Ellison offers birding workshops

Noted naturalist and writer George Ellison will lead two active workshops in the Cashiers-Highlands area in April and May through Southwestern Community College.

George Ellison

The Bryson City resident has conducted field trips, natural history workshops, and slide-lecture programs for SCC, as well as for the Center for Life Enrichment, Nantahala Outdoor Center, Western Carolina University, John C. Campbell Folk School, Highlands Biological Station, NC Outward Bound, North Carolina Arboretum, National Herb Society, Pack Memorial Library, Wilderness Wildlife Week and others.

Ellision serves as a field trip leader for the internationally-acclaimed Native Plants Conference held at Western Carolina University each July and teaches each year a series of natural history workshops for the North Carolina Arboretum as well as for the Smoky Mountain Field School, which is administered by the University of Tennessee. His wildlife workshops and Southern Appalachian natural history seminars are recommended in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park sections of Fodor's National Parks and Seashores of the East (N.Y.: Fodor's Travel Publications, 1998) and National Geographic Explorer (Washington DC: National Geographic Magazine, 2000).

On Saturday, April 23, SCC offers A Day with a Naturalist. Participants will join Ellison in exploring the natural heritage of the Cashiers-Highlands region. Scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the workshop will begin with a visit to one of the most dramatic overlooks from a geologic perspective in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Participants will learn about the geologic origins of the Appalachians in general and the Southern Appalachians in particular.

The class will also visit a mountain bog, spectacular waterfalls, a high-elevation cove and northern hardwood forests, identifying distinctive birds, trees and wildflowers. Along the way, Ellison will lead discussions on the mysterious origins of grassy balds and the factors behind fall color and provide instruction in non-technical methods for bird and plant identification.

All walks will be short and moderate from pre-designated vehicle stops. Ellison suggests that participants bring a pair of binoculars and any appropriate field guides. Newcombs Wildflower Guide is recommended. This is a self-supporting class and costs $50 per person.

Birding Basics will be the focus of a second Ellison workshop set for Saturday, May 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"The Cashiers-Highlands area of the Blue Ridge Mountains is one of the most interesting birding areas in eastern North America," Ellison said. "Here we find birds typical of the southeast, but the high elevation region also serves as a breeding ground for many species more typically found far to the north, like black-capped chickadees, pine siskins, rose-breasted grosbeaks, golden-crowned kinglets, red-breasted nuthatches, and Appalachian sub-species of slate-colored juncos and black-throated blue warblers."

Ellison will teach non-technical and easily learned methods for identifying birds by sight and by their distinctive songs.

The group will carpool to pre-designated stops. Walks will be short and moderate. Participants are asked to bring a pair of binoculars and their favorite bird guide.

This self-supporting workshop costs $50 per person. To pre-register and for more information about the two workshops, phone the SCC Cashiers Center at 828.743.6688.

driving directions to SCC Cashiers Center