Field Ornithology

Cross-listed: Cornell University course BIOSM 3740 (3 cr.); Univ. of New Hampshire course MEFB 510 (4 cr.)

This is a 2 week course dedicated to field studies of birds. It is located on Appledore Island, Maine and hosted by the Shoals Marine Laboratory. Throughout the course students will be immersed in the biology of breeding seabirds and songbirds. They will learn about methods of studying migration and learn how to capture and band migratory songbirds (see Appledore Island Migration Station). Students will learn to collect physiological and behavioral data, participate in long-term research projects, and design and carry out their own independent study project.

The purposes of this course are:

• To recognize the birds of the Isles of Shoals by sight and sound

• To learn and appreciate the diversity of life-history strategies pursued by these birds

• To develop and test ecological hypotheses through an independent project, to summarize and analyze data, and to present scientific information appropriately in both written and oral form

• To learn and practice a variety of field techniques used for studying birds including banding, census methods (point counts, transects, spot mapping), nest monitoring, and behavioral observations

• To keep an appropriately detailed field journal.

Required text is a field guide (like the one on the right).