Bird Diva will present ‘slow birding’ talk and field session

COURTESY
CHESTER, Vt. — For many avian enthusiasts, birding is an adventure in achievement. How many species can we check off of our bird lists? Who has the best “big year” (a year-long competition to count the most birds)? Which pair of binoculars is the most impressive? The most expensive?

“Bird Diva” Bridget Butler offers a new way to bird: Slow birding. Based on the work by authors Donald and Lillian Stokes of the bird behavior books and the teachings of John Young and Dan Gardoqui, who wrote “What the Robin Knows,” slow birding is an approach which encourages people to slow down and develop a deeper connection to birds, rather than the traditional chase-and-identify birding.

All are welcome to join The Nature Museum and the Bird Diva for a two-part adventure in slow birding. For Part 1, on Friday, June 8, Butler will lead a talk, “Slow Birding,” at 7 p.m. at the NewsBank Conference Center in chester, Vermont. Butler will share how to read bird body language, how to listen beyond just birdsong, and how to discover a sit-spot to achieve a more intimate look at the natural world. The presentation will also include a question-and-answer session.

Light refreshments from the Grafton Village Bakery will be served. For more information or to register, visit www.nature-museum.org or call (802) 843-2111. Pre-registration is $7 per person. Tickets will be $10 at the door.

Those who want more field experience can also sign up Part 2 of the slow birding adventure: A field session with the Bird Diva at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, June 9. Walk slow, look carefully, and listen quietly. The Bird Diva will take participants on a slow birding adventure through the forests and fields of a private property in Grafton. Participants can learn about how to look with and without binoculars, map what they’re hearing and seeing, and take field notes which will improve identification and awareness skills.

Participants will learn techniques that they can apply while in the field birding or stepping right outside their door to the birds in their backyard. All are encouraged to dress for the weather and for being still for a period of time, to bring a notebook, water and comfortable, portable chair or pad to sit on. Both birding events are appropriate for tweens, teens, and adults. The bird walk will end by 10:30 a.m.

Cost for this session is $20 per person. Separate registration is required for the June 8 talk and the June 9 field session.

Butler has been a naturalist for more than 20 years. She can be is heard on VPR’s biannual Bird Show on Vermont Edition. She is the former Conservation Education Specialist at ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center in Burlington. She also appears weekly on WPTZ NewsChannel 5 to discuss natural history and environmental topics.

For more information on The Nature Museum, visit www.nature-museum.org.