Two well-known local naturalists and birders, Ruth Lundin and Jim Berry, are presenting virtual birding sessions for Audubon Community Nature Center. Pictured is a Meadowlark by Richardson, Texas, photographer Maddie Nolan, which was a youth winner in an Audubon Nature Photography Contest. For information about this year's photo contest visit ACNCPhotoContest.com.

Two area naturalists have prepared birding programs for beginning and intermediate birders through the Audubon Community Nature Center.

More people are bird watching than ever before. In addition to wild spaces, birds are all around houses and towns, and observing them can be a great way to connect to the natural world.

Ruth Lundin, retired ACNC president, and Jim Berry, Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History president/CEO emeritus, have transformed their intended live presentations to COVID-safe online experiences that are available through Sept. 5.

With Lundin’s “Audubon’s Backyard Birds” (Bird Series: Session 1) those watching will visit the feeders and learn about Audubon’s varied habitats that are home to numerous birds. Viewers will also learn about citizen science opportunities and how they add to the understanding of birds.

Then follow Berry into the fields and discover the birds that call them home with “Birds of the Field and Meadow” (Bird Series: Session 2). When people think of birds, they often think of forests, but a rich diversity of birds live and breed in local fields as well.

During her nearly two decades at Audubon, Lundin served on the board of directors of the Association of Nature Center Administrators, including a term as president, and on the board of the Audubon Council of New York State, with three years as vice chair and five as secretary. She was presented with the council’s highest affiliate honor, the Norman I. Stotz Award for extraordinary leadership and contributions to the environmental cause.

Prior to his 17 years at RTPI, Berry was the executive director of the Cincinnati Nature Center and before that was with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, including managing Malabar Farm in Lucas, Ohio.

He was president of the Association of Nature Center Administrators, and his volunteer history includes the New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the U.S. Forest Service in Allegheny National Forest.

To register and receive your online participation information for these two virtual opportunities, go to AudubonCNC.org/Programs, click on “Current Schedule,” and choose the Birding Series. The fee for each program is $8, and they are available through September 5.

Audubon Community Nature Center is located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown and Warren.

While the Nature Center building is not open for walk-in visitors, vistiors can visit the 600-acre nature preserve from dawn to dusk daily and see the native tree arboretum, gardens, picnic area and six miles of trails, and view Liberty, Audubon’s non-releasable Bald Eagle, while practicing safe social distancing measures.

The Blue Heron Gift Shop is also open for drive-through sales; visit AudubonCNC.org/Shop for more information.

To learn more about Audubon and its programs, call 569-2345 during business hours, visit AudubonCNC.org, or find Audubon Community Nature Center on Facebook.