Birding by Ear Workshops

Become a Better Birder. Expert birders identify most birds in any habitat using song identification. Some birds can only be safely identified by voice. You can learn to identify bird songs too!

Join in our spring series of sets of online and outdoor workshop pairings designed to improve your skills at identification of common bird songs in Saskatoon’s parks. Our workshops are arranged by habitat. Each series will focus on a small group of songbirds found in a given habitat at a particular time of year. For each set there will be one evening online session lasting about 1 hour followed by a 1-hour outdoor morning or evening field trip a day or 2 later.

At the indoor session, we will use online bird sounds to review the songs of our target species as well as listen to other species with confusing similar songs. Tips will be given for recording bird songs on your smart phone. The outdoor session will involve a 1-hour walk in a habitat where many of the target species might be singing. Note that the date for some outdoor sessions might need to be changed due to stormy weather

Set 1. Urban Coniferous Forest Birds

Online Workshop: 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm. Sun. May 9, 2021
Outdoor Workshop – President Murray Park: 7:00 am – 8:00 am Tue. May 11, 2021
Target Species: Merlin; Ruby-crowned Kinglet; Red-breasted Nuthatch, Black-capped Chickadee, White-winged and Red Crossbills; Dark-eyed Junco; Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Set 2. Urban Marsh Songbirds

Online Workshop: 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm. Sat. May 15, 2021
Outdoor Workshop – Donna Birkmeier Park: 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm Mon. May 17, 2021
Target Species: Pied-billed, Horned, Red-necked and Eared Grebes; American Coot; Killdeer; Willet; Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs; Bonaparte’s, Franklin’s and Ring-billed Gulls; Black, Common and Forster’s Terns; Purple Martin; Tree and Barn Swallows; Song Sparrow; Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds; Common Yellowthroat.

Set 3. Thrushes, Woodpeckers and Sparrows

Online Workshop: 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm. Sun. May 16, 2021
Outdoor Workshop – Chief Whitecap Park: 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm Mon. May 18, 2021
Target Species: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker; Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers; Eastern and Western Kingbirds; Blue-headed Vireo; Veery; Gray-cheeked, Swainson’s and Hermit Thrushes; American Robin; Sprague’s Pipit; Purple Finch; White-crowned, Harris’s, White-throated, Vesper, LeConte’s, Savannah and Lincoln’s Sparrows; Spotted Towhee; Rose-breasted Grosbeak; Black-and-white and Orange-crowned Warblers.

Set 4. Urban Elm Forest and Riverbank Songbirds

Online Workshop: 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm. Mon. May 24, 2021
Outdoor Workshop – Temperance to Cosmopolitan Park: 7:00 am – 8:00 am Tue. May 25, 2021
Target Species: Least and Alder Flycatchers; Warbling and Red-eyed Vireos; White-breasted Nuthatch; House Wren; Gray Catbird; Brown Thrasher; Cedar Waxwing; House Finch; American Goldfinch; Chipping Sparrow; Baltimore Oriole; Ovenbird; Tennessee, Yellow and Blackpoll Warblers; American Redstart.

Workshop Fee: CAD$35 per person for each set or CAD$95 per person for entire series of 4 sets (a savings of $45). Minimum number of participants: 3. Maximum number of participants: 15.

Cancellation Policy: Full refund will be given if cancelled before May 1, 2021. No refunds after that date.

Registration: Email stan.shadick@sasktel.net or phone 306*652*5975.

Workshop Leader: Stan Shadick. Click for more information about your workshop leader.

Birding Tours: Click here to see a complete list of our upcoming tours and workshops.