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A Good Birding Teacher
Not just identification, but appreciation
© Tom Grey
Dick Ashford, a hawk expert and former president of Klamath Bird Observatory, says there's more to learning about birds than just identification. A good teacher can welcome you into the field of wonder. You could look at a bird and say, "OK, There is a Red-tailed Hawk. Note the patagial marks on the leading edge of the wings. Those are diagnostic." And leave it there. But where does it go in the winter? Where does it nest? What kind of food does it eat? Dick says, "I try to provide people with a sense of not just being able to say they can identify a particular hawk." He hopes they'll be able say, "Wow, did that feel good!"
BirdNote®
A Good Teacher Welcomes You to the Field of Wonder
Featuring Dick Ashford interviewed by Chris Peterson
This is BirdNote.
[Dick Ashford] “Whatdya think? What species is it? No! Let me ask you this –
‘What are you seeing? Don’t worry about the species – tell me what you are seeing.’”
Identifying birds is fun, instructive, and useful, but as Dick Ashford – a hawk expert and president of Klamath Bird Observatory – knows, there’s more to learning about birds. A good teacher can welcome you into the “field of wonder.”
“We could look at a bird and say, ‘OK, There is a Red-tailed Hawk. Please note the patagial marks on the leading edge of the wings. Those are diagnostic.’ Leave it there. But…“Where does it go in the winter?” “Where does it nest?” “What kind of food does it eat?” …So I try to provide people with a sense of not just being able to go back home and say they can identify a particular hawk. …I hope they’ll go back home and say, “Wow, did that feel good!”
Dick is an expert on eagles, owls, and hawks. But he would be the first to quote his late mentor, Point Reyes naturalist Rich Stallcup, who said:
“There are no experts, no masters, only students. It is as it should be.”
Are you a teacher who uses BirdNote in the classroom. Would you like to? Visit our website to find — or share — lesson plans. That’s BirdNote.org. I’m Mary McCann.
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All sounds recorded by C. Peterson
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2012-2016 Tune In to Nature.org October 2016 Narrator: Mary McCann
ID# birding-15-2012-10-22 birding-15b
Ashford segments from Marantz III Track 111 1:20 and Track 119 12:41 & 13:29 & 16:36 & 17:45
