Birding classes going cheep

Whether you think the common murre is anything but, or you’ve never heard of such a thing, the Birding Basics Course class is for you.

Seven Capes Bird Alliance has teamed up with Oregon Coast Community College to offer its popular birding course for the first time at both Newport and Lincoln City campuses beginning on Thursday, Oct. 2.

The class will especially appeal to new birders in the region. The two-week course consists of four meetings with a total of six hours of lecture and two hours of field trip — a bird walk and practice provided by seasoned guides. Classroom sessions will each include a Zoom-based lecture as well as birding activities.

Students will learn about basic bird identification and anatomy, bird adaptations to their habitats and a variety of resources for sound and visual species identification.

Instructor Gregory Smith has a master’s degree in ecology and evolution, and has researched seabirds as a field biologist.

Classes meet at both locations from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on October 2, 7 and 9, with the final field trip taking place on October 11 from 10 am to noon. Cost for the full series is $75.

The Newport campus is located at 400 SE College Way and the Lincoln City campus is located at 3788 SE High School Drive. For more information and registration, go to oregoncoast.edu.