LUNCH & LEARN SERIES | Intro and Ornithology 101 - Part 1

Our first class of Birds, Bugs, and Our Place in the Natural World began with a brief introduction of what the Willistown Conservation Trust is all about followed by a dive into Ornithology 101. We discussed the fascinating origin of birds, the living descendants of dinosaurs —including what we know from the fossil record about their ancestors. Next, Blake introduced some foundation concepts like natural selection, niche, and evolution. We spent a good amount of time on bird song: its function and how songbirds must learn their partially encoded tunes. Finally, we briefly touched on that other special thing that makes a bird a bird: feathers! We'll pick up here next time as we delve into bird migration, conservation, and bird banding.