Bird Alliance of Oregon presents: Night Photography From snakes to owls to the aurora borealis, there are many incredible subjects in nature that are best found and photographed after dark. But since light is the essence of photography, taking pictures after sunset requires you to make some crucial decisions about how to get around this […]
Bird Alliance of Oregon presents: Botany for Birders: Rose City Flowers with Ryan Gilpin Have you ever struggled to describe which tree a bird is in? Have you ever struggled to identify a tree making it difficult to know how to manage it? Join local arborist, ecologist and birder Ryan Gilpin for a series of […]
Bird Alliance of Oregon presents: Warblers! Warblers, those colorful little songbirds from the tropics, are the crown jewels of spring migration throughout North America. This class will feature all the warblers that call Oregon home, showing you how to find and identify each one. We will explore each species’ life history and the features that […]
Learn all about Flycatchers, notorious for giving birdwatchers a stiff neck and bewildered stare! Local author and guide John Rakestraw will show you how to identify these birds by sight and sound as well by as posture and performance.
Join local arborist, ecologist and birder Ryan Gilpin on a series of classes designed to help birders explore the plant world. Every month, Ryan will focus on a particular characteristic of trees (such as leaves or bark) and use that character to understand more about the plant. This session will focus on flowers. Through coupled classroom and field sessions Ryan will help you increase your ability to describe that plant and connect to the natural world around you.
Laurelhurst Park has approximately the same number of bird species observed as tree species growing in the park ~130 species. If the birds are out and active, we will bird the park and practice using as specific of language as possible to describe where we are seeing birds and how they are interactive with the plants around them. If the birds are quiet, we will observe, describe and identify trees paying close attention to their leaves. But most trees will have other features worth observing and describing in September as well.
Black Oystercatchers are a striking and easily recognizable bird in which we share our coast. Learn more about this amazing bird and are interested in helping with Bird Alliance of Oregon’s community science effort to monitor oystercatchers on the coast, consider attending this training.
What makes orchids such a special group of plants? Together we will learn about orchid evolution and ecology, and go through some of the beautiful and bizarre orchid species native to the Pacific Northwest.
This class will introduce you to coastal specialties, from puffins to shorebirds to scoters. We will also explore some of the best birding sites on the north coast and learn tips for safe and successful coast birding.
Join local arborist, ecologist and birder Ryan Gilpin on a series of classes designed to help birders explore the plant world. Every month, Ryan will focus on a particular characteristic of trees (such as leaves or bark) and use that character to understand more about the plant. This session will focus on flowers. Through coupled classroom and field sessions Ryan will help you increase your ability to describe that plant and connect to the natural world around you.
Now that we have all the pieces (conifers, flowers, leaves, fruit), we can practice putting it all together while birding both the upper urban area around the parking lot and the lower natural area. We should be able to describe which tree we are seeing a good bird in to our fellow students and identify most trees to be able to learn more about them. We will scout for fruit, and prepare for the much more intimidating season rapidly approaching, winter tree identification.
This event will be recorded and posted to: the Xerces Society YouTube channel Although most ecosystems on Earth are altered by humans, we still have little understanding of how to do conservation, especially of insects in human-dominated ecosystems. Join Dr. Chelse Prather, Associate Professor of Biology at the Univeristy of Daylon, to talk about four […]
Join us to learn all about the aerial insectivores, swallows, swifts, and nightjars, that eat, drink, and even sleep in flight
This event will be recorded and posted to: the Xerces Society YouTube channel Pesticides are a hidden hazard in many monarch conservation efforts, whether in working lands, parks, backyards, or monarch overwintering groves. Residues in milkweed and nectar plants can degrade habitat quality and put monarchs at risk. This webinar will unpack the latest science […]
MASON BEES MADE EASY VIRTUAL CLASS VIA ZOOM Saturday, March 28, 2026 from 6:30PM-8:15PM Instructor: Mark Fitzsimons Whether you want to boost your veggie or fruit yields through better pollination or are keen on supporting our native pollinators, join Mark Fitzsimons for his insightful introduction to mason bees. This class serves as an excellent starting […]
