Field Ornithology

In this field course, we will study ornithology, the science of birds, in several different ways. In the classroom, we will learn to identify common local birds, and then we’ll take field trips to forests, wetlands, and the Salish Sea to meet them in person. While in the field we will ponder just what the lives of birds are all about. Are they machines, mindlessly doing what their DNA tells them to, or are they thinking entities negotiating complex social lives? What are their family lives like? And what about love and aggression in the bird world? In the classroom, we will examine key concepts in evolutionary theory, ecology, and animal behavior by focusing on a few of the studies of birds that have contributed to our understanding of these concepts. Finally, we will do some research ourselves by participating in collaborative research projects conceived, designed, and conducted by the students in the class. Through all these means, we will deepen our understanding of how science works in the real world versus in the artificial world of many science classrooms.