Learn to ID birds, help with survey at Cherry Point reserve

Learn how to identify 15 common marine birds and put the skill to use for upcoming bird surveys at the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve.

The free classes will be taught by Audubon experts Paul Woodcock and Pam Borso, and by John Bower, a Western Washington University professor and ornithologist.

The goal is also to teach volunteers bird count protocol.

Classes are 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays on Nov. 3, 10, 17 and Dec. 1 and 15. People are encouraged to take all of the classes, which will be at RE Sources, second floor, 2309 Meridian St. in Bellingham.

RE Sources for Sustainable Communities is offering the classes, in coordination with the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve Citizen Stewardship Committee and North Cascades Audubon Society.

This round of surveys at the reserve started in 2013.

Such surveys are used around the world to document shifts and declines in bird populations, organizers said.

“Anyone can do it,” said Wendy Steffensen, the North Sound Baykeeper with RE Sources, of the classes.

People don’t have to be birders to participate, just have an appreciation for birds and a willingness to learn about them, she added.

Registration is encouraged. You can register by e-mailing Lyle Anderson at lyleand2@comcast.net.

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 6:31 AM with the headline "Learn to ID birds, help with survey at Cherry Point reserve."