ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) — This year, the Cayuga Bird Club is offering its highly popular course, Spring Ornithology with Dr. Stephen Kress.

This eight-week course, running from March 18th through May 13th, 2025, is designed to help bird enthusiasts sharpen their identification skills and deepen their understanding of bird behavior. The course covers a range of topics, including bird song, migration patterns, family life of birds, and conservation efforts. The final class, led by renowned ornithologist Dr. Steve Kress, will focus on creating a bird-friendly habitat right in your own backyard.

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned birder, this course offers something for everyone. Each session features stunning bird photography, videos, and recorded bird songs, making the learning experience both educational and immersive. With a mix of in-person classes at Kendal at Ithaca and a simultaneous Zoom option, attendees can choose the format that works best for them. For those who can’t make the live sessions, recordings will be available for viewing through November.

“Many people choose to keep the class recordings as long as they can because they contain so much valuable information; beautiful photographs, recordings, how to learn bird sounds, and other useful information that people like to hang onto,” says Dr. Kress.

Dr. Stephen Kress taught the popular Spring Field Ornithology course at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for over 40 years. Founder of Audubon’s Project Puffin and former director of the Hog Island Audubon Camp, he has authored numerous books, articles, and online courses on birds and conservation. Known for his engaging teaching style, Dr. Kress enjoys sharing his deep knowledge of bird life.

“The purpose of the course is really to enjoy birds and have fun with birding. Taking the course also means getting a year-long membership to the Cayuga Bird Club, which is one of the oldest birding clubs in the country. That allows people who take the course to be able to expand on what they learned and take trips with the club to get more experience out in the field, some of which I lead.”

The cost of the course is $125 per person. Find registration information here and direct any questions about the course to cbc.ornithology@gmail.com.