Powerpoint & script for spring Nature Studies
Introductory slide in our show for common Southeast birds. As with mammals, an understanding of evolutionary relationships helps a lot in understanding morphology and behavior.
Rainforest is not the first place a birder gravitates to. In breeding season, probably a hundred birds are heard singing and pipping for every one seen. On top of that, bird density in dense conifer forest is low compared to most other habitats. Perhaps this is partly why most teachers, and many junior Discovery naturalists, profess ignorance of common Southeast avifauna.
Whatever the reason for this reticence, our senior naturalists have learned that patience, timing, and SOUND are key to building an appreciation for our often-invisible birds. For me, this has been problematic since around turn-of-millennium, as my ears have gradually lost the high frequencies. I stopped teaching bird classes in the mid-1990s.
Early spring is the time to start teaching/learning birdsong. Begin with first hooters and varied thrushes in March, then gradually add each new arrival or hormonally triggered resident. When you’re only dealing with 5 different songs, it’s easy to notice that 6th mystery sound, then the 7th. Don’t wait until mid-May to get started; it’ll be overwhelming.
Thankfully, Hank Lentfer can still hear. Check out hanklentfer.net/sounds. Be sure to plug in a good speaker or headset; his recordings are too good to waste on your laptop speakers.
At the time I put together this basic Southeast birds slideshow, I’d only owned a camera for a couple years, and still had no telephoto lens. So, Bob Armstrong to the rescue! All the good shots in this collection are his, from early pre-digital days. Naturebob today has an order of magnitude more great bird photography, not to mention video, all free to Southeast educators. Gunalchéesh, Bob!
● an 18 MB powerpoint with embedded presenters’ notes 
● a script for the above, with slide thumbnails, titled birds of coastal and terrestrial habitats 1 MB pdf 
