After a recap of what you learned in the first session, this interactive module will introduce you to some recommended resources and practical activities which will help you to further improve, building on the knowledge that you have already acquired.

MODULE 3: BTO research, schemes and surveys
Wednesday 20th April, 7-8:30pm
After a further recap, this module will give you an insight into BTO research, introducing our cutting-edge satellite-tracking projects. You'll then learn about BTO-led recording schemes and surveys, and the impactful outputs that they generate. Finally, you'll receive guidance on how to judge which recording scheme is appropriate for your ability level, and advice on how to get started 

This course has been subsidised by NIEA, allowing us to offer it to participants in Northern Ireland free of charge!

If you're not a resident of Northern Ireland, you are advised to register for a general BTO Bird ID course instead.

This course is not designed for professional ecological consultants.

To book a place, please click one of the 'Register Now' buttons, at the top or bottom of the page.

If you have any questions, or difficulties booking a place online, please email us at northern.ireland [at] bto.org