Bonnet House Museum & Gardens is offering birding classes for beginner to skilled bird watchers beginning Sunday, September 9th from 2pm to 5pm on the Bonnet House Estate. A recent survey from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reported that one in five Americans has an active interest in bird watching. If you’re one of the many who enjoy the infinite beauty and variety of our winged friends in South Florida, the next few months will provide you with a great deal of joy at the beautiful Bonnet House Estate. Our extremely popular Birding Classes return, led by birder extraordinaire Paddy Cunningham, who has been a professional Naturalist in south Florida for over two decades.
All of the classes are offered on Sundays from 2pm – 5pm and field trips are offered on Saturdays.
- Ascend to Better Birding I: Tools of the Trade, begins Sunday, September 9
- Ascend to Better Birding II: A 10 Step Approach on September 23
- Bird Behavior-A Key to Better I.D., November 4
- Plantation Preserve Birding Audubon Field Trip, November 17.
- Birding by Habitat, December 2
- Ascend to Better Birding-Part II on Sunday, January 6.
- Birding by Ear, Sunday, February 3
- Birding by Season-Right Bird, Right Time, Right Place, March 3
- Spring Migration-A Parade of Warblers & Songbirds on April 7
- Evergreen Cemetery Birding Field Trip on May 4
The cost is $20 for Bonnet House members, and $25 for non-members.
To register, visit us at www.bonnethouse.org or contact Linda Schaller at 954-703-2606 or lindaschaller@bonnethouse.org.
About Paddy Cunningham
Paddy Cunningham has been a professional Naturalist in south Florida for more than 30 years. She served as the Naturalist Manger II of Fern Forest, Secret Woods, Arch Creek and Anne Kolb Nature Centers. For the last 20 years her classes - Tools and Advanced Tools for Better Birding has focused on a 10 path approach to increasing your speed and ability to identify birds.
One of her biggest impacts on south Florida has been the restoration of wetlands and hammocks to their natural conditions from the destruction of exotic plants. Paddy has served on the boards of both Broward County and Tropical Audubon Societies and serves currently as the field trip coordinator for Broward Audubon.
My motto is "You learn the i.d." and I facilitate the identification of birds in a non-intimidating field experience. I have the expertise and sharp eyes to find as many rare and number of species as any top guide, but my specialty is to patiently work with birders of all levels. My greatest joy is seeing my birders improve their skills to become advance birders themselves. As an Instructor and Top Guide it is my job to show YOU the bird, but more importantly is to teach you the special field marks, behaviors, song and habitat that is unique to each bird. My passion and enthusiasm for birding is to show YOU the bird and to teach YOU the skills to better identify it in the future.
