Outdoors & Recreation

Winter Birding Walks

Meets Saturdays · 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM · on location Fall 2026 · registration open Free to audit

This class runs in the Fall 2026 session. Registration is open now; lessons, materials, and the class discussion board are posted before it begins.

This is a class for anyone who has walked the flat trails by Utah Lake, seen a couple hundred birds sitting out on the water, and wished somebody could tell them what they were. No experience needed. We meet Saturday mornings and walk slowly, and I teach you to read a bird by its shape and how it moves before you ever get to color, because out there at 8am it's all bad light anyway. Winter is honestly the best time to start, the trees are bare and the waterfowl are packed together where you can see them. You'll leave able to name the common wintering ducks, geese, and raptors, and knowing how to keep your hands warm. Dress warmer than you think.

What you'll learn

Identify ducks as dabblers or divers by behavior
Tell hawks, eagles, and falcons apart in flight
Use shape and movement instead of color to identify birds
Dress and prepare properly for cold winter walks
Find good birding spots near the lake all winter

Lessons

Before We Walk: Getting Set Up
What to bring, how to dress for wind off the water, and how to work the binoculars you already own.
Learning to See
Reading shape and behavior first, because color lies in bad morning light.
The Ducks on the Water
Sorting out the wintering ducks by silhouette, how they sit, and how they take off.
Geese, Swans, and the Big Birds
The larger waterfowl you'll see packed on the open water, plus how to tell them apart at a distance.
Hawks, Harriers, and Owls
The raptors that hunt the winter fields, read mostly by how they fly.
Making It Your Own
Keeping it up after the class ends, on your own terms.

Class discussion

The class discussion board opens when the class begins this fall. Auditors and enrolled students ask questions and share work here once the session starts.