Jamestown, N.Y. Saturday, September 5, 2020, is the deadline for enjoying two virtual birding sessions presented by Audubon Community Nature Center (ACNC).

Two great friends of Audubon, retired ACNC President Ruth Lundin and Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History (RTPI) President/CEO emeritus Jim Berry, have prepared birding programs for beginning and intermediate birders that you can enjoy at your convenience in your own home.

Their intended live presentations have been transformed to COVID-safe online experiences that are available through Saturday, September 5. 

With Lundin’s “Audubon’s Backyard Birds” (Bird Series: Session 1) you will visit the feeders and learn about Audubon’s varied habitats that are home to numerous birds. You will also learn about citizen science opportunities and how they add to our understanding of our feathered friends.

Then follow Berry into the fields and discover the birds that call them home with “Birds of the Field and Meadow” (Bird Series: Session 2). When people think of birds, they often think of forests, but a rich diversity of birds live and breed in local fields as well. 

During her nearly two decades at Audubon, Lundin served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Nature Center Administrators, including a term as president, and on the board of the Audubon Council of New York State, with three years as Vice Chair and five as Secretary. She was presented with the Council’s highest affiliate honor, the prestigious Norman I. Stotz Award for extraordinary leadership and contributions to the environmental cause.

Prior to his 17 years at RTPI, Berry was the executive director of the Cincinnati Nature Center and before that was with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, including managing Malabar Farm in Lucas, Ohio. He was president of the Association of Nature Center Administrators, and his volunteer history includes the New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the U.S. Forest Service in Allegheny National Forest. 

To register and receive your online participation information for these two virtual opportunities, go to AudubonCNC.org/Programs, click on “Current Schedule,” and choose the Birding Series. The fee for each program is $8. Saturday, September 5, is the final day they can be viewed.

Audubon Community Nature Center is located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown, N.Y., and Warren, Pa. While the Nature Center building is not open for walk-in visitors just yet, you are welcome to visit the 600-acre nature preserve from dawn to dusk daily. Enjoy the native tree arboretum, gardens, picnic area, and six miles of trails, and view Liberty, Audubon’s non-releasable Bald Eagle, while practicing safe social distancing measures. 

The Blue Heron Gift Shop is also open for drive-thru sales; visit AudubonCNC.org/Shop for more information. The final Sidewalk Store Clearance Sales are Saturdays, August 22, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., and August 29, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

To learn more about Audubon and its many programs, call (716) 569-2345 (9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays), visit AudubonCNC.org, or find Audubon Community Nature Center on Facebook.

Audubon Community Nature Center builds and nurtures connections between people and nature by providing positive outdoor experiences, opportunities to learn about and understand the natural world, and knowledge to act in environmentally responsible ways.

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