NettieBay.com NettieBay Lodge Michigan Birding Workshops with Jim McCormac

Birds and Botany: Experience Nature in Beautiful Presque Isle County, MI

Kirtlands Warbler
Photo By Matthew Studebaker

Bird List

Schedule 2010

May 21st - 23rd
This workshop is expected to fill quickly contact us immediately for reservations.

Scarlet Tanager
Photo By Matthew Studebaker

250.00 per person
Transportation is not included, carpooling is highly encouraged.

Includes:

Instructor Lead Field Trip
Lodging
Meals

$150.00 non-refundable deposit required.

Jim McCormac

From Jim - I am a lifelong Ohioan who has made a study of natural history since the age of eight or so - longer than I can remember! A fascination with birds has grown into an amazement with all of nature, and an insatiable curiosity to learn more. One of my major ambitions is to get more people interested in nature. The more of us who care, the more likely that our natural world will survive.

Bio - Jim works for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, specializing in birds, education, and wildlife diversity issues. Prior to that, he was a botanist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Natural Areas. He is president of the Ohio Ornithological Society, and served for seven years as secretary of the Ohio Bird Records Committee. Jim is author of Birds of Ohio (Lone Pine 2004); Wild Ohio: The Best of Our Natural Heritage (Kent State University Press 2009); and The Great Lakes Nature Guide (Lone Pine 2009). Jim also writes a column entitled Nature for the Columbus Dispatch. He is the 2009 recipient of the Ludlow Griscom award, given annually by the American Birding Association to individuals who have made significant regional contributions to ornithology.

NettieBay is pleased to have him lead our 2010 birding workshop.

You can learn more about Jim, follow his travels and speaking engagements on his blog.
Barred Owl @ NettieBay Lodge
Barred Owl at NettieBay Lodge Photograph by Chas Glatzer www.shootthelight.com

WHAT TO BRING: Classes are outdoors and hands on. Tennis shoes or hiking boots are appropriate. Long pants encouraged against brambles and bugs. Bring a heavy coat for the early morning field trips and you may also want rain gear, insect repellent, shoes you can get wet, sunscreen and a water bottle. If you have need of purchasing binoculars, you might want to borrow a pair until after your classes, we will have some suggestions in your selection process. Bedding, towels and meals are included starting with the Early Bird Breakfast. Birders will be staying in lakeside cottages.

Friday, May 21st – 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm – guests arrive. After dinner, trip leader Jim McCormac will give an illustrated PowerPoint program on warblers, many of which we’ll see and hear over the next two days.

Saturday, May 22nd – After a bright and early breakfast, we’ll head out to find lots of birds, and learn about their identification by sight and sound. We may head to the nearby shores of Lake Huron to look for what may be the world’s cutest shorebird as well as one of the rarest – the Piping Plover. Botanical treats abound in this part of the world, and we’ll pause from time to time to learn about interesting plants. Following dinner, we can step outside and try to call in the local Barred Owls, and look for other interesting nocturnal creatures such as Northern Flying Squirrels.

Sunday, May 23rd – Following breakfast, we’ll head west and into the Jack Pines to look for Kirtland’s Warblers. The pines don’t just support the warblers – other goodies such as Lincoln’s Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, and Upland Sandpiper can be found in addition to a dazzling array of interesting plants. We’ll take a sack lunch with us and return by early afternoon for departure.