Let's Talk About Birds!
New World Vultures
Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, California Condor and Andean Condor
Adult Program
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We see them flying in circles above us. Often characterized as ugly, scary figures and symbols of death, Vultures are actually quite beautiful up close with iridescent feathers of navy, green and purple. Vultures are very smart, social and playful too. They are also essential to the health of our planet and are guardians of our personal health. We need them! Oregon has played an important role in saving California Condors from extinction.
In this fun and informative program, filled with colorful images and fascinating videos, we will uncover who these magnificent beings really are!
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What is their crucial role in Nature?
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Why do they soar in circles?
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What is their super power?
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What is the difference between New World Vultures and Old World Vultures?
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How can we help them?
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​And so much more!
Owls for Kids
Grades K-5
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Everybody loves Owls! Their large eyes make them irresistible.
We love that they are spooky and mysterious. They are easy to identify from other birds and fun and easy to draw.
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What are their superpowers?
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Why do they bob their heads?
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But what makes them Whoo they are?
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Where do they live and what do they eat?
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What Owls can you find where you live?
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Why are they so important to our planet?
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How can we help them?
In this fun and informative and interactive 45 minute class, filled with sounds, videos and lots of artifacts to touch, students will learn the important facts about Owls: Silent Flight, superior eyesight, triangulate hearing, and how very important they are to the health of our planet. They will understand the meanings of scientific terms such as Biodiversity, Raptor, Talons, Diurnal, Nocturnal, Crepuscular, Zygodactyl, Habitat and Food Chain.
Students will not only learn about Owls but will also be empowered to help them.
The Secret Life of Birds
Available in both Adult and K-12 formats
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Have you always wanted to be a birder but its just too hard and takes too much time to learn? Relax! You can be a birder without knowing the species. You can understand the universal rules of bird communication and finally enjoy both their music and the drama and excitement that you never even knew was going on all around you.
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In this fun, interactive and informative presentation , you will learn:
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How do birds build nests without hands and tools?
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Why do they migrate?
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Why does a hummingbird sparkle?
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This and so much more!
Take home new knowledge that you can apply not only to the beautiful birds of the Willamette Valley, but to any bird you see anywyere in the world. You really can become the birder you have always wanted to be.
Raptor Confidential
Adult Program
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What makes a raptor a raptor? How does it hunt? How does it live? Touch a talon, wave a feather and feel its “lift”. Experience the silent flight of owls.
In this fun, interactive, and informative presentation you:
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Uncover the secrets of how to identify the amazing Birds of Prey that fly overhead every day.
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Recognize their behavior and find a new sense of appreciation and wonder for these amazing Lords of the Sky.
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Never mistake a Turkey Vulture for a Red-Tailed Hawk again!
NEW! Build A Bird
K-5 Program
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What makes a bird a bird? Let's build one and find out! We will help dress up a volunteer from the audience and then all join in as we fly and migrate like Canada geese using our new found knowledge.
Little but Fierce: Hummingbirds
Adult Program
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Irresistible and iridescent, fearless and pugnacious, hummingbirds are exquisite and extremely entertaining birds.
In this presentation, filled with beautiful images and videos, you will discover what makes hummingbirds one of the most beautiful and unique birds on the planet.
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Why do their feathers sparkle?
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What is their exclusive relationship with flowers?
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How does their specialized biology work?
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How did ancient people view them?
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And so much more.
Lots of artifacts to see and touch and Marilyn's personal stories to share with you.
Knock, Knock, Who's there? Woodpeckers
Adult Program
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These industrious birds are busy, busy, busy all the time. Their jackhammer-like drilling can reverberate through a forest and carry on for miles. The myriad of holes and cavities they leave behind are fun to discover and amazing to observe. Who are these magnificent red-capped, red-breasted characters who delight us so much and can frustrate us too with their noisy and sometimes destructive excavations.
In this presentation, filled with beautiful images and videos, we will explore the amazing and complicated lives of these wonderful beings.
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What makes their unique biology so important to us?
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What is all the drilling for?
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What does the inside of a woodpecker cavity nest look like?
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What is the unique relationship that one Pacific Northwest woodpecker shares with hummingbirds?
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And so much more.
The Incredible Egg: A perfectly packaged life
Adult Program
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They can be as large as a softball, or as small as an eraser head. And yet, inside, the same miracle of life is happening.
"Avian eggs are a true biological masterpiece and at the same time a puzzle." – Mark Hauser, The book of Eggs, University of Chicago press, 2014.
In this fun and informative presentation, we will explore:
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Which came first, the chicken or the egg? You will have your answer!
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Why these fragile little vessels are equivalent to a furnished apartment.
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Why shape, size, and color varies so much, and why it matters.
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And so much more.
Patterns in Nature
Adult Program
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What do pinecones, a sunflower, and a honeycomb have in common? We often assume that most of the beauty in nature is random and without design. Actually, nature is very orderly.
Fixed designs and patterns are in us, on us, and all around us. Leonardo da Vinci realized these patterns in his Vitruvian man while studying the human body. Leonardo Fibonacci realized it in his mathematical sequence discovery while studying patterns in nature.
In this fun and explorative presentation, we will look at:
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Da Vinci's concept of beauty in the human body.
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How "Fibonacci's sequence" describes the patterns that nature creates.
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Come, learn, and gain a new sense of wonder in your world as we examine images and samples of patterns throughout nature.
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Birds as Dinosaurs
Adult Program
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Are birds living dinosaurs? Yes they are! In this fun and interactive presentation, we will explore:
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All the things birds and dinosaurs have in common
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How dinosaurs evolved into birds
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Who is the closest living relative to the T-Rex today?
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Who are the modern day velocoaptors?
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And more!
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Let’s All Sing Like the Birdies Sing! How birdsong inspired the Great Composers and how they still inspire us today
Adult Program
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What bird inspired Beethoven's 5th Symphony Da da da dum! ?
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Which Benjamin Britten masterpiece required singers to sing like birds?
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Discover The 14th century musical instrument invented to imitate birdsong
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Listen to the tribe in Asia that can sing like birds.
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And so much more...
The Truth About Corvids :Crows, Ravens, Jays and Magpies
Adult Program
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Why are they both loved and hated by humans? The truth is that they are smart, comical and essential species to the health of our planet. Learn about their behavior, community culture and why they need our protection. Lots of fun stories and videos of these intelligent and fascinating birds.
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Owls of the Pacific Northwest
Adult Program
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Oregon is home to 14 species of Owls, 8 of whom live right here with us in the Willamette Valley.
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They are silent, spooky, intriguing, beguiling, mesmerizing, and beautiful.
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"WHOO" are these powerful, lions of the sky? What is all that hooting anyway? Do they all give a hoot? Discover this and more when you join me in this wonderous 90-minute adventure filled with beautiful images and videos into the mysterious world of owls.
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Wildlife Conflict Solutions
Adult Program
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Seeing wildlife in your own backyard can be fun, but sometimes it's just too close for comfort. How do you humanely discourage scary encounters and/or damage to your property? We will discuss wildlife behavior, learn fun facts, and learn how to observe them without fear.
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But most importantly, you will be given the resources and techniques for humane solutions for any problems you might have with wildlife in your own backyard. Topics include raccoons, coyotes, squirrels, bats, chimney swifts, opossums, just to name a few.
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Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Pacific Northwest
Adult Program
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Magnificent predators, aerial acrobats, and exquisitely beautiful, dragonflies have existed on the earth for 330 million years, making them older than dinosaurs! In this fun program filled with beautiful images and videos, we will explore their world.
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Who are they?
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What is their unique physiology that enables them to be the world's most successful predator?
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Why are they critically important to our survival?
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Meet every one of them that inhabits the Pacific Northwest
And so much more!
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The Miracle of Migration
Adult Program
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Many birds migrate Spring and Fall, travelling from a few hundred to several thousand miles. When we see a V formation of honking geese, what are we really witnessing? The answer will astonish you. In this program, filled with beautiful images and videos, we will explore this miraculous feat that we call migration.
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Why do they do it?
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How do they do it?
Discover their mind blowing super powers. Be in awe every time you witness migration from now on.
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Ducks of the Pacific Northwest
Adult Program
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There are only 40 species of ducks worldwide and we have 25 of them right here in the Pacific Northwest! Identifying them is actually easier than you think, once you know what to look for. In this fun program, filled with beautiful images and videos, we will explore their amazing world and also meet every one of them.
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What are the two types of ducks?
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What is their unique biology?
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What does precocial mean?
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Don't they get cold in the water?
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Why are they critically important to wetland conservation?
And so much more!
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Backyard Birds of Oregon
Adult Program
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From Anna's Hummingbirds to Downy Woodpeckers and everything in-between, Oregon is blessed with an abundance of different songbirds and other backyard visitors. In this program, learn all about what makes a finch a finch, a sparrow a sparrow, and a thrush a thrush. Is the American Robin really a Robin? Understanding their unique biology and behavior, and their relationship with other species will enhance your enjoyment of the Backyard Birds of Oregon.
Coming Soon
Birds as Architects , How to Be a Nature Supersleuth, Do Bees have Knees?, Batty for Bats