July Evening Birding at Rock Bottom Ranch

This class requires advanced registration to ensure appropriate planning for the field experience. Participants must register by 5pm on the day prior to the outing.

Experience the sights and sounds during the time when day shifts to dusk in the cattail marsh, pond, and sedge meadow habitats of Rock Bottom Ranch.  As red-winged blackbirds and song sparrows wind down their activities and wild turkeys fly up to safe roosts in the nearby cottonwoods, the snipes begin their winnowing display flights and Virginia rails start calling. We will experience this fascinating and brief window of time with the goal of learning about crepuscular birds, those that are active at dusk and dawn. As daylight fades, our dominant sensory awareness will shift from visual to auditory and we will become immersed in a different and fascinating world.

Please bring warm layers to put on as temperatures drop with the setting sun.  Warm jacket, hat, and light gloves are recommended.  Wear hiking boots or other sturdy footwear for walking on uneven ground off trails.  Please bring a headlamp as it will become dark when we walk back to the parking lot at the conclusion of the outing.  Bring your binoculars (or borrow a pair from ACES) and your bird guidebook (optional).  
 
About the Instructor:
Rebecca Weiss is a Naturalist specializing in birding, botany, and interpretive program development. She came to ACES as a Summer Naturalist in 1993, and later directed the Naturalist Field School and worked with ACES’ Naturalist Programs. She guides for ACES’ Birding Program outings and is a professional writer and consultant. Rebecca is the author of Birds of Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley. She holds a BS in Biology and a MA in Environmental Education, and loves exploring the natural world.