Note: This trip is full, but you can join the waitlist using the registration link below.

Can you tell the difference between those little brown birds on the mudflats at Hornsby Bend? If not, join Jeff Patterson and Eric Stager for Travis Audubon’s Shorebird Identification Class of 2024! This class is intended for intermediate birders who would like to increase their skills at identifying sandpipers, plovers, godwits, phalaropes, dowitchers, and other shorebirds.

Shorebirds are a fascinating and varied group of birds, with many interesting identification issues. Some undertake spectacular long-distance migrations (Hudsonian Godwits embark on a 6,000 mile migration which frequently includes stops in Texas). When suitable habitat is available, Central Texas can be an excellent place to study shorebirds at their migration stopovers.

Jeff and Eric have been co-teaching the TAS Shorebird Class since 2012. Both have been birding most of their lives and this will be their 11th year to teach the shorebird class.

Class sessions will be in person (except for Class 4). We will meet at the Hornsby Bend Center for Environmental Research and visit the famous Hornsby sludge ponds for field trips. Note that Class 1 begins in the Hornsby Bend building, while Classes 2 and 3 start with a field trip at the ponds. Class 4 will be a virtual field trip via Zoom. We will conclude with a weekend field trip to Corpus Christi on October 4-6, 2024.

Class 1: Sunday, September 8, 4:00-6:00 pm, meet at Hornsby Bend building
Field Trip 1: Sunday, September 8, 6:00-7:30 pm, following class

Field Trip 2: Sunday, September 15, 7:15-9:30 am, meet at ponds prior to class
Class 2: Sunday, September 15, 9:30-11:30 am,  at Hornsby Bend building

Field Trip 3: Sunday, September 22, , 7:15-9:30 am, meet at ponds prior to class
Class 3: Sunday, September 22, 9:30-11:30 am,  at Hornsby Bend building

Class 4 (Zoom)
Virtual Field Trip: Wednesday, October 2, 6:30-8:30 pm, Zoom

Weekend field trip
to Corpus Christi Area October 4-6, starts 5:00pm in Corpus on Friday, ends 12:00 noon in Corpus on Sunday.

The tuition is $85 for TAS members and $100 for non-members. For those who go on the coast trip, there will be an additional fee of $45 to partially cover the leaders’ trip expenses.

 A minimum of 5 and a maximum of 20 people can attend the coastal field trip. For more information, contact Jeff Patterson at jepbird@att.net. If you have taken the class before and want to go on the field trip to the Coastal Bend only, contact caley@travisaudubon.org to be put on a waiting list in case there is space available.

REGISTER HERE

The email used to register for this walk will be used to communicate any changes or cancellations due to weather or other factors. Please ALWAYS check your email inbox on the morning of the walk, prior to leaving your home, in case of last-minute changes in the trip plan. Please also check to be sure our emails do not land in your spam folder. When in doubt, please call or email your trip leader. We encourage participants to put the leader’s email address in their safe sender list. Their contact information is included in this trip description.

Payment for a class, workshop, or other fee-based event is due at the time of registration. If payment is not received within a week of registration, the registrant may be dropped from the roster. To withdraw from a class, workshop, or other fee-based event, please contact the Travis Audubon office: 512-300-BIRD (2473) or info@travisaudubon.org.

If a registrant withdraws from a class, workshop, or other fee-based event at least seven (7) days before the first session, Travis Audubon will offer a full refund less a $5.00 administrative fee that helps defray our costs. If the registrant withdraws less than seven (7) days before the first session, no refund will be made. If Travis Audubon cancels the class, workshop, or other fee-based event, we will fully refund the tuition.