Are you interested in learning more about birds and birding?

The Vancouver Avian Research Centre (VARC) - whose main field station is at Colony Farm Regional Park in Port Coquitlam - has set dates for its spring bird monitoring and banding and bird identification workshops.

A bird identification workshop is set for April 27 to 28, while bird monitoring and banding workshops are set for May 10 to 12 and June 7 to 9.

The bird identification workshop is designed for beginner and intermediate birders who want to participate in citizen science projects such as the BC Breeding Bird Atlas or who just want to take their bird knowledge and identification skills to the next level. The course covers groups, topography, field marks, song, habitat, molt, ageing and more and includes a guided field session to the Colony Farm banding station.

Although developed for beginner and intermediate birders, the ornithological aspects of the course benefit even the most experienced birders, and the workshop is invaluable for birders traveling overseas, according to a press release.

The bird monitoring and banding workshop, mean-while, is designed for people with little or no bird banding or bird in the hand experience and provides an opportunity to see birds up close and to learn about their plumage, molt sequences and life habits.

Most of all, these workshops are designed to be fun and interesting and to take participants' interest in birds and the environment to the next level.

See what people who have attended the workshops have to say, and why the average rating from course participants is 9.5 out of 10, by visiting www.birdvancouver. com/testimonials.html. For more information, e-mail info@birdvancouver.com.