This course is a field-based exploration of birds with a dual emphasis on developing and refining field identification and classification skills and gaining an understanding of the evolution and ecology of Aves. Topics include visual and auditory identification, a survey of the primary orders and families, evolutionary history, physiology of flight, migration ecology, nesting ecology, life cycles of North American birds, and an introduction to avian field research. Course format includes lectures and field excursions.
Course Faculty
David Scott Gilligan
David grew up on the Eastern Seaboard but came of age in the American West. After beginning his studies in Philosophy and Religion at Flagler College in Northeastern Florida, he…
Emily Brodsky
Emily abides by Mary Oliver’s instructions for living (from the poem “Sometimes”): “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” Emily’s insatiable curiosity about the natural world results in daily astonishment,…
