Join us this September to develop your confidence and enhance your Bird Watching skills. This course is being run with a small group, allowing you the perfect opportunity to have all those extra personal touches that large group course cannot offer!
AUTUMN MIGRATION
SUNDAY 30th AUGUST - TUESDAY 1ST SEPTEMBER
RESIDENTIAL (2 NIGHTS)
and
FRIDAY 18th -20th SEPTEMBER
Residential (2 nights)
Bird identification courses at Bawdsey Hall are the perfect opportunity for beginners to develop their confidence and enhance their birdwatching skills. The course covers a range of species from garden birds to waterfowl and waders as well as providing a unique opportunity to discover why the Suffolk Coast is one of the UK’s prime wildlife areas. With a combination of indoor and outdoor sessions that start with the basics of bird identification culminating in field practice there is ample opportunity to develop skills as well as learning something new. The course offers exploration of nearby nature reserves including Sutton and Hollesley Heaths, Boyton and Hollesley Marshes as well as the potential to travel to some famous nearby reserves such as RSPB Minsmere. You will also receive exclusive access to the Bawdsey Hall private reserve.
What’s included in the fee:
The price includes 2 night accommodation at Bawdsey Hall situated on the Suffolk’s Coast Area of Natural Beauty. All meals, as well as hot drinks and water are included from Friday evening until a Sunday lunchtime. This includes a cooked full English breakfast, a packed lunch when on the field and a 2 course evening meal at a countryside pub. As well as tuition in the field during the day, lectures during the evening and course materials for the residential course.
Course Cost:
Our weekend residential courses at Bawdsey Hall in 2020 cost:
Single Occupancy in a room- £350 per person
Double/Twin Occupancy in a room-£495 (total cost for two people)
Course Description:
DAY ONE (EVENING)
After arrivals and registration, you will have the opportunity to meet your tutor and fellow colleagues before you have your introductory talk. After this, you will venture to a local pub to enjoy your two course evening meal, before heading back to Bawdsey Hall for your evening presentation.
DAY TWO
After an early morning walk you will feel energised for the day and certainly ready for your full English breakfast sat around an elegant dining table enjoying views of the garden. Set up for the day ahead, you will move into the first session which provides an overview of the birds can be found in the UK during passage periods and the habitats in which you can find them.
You will be able to examine the merits of good field-craft as well as developing your own skills to enhance birdwatching opportunities. This will cover concepts in preparation, your behaviour and the bird behaviour.
Your course leader will provide pointers in identifying a range of common birds for that season, by sight and sound around the Bawdsey Hall reserve and at nearby coastal habitats.
During the evening you will have time to relax at a local pub for your evening meal, where your tutor will be on hand to answer any questions. After this you will be able to enjoy watching the nocturnal wildlife at Bawdsey Hall from the luxurious comfort of your bedroom.
DAY THREE
Following, your pre-breakfast walk and after filling up on your scrumptious breakfast, your second day will offer specific guidance on how to effectively distinguish between similar-looking waders and waterfowl. The session will also provide an introduction to bird surveys that will allow participants to take part in future surveys.
About the tutor:
Based in Suffolk, Steve is a general naturalist and very experienced birder. He facilitates bird-related courses on behalf of the Field Studies Council and BTO. These courses are specifically tailored for those wishing to improve their bird-watching and surveying skills. Steve has been taking a lead on our ID courses for many years now, proving a hugely popular and successful trainer. He is self-employed and runs his own consultancy which specialises in providing wildlife information to landowners, developers and planners; and runs a wildlife tour and guiding service, both locally and abroad. He is the author of Birds of Suffolk, co-author of The Butterflies of Suffolk and was a principal recorder during fieldwork for the Dragonfly Atlas.
A founder member of Landguard Bird Observatory (1982) and Waveney Bird Club (2006), he has been at the forefront of the development of both organisations. He specialises in bird migration and holds a BTO bird ringing ‘Trainer’ permit. As with all the trainers, Steve has undertaken numerous hours of voluntary recording for a range of surveys and a range of organisations, giving him great depth of knowledge of the challenges
faced by new observers. Steve has provided the initiative and energy for the management of very successful conservation projects such as the Suffolk Community Barn Owl.
To book the course or for further information visit: www.bawdseyhall.com/bird-idcourse or contact is on
bawdseyhallsuffolk@outlook.com
07763 291026