Beginner birding course April 5

The Potomac Valley Audubon Society is now accepting applications for its 2012 "Birding 101" course for beginning birders, which will be held in April.

This will be the 27th year the Society has offered this course, and it continues to be very popular.

Space will be limited so those who are interested are encouraged to sign up soon.

The course will be taught by leading local bird experts, including Bob Dean and Matt Orsie.

It will utilize both evening classroom sessions and daytime field trips. Participants will learn everything from bird identification to birding techniques and resources to field etiquette.

It will focus on bird species that are found in the Eastern Panhandle area.
The evening classroom sessions will start on Thursday, April 5 and be held each of the following three Thursdays (April 12, 19, and 26). All of these sessions will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Conservation Train-ing Center just north of Shepherdstown.

The field trips will be held at various locations around the Panhandle from roughly 7 a.m. to 12 noon on the Saturdays following the Thursday evening sessions (April 7, 14, 21 and 28).

Registration is required. Online registration, mailable registration forms and more information are available on the PVAS website or contact Ellen Murphy at 304-676-8739.