Winter Waterfowl of RI – Up Close!
Class | This program is completed
Note: Enrollees are strongly encouraged to attend every class. Before enrolling, please check your calendar for any potential conflict of interest. There is always a long waiting list of folks for this popular course.
Rhode Island’s southern shores and local ponds are a birding paradise in early winter. Join seasoned birders Bill Carpenter and Emily Westcott for a five-week course (two classroom sessions and three field birding sessions) to learn more about loons, buffleheads, goldeneyes, mergansers, grebes and harlequin ducks, to name just a few. Participants will provide their own transportation (they are encouraged to carpool to sites in South County, Jamestown and Middletown, as comfort levels allow) and should be able to walk up to a mile and a half. Binoculars are essential for a good experience. Bill and Emily have spotting scopes for up-close viewing.
Class schedule: Temple Beth-El on Nov 2 and either Dec 7 or Dec 14. In the field on Nov 9, 16, 30 and Dec 7 (Dec 7 in the field only if bad weather has forced a cancellation of one earlier date.)
Format: Field trips and discussions. Presentations are not required.
Resources/Expenses: No expenses anticipated other than transportation expenses.
William Carpenter
Bill Carpenter is a widely published poet and author of two collections of poetry, Templates and Imperfect Mirrors, Indelible Myths. Two animated versions of his poems were selected for the REELpoetry Film Festival in 2021 and 2022
Emily Westcott
Emily Westcott is a birding enthusiast who enjoys sharing the joys of this outdoor activity. She has co-coordinated this class many times before.