The popularity of bird watching was already growing before the COVID pandemic, but it certainly has spiked since then.
Estimates vary widely, but one estimate suggests as many as 96 million people in the U.S. either feed birds, go looking for birds, or put plants that attract birds in their yards.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources holds classes to teach people who want to know more about birding, and one will be held near Kalamazoo soon.
“And so, what we're going to do is a two-hour session indoors, where participants will learn the basics, looking at silhouette, behavior, feeding patterns, flying pattern and those kinds of things,” said Shana Ramsey, Park Interpreter at the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery about ten miles west of Kalamazoo.
She said she’ll be joined by a colleague from the P.J. Hoffmaster State Park, Elizabeth Tillman.
After the class indoors, participants will head to the trails around the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery.
“So, we'll have binoculars on hand for people to borrow, as well as the old school physical field guides,” Ramsey said.
The class is designed for people who are fairly new to watching birds. It will be held beginning at 9 a.m. on February 15.
“The great part about the date we picked, it's also the weekend of the Great Backyard Bird Count, which is a citizen science effort where people can go count birds and then submit that information to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology,” Ramsey explained.
There is a fee and you have to register with the Michigan DNR ahead of time here where you click on the “Purchase a license” button.
More information is available here.
