This syllabus provides a rough outline of what we plan to cover in the course. We will remain flexible for the field trips to the islands with seabird colonies to accommodate changing weather and boat logistics. We will spend a portion of each day in the field bird watching. This syllabus reflects the lab, lecture and island trips.

 

 Day                                       Topic
   1         Introduction: field guides, binoculars and study skins
   2         Feather lab, dissection, anatomy and evolution
   3         Boat trip: Pelagic Seabirds, Mount Desert Rock
   4         Ecology of migration
   5         Migration and Navigation
   6         Boat trip to Great Duck Island (two overnights)
   7         Bird behavior, watching nesting seabirds
   8         Bird behavior, watching nesting seabirds (return to Bar Harbor)
   9         Antarctic penguins and global climate change
 10         Last call: Birding TBA