Breeding Birds at BCC

Breeding Birds at BCC
with Professor Tom Tyning

Tuesdays - May 14, 21, 28 and June 4
10:00 a.m. - Noon ET
at Berkshire Community College
In-person only.

Field class to get out learn about the breeding behavior of birds, including looking inside and monitoring bird boxes, participate in species and bird counts, possibly bird banding.

Course will include walks in meadow, woods, and marsh on the BCC campus on maintained trails, rain or shine.

Attendees will need to able to walk on uneven ground for short distances, have waterproof boots for the wetlands, binoculars (or borrow from BCC), and a phone to download free birding apps - Merlin and eBird link.

Tom Tyning has been a Professor of Environmental Science at Berkshire Community College since 1999. Previous he was a Field Biologist and Master Naturalist for the Massachusetts Audubon Society for 24 years. He also served for 15 years as an Adjunct Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at Antioch New England Graduate School (Amphibian Biology, Ornithology, Field Entomology, Reptile Biology), at Springfield College (Ornithology), and MCLA (Botany).

For 25 years, he wrote a weekly Nature column for the Springfield (MA) Union-News. An avid consumer of New England natural history his main research interests are amphibians and reptiles. His book, A Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles, is published by Little, Brown and Co. 

A member of several professional natural history societies, he served for fifteen years as Managing Editor of the scientific journal, Herpetological Review.  He is past president of two local bird clubs, and the current president of the Massachusetts Butterfly Club.

Throughout the year he conducts various short and long-term field research projects on vernal pools, rare salamanders, Berkshire butterfly populations, and endangered snake species in Western Massachusetts. He was instrumental in jump-starting the installation of Salamander Tunnels in Amherst (MA) and the Massachusetts Herpetological Atlas through Mass Audubon. Tom received both his BS (Wildlife Biology) and MS (Organismic and Evolutionary Biology) from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst), where he focused on the biology and conservation of the timber rattlesnake.

Cost: $50 for OLLI at BCC members,
           $60 for non-members

Sign up today!

Register online or call 413.236.2190 (M-F 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.) to register by phone with a credit card.