Prothonotary warbler (Photo: Wayne Bierbaum)
Please Note: This program has a rescheduled date (originally May 6, 2020).
How can you tell a downy woodpecker from a hairy one? A Cooper’s hawk from a sharp-shinned hawk? Liana Vitali, naturalist and educator at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, shares tips, facts, and resources for dedicated birders and birding beginners alike.
Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, just 12 miles outside Washington, D.C., is the jewel of the Patuxent River. Its 1,700 acres of open water, tidal freshwater marshes, forested wetlands, upland and riparian forest, creeks, meadows, pine and sand barrens, and fields along the eastern shore of the Patuxent, contain multitudes of welcoming habitats for a true diversity of bird species. As one of the Nationally Important Bird Areas, the Sanctuary is a valuable place to conduct bird-related research projects like mist netting studies for forest songbirds and waterbird surveys for ducks and wetlands raptors. One such project is the Winter Waterbird Survey, which has been conducted by intrepid citizen scientists at the sanctuary for nearly 30 years. It has revealed insights into migratory behaviors as well as a few phenomena that have left even the experts puzzled.
PLEASE NOTE: This ticket purchase will gives you access to a private bird walk on Saturday, Oct. 24 or Sunday, Oct. 25 at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, 1361 Wrighton Road, Lothian, MD. Transportation will not be provided; parking available on site.
This event is presented as part of the Smithsonian Earth Optimism Initiative.
