Thursday, April 05, 2012
Institute for Learning in Retirement
Fifteen years ago, Miami University began its Institute for Learning in Retirement. Five weeks in the Spring, five weeks in the fall, all the classes you care to take for one price each session.
Last fall, classes were offered on Wednesdays at the Voice of America campus for the first time. This Spring, classes are being offered four days.
I signed up for three classes: Exploring the Cincinnati Art Museum, Genealogy and Natural History Sampler.
The gal from the C.A.M. is just a bundle of energetic information! Genealogy has opened my eyes to many resources.
Today's Natural History Sampler dealt with birds. First came the lecture, then we went outside to observe bird banding. The temperature was just above 40 degrees, the wind was blowing and there was little sun! Brrr!
The federally licensed bird banders arrived this morning at 8:00 to set up a net in which to catch the birds. You can see the pole on the right side of the picture with a net stretched across.
The unsuspecting birds get caught in the net, then are carefully put into mesh bags.
Three captured birds in their mesh bags.
If a lot of birds have been captured, the bags are hung on the line.
Look at the face on the goldfinch!
She will be banded, weighed and measured.
Each bird has its own 'band' number. All of the information is sent to Washington D.C.
The birds are placed upside down in a funnel that fits in the yogurt cup to be weighed.
The goldfinch is ready to fly away! "Enough already!"
A red-winged blackbird. He's been banded, weighed and measured.
His feathers are inspected to see how old he is.
He is a young bird - his colors are more an orange than the red they will be when he is older.
His feathers are inspected to see how old he is.
He is a young bird - his colors are more an orange than the red they will be when he is older.
__________________________________________
Now, how cool is that?!?
_______________________________________________
# posted by Martha @ 9:16 PM 
