Join the Hitchcock Center’s beloved Fall Birding Class with birding extraordinaire, Scott Surner. This fall class will consist of ten field trips to various locations in the Connecticut River Valley, plus three coastal areas. Scott will help you work through the confusing plumages of fall warblers, and the streak and unstreaked plumages of fall sparrows. Our trips to the coast should provide us with an opportunity to study the different plumages of adult and juvenile southbound Shorebirds, Herons, Gulls, Terns, and with a little luck, some pelagic birds (Shearwaters, Storm-Petrels, and Jaegers) off the beaches of Cape cod. All trips depart from the Hitchcock Center and car-pooling will be encouraged. The class will be limited to fifteen observers.

Scott has been birding for more than forty-five years all around the Connecticut River Valley, Canada, and North and Central America. Scott just finished up a very successful Spring Class that traveled to more than thirty-six different locations and encountered 201 species of birds!

Course is limited to 15 participants and will be outdoor only for COVID Safety.
Participants must be vaccinated and willing to carpool.

Sliding Scale Pricing; $700, $650, $600, and $550.

FALL BIRDING REGISTRATION

Registration opens Friday, July 29 at 9:00 AM. 

Field Trip Dates and Details:

Aug 20: 5:00 AM – all day. Plum Island or another coastal location within a two-hour drive. This trip’s primary focus will be migrating Shorebirds from their breeding grounds in the Arctic.
Sept 3: Local. 7:00 AM -12:00 PM. Fall Warblers/Shorebirds of Hampshire & Franklin County.
Sept 10: Local. 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Warblers, with a special focus on locating the elusive Connecticut Warbler.
Sept 17: Local. 7:00 AM -12:00 PM. Warblers, Vireos, Flycatchers, etc.
Oct 1: Local. 7:00 AM -12:00 PM. Sparrows & Late Warblers.
Oct 15: Local. 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Prime time for migrating Sparrows!
Oct 21 – 23: Cape Cod Weekend. We’ll explore areas from Chatham down to Provincetown. More info after signing up. If accommodations are hard to come by, we may do a one-day trip to the Connecticut shore.
Oct 29: Local. 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Waterfowl & Sparrows
Nov 5: Local. 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Dec 3rd: 5:00 AM – all day. Last class, back to the MA Coast. Probably Cape Ann (Gloucester/Rockport area) Sea ducks, Grebes, and more.

All trips depart from the Hitchcock Center and car-pooling will be encouraged.