First-Year Seminars 110BZ - Bird Migration: The Spectacle and the Science

This class will bring you face to face with one of the most remarkable phenomena of the natural world: bird migration. We will search for tiny Blackpoll Warblers, which migrate through our campus before making three-day, nonstop flights over the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to South America. We will look for Chimney Swifts, which nest in chimneys on campus and spend their winters skimming through the mist and treetops of the Amazon Rainforest. We will learn how to identify birds visually and by song, study the science behind bird migration, practice ecological census techniques, and learn how these incredible creatures can be protected. This class will involve time spent outdoors.
Taught by T. Gilliland Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30-11:45am

Mount Holyoke first-year students only, by placement.