Whidbey Audubon Society is offering a five-week, online birding course taught by Thomas Bancroft, Ph.D. every Tuesday from 7 to 8:45 p.m. beginning March 14 through April 11.

Birding can be great fun but frustrating until one becomes familiar with the local birds and learns expert birders’ skills. This course will kick-start your abilities. It will cover the best techniques to separate and narrow identification. Both beginner and intermediate birders will learn a great deal and get a lot of practice.

The course fee cost is $100 and includes access to additional materials and access to the recording through Google Classroom. There will be self-assessment quizzes. Key characteristics will be reviewed, including shape, size, color patterns, behaviors, habitat and sounds. The course will cover about 120 common species found in Western Washington during the spring and summer, their identification, where they live and a little about their songs and calls. As time allows, some of the species sought after east of the Cascade Crest will be covered.

Bancroft has been a birder all his life and has a Ph.D. in ornithology. He has birded in 48 states, several Canadian provinces and six continents. He has identified more than 560 species in the United States and slightly over 2,000 worldwide. Birds have been a big part of his life, both recreationally and professionally. Please register on the website www.whidbeyaudubonsociety.org. For more information, email contact.us@whidbeyaudubonsociety.org or call 509-906-1663.