Bird ID Workshop Testimonials

We just came home and spent some time looking at the birds at the feeders and it is so nice to quickly ID the birds with confidence. All the stuff we learned immediately works - It’s really great - We are really pleased.

It was all so well organized and so professionally done. I will definitely tell the gals at Wild Birds Unlimited here on the North Shore and my other birding friends that if they want an immediate injection of bird knowledge, then take this workshop!
Thank you both,

Heidi Van Impe – North Vancouver

Excellent – enjoyed the quick pace and review / repetition was great – excellent for drilling in the information – comprehensive – great visual, fantastic enthusiasm (seriously it helps!)

Erica Lok – Hemmera Environmental

A 10 experience – very helpful in keeping me engaged – very good course. A good jump start as we approach spring migration – got me excited to go birding!

Jay Rourke – Expert birder - Hemmera Environmental

A 10 experience – a lot of information to digest but very interactive which kept energy levels and attention spans up! Extremely well organized – can’t wait for the banding workshop!

Stacie Kalyn – Dillon Consutling Limited

It was upper informative – Derek is an awesome speaker and the exercises kept us updated and interested – it was FANTASTIC! THANK YOU!

Ana Mendes – Wildlife Rescue Association of BC

A 10 experience – Thanks for sharing your vast knowledge – I don’t feel so overwhelmed anymore by my lack thereof!

Sandy Girardot - Wildlife Rescue Association of BC

An 11 out of 10 experience! I would recommend this course to any bird enthusiast, especially in conjunction with the banding / ageing workshop. Learned a ton! Thanks so much – you’re both awesome!

Annette Potvin

Fantastic experience – slightly overwhelming but learned a lot of useful and practical information.

Geoff Smart – EBB Environmental

Great – good teaching – content great – photos great – photo exercise and quiz good – Keep at it – you’re a great resource and team!

Charlie Palmer - Senior Ecologist – Hemmera Environmental

Great experience – jam packed with information and great training tool – Great refresher course for gearing up the filed season – very energetic course instructor – a 10 experience!

Eileen Miranda - Hemmera Environmental

Enjoyed it – The team challenges were a great way to keep everyone engaged – A 10 experience!

Ashleigh Ballevona - Hemmera Environmental

It was great – I had fun – Derek is an excellent and enthusiastic teacher – Carol is also very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. I learned more than I thought I would and realize there is much more to learn!

Brian Paterson - Hemmera Environmental
 

April 2009 – Workshop Evaluations

My search for a class that would help me boost my field skills to the next level took me over the border to the Vancouver Avian Research Centre Bird I.D. class this weekend. Holy smoke, what a cool class!

It started with a solid foundation in bird topography and physiology and progressed into field marks, songs, behavior and habitat. Even though some of the folks in the class were beginning birders, we were led right into the fray of bird I.D., using field marks and songs to distinguish even shorebirds and empidonax flycatchers with growing confidence as the weekend progressed.

Kudos go to Derek and Carol for putting together a curriculum that gets across so much information in a short period of time, reinforced via practice exercises and repetition. I recommend this class without reservation and my friends are going to be getting earfuls of info that I picked up from it.

After this weekend I am itching to take the bird-banding class that Joel Brady-Power spoke so well of last week.

Megan McGinty – North Cascades Institute

It was an excellent workshop to inform people of what is flying around them! Very fun, very informative – a 10 experience

Erin O’Connor

A 10 experience! – I enjoyed the pictures and fill in the blanks workbook!

Michelle Williams

Very good starting point to get over the big barriers of bird ID – very worthwhile as I feel I have saved myself time and frustration in learning this stuff – quick but with lots of reviews – great - a 10 experience!

Anna Milner

Clear and organized – lots of information for a 3 day course – a 10 experience!

Angela Cormano – EBA Engineering Consultants

An 11 out of 10 experience! :o) It was great – I learned wonderful tools to help me in the field and become a better birder!

Julie Rivers

It was a good foundation for improving my skills – slowly but surely I’m becoming a bird nerd! The Bittern and Mountain Bluebirds were fabulous!

Leslie Bol – Rescan Environmental Services Ltd

Learned a lot!!

Vanessa Sadler – Diamond Head Consulting
 

April 2009 – Workshop Evaluations

As a very new birder I found the course to be so helpful in starting me off in the right direction! I feel like I’ve gained a year’s worth of knowledge in a weekend!

Crystal Rousseau - Stantec

Excellent – A 10 experience!

Murray Lashmar – Arran Environmental Services

Great learning experience – I got what I wanted out of the course and then some! Thanks.

Glen Carlson – A Rocha Canada

Mind blowing! – A 10.9 out of 10 experience! Can we do it again?!

Alan Russell – Stoney Creek Environmental Committee

Great organization and mix of background theory and identification of local/common species – pretty fast but good to cover so much.

Megan Turnock – Phoenix Environmental (Vancouver)

A 10+ experience – This was a tremendous experience to learn about the wonder of birds – Looking forward to the Bird Banding Workshop!

Ligia Ercius DiPaola – Wildlife Rescue

You are an excellent team – organized, generous and determined to give us the best learning experience – I learned hugely. I learned more then I expected – a 10 experience!

Lois Woolf

It was intense but learned a lot – good to have both class time and field time – very interesting – good teaching methods – a 10 experience!

Fiona Crichton – Crichton Environmental Consulting

For a non-birder nature lover – really TOPS! – a 10 experience!

Daniel Chesluk

It was great – exciting – fast moving – filled with all kinds of information – a 10 experience!

Martha Chesluk

It gave me the knowledge base to work on becoming the birder I’ve always wanted to be – a 10+ experience!

Rebekka Lindskoog – Summit Environmental
 

Workshop Testimonials – July 2009

I highly recommend the ID course, for anyone thinking about it – A fabulous course!

Peter Lypkie

Outstanding! A 10 experience – I not only came away knowing more than I expected I ended up with more questions that I couldn’t even have formed prior to this. This to me is a great measure of learning – Thank you so much for the opportunity!

Marlisse McRobie

It was very informative and a great 10 experience – Thank you!

Katie Furness-Moore

Definitely a 10++ experience! I came to the course with no previous knowledge and left with an understanding and appreciation of the groups of birds, field markings and ability to recognize some of the songs. I would never have been able to do this on my own – Thanks for a great course!

Nancy Furness

I realize now there is so much more to bird watching – Loved the field experience and watching bird banding – A 10 experience!

Linda Malcolm

Good pace, good division of material delivered, good setting, excellent delivery – spot on!

Chris Lee - Aquaterra Biological Consulting

I learned a lot – Really enjoyed the people, the instructor and the great experience – Keep up the good work!! I like the environmental information

Brad Grasser

The workshop was useful and excellent – The early morning view of banding was especially useful – very well done – a 10 experience!

Nancy Flood

Excellent course – very valuable information taught in a manner that is easy to learn and remember.

Byron Kirkham